CHICAGO – If he has hit a bigger shot than this, Brandon Paul couldn’t remember it. He’d have a hard time matching it.

Paul nailed a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer and finished with 25 points to lead Illinois to a 51-49 victory over Minnesota in the first round of the Big Ten tournament on Thursday.

“This team has so much character,” Paul said. “My mindset was just to be aggressive. Coach told me to stay aggressive. I basically wanted to attack on offense and do other things. I’m more excited about I didn’t turn the ball over today.”