Nebraska Cornhuskers at Illinois Fighting Illini
· NCAA Men's Basketball
Illinois pulls away midway through 2nd, beats Nebraska 72-56
Illinois (16-6, 7-4 Big Ten) has won seven of its last eight games while Nebraska (10-13, 3-9) has lost four straight.
Illinois pulled away with a 15-4 run for a 63-54 lead with 5:29 to play. Sencire Harris scored six points with a dunk during the stretch and Hawkins had four points.
Mayer was 4 of 14 from the floor and made three of the Illini's five 3-pointers. Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 13 points, Jayden Epps had 12 and Coleman Hawkins added 10 points and eight rebounds. Harris had eight points.
Sam Griesel scored 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting to lead Nebraska. The Cornhuskers shot 40% and turned it over 19 times.
The Cornhuskers opened the game on a 12-5 run, but Illinois led 38-37 at the break. The Illini forced three turnovers in the opening minutes of the second half and led 48-41. The Cornhuskers answered a pair of 3-pointers from Keisei Tominaga and one from C.J. Wilcher for their last lead at 50-48 with 12 minutes left.
Illinois plays at Iowa on Saturday. Nebraska hosts Penn State on Sunday.
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 56 - 72 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 56 - 72 |
| 2nd 0:21 | Matthew Mayer Defensive Rebound. | 56 - 72 |
| 2nd 0:24 | Sam Griesel missed Three Point Jumper. | 56 - 72 |
| 2nd 0:32 | Ty Rodgers made Layup. Assisted by Jayden Epps. | 56 - 72 |
Statistics
 NEB |
 ILL |
|
|---|---|---|
| 20-50 | FG | 25-60 |
| 40 | Field Goal % | 42 |
| 8-20 | 3PT | 5-29 |
| 40 | Three Point % | 17 |
| 8-10 | FT | 17-22 |
| 80 | Free Throw % | 77 |
| 29 | Rebounds | 36 |
| 3 | Offensive Rebounds | 9 |
| 26 | Defensive Rebounds | 27 |
| 9 | Assists | 14 |
| 5 | Steals | 9 |
| 2 | Blocks | 4 |
| 19 | Turnovers | 13 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 19 | Total Turnovers | 13 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 19 | Points Off Turnovers | 20 |
| 2 | Fast Break Points | 12 |
| 22 | Points in Paint | 36 |
| 20 | Fouls | 14 |
| 7 | Largest Lead | 16 |
Game Information
Location: Champaign, IL
Attendance: 15,544 | Capacity:
2025-26 Big Ten Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 19-1 | - | 35-3 |
| Nebraska | 15-5 | 4 | 28-7 |
| Illinois | 15-5 | 4 | 28-8 |
| Michigan State | 15-5 | 4 | 27-8 |
| Wisconsin | 14-6 | 5 | 24-11 |
| Purdue | 13-7 | 6 | 30-9 |
| UCLA | 13-7 | 6 | 24-12 |
| Ohio State | 12-8 | 7 | 21-13 |
| Iowa | 10-10 | 9 | 24-13 |
| Indiana | 9-11 | 10 | 18-14 |
| Minnesota | 8-12 | 11 | 15-17 |
| USC | 7-13 | 12 | 18-14 |
| Washington | 7-13 | 12 | 16-17 |
| Rutgers | 6-14 | 13 | 14-19 |
| Northwestern | 5-15 | 14 | 15-19 |
| Oregon | 5-15 | 14 | 12-20 |
| Maryland | 4-16 | 15 | 12-21 |
| Penn State | 3-17 | 16 | 12-20 |