Search

Game 27 preview: Nebraska at Illinois, 7 pm, Monday | Mens-basketball - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette

Lineups

Illinois (17-9, 9-6 Big Ten)

Starters

P Name Yr. Ht. PPG

G Trent Frazier Jr. 6-2 9.4

G Andres Feliz Sr. 6-2 11.0

G Ayo Dosunmu So. 6-5 16.2

G Da’Monte Williams Jr. 6-3 2.3

C Kofi Cockburn Fr. 7-0 13.6

FYI: Feliz is averaging 13.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and four assists in 10 games as a starter this season, including Illinois’ last two. His production is noticeably better when he’s on the floor for opening tip compared to coming off the bench (9.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg and 2.1 apg), and the difference isn’t solely in him averaging just shy of six more minutes per game as a starter.

Off the bench

F Giorgi Bezhanishvili So. 6-9 7.5

G Alan Griffin So. 6-5 8.6

F Kipper Nichols R-Sr. 6-6 3.6

Nebraska (7-19, 2-13 Big Ten)

Starters

P Name Yr. Ht. PPG

G Cam Mack R-So. 6-2 12.0

G Jervay Green Jr. 6-3 8.0

G Haanif Cheatham Gr. 6-5 12.5

G Thorir Thorbjarnarson Jr. 6-6 8.8

F Yvan Ouedraogo Fr. 6-9 5.6

FYI: Thorbjarnarson is the only Nebraska starter that played for the Cornhuskers last season and is one of just two holdovers (Dachon Burke Jr. the other) that were on the 2018-19 roster. Thorbjarnarson played in 36 games and made seven starts in two seasons for former coach Tim Miles.

Off the bench

G Dachon Burke Jr. R-Jr. 6-4 11.8

F Kevin Cross Fr. 6-8 7.1

G Charlie Easley Fr. 6-2 2.0

Details

Site: State Farm Center (15,544), Champaign.

Radio: Brian Barnhart (play-by-play) and former Illini Doug Altenberger (analysis) will have the call on the Illini Sports Network on WDWS 1400-AM, WHMS 97.5-FM, WDAN 1490-AM, WDNL 102.1 FM and WPXN 104.9-FM.

TV: Dave Revsine (play-by-play) and former Illini Stephen Bardo (analysis) will have the call on BTN.

Series history: Illinois leads 15-8.

Last meeting: Illinois won 71-64 on Feb. 2, 2019, in Champaign.

FYI: The Illini have lost just twice in Champaign against Nebraska in 13 games in the series. The first was also the first-ever game between the two teams — a 30-25 Cornhuskers’ victory on Jan. 1, 1921, which Illinois redeemed just two days later with a 26-24 victory. Nebraska’s modern era victory in Champaign on Jan. 16, 2016, came with Andrew White III putting up 21 points, 13 rebounds and three assists.

Scott Richey’s storylines

Shooters shoot

Trent Frazier strung together five straight games of double-digit scoring between Jan. 18 and Feb. 2 and shot 42 percent overall and 48 percent from three-point range. Since? The Illinois junior guard is in a bit of a shooting slump, connecting on just 19 percent of his shots overall and 12 percent of his threes. Frazier, though, isn’t concerned. “I put up 1,000 balls a day,” he said. “I love the shots I’m getting. I’ve just got to man up and make them. There’s nothing else I can do to help the ball go in. The only thing I’m going to do is continue to get better and continue to shoot 1,000 balls a day.” Illinois coach Brad Underwood believes he still has a good shooting team, Frazier included. “I’m miffed every time Trent has a bad shooting night because we see those days in practice very, very common that he doesn’t miss,” Underwood said.

Playing time roller coaster

Illinois sophomore guard Tevian Jones played a season-high 20 minutes — and just three minutes off matching his career-high — in the Illini’s loss at Rutgers. Fellow sophomore Ayo Dosunmu back in the lineup Tuesday at Penn State coincided with Jones receiving his sixth non-suspension DNP of the season against the Nittany Lions. “It’s earned,” Underwood said of playing time. “I don’t care who you are. You’ve got to earn the right to be on the court, and there’s a lot that goes into that. He keeps working his tail off, and that’s growing.”

Enjoying the moment

Underwood has leaned into a “next game on the schedule” mentality. His players have followed his lead, not getting too caught up in their winning streak in January or starting February with four straight losses. Still, there were plenty of good feelings after snapping the latter Tuesday at Penn State. Freshman center Kofi Cockburn described the Illini locker room after the win as “ecstatic” and said that feeling would linger. “They’ve proven how good they are,” Cockburn said of the Nittany Lions. “We can’t forget we just beat No. 9 in the country at their home. That’s really good.”

Prediction: Illinois 79, Nebraska 66

Nebraska saw its losing streak extend to a Big Ten worst 11 straight games after Thursday’s home loss to Michigan State. The Illini are out to make it an even dozen. (N-G prediction record: 18-8)

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://www.news-gazette.com/sports/illini-sports/mens-basketball/game-preview-nebraska-at-illinois-p-m-monday/article_3562e9fa-77f2-5fc4-bdef-37e319ce6b43.html

2020-02-24 13:00:00Z
CBMioAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLWdhemV0dGUuY29tL3Nwb3J0cy9pbGxpbmktc3BvcnRzL21lbnMtYmFza2V0YmFsbC9nYW1lLXByZXZpZXctbmVicmFza2EtYXQtaWxsaW5vaXMtcC1tLW1vbmRheS9hcnRpY2xlXzM1NjJlOWZhLTc3ZjItNWZjNC1iZGVmLTM3ZTMxOWNlNmI0My5odG1s0gEA

Bagikan Berita Ini

0 Response to "Game 27 preview: Nebraska at Illinois, 7 pm, Monday | Mens-basketball - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette"

Post a Comment

Powered by Blogger.