Illini out to keep Gophers' number
January 28, 2009 11:02 AM
Some breaks are understandable, such as Illinois catching a spent Minnesota team in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament in March, a day after the Gophers had beaten Indiana 59-58 on a miracle shot by Blake Hoffarber.
Other breaks are simply magical, such as Illinois' 67-66 victory in Minneapolis on March 3, 2002. Trailing 66-62 with 20 seconds to go, the Illini converted a Frank Williams steal into a 3-pointer by Cory Bradford with 17.6 seconds remaining, and Williams scored with 2.9 seconds left on a tough drive to give Illinois a share of the Big Ten title.
''It's really mind-boggling to see how long it is,'' said second-year Minnesota coach Tubby Smith, who went 0-3 against Illinois last season.
''Some teams just have an opposing team's number. Obviously, Illinois has had a great program and dominated this series for a long time.''
Gould
Other breaks are simply magical, such as Illinois' 67-66 victory in Minneapolis on March 3, 2002. Trailing 66-62 with 20 seconds to go, the Illini converted a Frank Williams steal into a 3-pointer by Cory Bradford with 17.6 seconds remaining, and Williams scored with 2.9 seconds left on a tough drive to give Illinois a share of the Big Ten title.
''It's really mind-boggling to see how long it is,'' said second-year Minnesota coach Tubby Smith, who went 0-3 against Illinois last season.
''Some teams just have an opposing team's number. Obviously, Illinois has had a great program and dominated this series for a long time.''
Gould
Filed under: Illini Basketball, Minnesota Gophers
