No. 23 Nebrasketball Upends No. 13 Illinois in Champaign

Nebrasketball is still undefeated.

The No. 23 Huskers needed timely shots in the final minute, including a Jamarques Lawrence three-pointer with 0.2 seconds left, to upend No. 13 Illinois 83-80 on Saturday afternoon in Champaign. Nebraska improves to 11-0 on the year and 2-0 in the Big Ten Conference, while Illinois drops to 8-3 overall and 1-1 in the league.

"This is a great win for our program, to come into one of the best environments in the league, one of the best crowds that we're going to face in the country," Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg told the Peacock studio after the game. "Just the way that we're handling adversity right now, we did it a couple of times in our tournament in Kansas City.

"Found a way to get a huge road win. These are hard to come by in this league."

Illinois Fighting Illini forward David Mirkovic guards Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Rienk Mast. | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Nebraska's 11-0 start is the first in program history, surpassing the 10-0 start by the 1977-78 team. The winning streak is now up to 15, going back to the 4-0 run through the College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas to end last season.

The story of the first half revolves around Pryce Sandfort. The Nebraska forward erupted for 26 points, making 10-of-13 shots and 6-of-8 three-pointers. He had the first 15 points for the Huskers, who built a 14-point lead.

But the Illini did not go away.

With Sandfort on the bench with a pair of fouls, and other Huskers facing foul trouble, Illinois closed the half on a 13-0 run. That included a trio of three-pointers and four made three throws.

Despite the effort from Sandfort, everything was even at the break.

Illinois Fighting Illini guard Andrej Stojakovic drives the ball around Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Pryce Sandfort. | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

The story of the second half revolves around Jamarques Lawrence. The Nebraska guard scored eight of the first 10 points for the Huskers. This helped the Big Red put together another double-digit lead.

But, again, the Illini refused to go away.

Multiple runs by Illinois closed the gap closer and closer. With 1:40 to go, a pair of free throws brought the Illini within two points.

Nebraska forward Jared Garcia made two free throws, just for Illinois forward Ben Humrichous to answer with a three-pointer. Sam Hoiberg dribbled down the shot clock and got a clean look in the paint, but missed, just for Garcia to get a tip-in. Again, though, Illinois answered with a three-pointer to tie the game.

On the final possession, Hoiberg again dribbled the clock down. He got into the paint and found an open Lawrence on the wing, who jab-stepped right before moving left and hitting the three-pointer with just 0.2 left on the clock to win the game.

"That play was originally for Pryce," Lawrence told the Peacock crew after the game. "The play broke off. Shoutout to Sam. He got downhill, touched paint, and he found me. As soon as I touched the ball, I knew I was shooting it."

ALL THE FEELS. pic.twitter.com/2ZKCsk7TgL
— Nebraska Men's Basketball (@HuskerMBB) December 13, 2025

Sandfort finished with a game-high 32 points. Lawrence added 14 points, tying Hoiberg for the team high with six assists. Mast scored 17 points, with 12 of those coming in the second half, while grabbing a team-high seven rebounds.

Nebraska shot 51.6% for the game, including 12-of-26 three-pointers. Illinois made 48.3% of its shots, making 10-of-29 from deep.

At the free throw line, the Illini held a distinct advantage. With Nebraska getting called for 21 fouls to nine for Illinois, that helped the home team get to the line more. Illinois made 14-of-20 at the stripe, outpacing Nebraska's 7-of-8 effort.

"I was really proud of how our guys got out of the gate," Fred Hoiberg told the Peacock crew after the game. "We knew Illinois would make a run. The way they did it was with their physicality and on the offensive glass."

Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Sam Hoiberg drives the ball to the basket during the second half. | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

On the offensive glass, Illinois pulled down 13, which led to 19 second-chance points. Nebraska had just nine second-chance points on eight offensive rebounds, including Garcia's in the final minute.

Nebraska gets an eight-day break before returning to action to close out the nonconference slate. The Huskers host North Dakota on Dec. 21 and New Hampshire on Dec. 30.

