Nebraska coming off of an emotional overtime win against Minnesota, could not keep the momentum going as they fell to Illinois 76-50
The contest’s first half was filled with horrendous shooting and plenty of officiating.
Illinois played great defense throughout the entirety of the half. NU shot 36 percent from the floor and scored 23 points. They shut down the perimeter, only allowing seven Nebraska three-point attempts, and stopped the Huskers from establishing the post. Illinois big men Dain Dainja and Matthew Mayer stifled the Big Red inside and combined for three blocks in the half.
Another key to the Nebraska Offenses’ struggle was the absence of Derrick Walker. Walker picked up two fouls halfway through the first, forcing him to play only six minutes. Sam Griesel kept the Huskers afloat during Walker’s absence. Griesel had nine points and two assists at the end of half one.
After the game, coach Fred Hoiberg said Illinois played great defense.
“Give them credit, they took us out of it,” Hoiberg said. “They took our shooters away and played Derrick, and we couldn’t get anything going.”
Illinois’ offense was not much more potent.
The Illini shot 33% from the floor and an abysmal 4-16 from 3 in the half. But Illinois found plenty of offense from the charity stripe.
24 total fouls were called in half one, split evenly between the two sides. Illinois went 10-of-16 from the line, and Nebraska went 3-of-7.
While NU could not get into a rhythm on offense, in part due to the stop-and-go nature of the half, they ended half in striking distance down 34-23
Nebraska came out of the locker rooms with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to five, but from there, the Illini dominated. Illinois went on a 21-6 run to make their lead 55-35 with 10 minutes to go.
During that run, Illinois went 9-of-12 from the field.
The Huskers cut the lead to 11 after an 11-2 run where Wilhelm Breidenbach, off the bench, scored all points.
NU flirted with a comeback for the rest of the 2nd half but never cut the Illini lead down to single digits.
Illinois did not stop knocking down shots in the second half. The Illini shot 58 percent from the field in half two and pulled away at the very end.
Illinois walked out of Pinnacle Bank Arena with a 26-point road victory
Terrance Shannon Jr was the player of the Game. Shannon Jr had 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Illini on 10-of-17 shooting. Dain Dainja had a masterful game on the defensive end, totaling three blocks and limiting Derrick Walker to five points.
Sam Griesel led the Huskers with 12 points, along with six rebounds and two assists.
Nebraska now moves to 9-8 on the year and 2-4 in the Big Ten. Their next game is on the road against the no. 3 team in the country, Purdue.