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Illinois Hosts Nebraska Tonight

For No. 5 Illinois, Tuesday's 81-72 loss at Michigan State lent itself to introspection.

 

While the brooding didn't last long, it was introspection just the same.

 

Illinois (16-6, 12-4 Big Ten) aims to rebound from a defeat that snapped its seven-game winning streak when struggling Nebraska visits Champaign on Thursday night.

 

While the Cornhuskers (5-16, 1-13 Big Ten) managed to end their 25-game conference losing streak this month - 26 if you count a conference tournament loss to Indiana - they have lost four league games in a row. The latest was an 86-83 setback to visiting Penn State on Tuesday.

 

Teddy Allen enjoyed a monster night against the Nittany Lions, contributing a career-high 41 points to go with eight rebounds and six assists. Allen finished 16-for-24 from the floor amid the second-highest individual scoring output in Cornhuskers' program history.

 

Illinois coach Brad Underwood called the game "one of those nights" for which his team was due.

While Illinois hasn't won at Michigan State since 2015, the Fighting Illini remain far more adept on their own home floor. Illinois is 10-2 at State Farm Center this season entering its home finale, winning four straight since falling 87-81 to then-No. 21 Ohio State on Jan. 16.

 

Underwood and players stressed that the challenge they received from Michigan State can bolster Illinois for the stretch run.

 

Nebraska shot 53.6 percent from the floor against Penn State while drilling 12 3-pointers, its second-highest total of the season. However, the Nittany Lions still prevailed.

 

Despite leading the then-No. 6 Fighting Illini by five points with less than four minutes left in regulation on Feb. 12, the Cornhuskers were unable to close the game out. Illinois posted a 77-72 win in overtime.

 

Dosunmu scored 22 of his 31 points in the second half, while Lat Mayen paced Nebraska with 16 points.

 

Illinois boasts a three-game winning streak against Nebraska and leads the all-time series 17-8. The Fighting Illini have won 12 of the 14 meetings in Champaign.

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