CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Four Illini scorers reached double figures as No. 14 Illinois came out on the winning end of a back-and-forth battle in front of a sold-out State Farm Center on Sunday evening, taking down Nebraska in overtime, 87-84.
The Fighting Illini trailed by as many as seven in the first half and tied the game late in regulation to force overtime, outscoring the Cornhuskers, 14-11, in the extra period of play to pull out the victory.
Coleman Hawkins registered a team-high 20 points, his third 20-point performance of the season. Knocking down four 3-pointers, his most in conference play this season, Hawkins scored 11 points across the final 25 minutes of play. He also totaled seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Terrence Shannon Jr. forced a crucial steal with seven seconds to play in overtime while finishing with 18 points, his 26th consecutive game in double figures. Shannon made three 3-pointers, and he also amassed two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Marcus Domask scored 10 of his 19 points in the first half, though his free throw with three seconds remaining in regulation sent the contest to overtime. Domask, who has now hit double figures in 13 games in a row, tallied two of his three rebounds on the offensive glass. He also tacked on five assists and one block.
Ty Rodgers secured a team-high 14 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, to notch back-to-back games with double-digit boards. Rodgers also scored eight points while also recording a season-high three steals in addition to three assists and two blocks, the latter of which tied the best mark of his career.
Quincy Guerrier poured in four of his 12 points in overtime, and he also grabbed seven rebounds and made one block. Dain Dainja was efficient in his nine minutes of action, accumulating six points and three rebounds during that time.
The Fighting Illini outrebounded the Cornhuskers, 50-33, including 17-5 on the offensive glass. The Orange and Blue capitalized on their second-chance opportunities, recording 12 points off those offensive rebounds. Dominating the lane, the hosts won the battle in the paint, 40-26.
Domask registered the first points of the evening, and a Guerrier block just over one minute later set the tone early on the defensive end of the floor. After Nebraska took a 7-4 advantage, the Illini responded with a Shannon triple, the team's first connection of the day from 3-point range.
The Cornhuskers briefly held a four-point edge, but a 5-0 Illini run put the hosts back in front. Hawkins accounted for all five points during that stretch, knocking down a 3-pointer before grabbing a steal and finishing with a fast-break flush. The five-point swing put Illinois in front, 12-11, in a high-scoring, back-and-forth opening six minutes.
Nebraska had an answer to every Illini basket, and the visitors took a seven-point lead with seven minutes to play in the first half. Illinois then used an 8-2 run, which included five points from Shannon, to reduce their deficit to one.
With the away side's advantage back up to six points with just under four minutes left in the opening period of play, the Illini closed the first half on a 7-3 run. Domask accounted for four points during that stretch, including an and-1 layup that brought him into double figures.
The Illini went into the break facing a 36-34 deficit. Domask led the way with 10 points, while the team's five starters were credited for all 34 points through the opening 20 minutes. Illinois held the advantage on the glass, recording seven second-chance points on five offensive boards prior to the intermission.
Early in the second half, Illinois took its first lead in over 13 minutes of game time. Starting the frame by scoring on their first six trips down the floor, the Illini used a 13-4 over the first 3:34 of the period to turn a two-point deficit into a seven-point lead. Guerrier and Rodgers each scored four points during that swing. Hawkins' second 3-pointer of the game brought him into double figures, capped off the momentum-altering sequence, and forced a Cornhuskers timeout.
Nebraska cut its deficit to two points before Hawkins rattled in his third trey to bring the Illini edge back to five points. The Cornhuskers countered every basket the Orange and Blue made, though back-to-back buckets for Dainja helped the Illini take a 57-53 advantage with just under 11 minutes remaining.
After the Cornhuskers halved their deficit, two free throws from Justin Harmon doubled their lead before a Shannon steal and Dainja jumper pushed Illinois' advantage to six points at the midway mark in the second half. The Orange and Blue went nearly four minutes without another field goal, but Nebraska could not take advantage. Domask then ended that scoring drought with a fading jumper to bring the Illini's back up to six points with six minutes left.
Illinois' next nine points came from behind the arc, with Shannon connecting twice and Hawkins hitting nothing but net to give the Illini a 72-62 lead, their largest of the game, with just under three-and-a-half minutes to go.
Nebraska did not go away quietly, though. The Cornhuskers came all the way back and took a one-point lead with nine seconds to play before Domask went to the free-throw line with the Illini facing a one-point deficit with three seconds remaining. Splitting the pair of free throws, the sides went into overtime knotted at 73.
