Game Day Essentials: Game #16 vs Illinois

Illinois Info

Head Coach: John Groce

Location: Champaign-Urbana, IL

Conference: B1G 10

Nickname: Fighting Illini

Last time out: Beat Maryland

Typical Rotation Depth: 7-8 players

Opening Line: Pick'em

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

Fun Fact : Not really game related but if you missed the news Avery Harriman has been declared cancer free. We hope it stays that way.

Player to watch: Malcolm Hill

With Rayvonte Rice out of the lineup, Hill responded by pouring in 28 points against Maryland. The stocky 6'6" sophomore is a threat from outside and can get to the rim.

The Skinny

The Huskers have been treading water since the loss of Moses Abraham on the interior as the starting 5 have been playing max minutes while also trying to keep bigger teams out of the lane. Tired Nebraska players didn't have enough in the tank to finish against Indiana and Iowa. While getting out first conference win was big, it wasn't as nearly as huge as seeing Moses Abraham and Leslee Smith walk back onto the court. We're now looking at 20-30 minutes of rim protection and rest for our starters. Let's see if we can turn into the team everyone thought we would be.

Illinois is a 3 pt shooting team with a few competent big men. Expect a much better defensive game against a team like this than what we've done throughout most of this season. Both teams will make you work on defense so I don't expect this game to be high scoring...offensive rebounds and turnovers will be key in a game that should feature a lower number of possessions.

With the boost from returning players and the delayed flight of the Illini, I like the intangibles for the Huskers in what should be a close game

Prediction: Huskers 63 - Illinois 59 with a 35% of Runzas