No. 23 Nebraska men’s basketball started fast, handled adversity and set program records in the Huskers’ 83-80 win at No. 13 Illinois on Saturday.
“I thought our guys, their energy and effort out of the gate was where we needed it,” Coach Fred Hoiberg said. “We did a really solid job early against what I think is as physical as any team in our league.”
The Huskers continued the longest winning streak in the nation (15 straight) dating back to last season and improved to 11-0 on the season, which are both program records. The 2-0 start to Big Ten play is the first time for the program since 2016-17.
Nebraska tied the previous record (14) on Wednesday in its 90-60 home win over Wisconsin. The previous school record of 14 was set two other times (1990-91 season and a 14-game span from Jan. 17, 1912, to Jan. 25, 1913).
The win at Illinois is the program’s first in Champaign since 2016 (78-67) and just the second since joining the Big Ten in 2011-12. It is also the first time in school history Nebraska has consecutive wins over Illinois (80-74; Jan. 30, 2025).
With the win, the Huskers improved to 10-11 in its last 21 games against ranked teams dating back to March 1, 2022.
“It was a great win for our program, to come into one of the best environments in the league, one of the best crowds that we are going to face in the country,” Hoiberg said on the television broadcast after the game. “The way we’re handling adversity right now, we did it a couple times in our tournament in Kansas City and then found a way to just get a huge road win.”
Maturity Showed
Nebraska’s older team showed in big moments throughout the game.
“We never panicked, and that is a credit to our guys for the first time for us playing on the road in a hostile environment,” Hoiberg said. “This is one of the great crowds in the country; they were into it big time … Our guys just kept going, they showed great resiliency. They never had their heads down in huddles; they had great body language. We just kept going out there.”
When Pryce Sandfort started hot, scoring 26 in the first half, they recognized the hot hand and kept feeding it.
Sandfort’s 26 first-half points at Illinois are the most by a Nebraska player in a first half since Teddy Allen had 28 against Penn State on Feb. 23, 2021.
Sandfort outscored the Illini 11-4 by himself in the first five minutes of the game. Thirty of Sandfort’s career-high 32 points came in the first 27 minutes of the game. It was like he couldn’t miss, finishing 12-of-18 from the field and 6-of-11 from 3-point range.
As a team, Nebraska made 12 of its 26 3-pointers (46.2%).
Adversity hit the Huskers multiple times throughout the game. Be it foul trouble, or more correctly, whistles that didn’t go their way, or a 16-3 Illini run in the final 4:32 of the first half, Nebraska had an answer.
“This team is very mature,” Hoiberg said. “We got some age, we got some experience, they’re battle tested and again, this is one that should be a confidence builder for our guys.”
Rienk Mast is the oldest player on the team and the most experienced for a team that is 21st nationally in Division I experience.
Through the first nearly 25 minutes of the game, Mast had just five points, well below his team-leading 18 points per game. That didn’t rattle the veteran; he just kept playing and finished the game with 17 points and seven rebounds.
“Rienk means everything to us,” Hoiberg said. “I think people see how much we missed him a year ago. He led us in assists two years ago when we made the NCAA Tournament. He was second in scoring, he was first in rebounding and he spaces the floor. What he does, he gets our guys baskets at the rim.”
Playing with Pace
What might be lost in the Jamarques Lawrence game-winning 3-pointer is his overall game on the road in a hostile environment.
“Jamarques rose up obviously and hit the biggest shot of the year for our team,” Hoiberg said.
The year away from the program, transferring to Rhode Island, clearly helped him grow on and off the court.
“I just matured a lot as a player, and just keep working,” Lawrence said in his television interview after the game. “This (win) is very exciting, we just got to keep going, stay locked in.”
“I thought Jamarques Lawrence’s pace was phenomenal,” Hoiberg said. “He did a good job of getting into the paint, spraying out to our shooters, and that’s really what got Pryce going.”
Lawrence finished the game with 14 points, 11 in the second half, and tied for a team-high six assists.
“With their switching, their size, their physicality as well,” Lawrence said. “Every game, I just want to make sure I’m coming in trying to control tempo, just playing with fast pace, taking care of the ball as well is something I really look at.”
Looking Ahead
Surely this veteran group of Huskers won’t overlook any opponent. After a tough week of three games and only two days to prep between each one, the Huskers will have two buy games, North Dakota and New Hampshire, before the final 18 Big Ten games of the season.
Should they take care of business, look for a potential top-15, maybe top-10 matchup in Lincoln against Michigan State on January 2 at 8 p.m. CT.
