Preview: Nebraska at Illinois

[March 04, 2015]  SportsDirect Inc.
  
 Despite coaching his team to two 20-win campaigns in three years at Illinois, John Groce has yet to guide his charges to a non-losing record in Big Ten play. The Illini on Wednesday can guarantee themselves at least a .500 finish by winning their regular-season home finale against struggling Nebraska. Illinois, which has gone 8-10 and 7-11 in the conference in Groce's first two seasons, hasn't posted a winning mark in Big Ten play since going 10-8 in 2009-10.

The Illini didn't qualify for the Big Dance that season and could be on the outside looking in again despite ending a three-game slide with an 86-60 rout of Northwestern on Saturday. That offensive outburst represented twice as many points as Illinois scored in a 53-43 setback to the Cornhuskers on Jan. 11 - a game in which the Illini set season lows in points and field-goal percentage (27.3). Nebraska, which is 3-9 since that victory, has lost six in a row - five by double figures - after Thursday's 81-57 defeat at Ohio State and failed to reach 60 points in 11 of its conference games.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT NEBRASKA (13-15, 5-11 Big Ten): Ohio State became the second straight opponent to shoot at least 50 percent against the Cornhuskers, who had held each of their previous 37 foes under that mark, while the 81 points they surrendered to the Buckeyes were the most allowed in 47 games. Two more long-term areas of concern for the Cornhuskers are their conference-worst rankings in offensive rebounding (8.1) and 3-point accuracy (28.8 percent). "We're just not making 3-point field goals (and) when you don't, there's nowhere to go. ... That's a valuable weapon in today's game and I didn't expect that to be such an issue,'' coach Tim Miles told the Omaha World-Herald.

ABOUT ILLINOIS (18-11, 8-8): The 86-point outburst was the team's best effort in Big Ten play by 12 points and marked only the fourth time the Illini topped 70 points during conference action. Rayvonte Rice (16.3 points), who came off the bench for four games following a nine-game absence due to a broken hand, returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Jan. 3 and was one of three players with at least three 3-pointers as the Illini hit a season-high 14. Malcolm Hill (14.3) rebounded from a season-low two-point effort last Wednesday with 15 points and has scored in double figures in all but one game since Rice suffered his injury.

TIP-INS

1. Illinois leads the country in free-throw percentage (79.6) and has converted at least 70 percent of its foul shots in all but four games this season.

2. Nebraska, which has five victories against teams with winning records this season, has lost by an average of 13.9 points while going 0-8 on the road in Big Ten play.

3. The Illini have held their opponent to 60 or fewer points in 12 of their last 13 victories.

PREDICTION: Illinois 64, Nebraska 52

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