LIVE: FINAL - No. 19 Illinois 59, Minnesota 51

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Welcome to the State Farm Center where Illinois (15-5, 7-2 in Big Ten Conference) will host Minnesota (11-9, 5-5).

I'm LOOKING LIVE...at the State Farm Center floor in Champaign, Ill., as we're about a few hours from the opening tip.

NOTE: Please join us as we live-blog and discuss the Illini exhibition game here in our weekly Illini Gameday Open Thread. Dive into the conversation — it's easy — by simply going to the top right of the redesigned site and click the follow button.

You can log in with Facebook or Google and either way, it's free. That's right...IT'S FREE. From there, sound off in the comment section and share your reactions and observations with our staff and fellow members of the Illini Now/Sports Illustrated community as we keep you up to date of the game in real-time.

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Game 21: Minnesota at No. 19 Illinois

Date/Time/Place: Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020: 6:30 p.m. CST, State Farm Center, Champaign, Ill.

Capacity: 15,544

Records: Illinois 15-5, 7-2 in Big Ten; 12-21, 7-13 in Big Ten Conference in 2018-19. Minnesota 11-9, 5-5 in Big Ten; 22-14, 9-11 in Big Ten Conference in 2018-19.

Line: Illinois by 5.5

Series notes: Illinois owns a 123-68 advantage in the all-time series including a 72-19 record in Champaign. In the last game inside the State Farm Center, Jan. 16, 2019, the Illini won 95-68 thanks to 23 points from Ayo Dosunmu and 20 points from Giorgi Bezhanishvili. Illinois led by as many as 36 points before settling for the final margin of 27. The final tally of 95 points marked Illinois’ highest total in a regulation conference game in 22 years, since beating Minnesota 96-90 on Jan. 14, 1997. Illinois has just one loss at State Farm Center this season and enters the Minnesota game looking to improve to 12-1 at home for the first time since 2014-15.

TV: FS1 - Jeff Levering (PBP), Stephen Bardo (analyst)

Radio (Illinois): Brian Barnhart (PBP), Deon Thomas (analyst) - The broadcast can be heard live on TuneIn online radio, Sirius/XM 381 and at FightingIllini.com.

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While we wait for pre-game updates, here's a look at the three keys and Matthew Stevens' prediction for tonight's game.

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Other Big Ten Conference Game Scheduled Tonight:

No. 18 Iowa (15-5, 6-3) at No. 15 Maryland (16-4, 6-3) - BTN - 7:30 p.m. CST

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Two Key Numbers For Tonight's Game:

9.8 - Illinois ranks third in the NCAA in rebound margin (+9.8), trailing only Houston and West Virginia

50 - Minnesota is 7-0 this season and 16-0 over the last two seasons when shooting 50 percent or better from the field.

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Uniform update: It appears Illinois is going with the white uniforms with the orange trim tonight. They're 4-0 in those uniforms this season.

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NOTE: Already a full Orange Krush student section tonight - not the case earlier this season. Definitely a buzz in the arena as Illini try to find first place in Big Ten standings again and increase winning streak to seven.

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NOTE: No changes to the Illinois starting lineup - Ayo, Trent, Williams, Giorgi and Kofi. Minnesota going with Tre’ Williams, Marcus Carr, Gabe Kalscheur, Alihan Demir and Daniel Oturu.

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NOTE: There was a moment of silence to honor the death of Robert Archibald. New addition of Ayo Dosunmu's game-winner at Michigan to the pre-game player introductions tonight.

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MEDIA TIMEOUT - 14:41 left in 1st - Minnesota 4, No. 19 Illinois 3 - Illini missing a bunch of shots near the rim early. Gophers trying to expose Trent Frazier in its pick-and-roll offense but mostly to no avail.

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NOTE: Illinois athletics announces tonight's game is a sell-out.

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MEDIA TIMEOUT - 10:45 left in 1st - No. 19 Illinois 9, Minnesota 9 - Ayo Dosunmu is 2 of 5 tonight. His teammates are 2 of 11. Minnesota has missed seven of its last eight shots but Daniel Oturu knows he can take over the paint if Giorgi is on him.

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MINNESOTA TIMEOUT - 7:10 left in 1st - No. 19 Illinois 17, Minnesota 11 - Trent Frazier getting open for 3-point looks. Minnesota is 0 of 7 from 3-point range and Illini bigs might double Carr on all ball screens until they prove they can make one. Oturu with six.

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MEDIA TIMEOUT - 2:58 left in 1st - No. 19 Illinois 19, Minnesota 17 - Frazier picks up his second foul and Illinois must survive without its best ball-handler and point defender for the remainder of this half. Minnesota shooting 25 percent.

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HALFTIME - No. 19 Illinois 24, Minnesota 20 - Illini center Kofi Cockburn gets back in the game with less than two minutes left and dominates. Cockburn has seven points and four rebounds (three offensive) in this first half. Minnesota is 8 of 32 and Carr is 1 of 8.

ANALYSIS: Marcus Carr made the first shot he looked at and missed his next eight. Illini defenders (and it's been a rotation of guards) have done an excellent job of getting over every ball screen to give him a body to shoot over. Kofi Cockburn seemed to realize late in the half that he can physically muscle his way to offensive rebounds and chances at the rim. Illinois was able to survive Trent Frazier's foul trouble well enough to make a late run but the suspension of Alan Griffin has shown up noticeably tonight, especially when evaluating what are Illinois' perimeter scoring options. While Da'Monte Williams is scoreless again, he also has five rebounds and a block.

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NOTE: A fire alarm has now gone off in the State Farm Center. We're still in halftime but that noise and flashing lights might be a distraction for both teams if it persists. UPDATE - A false alarm. One of the biggest cheers of the night so far.

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MINNESOTA TIMEOUT - 15:40 left - No. 19 Illinois 36, Minnesota 26 - With Frazier in foul trouble, Illini have Da'Monte Williams guarding the point and Feliz running the show offensively. Result? An 8-0 run for Illinois and Pitino needing a timeout.

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MEDIA TIMEOUT - 15:23 left - No. 19 Illinois 36, Minnesota 26 - Kofi Cockburn picks up his third foul. It will interesting to see how Underwood plays this as it seems Cockburn was integral to Illinois having a presence in the paint vs. Oturu.

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ILLINI TIMEOUT - 12:03 left - No. 19 Illinois 41, Minnesota 35 - Underwood can't afford to wait any longer and takes a timeout to get Trent Frazier in the game. Twice this half Underwood has yelled at Ayo "it's time". Dosunmu has only seven points in 27 minutes.

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MEDIA TIMEOUT - 7:31 left - No. 19 Illinois 44, Minnesota 38 - Andres Feliz has been huge in the last two games and has 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists tonight. Minnesota 15 field goals and 11 turnovers tonight.

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MINNESOTA TIMEOUT - 5:46 left - No. 19 Illinois 46, Minnesota 38 - Illini get a fast break layup and Pitino takes a timeout and immediately sprints out to Daniel Oturu, hits him with an open palm in the chest and screams "Run! Run hard!".

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MEDIA TIMEOUT - 3:41 left - No. 19 Illinois 50, Minnesota 45 - Kofi Cockburn, with four fouls, has checked back in. Ayo is demanding the ball as his closer role has come upon us.

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ILLINI TIMEOUT - 1:43 left - No. 19 Illinois 52, Minnesota 51 - Daniel Oturu has taken over. He has 20 points tonight and four points directly at the rim to get the Gophers within a bucket.

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NOTE: Da'Monte Williams with a steal and block to put this game on ice right now for the Illini.

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