Illinois basketball to take on Nebraska Cornhuskers: Gameday Preview

Number. 13 Illinois basketball will host No. 23 Nebraska on Saturday in a Big Ten Conference showdown. This matchup inside the State Farm Center should be a great one to close out both teams’ December conference slate.

Date: Saturday, December 13
Time: 3:00 p.m. CST
Channel: Peacock
Line: Illinois -8.5

Illinois basketball will look to bounce back from last year’s disappointing performance in Lincoln, when they fell to Nebraska in overtime, 80–74. The Illini trailed 40–31 at halftime and shot an abysmal 24% from beyond the arc in that game.

Nebraska failed to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament last season but finished the year on a four-game winning streak and won the “Crown” postseason tournament in Las Vegas.

The Cornhuskers head to Champaign holding the nation’s longest winning streak at 14 games, dating back to March 31 of last season. They are 10–0 this year and are coming off back-to-back blowout wins over Creighton and Wisconsin.

Nebraska is in prime position to make its second NCAA Tournament appearance in three years if this level of play continues. However, this matchup against Illinois will be their first major test, marking both their first Quad 1 game and their first true road game of the season.

Illinois has already challenged itself with five Quad 1 games, winning three of them. That early-season test should benefit the Illini both in this matchup and later in the year, but they will still need to come ready if they want to secure a third straight win and begin conference play 2–0.

Nebraska entered the season ranked No. 51 in KenPom and has already climbed to No. 27 nationally. They’ve been one of college basketball’s biggest surprises so far, but Illinois is still the stronger overall team and should be expected to win at home as an 8–9 point favorite.
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