Huskers Battle No.6 Illinois Friday Night

The Nebraska men’s basketball program continues its brief two-game homestand on Friday night, as the Huskers host sixth-ranked Illinois at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Tipoff between the Huskers and Fighting Illini is slated for 8:07 p.m. (central) and will be carried on BTN with Kevin Kugler and Shon Morris on the call. The game can also be streamed via the web, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through the Fox Sports app.

 

Fans can follow all of the action across the state of Nebraska on the Learfield IMG College Husker Sports Network with Kent Pavelka and Jake Muhleisen on the call. The game will also be available on Huskers.com, the Huskers app and TuneIn radio. The pregame show begins one hour prior to tipoff.

Illinois is the highest ranked team to visit Pinnacle Bank Arena since No. 6 Michigan State ended the Huskers’ 20-game home win streak on Jan. 17, 2019. The only opponents which were ranked higher at game time was No. 4 Maryland (2/6/16) and No. 5 Wisconsin (2/10/15).

Friday’s game was originally scheduled for Jan. 13 when the Huskers were on pause because of positive COVID-19 cases. Illinois was slated to face Big Ten leader Michigan on Thursday, but the Wolverines’ pause created a scheduling window for this matchup.

Nebraska (4-11, 0-8 Big Ten) is coming off a 61-48 loss to No. 21 Wisconsin on Wednesday evening. The Huskers got off to a strong start, hitting eight of their first 12 shots from the field, but could not sustain it for all 40 minutes as they played their third game in a five-day span. NU finished the night shooting 37 percent, including just 31 percent after halftime, and committed 17 turnovers. 

The offensive struggles overshadowed another strong defensive performance, as Nebraska held Wisconsin to 32 percent shooting and out-rebounded Wisconsin, 41-38. The Huskers defense has been a highlight since returning from a nearly month-long pause. NU has held all three of its opponents to under 40 percent shooting, marking the first time that has happened in conference play since the 2017-18 campaign.

Illinois (13-5, 9-3 Big Ten) comes to town rested and riding a four-game winning streak following a 75-60 win over Wisconsin last Saturday. Ayo Dosunmu led the Fighting Illini with a triple-double, finishing with 21 points, 12 assists and 12 rebounds, while Kofi Cockburn had 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting and 14 rebounds. The Illini shot 53 percent from the floor and out-rebounded Wisconsin, 46-19.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

Freshman Eduardo Andre has given the Huskers a spark off the bench in the last two games. Andre, who played just 17 minutes in NU’s first six conference games, has logged double-digit minutes against both Minnesota and Wisconsin.

NUMBRS TO KNOW

6.9 – Rebounds per game for Dalano Banton, as he bids to become only the second Husker to average at least seven rebounds per game over the last decade (Ed Morrow, 7.5, 2016-17).

.234 – The Huskers are looking to regain their touch from long range following the pause. NU is just 11-of-47 from 3-point range since returning to action. The Huskers had shot .428 (18-42) from beyond the arc in the last two games before the pause. 

8 – NU has eight 20-point performances on the season (Teddy Allen-6; Trey McGowens-1; Kobe Webster-1). Allen’s six 20-point efforts ranks fifth in the Big Ten.

10 – Number of seasons where Nebraska has had multiple 100-point games. The 2020-21 campaign is the first time since 1995-96.

12 – Nebraska’s 12 steals at Michigan State was the Huskers’ fourth game with at least 10 steals in 2020-21 and most since having 16 against Northwestern on March 1, 2020.

26 – Nebraska is 26th nationally in tempo according to KenPom as of Feb. 10. The Huskers are the only Big Ten team in the top 75 nationally.

SCOUTING ILLINOIS

Brad Underwood is in his fourth year at Illinois after previous coaching stops at Oklahoma State and Stephen F. Austin. After winning 26 games in his first two seasons, the Illini went 21-10 and finished fourth in the Big Ten in 2019-2020. Before taking the Illinois job, Underwood guided Oklahoma State to a 20-13 record and a berth in the 2017 NCAA Tournament in his only season in Stillwater. Longtime Husker fans may remember him from his stint as an assistant for six seasons at Kansas State under Bob Huggins and Frank Martin in the Big 12 days.

The Fighting Illini won four of their first five games to open the season, including a 15-point win at then No. 10 Duke on Dec. 8. The Illini went 4-2 in non-conference action with the losses coming against No. 2 Baylor at the Jimmy V Classic and a three-point loss at Missouri. In Big Ten play, Illinois won five of their first six games, with the only setback being a three-point loss at Rutgers, before back-to-back home losses to Maryland and Ohio State in mid-January. Since then, Illinois has rolled off four straight wins, including wins over nationally ranked Iowa and Wisconsin. 

Illinois returned four starters and eight letterwinners from a season ago,  highlighted by All-Big Ten performer Ayo Dosunmu and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Kofi Cockburn. Dosunmu is putting together an All-American-type season averaging 22.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game and would be the frontrunner for Big Ten Player of the Year in most seasons. Cockburn averages 17.2 points per game on 67 percent shooting, 11.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. He leads the Big Ten in rebounding and has 13 double-doubles on the year. Illinois has seven players averaging at least 5.5 points per game and shoots 50 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point range. 

