Nebraska @ Illinois preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 2, 2018 ) Illinois 60, Nebraska 75

Nebraska looks to put a disappointing January in the rearview mirror when it visits Illinois on Saturday. The Cornhuskers have dropped four straight games, including a 62-51 loss to 23rd-ranked Wisconsin on Tuesday, en route to a 2-6 record in January.

"There's a lot of equity in this league so we're not out of time as there's ten more games," Nebraska coach Tim Miles told reporters. "The greatest part about college basketball is that you're never fully out of time." Illinois continues to be one of the more unpredictable teams in the Big Ten after an 86-75 setback to Minnesota on Wednesday. The Illini thought they had turned the corner under second-year coach Brad Underwood following wins against the Gophers (96-68) and No. 24 Maryland (78-67) during a two-week span in January, but dropped their fourth straight road game in Minneapolis, and hope to bounce back by avenging a 75-60 loss to Nebraska earlier in the season. "It's very frustrating right now as we took a step back," Illinois guard Trent Frazier told reporters. "Our goal right now is to go 3-0 at home and just get back to who we are."

TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT NEBRASKA (13-8, 3-7 Big Ten): Isaiah Roby flirted with a double-double as he scored a team-high 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds in the Cornhuskers' first game without their third-leading scorer Isaac Copeland, who suffered a career-ending knee injury on Jan. 26. James Palmer Jr. added 14 points, but finished 5-of-19 from the floor as Nebraska was held to a season-low 28 percent from the field against the Badgers. Thomas Allen tallied 10 points, but Glynn Watson Jr. was limited to a season-low five on 2-of-10 shooting, including an 0-for-5 performance from 3-point range.

ABOUT ILLINOIS (6-15, 2-8): Frazier had one of the best nights of his career as he knocked down five 3-pointers en route to a game-high 30 points in the loss to Minnesota. Andres Feliz added 11 points and four rebounds while Tevian Jones scored 10 points to finish in double figures for the second time in as many games after failing to do so in his previous 11 outings. Ayo Dosunmu, who leads the team in scoring (13.8), was held to six points on 3-of-9 shooting, but did contribute six rebounds and four assists.

TIP-INS

1. Nebraska has dropped five of its last six Big Ten road games.

2. Frazier has recorded four 20-point games this season.

3. Palmer has scored in double figures in 17 straight outings.

PREDICTION: Illinois 83, Nebraska 79