Huskers tumble at home to Illinois

LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) - An opportunistic Illinois defense held off Nebraska’s early second half surge to run away with a 76-50 Big 10 win in Lincoln. It was Illinois’ third straight win in the series over the Huskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Terrence Shannon Jr. scored a game-high 25 points, 17 in the first half, as the Fighting Illini (11-5, 2-3) defense turned their athleticism into points, outscoring Nebraska 12-2 on the fast break and scoring 16 points off turnovers. The physical game saw 24 personal fouls in the first half, 12 for each team.

Nebraska (9-8, 2-4) shot just 37% as a team in the game, led by Sam Griesel’s 12 points. Nebraska trailed 34-23 at half before going on a 6-0 run after the break. Illinois answered with several runs of their own, and closed out the win with a 13-0 stretch.

Wil Breidenbach was the only other Cornhuskers in double digits with 11 points. Matt Mayer, 10, Jayden Epps, 11, and RJ Melendez, 10, also reached double figures for the Illini. Coleman Hawkins had 12 points and five assists for Illinois.

Nebraska starting forward Juwan Gary suffered a shoulder injury late in the first half and didn’t return.

Nebraska plays next Friday night at Purdue.

Copyright 2023 WOWT. All rights reserved.