Nebraska men’s basketball will have its toughest test this season when it travels to No. 13 Illinois for a 3 p.m. tip Saturday.
“We got our hands full on Saturday and again, this is our first opportunity on the road, and we’ll find out a lot about ourselves,” Fred Hoiberg said of the game.
The Huskers have a chance to set two program records with a win. The 10-0 start is tied for the best start to a season in program history (1977-78). The 14-game win streak dating back to last season is tied for the longest win streak in school history. Most recently, it was the 1990-91 Huskers, who won a school-record 14 games in their school-record 26-win season.
Before this season, the Huskers’ longest win streak under Hoiberg was seven games to start the 2023-24 season.
The game will be streamed on Peacock with Paul Burmeister and Brendan Haywood on the call.
The Huskers are once again coming off their most impressive win of the season, 90-60 over Wisconsin on Wednesday.
At No. 23 in the Associated Press Top 25, Nebraska is rated for the first time in that poll since 2018.
Nebraska is also ranked No. 22 in the Coaches Poll. The No. 23 ranking in the AP is the program’s highest ranking since Nov. 17, 2014, when the Huskers were ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll. The Huskers are 39-22 (.639) all-time when ranked in the AP poll.
Handling success and moving past a big win is something that isn’t lost on Hoiberg.
“I’ve been impressed with this group the way they’ve done it,” Hoiberg said. “We’re gonna have to do it again, or we’re gonna get our butts kicked on Saturday.”
Ranked vs. Ranked
Saturday will be the first ranked team Nebraska has faced this season. It will also be the 10th time in program history the Huskers have faced a ranked team while being ranked themselves.
Since March 1, 2023, Nebraska is 9-11 in the last 20 games against ranked teams and 5-6 in true road games. Last season, Nebraska went 4-4 against ranked teams, matching a school record for most wins over ranked opponents in a season.
Nebraska is 3-6 in those nine ranked on ranked games; eight of the nine games were away from Lincoln (six on the road, two neutral).
Tight Turnovers
So far, Illinois hasn’t forced a lot of turnovers. Illini opponents’ 12.7% turnover rate ranks 361st out of 365 Division I teams.
Illinois hasn’t forced opponents into mistakes on the offensive end. Their defensive steal percentage (5.7%) ranks 362nd in the country and their non-steal turnover percentage (7.1%) is 254th.
To the contrary, Nebraska has significantly improved its non-steal turnover rate on offense from last season. The Huskers finished the 2024-25 season with an offensive non-steal turnover rate of 7.9% which ranked 242nd nationally. Through nine games this season, that number is 6.6%, good for 67th nationally.
Illinois also doesn’t turn the ball over at a high rate. The Illini have an offensive turnover percentage of 13.7%, good for 20th in the country.
Scouting Illinois
The Illini have two losses on the season, both to top-15 teams: Alabama, 90-86, and Connecticut, 74-61.
Illinois is the most skilled team Nebraska will face this season. The Illini have five players averaging double figures.
Senior Kylan Boswell leads the team in both scoring (15.7 points per game) and assists (3.5 assists per game) while newcomers Andrej Stojakovic (15.1 points per game), Keaton Wagler (14.7) and David Mirkovic (14.6) all average over 14.5 points.
“They’ve got stars, they’ve got great role players,” Hoiberg said. “Brad (Underwood) is one of the best in the business.”
Rebounding will be another key as Illinois is one of the nation’s leaders in rebounding margin with a per-game plus-10.4 advantage on the glass.
“I know they are really good. I know they’re really talented. I know they shoot the heck out of the ball,” Hoiberg said about the matchup. “I know they got great size, and I know they are tenacious on the glass.”
Slowing down Illinois on the offensive end will present a problem for Nebraska. The Illini have the fifth-best offensive efficiency in the country (124.7).
