Constellations
No. 6 Illinois (13-5, 9-3 Big Ten)
StarterP name year. Ht. PPG hometown
G Trent Frazier Sr. 6-2 10.1 Wellington, Fla.
G Adam Miller Fr. 6-3 8.6 Peoria
G Ayo Dosunmu Jr. 6-5 21.2 Chicago
F Jacob Grandison R-Jr. 6-6 3.6 Oakland, CA
C Kofi Cockburn Sun. 7-0 17.2 Kingston, Jamaica
For your information, five players across the country are shooting a higher percentage than Cockburn’s 67 percent. Asbjorn Mitgaard from the Grand Canyon is at the top with 74.4 percent, followed by Dwight Wilson (69.3 percent) from Ohio, Max Fiedler from Rice (69.2 percent), Hunter Dickinson from Michigan (68.8 percent) and Eliel Nsoseme from Georgia (67.5 percent).
From the BankP name Yr. Ht. PPG hometown
G Andre Curbelo Fr. 6-1 8.3 Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
F Giorgi Bezhanishvili Jr. 6-9 5.8 Rustavi, Georgia
G Da’Monte Williams Sr. 6-3 5.5 Peoria
Nebraska (4-11, 0-8)
Appetizers
P name year. Ht. PPG hometown
G Trey McGowens Jr. 6-4 10.8 Pendleton, SC
G Teddy Allen Jr. 6-6 16.9 Mesa, Ariz.
G Dalano Banton Sun. 6-9 11.5 Toronto
F Derrick Walker Jr. 6-8 4.8 Kansas City, Mo.
F Lat Mayen Jr. 6-9 8.5 Adelaide, Australia
For your information, all five starters from Nebraska began their college careers in another Department I program before moving to the Cornhuskers. To accomplish this, McGowens started out in Pittsburgh, Allen in West Virginia (via Western Nebraska CC), Banton in Western Kentucky, Walker in Tennessee, and Mayen at TCU (via Chipola College).
From the bank
P name year. Ht. PPG hometown
G Kobe Webster Sr. 6-0 7.1 Indianapolis
G Thorir Thorbjarnarson Sr. 6-6 3.1 Reykjavik, Iceland
C Yvan Ouedraogo Sun. 6-9 4.4 Bordeaux, France
details
Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena; Lincoln, Neb.
Radio: Brian Barnhart (Play-by-Play) and Former Illinois Doug Altenberger (Analysis) will receive the call on Illinois Sports Network at WDWS 1400-AM, WHMS 97.5-FM, WDAN-1490-AM, WDNL 102.1-FM and WPXN 104.9-FM.
TV: Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Shon Morris (analysis) will be calling BTN.
Series: Illinois leads 16-8.
Last meeting: Illinois won 71-59 on February 24, 2020.
For your information: The Illinois lost their last two games in Lincoln, Neb., Both coming in calendar year 2018. It was a 15-point loss on December 2, 2018 and a 1-point loss a season earlier on December 15, 2018 January 2018. Former Nebraska security guard James Palmer scored 47 points in those two victories for the Cornhuskers. Illinois’s last victory in Nebraska was on January 26, 2017. Malcolm Hills 19 points sparked a 73-57 Illinois win.
Beat the storylines of writer Scott Richey
Slightly longer break after schedule changes
Illinois should have played this week. Would have done if the Thursday night showdown in Michigan # 3 hadn’t been postponed by the Wolverines as part of their “return to the game” after a two-week COVID-19 hiatus. (Something Michigan’s women’s basketball, who played Thursday and won 62-49 at Purdue, wasn’t so worried about). The Alici found out at half time last Saturday against Wisconsin that they were not going to Ann Arbor, Mich. “I think we figured out everyone is regardless of … whatever,” said Brad Underwood, Illinois coach. “Somehow alone and how they deal with it. We have seen this across the country. I wasn’t involved. I move everything to the league office and only show up when they tell us to show up and play who we play when we should play them. “
Chance for Illinois to get additional practice time
Despite the Michigan postponement, Underwood was pretty sure the Big Ten would bring his team a game. And they did. A hastily reworked training schedule followed – not too unusual during a season amid a pandemic. “I think we’re used to it now with COVID,” said Adam Miller, a newcomer to Illinois. “COVID is kind of a junkie and messes everything up. When that happens, we only have days to ourselves to work on our own things. It’s not really scout-based. We just go back to basics and work on what made us great. We also take advantage of the days we’re not playing and find a way to improve that and still keep improving. “
Bombs gone? Three can fly on Friday
Nebraska has one of the largest teams in the country. In fact, the Cornhuskers are among the 25 largest teams nationally, with only Maryland and Purdue being larger in the Big Ten. That doesn’t mean Nebraska has a couple of 7-foot boats. Actually zero. The size is in a collection of large guards and wings, and Nebraska uses that size and length, plus a mix of man and zone defense, to negate the aftermath. “In the last two games, their opponents have won a lot of three-pointers against them trying to negate some of the inner play of these teams,” said Underwood. Minnesota scored 36 three-points in its win over Nebraska, while Wisconsin placed 32 in its win. “We have to be smart. We cannot fall into the trap of shooting threesomes in the street and still doing what we do. “Illinois is trying to get close to 19 three-points per game this season, with a high of 31 in the season opener against North Carolina A&T. The Illinois have only tried 20 three-points six times in 18 games.
forecast
No. 6 Illinois 84, Nebraska 69
Nebraska hasn’t won a Big Ten game in over a year, from 2-2 in last season’s conference game on January 6, 2020 to 2:18 at the end of the season. Eight more Big Ten losses, divided by a nearly a month long COVID-19 hiatus, have followed. That loss is unlikely to end in the 24-game conference against Illinois. Not when Ayo Dosunmu has finished his best game of his career and looks like a surefire All-American. Not with Kofi Cockburn, who destroys teams in Big Ten. It is not one of the aims of the Illinois to be relocated in Cornhusker State. (NG prediction record – 13-5).
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