Illinois vs. Nebraska Preview and Predictions

By Gracenote for Scores and Stats
by Gracenote on 01/14/2018

Nebraska will look to bounce back from a tough overtime loss on Friday when it hosts Illinois in a Big Ten Conference contest Monday. The Cornhuskers fell by two at Penn State to drop to .500 in league play, while the Illini are looking for their first conference victory after five losses.

Illinois is coming off its own excruciating loss, blowing a 20-point lead against Iowa before falling in overtime at home on Thursday. Freshman guard Trent Frazier (10.6 points) is the second-leading scorer on the Illini for the season but he's coming off a career-high 27-point effort against Iowa and has averaged 16.5 points over the last eight games. Junior guard James Palmer Jr. leads Nebraska in scoring at 15.2 points a game, though he's coming off a season-worst five-point effort in the loss to Penn State, going 1-of-9 from the field. The Cornhuskers also have junior forward Isaac Copeland (12.8 points, team-high 6.5 rebounds) and junior guard Glynn Watson Jr. (12.1 points, team-high 3.3 assists) to rely on if Palmer's slump continues.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT ILLINOIS (10-8, 0-5 Big Ten): Illinois coach Brad Underwood has been getting some good contributions from his freshman class, and he's hoping for more as forward Matic Vesel has been improving in practice and may find some more time in games in the future. The 6-foot-10 Slovenian has played in just six games this season, failing to get off the bench in 10 of the last 12 contests, but his height would certainly help against some of the deeper front lines in the Big Ten. Still, Underwood may not be inclined to use Vesel until the team's postseason fate is clearer simply because fellow forwards Greg Eboigbodin and Kipper Nichols are in front of Vesel in terms of needing minutes off the pine.

ABOUT NEBRASKA (12-7, 3-3): As Nebraska coach Tim Miles tries to get his team more consistent in its play to move up the Big Ten standings, he has to deal with a fluctuating lineup thanks to the absence of starting center Jordy Tshimanga. Tshimanga, who started the first 18 games of the season, has reportedly asked Miles for a scholarship release so he can transfer and didn't make the trip to Penn State or attend the team's practice on Saturday. The 6-foot-11 sophomore is averaging 3.5 points and 5.1 rebounds and was replaced in the starting lineup by senior Duby Okeke, who played just 12 minutes and had no points or rebounds against the Nittany Lions.

TIP-INS

1. Illinois made a season-high 14 3-pointers on 46.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc against Iowa, compared to the 24.7 shooting it had in its first four Big Ten contests.

2. Nebraska sophomore F Isaiah Roby had a career-high 12 points off the bench in the loss to Penn State.

3. The Cornhuskers have held their last six opponents to a combined .390 field-goal percentage and 65.7 points per game.

PREDICTION: Nebraska 80, Illinois 72