No. 9 Illinois handed No. 5 Nebraska its second consecutive loss of the season with a 78-69 win at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln on Sunday. The Cornhuskers have lost two games after beginning the season 20-0 (9-0 in the Big Ten).
Nebraska held a 39-33 lead at halftime, led by Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager each scoring 12 points.
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Illinois began the second half with a 16-8 run capped by a Keaton Wagler 3-pointer that put it on top, 49-47.
The Cornhuskers closed the deficit to 51-50 on a Frager 3-pointer, but Illinois answered with two free throws by Wagler and a 3 from the left corner from Jake Davis. David Mirkovic quickly followed with a layup that expanded the Illini’s lead to 58-52. That margin eventually grew to 11 points, powered by five points from Wagler and three more by Andrej Stojakovic.
Nebraska closed to within 76-69, with Rienk Mast scoring five points in the closing minute. But Stojakovic hit two free throws for the final margin.
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Wagler led Illinois with 28 points (shooting 10-of-12 on free throws), 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Davis followed with 13 points, shooting 3-of-6 on 3-point attempts. Tomislav Ivisic added 12 points and 8 boards for the Illini, who improved their record to 19-3.
“Keaton did Keaton things in the second half,” said Illinois coach Brad Underwood of the freshman guard, who scored 23 of his points in the game’s second 20 minutes.
At 10-1 in the Big Ten, Illinois is tied with No. 3 Michigan at the top of the conference standings. The Illini have won 11 straight games and 13 of their past 14. Illinois hosts Northwestern (10-12, 2-9 conference) before traveling to East Lansing to face No. 7 Michigan State (19-3, 9-2).
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Nebraska dropped to second place at 9-2, tied with the Spartans. Frager scored a team-high 20 points, sinking 6 of his 12 3-pointers, followed by Sandfort’s 14 points. Sam Hoiberg added 13 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
The Cornhuskers lost in frustrating fashion last Tuesday at Michigan, 75-72, missing two 3-point attempts in the closing seconds. Nebraska fans were also frustrated by a foul call on Sam Hoiberg, in which he was whistled for a block but appeared to have position to draw a charge. Officials apparently felt that Hoiberg had a foot in the restricted area under the basket.
Any lingering resentment over that loss could have been lessened by a win at home Sunday. Nebraska should get back to the winning side next Saturday with a visit to Rutgers (9-13). However, after that is a matchup with No. 12 Purdue (18-4, 9-3 Big Ten) on Tuesday.
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