The Cornhuskers briefly took a 75-74 lead, but a Domask jumper put the hosts ahead 12 seconds later. After getting a stop, the Illini extended their advantage via Guerrier, who buried his first triple of the evening to move into double figures. The Illini's 5-0 run moved the team's lead to 79-75 with 3:40 remaining in the overtime period.
A Nebraska 3-pointer cut the Orange and Blue's deficit to one before Shannon got his shot to fall to move Illinois' advantage back to three points. The Cornhuskers responded to move their deficit back to one point before two free throws from Hawkins pushed the hosts' edge back to three with 90 seconds to play.
The teams traded free throws over the next 11 seconds, with both sides knocking down four attempts from the charity stripe as the Illini held an 87-84 advantage with 16 seconds left. With the Cornhuskers looking to tie the game, Shannon secured a steal with seven seconds to play, which ultimately thwarted a Cornhusker comeback effort in overtime.
Now in the back half of its Big Ten schedule, No. 14 Illinois (17-5, 8-3 B1G) returns to action on Saturday afternoon, when the Illini travel to take on Michigan State. Tipoff from the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich., is set for 1 p.m. CT on CBS.
HIGHLIGHTS
PRESS CONFERENCE
POSTGAME NOTES
PLAYER NOTES
- Coleman Hawkins scored a team-high 20 points and added seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.
- Collected his third 20-point game of the season.
- Went 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, his 10th game of the season with multiple makes from deep.
- Second time this season with at least four 3-pointers.
- Has recorded at least two steals in five of his last six games.
- Has multiple steals in 11 contests this season.
- Marcus Domask scored 19 points and had three rebounds and five assists.
- Has scored in double figures in 13-straight games.
- Had at least five assists for the third time in the last five games.
- Has eight such games this season.
- Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 18 points with two assists.
- Has scored in double figures in all 16 games this season.
- Has reached double-figures scoring in 26-straight contests dating back to Jan. 31, 2023.
- Knocked down at least three 3-pointers in consecutive games.
- Third time this season doing so.
- Quincy Guerrier scored 12 points and added seven rebounds.
- Ty Rodgers scored eight points and secured a game-high 14 rebounds.
- Grabbed double-digit rebounds in consecutive games for the first time in his career.
- Recorded a season-high three steals.
- Third time this season with multiple steals.
- Blocked two shots.
- First game this season that Rodgers has recorded multiple blocks and steals in the same game.
- Luke Goode came off of the bench to secure eight rebounds.
- Three of his eight rebounds came on the offensive glass.
- Grabbed multiple offensive rebounds for the ninth time this season
- Dain Dainja came off the bench to score six points and add three rebounds.
- Went 3-for-4 from the floor.
TEAM NOTES
- Tonight's attendance was 15,544, the seventh sellout crowd of the season.
- The Illini are 12-2 at State Farm Center this season.
- Illinois leads the Big Ten with a 63-28 (.692) mark in league play since the start of the 2019-20 season.
- The Illini now hold a 15-6 series lead since the Huskers joined the Big Ten in 2011-12.
- Illinois has now won eight-straight over Nebraska, a streak that began on Feb. 2, 2019.
- Brad Underwood improves to 9-2 in his career against Nebraska.
- Illinois out-rebounded Nebraska 50-33 in the contest and held a 17-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
- The Illini recorded their eighth 50-rebound game of the season.
- The Illini have won the rebounding battle in six-straight games and in 17 of 22 overall.
- The Orange and Blue have secured at least 11 offensive boards in seven-straight games.
- The Illini converted their 17 o-boards into 12 second-chance points.
- Illinois has outscored its opponents in that category in eight-straight games and in 19 of 22 games this season.
- Illinois +17 rebounding margin on the night is a season-best mark against a Big Ten opponent.
- Four Illini had at least seven rebounds in the contest.
- Illinois knocked down nine 3-pointers vs. the Huskers, the team's 17th consecutive game with at least six triples; the streak ranks as the third-longest active streak in the nation among Power Conference teams.
- Illinois hit 20 free throws vs. the Huskers, the team's 15th straight game with at least 15 makes from the stripe, a streak that ranks first nationally.
- Started the second half on an 13-4 run.
- Part of an extended 18-4 run that began with 2:24 remaining in the first half.
- Illinois outscored Nebraska 40-26 in the paint.
