Illinois vs. Minnesota Final Score: Illini defeat Golden Gophers 85-52, advance to second round of Big Ten Tournament

John Groce and his team will live to fight another day. On Wednesday afternoon, No. 12 seed Illinois (14-18, 5-13) defeated No. 13 seed Minnesota (8-23, 2-16) 85-52 to advance to the second round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament. Scoring was very balanced amongst the Illini starters, but Michael Finke led the way with 17 points on 6-10 shooting.

The Golden Gophers, well, tried their best today. Rick Pitino's squad was down to only a handful of active players thanks to some injuries and suspensions, so we were predictably treated to some unique plays during the game.

This was a shot attempt. pic.twitter.com/hxBC90xzmW

— Big Ten Geeks (@bigtengeeks) March 9, 2016

Jaylon Tate hits the 4th 3-pointer of his career to end the half. Now 4/45 thru almost 3 years. pic.twitter.com/NUDzNbY4Oy

— Big Ten Geeks (@bigtengeeks) March 9, 2016

This game was realistically over before it started, and it really showed during the second half. Minnesota's lack of depth -- specifically in the backcourt -- was completely exposed as they had no answer for anything that the Orange and Blue threw at them.

#Illini shooting

53% from the field (25-47)
55% from 3 (12-22)
83% from the line (5-6)https://t.co/QDskfnzJib

— Illini Basketball (@IlliniMBB) March 9, 2016

27-5 #Illini run at one point there. 80-46 with 3:12 left.

— Jeremy Werner (@JWernerScout) March 9, 2016

Illinois will face No. 5 seed Iowa (21-9, 12-6) on Thursday afternoon; the game is scheduled to begin 25 minutes after the conclusion of No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 9 Northwestern (11:00am CT tip), so you can expect them start around 2:00pm CT. Illinois' only game of the season against the Hawkeyes resulted in a 77-65 loss at home.

You can find more information on the Big Ten Tournament right here.

Illinois Fighting Illini stats

Minnesota Golden Gophers stats