A+ or F.
Aside from the two-point loss to Michigan State in East Lansing, those are the only two grades No. 18 Illinois could have received in its past seven games.
Beat Penn State by 39 for the largest win in Big Ten play since 2004, then lose by 10 at home to a USC team whose record hovers below .500 in league play.
Lose by 21 at home to Maryland, then what?
Jump out to a 22-point halftime lead against a Northwestern squad that beat the Illini earlier this season.
Following that pattern, Illinois (14-7, 6-5 Big Ten) put together a performance worthy of an F- against Nebraska (13-8, 3-7 Big Ten) on Thursday night in Lincoln.
Having trailed the entire game, the Illini somehow snuck back into the game and forced overtime before the Brice Williams Show pre-empted all programming and the Cornhuskers ultimately prevailed 80-74 in the extra frame.
Knotted up in Lincoln! What a shot for @IlliniMBB 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Y57DvILneo
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 31, 2025
We’ll take a break from hitting you over the head with the ever-important and once-again abysmal three-point shooting (10-for-42), but here are three other key numbers that determined last night’s outcome:
In Nebraska’s two previous biggest wins (UCLA and Creighton), the Cornhuskers forced an average of 16 turnovers – and did more of the same in their win over the Illini last night. Illinois committed 17 turnovers – six of which came from lead guard Kasparas Jakucionis – which Nebraska parlayed into 17 points on the other end. Most discouragingly, the Illini turnovers were largely unforced: fumbled catches, sailed passes and lost handles. As if that weren’t enough, the Cornhuskers coughed up the ball only six times on their end, leaving the visitors with a minus-11 turnover margin – Illinois’ worst of the season.
He may have taken 26 shots to get there, but Nebraska senior wing Brice Williams got there nonetheless: 27 points. With Illinois’ struggles to shut down opposing wings this season, there were questions swirling as to how the Illini would manage Williams – and the answer is they simply wouldn’t. While Kylan Boswell and Tre White switched on and off Williams and were able to make his life difficult, neither could stop the Big Ten’s fifth-leading scorer. With eight points in the overtime period, Williams single-handedly outscored Illinois (four points), pushing his squad over the visitors in the extra period to finish with a game-high scoring total.
On a more positive note, the Illini got at least one thing right Thursday. Even without Tomislav Ivisic (mono), Illinois was able to outrebound Nebraska 58-42, including 20 offensive rebounds that were turned into 15 second-chance points. Both Jakucionis and White went for 13 boards, while every other active Illini (aside from Carey Booth, who played four minutes) snagged at least four rebounds. But because of Illinois’ prolonged turnover woes, defensive struggles and continued difficulties from the three-point line (23.8 percent vs. Nebraska), the team’s rebounding domination went for nothing.
Is Andy Katz’s Illinois Basketball NCAA Tournament Prediction Fair?
The Athletic Calls Illinois Basketball a March Madness ‘Wild Card’
Former Illini Kofi Cockburn to Return to Champaign for Jersey Ceremony
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
