Brice Williams scored 27 points, the most in the game, including Nebraska’s last eight points in overtime, as the Cornhuskers defeated No. 18 Illinois 80-74 on Thursday in Lincoln, Neb.
Williams broke a 72-72 tie with a pull-up jumper at 2:28, then added a layup at 1:44. He hit a baseline jumper with 43 seconds left and finished his key stretch by making both free throws with 26.2 seconds remaining.
Connor Essegian came off the bench to score 14 points for Nebraska (13-8, 3-7 Big Ten), which ended a six-game losing streak and beat Illinois for the first time in 10 games, dating back to 2019. Juwan Gary contributed 13 points and eight rebounds.
Kasparas Jakucionis had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Illinois (14-7, 6-5), while reserves Will Riley and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn added 16 and 15 points. However, the Illini struggled with shooting, hitting just 26 of 73 shots and 10 of 42 from 3-point range, despite a 58-42 edge in rebounding.
Illinois tied the game and forced overtime when Gibbs-Lawhorn made a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left. The Illini had a chance to win in regulation, but Riley’s corner 3-pointer under pressure rimmed out.
Both teams entered the game with different recent results. Illinois came off a strong win over Northwestern on Sunday, while Nebraska hadn’t won since a victory over then-No. 15 UCLA on Jan. 4.
In the first half, Nebraska looked like the team fighting for an NCAA tournament spot, while Illinois struggled with missed shots and errors. The Illini made just 9 of 32 field goals and committed six turnovers.
Nebraska led the entire half, building a lead as big as 10 points late before heading to halftime with a 40-31 advantage after Williams dunked off a pass from Ahron Ulis. Nebraska made 14 of 36 shots but had only one turnover.
