Fred Hoiberg said it on Wednesday when talking about his Nebraska basketball team that had dropped six straight games to Big Ten competition.
“We got to get a win. We have to get a win to get our guys some confidence and to get out of that mentality of, ‘here we go again,’” Hoiberg said then.
How about a massive upset win in overtime over the No. 18 Illinois Fighting Illini in your house, in front of your fans?
That should spark something and get the good vibes going again. Perhaps it’ll pump some life and that all-important confidence Hoiberg talked about back into the Huskers.
Behind a game-high 27 points from Brice Williams, which included eight of the Huskers’ 10 points in the extra period, Nebraska snapped its six-game losing streak with an 80-74 overtime win against Brad Underwood’s Fighting Illini on Thursday night inside Pinnacle Bank Arena.
With Illinois currently coming in at No. 10 in the NET ratings, that’s a nice Quad 1 win on the resume, should Nebraska need it at tournament time.
“Brice was absolutely phenomenal there down the stretch,” Hoiberg said after the game. “…We rode him all the way to the finish line. I’m proud of our guys. We needed this one in a big way.”
Williams recorded his ninth 20-point game of the season and 25th of his career. His 10 made field goals tied his season-high. Williams also had a season-high eight rebounds and four assists.
Hoiberg thought Williams was playing with the confidence he had from earlier this season.
“He was aggressive and he took his shots, no hesitation,” Hoiberg said. “I thought he guarded better out there. He rebounded, had five defensive rebounds. I’m just really pleased with Brice and how he responded. We’ve had a tough couple days, and we knew how big this game was for us to hopefully end this slide.”
Nebraska improves to 13-8 overall and 3-7 in the Big Ten while Illinois drops to 14-7, 6-5.
Neither team shot it well — Illinois was at 36%, Nebraska 40% — and Williams took 26 shots to get his 27 points. But Nebraska’s best player knew what to credit for the win after the game.
“Our defense kept us in the game,” Williams said. “We reached most of our goals tonight. We had to wake up, and tonight we woke up.”
Illinois, which was without its 7-foot-1 center and second-leading scorer for the third consecutive game, Tomislav Ivisic, came into the game with the top offense in league play at 85.8 points per contest.
But Nebraska’s defense, under fire the past three weeks for good reason, played much better on Thursday. Wasn’t perfect, Hoiberg said after the game, but certainly good enough, especially when it mattered the most, in overtime, when Illinois scored just four points.
Nebraska had a 10-point lead, 54-44, with 12:20 left in the second half. That edge disappeared when the Illini started seeing success with ghost actions where they slipped screens and knocked down 3s — they hit seven treys in the final 20 minutes.
But the Huskers stayed with it and communicated better defensively while getting key buckets from Williams down the stretch.
“We kept guarding, and that’s what we were looking to get back to,” Hoiberg said. “It’s obviously not always going to be pretty with this team, but if we guard like we did tonight, we’re gonna have a chance most nights that we step on the floor.”
The Huskers hounded Kasparas Jakucionis all night, too. Illinois’ star true freshman point guard from Lithuania, who could be a top-10 pick in the upcoming NBA draft, scored 18 points, which is better than his 15.9 average coming into the game, but he took 15 shots, went 3-of-10 from 3 and 3-of-4 at the free-throw line to get there.
But even when Illinois’ other future NBA player, true freshman Will Riley, went berserk in the second half and scored 13 points with three 3s, and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn hit the game-tying 3 to send the game into overtime, Hoiberg said he saw improvement in the huddle.
“We never hung our heads. And that was the thing — when you get in the huddle and you got eye contact, and guys are talking to each other before we even get in there and start teaching, that’s growth,” Hoiberg said.
One area of the win that stuck out was the Huskers’ ball security — it was good. Nebraska valued the ball and turned it over only six times with just one at halftime. Illinois, on the other hand, had a tough time against Nebraska’s defense and had 17 turnovers. Nebraska used those extra possessions to score 17 points.
Toughness, or more accurately a lack of it, was a key talking point during the losing streak. Hoiberg and the Huskers knew the rebounding battle would be important in this one. Illinois came into the game statistically as the best rebounding team in the country, averaging 45 boards per contest with a margin of plus-11.
On Thursday, Illinois won that battle on the glass 58-42 overall and 20-13 in offensive boards. Twenty-one offensive rebounds turned into 15 second-chance points. But the Huskers did work in the paint themselves, too, with 13 O-boards that turned into 12 second-chance points.
“I thought we kept playing. Some of the other ones, we’d give up an offensive rebound and then give up an open three,” Hoiberg said. “But we kept rotating and contesting and, again, made a couple big stops late and got the ball to the right guy. We wanted to get the ball into Brice’s hands, and thought he made a couple phenomenal plays.”
Nebraska’s first West Coast swing in the new 18-team Big Ten is what’s up next.
The Huskers will travel to No. 16 Oregon (16-4, 5-4) for a game on Sunday with a tip time of 6:30 p.m. central. The Ducks, who are 8-3 at home this season, were on the road at UCLA on Thursday night.
Hoiberg said the vibe in the locker room after the win was “businesslike.” And that’s how it should be. Just because the losing streak was snapped doesn’t mean a season turnaround is happening.
“The guys know that we have to get over it quickly,” Hoiberg said. “If we don’t, it’s gonna affect us at our game in Oregon, and it’s not gonna be pretty. You gotta let it go. We can’t have a hangover effect.”
After the game at Oregon, Nebraska will not fly home. Instead, they’ll stay on the coast and travel to Seattle, where they’ll play struggling Washington (10-10, 1-8) on Wednesday night with a tip time of 9:30 p.m. central. The Huskies are on a losing streak themselves — six in a row. They’ll try to snap it at Minnesota on Saturday.
In a stunning upset, the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ defense stepped up big time to lead the team to a thrilling victory over the No.18 ranked Illinois Fighting Illini. After a lackluster start to the season, the Huskers’ defense came alive in this game, shutting down the Illini’s high-powered offense and forcing key turnovers to secure the win.
The Huskers’ defense came out firing on all cylinders, putting relentless pressure on Illinois’ quarterback and stifling their running game. The defensive line dominated the line of scrimmage, while the secondary came up with crucial interceptions to swing the momentum in Nebraska’s favor.
Leading the charge was standout linebacker, who wreaked havoc all game long, racking up tackles and disrupting Illinois’ offensive rhythm. The entire defense played with a sense of urgency and determination, flying to the ball and making plays when it mattered most.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Huskers were able to capitalize on the turnovers forced by the defense, putting points on the board and taking control of the game. Quarterback showed poise and composure, making key throws and managing the game effectively.
Overall, it was a complete team effort that led to this impressive win over a ranked opponent. The defense set the tone from the opening kickoff and the offense followed suit, executing when it mattered most. This victory is a testament to the resilience and determination of this Nebraska team, and it serves as a statement win that will surely turn heads across the college football landscape. Go Big Red!
Tags:
Nebraska football, Huskers, Illinois, college football, defense, win, No.18, game recap, Nebraska victory, Big Ten football, standout players, defensive performance
#Defense #wakes #leads #Huskers #win #No.18 #Illinois
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