Illini score fewest points since 1985 in loss to Minn.
Minnesota soothed the long-running pain that came with 10 years of Illinois dominance.
The Illini, meanwhile, forced everyone to turn back the clock to 1985 to find such an impotent offensive showing.
When the parade of airballs and front-rim benders came to a close at sold-out Williams Arena, No. 19 Illinois wound up with the most lopsided loss of the Bruce Weber era in a 59-36 Big Ten drubbing Thursday night before 14,625 in Minneapolis.
The 36 points ranked as Illinois' lowest total since a 54-34 loss at Purdue on Jan. 30, 1985.
The 23-point margin of defeat was Illinois' worst since an 88-57 whipping at Indiana on Jan. 26, 2002, which came in the next-to-last season of Bill Self's watch.
Dominique Keller came off the bench to "lead" the Illini with 9 points.
"Nobody played well," Weber said. "What can you say? It's a learning experience. Sooner or later, we were going to lose to them. It's been a nice run."
Illinois (17-4, 5-3) had won 20 straight against Minnesota dating back to March 4, 1999.
But the Gophers, sticking primarily with an aggressive man-to-man defense, never allowed the Illini to get into rhythm.
Illinois' only lead came at the 13:28 mark of the first half when Keller hit an unorthodox runner to make it 6-5.
Minnesota (18-3, 6-3) forced the Illini into a season-low 29.4 percent shooting from the field.
"To their credit, they played their butts off," Weber said. "They guarded. That's the best I think I've seen them guard."
Against a team allowing Big Ten opponents to shoot 36 percent from the arc, the Illini made just 2 of 16 3-pointers.
Calvin Brock cashed the team's first with a shot from the corner with 11:19 to go.
That cut the Gophers' lead to 36-27, but the hosts promptly reeled off 9 points in a row to give The Barn a party atmosphere.
Guard Lawrence Westbrook canned 3 3-pointers en route to a game-high 15 points for the Gophers.
Ralph Sampson III added 10 points and a game-high 7 rebounds as the Gophers crushed the Illini 44-29 on the boards.
That marked the fifth time in six games Illinois was beaten on the boards - and the third time in that stretch where they were whipped by at least 12 rebounds.
Illini sophomore forward Mike Davis, who entered the night as the team's No. 3 scorer (11.1 ppg) and top rebounder (7.3 rpg), got into early foul trouble and finished with no points and 2 rebounds.