Game Day Essentials: Game #23 vs Illinois

[hhcmatt]

Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-10) vs Illinois Fighting Illini (14-10)

Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena

Date: Wednesday, Feb 12, 2014

Time: 8 pm, CST

TV: BTN

Radio: Across the state on the IMG Husker Sports Radio Network, including KLIN (1400 AM/94.5 FM) in Lincoln, KFAB (1110 AM) in Omaha and KRVN (880 AM) in Lexington.

Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka; Color: Matt Davison

Kent Pavelka Tailgate Pump up MixIllinois Info

Head Coach: John Groce

Location: Champaign-Urbana, IL

Conference: B1G 10

Nickname: Fighting Illini

Last time out: Beat Penn St.

Typical Rotation Depth: 9-10 players

Line: Huskers by 4

Shirt not to wear: Orange, Bright orange, neon orange, puke orange

Fun Fact :

Possible Starters

Huskers

0 Tai Webster 6-4 194 Fr

15 Ray Gallegos 6-2 182 Sr

5 Terran Petteway 6-6 209 So

31 Shavon Shields 6-7 219 So

35 Walter Pitchford 6-10 234 So

Fighting Illini

13 Tracy Abrams 6-2 190 Jr

25 Kendrick Nunn 6-3 180 Fr

24 Rayvonte Rice 6-4 235 Jr

21 Malcolm Hill 6-6 210 Fr

32 Nnanna Egwu 6-11 250 Jr

The Skinny

In early January, Illinois was a top 25 team. They proceeded to lose 8 straight conference games and have crashed into the basement, the projected preseason home of Nebrasketball. John Groce changed up his lineup, adding freshmen Nunn and Hill which resulted in a 5 point win on the road at Penn St. Nunn and Hill bring shooting to the table, something that the Illini have struggled with in the conference. A poor shooting team that struggles to make it to the free throw lane? That's how you lose 8 in a row.

The Penn St game footage should give the Huskers all the scouting they need on Nunn and Hill's mid-range games. The Illini have a worse assist ratio than the Huskers and don't have a group of dominating inside players. On paper it's a good matchup for the Huskers.

The biggest shift you'll see in the Husker's offensive game plan depends on whether 6-11 shot blocking Nnanna Egwu is in the game. His early game matchup with Pitchford very well might dictate the entire pace of the game. In the end, look for Huskers to have a decent home shooting night and win this thing at the free throw line.

Prediction: Huskers 64 - Illinois 58 with a 38% chance of Runzas

Click here to view the article

[lanigan123]

Nebraska averages about 70 a game at home, I think they get there tonight.

[hhcmatt]

Nebraska averages about 70 a game at home, I think they get there tonight.

 

The higher the overall score, the better our chances of winning

[Norm Peterson]

Hmmm.  I see Walter working at taking his man off the dribble.

[HoiBall]

Would love to see Pitch turn into an Adrien Payne type play, maybe with a little less back to the basket. If he can learn to take someone off the bounce his athleticism will be an unbelievable gift to finishing in the lane

[49r]

Illinois vs. Nebraska Preview: Terran Petteway the Baller, Shot Caller

 

http://www.thechampaignroom.com/2014/2/12/5404760/illinois-vs-nebraska-preview-terran-petteway-the-baller-shot-caller

 

"Terran Petteway, a 6-foot-6 redshirt sophomore, is a Miles guy through and through. John Groce said in his preview teleconference that Petteway seems like a player that would be fun to coach and even likened him in some ways to Rayvonte Rice. Most of that comparison probably stems from Petteway's muscle-bound frame and "gettin' buckets" attitude.

 

Petteway scores 17.5 points a game and converts at all three levels of the offensive end: he shoots 37 percent from 3-point range, has a solid midrange game and plays bigger than his size around the basket. He'll chip away at you all game, but I'm not scared of him until the final minutes of a close game. All that swagger he exudes for the first 36 minutes solidifies into major stones down the stretch. He launched a deep 3-pointer against Northwestern on Saturday that extended the Husker lead to two possessions with 20 or seconds to go, essentially sealing the win for Nebraska. There was no doubt in his mind when he let it fly."

[hhcmatt]

Hmmm.  I see Walter working at taking his man off the dribble.

 

Hopefully that guy is Egwu and he's guarding him on the 3pt line.

Walt might not have the inside game but he's sort of a matchup nightmare right now unless you have a big man who plays away from the basket.

[lanigan123]

I think that is why we will see some zone D tonight. Lack if establishing the post. Indiana did it perfectly.

[PimpMario]

We need this game.  Lets not get cocky because of our opponent.

 

The team is going to need us so lets give them a reason to play hard.