Braden Frager’s 20 points off the bench were not enough to secure a win, as No. 5 Nebraska fell to No. 9 Illinois, 76-69, at Pinnacle Bank Arena Sunday afternoon.
The Huskers (20-2, 9-2 Big Ten) led 42-35 early in the second half, but Illinois rallied behind Keaton Wagler, who has 23 of his game-high 28 points in the second half to lead the Illini comeback.
The Huskers put four in double figures in a losing effort, including 14 from Pryce Sandfort, 13 from Sam Hoiberg and 10 from Jamarques Lawrence, and hit 15 3-pointers but were held to 39 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes.
With the win, Illinois moved into a tie for first in the Big Ten at 10-1 and 19-3 overall with their 11th straight win. Illinois’ last loss was to the Huskers in Champaign on Dec. 13.
The Huskers, who hit 11 3-pointers in the first half, jumped out to an early 9-4 lead, including a pair of 3-pointers from Sandfort before Illinois ran off six straight points to regain the lead.
The Illini built a six-point lead twice in the opening 20 minutes, the last being at 31-25 before the Huskers took momentum in front of a sold out PBA crowd. Nebraska scored 11 straight point on 3-pointers from Sandfort, Hoiberg and Frager before a Cale Jacobson basket put NU ahead 36-31 with 1:10 left. A David Mikovic jumper stopped the Husker run, but Sandfort’s fourth 3-pointer of the half with 33 second left gave Nebraska a six-point halftime cushion.
Sandfort and Frager had 12 points apiece in the opening 20 minutes, as Nebraska went 11-of-20 from 3-point range.
While the Huskers were dialed in from 3-point range, Illinois duo of Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic combined for 17 of Illinois’ 33 points, going a combined 7-of-7 from the field and grabbing nine rebounds.
Berke Buyuktuncel’s 3-pointer extended the Husker lead to 42-35, Illinois scored six straight points as part of an 11-2 spurt to take a 51-47 lead on a Mirkovic basket with 12:27 left.
Frager, who posted his fifth 20-point game of the season, put the Huskers within 53-52 before Jake Davis’ 3-pointer started a10-0 Illini run that put the visitors up 63-52 with 6:45 after five straight points from Wagler.
From there, the Huskers were unable to cut into the Illini lead, as Illinois went 10-of-12 from the line in the final 3:23. NU got as close as 76-69 after a Rienk Mast basket with 39 seconds left, but could not complete the comeback.
The Cornhuskers hit the road to take on Rutgers next Saturday, February 7th at 11 a.m.