Box score

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Nebraska Athletics Postgame Notes

Nebraska improved to 11-0 on the season, marking the program’s best start in school history. The 2025-26 team was tied with the 1977-78 team for the best start in school history.
Nebraska won its 15th straight game, breaking the school record of 14 set two other times (1990-91 season and a 14-game span from Jan. 17, 1912, and Jan. 25, 1913.
The 15-game win streak is the longest active streak in the nation
Nebraska’s win in Champaign is the program’s first since a 78-67 win over the Illini on Jan. 16, 2016, and NU’s second Big Ten win in Champaign since joining the Big Ten in 2011-12. Nebraska improved to 3-14 all-time in Champaign, with the other wins coming in 1921 and 2016.
It marks Nebraska’s first 2-0 start in Big Ten play since 2016-17.
Today’s win, combined with last year’s OT win in Lincoln, marks the first time in school history that NU has consecutive wins over the Illini,
Nebraska improves to 10-11 in its last 21 games against ranked teams dating back to March 1, 2022.
Pryce Sandfort’s 32 points is a career high, topping his previous best of 28 vs. Oklahoma on Nov. 15.
Sandfort’s 32-point effort is a season high by any Husker (31 by Rienk Mast vs. Winthrop on Nov. 25)
Pryce Sandfort’s 26-point first half was two off the school record for points in a half (28, Teddy Allen vs. Penn State, 2021)
Nebraska had its 14th double-figure run of the season with a 11-0 run in the first half, all by Sandfort. This marked the second time this season that Sandfort had a double-digit run by himself (vs. KSU)
It was Sandfort’s fifth 20-point game of the season and sixth of his career
Sandfort six 3-pointers (3rd time of career, one at Iowa, one vs. FIU
Jared Garcia had 10 points off the bench, all in the second half

Nebraska Men's Basketball 2025-26 Schedule

Oct. 18 Nebraska 90, BYU 89
Oct. 27 Nebraska 91, Midland 50
Nov. 3 Nebraska 86, West Georgia 53
Nov. 8 Nebraska 96, Florida International 66
Nov. 11 Nebarska 69, Maryland-Eastern Shore 50
Nov. 15 Nebraska 105, Oklahoma 99 (Sanford Pentagon)
Nov. 20 Nebraska 84, New Mexico 72 (Hall of Fame Classic)
Nov. 21 Nebraska 86, Kansas State 85 (Hall of Fame Classic)
Nov. 25 Nebraska 80, Winthrop 73
Nov. 29 Nebraska 72, South Carolina Upstate 63
Dec. 7 Nebraska 71, Creighton 50
Dec. 10 Nebraska 90, Wisconsin 60
Dec. 13 Nebraska 83, Illinois 80
Dec. 21 North Dakota 7 p.m. BTN
Dec. 30 New Hampshire 8 p.m. BTN
Jan. 2 Michigan State 8 p.m. Peacock
Jan. 5 Ohio State 5:30 p.m. FS1
Jan. 10 Indiana 11 a.m. BTN
Jan. 13 Oregon 8 p.m. BTN
Jan. 17 Northwestern 3 p.m. BTN
Jan. 21 Washington 8 p.m. BTN
Jan. 24 Minnesota 11 a.m. FS1
Jan. 27 Michigan 6 p.m. Peacock
Feb. 1 Illinois 3 p.m. FS1
Feb. 7 Rutgers 11 a.m. BTN
Feb. 10 Purdue 6 p.m. FS1
Feb. 14 Northwestern Noon BTN
Feb. 17 Iowa 8 p.m. BTN
Feb. 21 Penn State 1 p.m. BTN
Feb. 25 Maryland 6 p.m. BTN
Feb. 28 USC 3 p.m. BTN
March 3 UCLA 10 p.m. FS1
March 8 Iowa 4 p.m. FOX
March 10-15 Big Ten Tournament in Chicago

Home games are bolded. All times central.

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