How to see Nebraska Men’s Basketball vs. No. 17 Illinois: Preview, collapse, TV

On By Littum

New lineup, new opponent, same result.

The misery continued for Nebraska men’s basketball team Sunday afternoon, when Huskers looked lifeless for most of a loss of 83-55 to No. 18 Wisconsin in the Kohl Center in Madison. The defeat marked NU’s sixth just-after not winning a game since the victory 66-58 over No. 15 UCLA to tie the school’s record for most wins at home by 20.

Head coach Fred Hoiberg mixed the setup in the hope of creating a little juice in his team and starting his son Sam Hoibergand great man Andrew Morgan. None of them made enormous effects, like the rest of the team that shot 33.9% from the field while letting Badger’s nails 17 three pointers. Omaha native John Tonje Hit Five Treys as you light up in Huskers with a game-high 27 points.

Nebraska now sits 17 in the conference position, which is not enough to even qualify for the Big Ten tournament. Something will have to spark until now in the coming days as they prepare for their other straight ranked opponent in the form of Illinois.

Here’s all you need to know as Huskers hosts Illini Thursday night inside Pinnacle Bank Arena.

How to follow with

No. 18 Illinois Scout

Header: Brad Underwood | 8th season in Illinois; 15. As a head coach | 157-94 (.625) in Illinois; 266-121 (.687) Career HC Record | 8x NCAA Tournament Performance, 1x Elite Eight | 2x B1G Tournament Titles, 1x B1G -Sæsontal; 3x Southland regular season titles, 3x Southland Tournament Titles | 3x Southland Coach Oty, Joe B. Hall Coach Oty (2014) | Former head coach of Oklahoma State, Stephen F. Austin, Daytona Beach Cc & Dodge City CC | Former assistant in South Carolina, Kansas State, Western Illinois & Hardin-Simmons.

2023-2024 Record: 29-9 (14-6 B1G, 2.) | 2x All-B1G First Team, 1x All-B1G Third Team | L, 77-52 to Uconn in NCAA Elite Eight.

All-Time Series: Illinois leads 22-8 (2024 B1G Tournament SemiFinal’s Last Matchup, 98-78 ill).

Key tours: Ty Rodgers, G/F, Jr. | DRA GIBBS-LAWHORN, G, SOPH. | AJ Redd, G, Jr.

Key Additions: Kasparas Jakucionis, G, Fr. (Recruits) | Tomislav Ivisic, C, Soph. (Montenegro) | Kylan Boswell, G, Jr. (Arizona) | Three White, G, Jr. (Louisville) | Will Riley, F, Fr. (Recruits) | Ben Humrichous, F, Gr. (Evansville) | Morez Johnson Jr., F, Fr. (Recruits) | Jake Davis, F, Soph. (Mercer) | Carey Booth, F, Soph. (Notre Dame).

Key Departments: Terrence Shannon Jr., G (NBA Draft) | Marcus Domask, G/F (eligibility) | Coleman Hawkins, F, Gr. (Kansas State) | Quincy Guerrier, G/F (eligibility) | DAIN DAINJA, F, SR. (Memphis) | Luke Goode, F, Sr. (Indiana) | Justin Harmon, G (eligibility).

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood

January 23, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois is fighting the Illini Head coach Brad Underwood before the tipoff of a game with Maryland Terrapins at the State Farm Center. / Ron Johnson-Preferred Pictures

Outlook: Brad Underwood finally had his breakout season in his seventh year in Illinois, which led Illini to a record of 29-9 with a Big Ten Tournament title and a finish in Elite Eight-Kun lost to any national champion Uconn.

After such a historic season for Illini, the 2024-2025 season was always a turn of breaking in a new core. Only three of the 15 players from the Elite Eight team returned to Champaign, but you wouldn’t be able to tell with Illinois’ record through 20 games. With a brand new start five, the Illini is 14-6 with a 6-4 record in conference games tied to the fifth in the Big Ten.

The makeup job from Underwood and his staff has been impressive to see, and it has been because of their recruitment abroad. 6-foot-6 Lithuanian beginner guard Kasparas Jakucionis leads the team with 15.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per Fight in his first 20 career college basketball competitions. Illini also grabbed 7-Foot-1 Center Tomislav Ivisic from Croatia, where he average 13.0 ppg and 8.5 RPG (8th in B1G). He has long experience as a member of the Croatian national team and has played for the past three seasons in the Adriatic Sea’s first division in Montenegro.

Not far behind these two is the Arizona Transfer Guard Kylan Boswell (12.6 ppg), where he was one of the best turnover-creating guards of the last year of PAC-12. 6-FOD-7 GUARD THREE WHITE Average 10.3 PPG and 5.4 RPG for Illini after coming over Louisville, where he played in 29 games last season. Graduate Transfer Ben Humrichois was appointed last year’s Missouri Valley Conference All-Newcomer team after led Evansville in the scoring with 14.7 points per year. Match. He rounds off the starting lineup with 8.9 points per Competition while shooting 36.8% from three-point reach, leading the team in attempts (114).

Illinois Star Freshman Guard Kasparas Jakucionis

January 26, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois, who is fighting the Illini Guard Kasparas Jakucionis (32), operates the ball during the first half against the northwestern wildcats at the State Farm Center. / Ron Johnson-Preferred Pictures

Another real beginner, Will Riley, is the sixth man for Illinois and rounds off the five double -digit scores by average 10.1 ppg and 3.6 rpg. One of the three returns from last year’s teams, DRA Gibbs-Lawhorn adds 7.6 ppg from the bench with Freshman Morez Johnson Jr. Chipping in 6.5 ppg in over 16 minutes per Match.

The depth of the scoring is impressive for Illini, who has eight players an average of 6.5 points or more. This has resulted in the conference’s second best scoring overgrowth of 85.8 ppg. Although what makes this state interesting is that Illinois is actually one of the worst shooting teams in the Big Ten sitting tied to 16. What makes it up is the amount of second chance opportunities that Illini creates with its rebounding. They lead the conference in total rebounds per. Battle (45.0), defensive rebounds (31.5) and offensive rebounds (13.5).

Illinois painted a much-needed victory over the northwest Sunday afternoon 83-74 to break a line where they had lost three of their four previous competitions. Illini has been pretty consistent this season and lost only to No. 8 Alabama, Northwestern (OT), No. 1 Tennessee, USC, No. 12 Michigan State and Maryland.

At this point it is not smart or responsible to predict a Nebraska victory until they show some life. The keys to this will limit the illinis rebounding and stop the three balls. In the six-game losing line, Remembers have allowed a three-point percentage of 45.0 to their opponents. Until it brakes, now won’t win much at all.

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