Nebraska Falters Against No. 25 Illinois 81-71, Will Face No. 7 Purdue on Friday
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska basketball's Big Ten struggles continued Tuesday night, as it dropped a home matchup with No. 25 Illinois 81-71 despite leading by three points at halftime.
The Cornhuskers had three players score in double figures and made six of their 12 shots from the 3-point line. Senior guard Alonzo Verge Jr. recorded 14 points and a team-high nine assists. Freshman guard Bryce McGowens had 19 points to register his seventh straight game in double figures.
However, senior guard Trent Frazier led the Fighting Illini with a season-high 29 points and added five assists. Junior center Kofi Cockburn recorded his eighth straight double-double, registering 16 points and a team-high 12 rebounds.
Illinois began to pull ahead in the final four minutes after Nebraska tied the game 65-65 in the second half. The Fighting Illini went on a 12-2 run to put the game away with under a minute left.
Nebraska (6-11, 0-6 Big Ten) will travel to Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana, to play the No. 7-ranked Purdue Boilermakers on Friday. The Cornhuskers enter the matchup after losing eight of their last nine games.
Illinois (12-3, 5-0) has won five straight games and is off to its best start in conference play since 2005.
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.