FIRST HALF ANALYSIS:
In order to win games on the road, you need to come out fast. Pryce Sandfort did just that for Nebraska. He keyed a 9-0 Nebraska run to give the Huskers an early lead. Nebraska was moving the ball well, assisting on the first 6 made field goals. Illinois started off the contest cold from beyond the arc, going 1-9 in the opening 10 minutes. Pryce Sandfort then got NBA Jam hot and was outscoring the Illini 25-23 at the under 8 timeout.
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Illinois, who is one of the better rebounding teams in the country, slowly started to impose its will on the glass. Nebraska had a 13 point lead with just over 4 minutes to go, but Nebraska failed to score the rest of the half. Illinois used many offensive rebounds and made free-throws to key a 13-0 run to end the half. The Husker lead evaporated, and they went into the locker room tied at 37.
FIRST HALF STATS:
Nebraska shot 14-30 for 47% from the floor. They went 8-15 for 53% from deep and 1-2 from the free-throw line. The Huskers collected 14 rebounds, 3 of which were offensive. Nebraska had 9 assists to just 2 turnovers but did not have any bench points.
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The Huskers were led by Pryce Sandfort, who had 26 points. Rienk Mast and Sam Hoiberg led the way with 3 rebounds each. Jamarques Lawrence had 4 assists.
Illinois shot 13-32 for 41% from the floor. They went 5-18 for 28% from deep and 6-8 for 75% from the free-throw line. The Illini collected 23 rebounds, 10 of which were offensive. Illinois had 8 assists and 4 turnovers, also scoring 14 second chance points.
The Illini were led by Kylan Boswell, who had 12 points. Andrej Stojakovic had 6 rebounds, while Tomislav Ivisic contributed 5. Keaton Wagler had 4 assists.
SECOND HALF ANALYSIS:
After blowing the 14 point lead at the end of the first half, Nebraska came out and decided to keep up the pace as it did early in the first half. Pryce Sandfort would set a new career high, hitting the 30 point mark in the opening 5 minutes. Nebraska continued its very solid shooting from beyond the arc, shooting right at the 50% mark for almost the entire game. After the Huskers opened up a double-digit lead, Illinois decided it wasn’t going to go quietly into the night.
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Illinois got the game back within 3 after a very strong Zvonimir Ivisic dunk, but he picked up a technical foul for taunting Braden Frager. Sandfort would hit the two free-throws, and Nebraska hit a 3 on the next possession to extend the lead again. Nebraska would get into a bunch of foul trouble, as Buyuktuncel and Hoiberg had 4 fouls and Sandfort and Lawrence had 3 fouls with 4 minutes to play. Illinois would close the gap, tying the game with 17 seconds left. Nebraska had the last possession, in which Jamarques Lawrence buried the game winning 3 with .2 seconds left.
FINAL STATS AND THOUGHTS:
Nebraska shot 32-62 for 52% from the floor. They went 12-26 for 46% from deep and 7-8 for 88% from the free-throw line. The Huskers collected 27 rebounds, 8 of which were offensive. Nebraska had 20 assists to just 6 turnovers and had 34 points in the paint.
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The Huskers were led by Pryce Sandfort, who had a career high 32 points. Rienk Mast had 17 points and 7 rebounds. Jamarques Lawrence and Sam Hoiberg each had 6 assists. Jared Garcia had all 10 of Nebraska’s bench points.
Illinois shot 28-58 for 48% from the floor. They went 10-29 for 35% from deep and 14-20 for 70% from the free-throw line. The Illini collected 34 rebounds, 13 of which were offensive. Illinois had 18 assists to just 8 turnovers and had 19 second chance points.
The Illini were led by Kylan Boswell, who had 20 points. Andrej Stojakovic and Keaton Wagler had 19 points each. Stojakovic led the way with 10 rebounds, completing a double-double on the night. Wagler had 10 assists.
Where to begin with this one…Nebraska did almost everything right to win this really tough one on the road. Outside of giving up 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, Nebraska did a really good job of limiting open looks by Illinois. Nebraska continues to shoot the ball really well, and balanced scoring has been the calling card for this offense.
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Pryce Sandfort absolutely carried this team early, with him outscoring Illinois for much of the first half. Mast, Lawrence and Garcia took control of things in the second half, and the grit and determination showed up when it mattered most. Nebraska has a few days off before their next game, which is Sunday, December 21st, against North Dakota. Tip-off at Pinnacle Bank Arena is at 7:00 pm.
