Basketball Big Ten MBB Scores and Standings (2/1)

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February 1
#9 Illinois 78, #5 Nebraska 69
#12 Purdue 93, Maryland 63
Penn State 77, Minnesota 75
Cockeye 84, Oregon 66

Standings
1. Illinois (19-3, 10-1)
1. Michigan (20-1, 10-1)
3. Nebraska (20-2, 9-2)
3. Michigan State (19-3, 9-2)
5. Purdue (18-4, 8-3)
5. Wisconsin (16-6, 8-3)
7. UCLA (15-7, 7-4)
8. Cockeye (16-5, 6-4)
9. Indiana (15-7, 6-5)
9. Ohio State (14-7, 6-5)
11. USC (16-6, 5-6)
12. Washington (12-10, 4-7)
13. Minnesota (10-12, 3-8)
14. Northwestern (10-12, 2-9)
14. Rutgers (9-13, 2-9)
16. Maryland (8-13, 1-9)
17. Oregon (8-14, 1-10)
17. Penn State (10-12, 1-10)

Games for Tuesday - February 3
Rutgers at UCLA (8:30 PM - BTN)
Indiana at USC (9:00 PM - Peacock)

Next Nebraska Game - Saturday, February 7
#5 Nebraska at Rutgers (11:00 AM - BTN)

 

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No. 5 Huskers Fall 78-69 to No. 9 Illinois
Huskers.com

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. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network and can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network.

 

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Postgame Notes

• Today marked the third top-10 matchup in Nebraska basketball history and the second this week. It also marked the first home top-10 matchup in school history.

• Illinois snaps Nebraska’s 12-game home win streak with today’s win.

• Freshman Braden Frager led Nebraska with 20 points, his fifth 20-point game of the season. He had missed NU’s last two games after spraining his ankle in the first half against Washington on Jan. 21.

• Frager’s 20-point game was his fifth off the bench, while his six 3-pointers was one shy of his season best in that category.

• Nebraska hit 15 3-pointers in the game, the fourth time this season the Huskers hit 15 or more 3-pointers in a game.

• Nebraska went 11-of-20 from beyond the arc in the first half. The 11 makes and 20 attempts in a half are each the most of their respective category by NU this season.

• The last time the Huskers made 11 3-pointers in a half was on March 15, 2024, against Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.

• Four Huskers shot in double-digits – Braden Frager (20), Pryce Sandfort (14), Sam Hoiberg (13) and Jamarques Lawrence (10).

• Sandfort had four 3-pointers today and now has 77 on the season to move past Keisei Tominaga (76, 2023-24) for ninth on NU’s single-season list.

• Hoiberg reached double figures for the sixth straight game and had six assists without a turnover. He now has a 5.88-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio on the season.

• Nebraska finished with 17 assists and just eight turnovers, the sixth time in the last seven games NU had 10 or fewer turnovers.

• Nebraska went on an 11-0 run in the first half, recording their 24th killshot in 22 games this season.

 

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	1st	2nd	TOTAL
Illinois	33	45	78
Nebraska	39	30	69

Illinois	STATS	Nebraska
24-54 (44.4%)	FG	25-59 (42.4%)
9-30 (30.0%)	3FG	15-35 (42.9%)
21-26 (80.8%)	FT	4-5 (80.0%)
40	Rebounds	27
10	Fouls	19
15	Assists	17
8	Turnovers	8
6	Blocks	2
3	Steals	5
28	Pts in Paint	18
9	Pts off Turnovers	11
10	2nd Chance Pts	8
3	Fast Break Pts	8
7	Bench Pts	24

SCORING

ILLINI
Keaton Wagler - 28
Jake Davis - 13
Tomislav Ivisic - 12
David Mirkovic - 10
Andrej Stojakovic - 8
Zvonimir Ivisic - 7
TOTAL - 78

HUSKERS
Braden Frager - 20
Pryce Sandfort - 14
Sam Hoiberg - 13
Jamarques Lawrence - 10
Rienk Mast - 5
Cale Jacobsen - 4
Berke Buyuktuncel - 3
TOTAL - 69