Nebraska Men’s Basketball Makes B1G Statement With Win at Illinois

Nebraska’s undefeated record was one thing. Winning at No. 13 Illinois was something else entirely.

Had the Huskers gone into Champaign on Saturday afternoon and slugged it out with the Illini, a negative result might have been grudgingly accepted by Nebraska fans.

Illinois has been that good for a long time.

But 23rd-ranked Nebraska, now 11-0 and 2-0 in the Big Ten, took it to the Illini, winning 83-80. Nebraska won in dramatic fashion on a pure three-pointer with less than a second to play by Jamarques Lawrence. Illinois is 8-3, 1-1.

“Internally, it feels amazing,” Lawrence said to the media after the game about the Huskers’ record-breaking start to the season. “I’m not going to say that. We’re just off to a very great start. We knew the world was against us this game. Just shoutout to the guys. We understood the assignment.”

The Huskers beating Illinois was one thing. Making the Big Ten take notice was something else entirely.

Because Nebraska winning at Illinois knocked the Big Ten off its axis. From Seattle to Eugene to College Park and B1G sites in between, Big Ten basketball programs have to take notice. The Huskers, who have been to one NCAA Tournament since 2014 and have never won an NCAA game in eight tries, looked like a legitimate March Madness team and — dare it be said? — looked like a team that could make some serious noise in the Big Ten.

Game to gauge the Huskers

For Nebraska, going to Illinois was a benchmark game. It was a game for self-assessment and for the Huskers to see how they compared with a top-tier Big Ten program.

Year in and year out, the Illini are one of the best in the conference and the nation. Illinois has been to the NCAA Tournament the past five years. Since the 1999-2000 season, Illinois has been to the NCAA Tournament 16 times.

The Huskers beating Illinois anywhere, anyhow, would have been impressive. Going into Champaign and winning? Well, it just hasn’t happened much.

Saturday’s victory was Nebraska’s first at Illinois since 2016, and only its second win there since the Huskers joined the Big Ten in 2011-12. Nebraska now is 3-14 all-time at Illinois.

Winning on the road

Even more impressive for Nebraska: This was the Huskers’ first true road game this season. And to grab such a win should matter immediately and in March, too.

“I was very worried about that coming into this game,” Lawrence, a senior, said about Nebraska playing on the road. “How can we handle adversity? I’m speechless with that.”

Nebraska has used a balanced, attacking offense along with tenacious defense to fashion its undefeated record. But until the Huskers defeated a great team, there would be doubts about how good a club Nebraska really had.

Nebraska always looked comfortable — even surviving an Illinois 13-0 run in the first half. Nebraska looked like a legitimate Big Ten unit playing one of its peers.

Road games in the Big Ten sometimes resemble hand-to-hand combat. Saturday’s game was no exception. Down the stretch, the Huskers didn’t flinch. They played hard and with confidence.

The Huskers had four players in double figures — Pryce Sandfort (32), Rienk Mast (17), Lawrence (14) and Jared Garcia (10). All of Garcia’s points were in the second half and all were clutch.

ESPN Research reported that Nebraska’s win was its first in a ranked matchup since March 9, 1991.

“Getting a win like this should just spark all of our minds,” Lawrence said.

“I hope we can take this mentality, just take it to practice. We can still be better in practice as well as leading up to games. But, yeah, taking that mentality each game.”

Nebraska guard Jamarques Lawrence reacts to a call during the first half against Illinois. | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi told Huskermax.com the other day that Nebraska was likely a 6-seed in his next NCAA Tournament projections. That was before the Illinois game.

Lunardi also said a Big Ten team with a 12-8 conference record was going to the Big Dance.

What next for Huskers?

For the Huskers to win a road game like this, that’s an early sign of maybe something special brewing for coach Fred Hoiberg’s team. But the Big Ten is relentless and over the next two-plus months — and 18 more conference games — the Huskers will have an opportunity to show what kind of team they are.

Two of the nation’s best teams — Michigan and Purdue — are in the Big Ten. And there are plenty of other quality B1G teams, each capable of winning on any night. But for now, Nebraska has everyone’s attention, from coast-to-coast.

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