Nebraska at No. 5 Illinois

Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-16, 1-13) vs Illinois Fighting Illini (16-6, 12-4)

Thursday, Feb. 26, 2021 – 6 p.m. CT

State Farm Center

TV: BTN

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Internet: FOX Sports App

1. Be ready for the buzzsaw

The timing of this game couldn’t be much worse for Nebraska.

One, the Huskers are playing their third game in six days and are coming off a gut-punch loss to Penn State, where Teddy Allen had one of the best performances in program history, and it still wasn’t enough.

Two, Illinois just played arguably its worst game of the season in a stunning 81-72 road loss at unranked Michigan State on Tuesday. For a team vying for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Fighting Illini will be looking to make a statement tonight.

Three, Illinois certainly still remembers the scare it got in its last meeting with the Huskers in Lincoln two weeks ago. There is no chance the Illini will be taking NU lightly.

In other words, Nebraska better be ready to take on one of the best teams in the country that is both angry and motivated.

2. This time, slow down Dosunmu at all costs

In the first meeting vs. Illinois, the defensive game plan was clearly for Nebraska to do everything possible to not allow All-Big Ten center Kofi Cockburn from taking the game over in the paint.

Even with all that attention, the 7-foot-1, 285-pound Cockburn still racked up 21 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocked shots.

While he was doing that, Ayo Dosunmu, one of the leading candidates for National Player of the Year, ultimately took the game over and led Illinois to a win. The junior guard scored 24 of his game-high 31 points in the second half and overtime to go along with six assists and four steals.

That wasn’t the only time Dosunmu has dominated a game like that, either. He’s already posted two triple-doubles this season and is coming into tonight averaging 21.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game.

3. The starters need to step up

For two games in a row now, Nebraska’s starting five has struggled to produce its necessary output.

Yes, Allen went crazy with an unbelievable performance vs. Penn State. But beyond that, the guys NU needs to be the primary options have been borderline absent.

Trey McGowens has averaged 7.8 points on 30 percent shooting with 11 turnovers over the past four games.

Lat Mayen has made 10 field goals in the last five games and has shot 29 percent from behind the arc during that stretch.

Dalano Banton is current in his worst slump of the season, setting consecutive season-lows in minutes with 19 against Purdue and just 13 vs. Penn State. In those games, he totaled two points, two assists, and three turnovers.

Derrick Walker has been solid when he’s been able to stay on the court, but lingering issues with his conditioning since NU returned from its COVID-19 layoff have limited him to just 15.6 minutes of playing time over the last four outings.

Nebraska has enough on its plate at the moment for so many key pieces to be going through funks like those all at once.

Illinois (-16) 79, Nebraska 60

Robin’s season record: 17-4

vs. the spread: 11-10