Series History: Illinois leads the all-time series, 16-8, over Nebraska in a series that dates back to 1921. Nebraska is 6-9 against Illinois since joining the Big Ten.  The Huskers have won five of six meetings against the Illini since PBA opened, including a 64-63 win in 2018 on a 3-pointer from James Palmer Jr. with 0.3 seconds remaining. This is Illinois first trip to PBA since the 2018-19 Big Ten opener and the first of two meetings this season. Prior to Nebraska joining the conference in 2011-12, the Huskers and Illini had played only once since 1976 – a 100-73 Husker victory in the 1990 San Juan Shootout.

Last Meeting: A shorthanded Nebraska team rallied from a double-digit deficit to force a tie game early in the second half, but Illinois responded with an 11-1 run to regain control and defeat the Huskers 71-59 at the State Farm Center on Feb. 24, 2020. Nebraska trailed by six points at halftime and eventually tied it up on Jervay Green’s basket with 15:12 remaining. Illinois outscored the Huskers by 10 points over the next four minutes to assume control. The Illini went on to lead by as many as 14, while Nebraska drew within no closer than eight. Haanif Cheatmam scored 14 points to pace four Nebraska players in double figures. Dachon Burke Jr. finished with 13 points, Thorbjarnarson scored 11 and Yvan Ouedraogo had 11 points to go with 10 points for his second double-double this season. 

LAST TIME OUT

The Nebraska men’s basketball team fell to No. 21 Wisconsin, 61-48 Wednesday evening at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Junior forward Lat Mayen led the Huskers (4-9, 0-8 Big Ten) with 14 points in the contest, scoring in double figures for his fourth game in a row. Dalano Banton had the team-high 10 boards for Nebraska, who out-rebounded Wisconsin, 41-38, but shot just 37 percent in the loss.

Nebraska started the game strong, jumping out to an early 22-14 lead after a 12-0 run, as Mayen had 10 early points for the Huskers. NU hit eight of its first 12 shots from the floor before cooling off. No. 21 Wisconsin (15-6, 9-5 Big Ten) held Nebraska to only four points in the last eight minutes and forced 12 first-half turnovers. Despite shooting 30% from the field and 5-19 from the three-point line, the Badgers were able to take the lead 30-27 going into the half on Aleem Ford’s 3-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer.

Wisconsin stretched the lead to 10 in the opening five minutes of the second half, using a 9-2 spurt to take a 39-29 lead with 14:53 left. The Huskers battled, getting the lead to 41-35 after a Trey McGowens basket before the Badgers used a 14-4 run to extend their margin to 55-39 on a Nate Reuvers basket.

The Huskers got right back into the game with a 7-0 spurt, pulling to within 55-46 on a Mayen basket, but could get no closer, as Wisconsin used a 6-1 run of its own to push the lead to 14 on a Ford basket.

Jonathan Davis scored a team-high 10 points for Wisconsin off the bench as the only Badger to score in double figures.

 

STORYLINES

• No. 6 Illinois is the seventh top-10 team to visit Pinnacle Bank Arena since the building opened in the fall of 2013. The Huskers will look for their first top-10 home win since March 9, 2014 against No. 9 Wisconsin. NU will look to snap a 14-game losing streak against ranked opponents, as its last win over a ranked team was a 69-61 win over Maryland in the 2019 Big Ten Tournament.

Top-10 Opponents at Pinnacle Bank Arena

 
• Since returning from their pause last week, the Huskers jumped right back into the Big Ten grind. Nebraska is in the midst of playing five games in a nine-day stretch (in four different states), covering nearly 2,800 miles. Following Friday’s game against Illinois, the Huskers will leave early morning Saturday for State College, as NU will face the Nittany Lions Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. (central).  Following Friday’s game, the Huskers have six regular-season games scheduled and could have as many as five additional games which were previously postponed to make up before the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.

• One area where the Huskers have made significant improvement since returning to action is on the defensive end. NU has allowed 12.3 fewer points per game in the three games, while holding teams to 36 percent shooting, including 25 percent from 3-point range.  The Huskers have held their last three opponents to under 40 percent, the first time NU has done that in conference play since 2018. If NU can hold Illinois to under 40 percent, it will mark the first time since a seven-game stretch in 2014 where NU has held four straight conference foes under 40 percent. It will be a big test for NU, as Illinois is second in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (.502) and leads the conference in 3-point shooting (.393).

• The Big Ten had 10 teams in the top 50 of the NET rankings on Feb. 11, including four of the top eight spots.  No other power conference had more than seven teams in the top 50 of the NET.  The Huskers’ next six scheduled games are against teams in the top 50 of the NET. 

• Teddy Allen is sixth among all power conference players averaging 16.9 points per game as of Feb. 10. Allen is currently sixth in the Big Ten in scoring and is one of two newcomers in the top 10 of the Big Ten in scoring.  His scoring average is on pace to be one of the highest scoring averages by a first-year Husker. The current mark is 18.1 points per game by All-Big Ten performer Terran Petteway in 2013-14. 

Power Conference Newcomers

Includes ACC, B1G, Big East, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC

Highest Scoring NU Newcomers

• Teddy Allen has been at his best against ranked teams averaging 18.3 points per game in six games against ranked foes in 2020-21. In those games, he is shooting 46 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range. He has eight career double-figure performances against ranked teams, including five 20-point efforts (4 at NEB, 1 at WVU).

• The biggest beneficiary of Derrick Walker’s insertion into the Husker attack has been Lat Mayen, who moved to his natural stretch four spot after playing in the post for a majority of the early season.  In the four games since Walker returned, Mayen is averaging 13.5 points per game on 50 percent shooting and 5.8 rebounds per game. In NU’s first four conference games, he averaged just 5.5 ppg on 31 percent shooting.

Tracking Mayen