Mike Davis led the way with 17 points and nine rebounds as Illinois snapped a four-game road losing streak with a 71-62 victory at No. 25 Minnesota on Thursday.

Demetri McCamey added 17 points off the bench for the Fighting Illini (16-8, 6-5 Big Ten), who kept their shrinking hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament alive as they forced 16 turnovers and knocked down 23 of 27 free throw attempts.

Illinois coach Bruce Weber made the decision to shake up his lineup before the game, and benched senior starters McCamey and Mike Tisdale to try to give his team a spark.

They did not stay on the bench long as the Golden Gophers jumped out to a quick lead before McCamey came on and converted a three-point play to tie it 7-7. The Illini would lead by as much as 30-21 before Minnesota came back to cut it to 30-29 at the break.

The Gophers grabbed a quick lead to begin the second half, but a 10-2 burst capped by McCamey’s layup with 9:02 left put Illinois on top 51-45. Minnesota tied it once more but could not regain the lead.

Trevor Mbakwe collected 17 points and 16 boards for the Gophers (16-8, 5-7), who are suddenly in trouble after their fourth straight loss.