Gophers men’s basketball coach Niko Medved is doing whatever he can to help keep his shorthanded rotation in Big Ten games this season — mixing in zone defenses and playing at a slower offensive pace than he wants.
The recipe was recently coming up one possession short in back-to-back losses, 78-75 to Wisconsin on Tuesday and 70-69 in overtime to Southern Cal on Jan. 9. But the formula fell much shorter in a 77-67 loss to No. 13 Illinois on Saturday at State Farm Arena in Champaign, Ill.
Medved’s zone defense stifled the Illini and helped Minnesota (10-8, 3-4 Big Ten) force a 34-34 tie at halftime, but Illinois (15-3, 6-1) used an 18-7 run to create breathing room at 74-62 with 3:24 remaining in the game.
Minnesota forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson scored a 22 points on a career high five 3-pointers. Cade Tyson added 15 and fouled out in the last minute.
Illini’s 7-foot-2 center Zvonimir Ivisic poised problems for the Gophers. He had 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Crocker-Johnson scored Minnesota’s opening 11 points, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. He had a game-high 17 points in the first half.
Later in the first half, Gophers coach Niko Medved went to a zone defense — like he did at that time in the Wisconsin loss. It had a similar affect, contributing to the Illini missing 10 straight shots and going seven minutes without a point.
The U took a 32-26 lead during that stretch, but the Illini tied it at 34-34 at the break.
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