MBB: Huskers end four-game skid by dominating Illinois 80-57

With 4:11 remaining in the first half, the Nebraska basketball team found itself down 24-23, but the Huskers were surging.

At that point, NU was on a 7-0 run when guard Caleb Walker stole the ball from Illinois' D.J. Richardson, passed it far up the court to Bo Spencer and then took the return dish inside to give Nebraska a 25-24 lead.

And what ensued was something the 7,820 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center hadn't seen since Jan. 18 as Nebraska (12-13, 4-10 Big Ten) went on to beat Illinois 80-57.

The aforementioned 9-0 run in the first half didn't just end there. The Huskers put together a 17-2 run to close the first 20 minutes to take a 33-26 lead at halftime — but the monster spurt didn't end there. It ended with Nebraska up 59-31, a 43-7 run. And no, that isn't a typo.

The 23-point margin of victory was NU's largest of the season, the Huskers shot 55.6 percent from the field — its highest field goal percentage ever in a Big Ten contest — and Nebraska went 10 for 20 from behind the arc, which ties a season-high percentage set way back in November against South Dakota.

So the question running through the minds of the Nebraska basketball faithful was where exactly was the team that showed up against Illinois (16-11, 5-9) all season?

Spencer scored 27 points and went 9 for 11 in the field. Rather than answer the question he knew was coming with a rant about how frustrating the season has been, Spencer took a positive outlook on this result.

"Better late than never," he said. "That's all I can say. I could question, but there's nothing I can go back in change.

"Hopefully we can just string together these five and try to have a run in the tournament."

But Nebraska didn't really play the game any differently, according to NU coach Doc Sadler.

Even though the Huskers played zone defense for much of the game, the sixth-year coach argued that neither his team's desire nor its strategy changed for its contest against the Illini, who have now lost five straight and eight of their last nine.

"The difference is we made a lot of shots," Sadler said. "A lot of shots. When shots go down, you probably think you played a lot better than you did. Give our guys credit for making shots."

The Huskers' bubble burst a long time ago. They were on a four-game skid and rumors are flying around Lincoln about their coach's future.

However, that hasn't gotten to them, according to Sadler. He's proud of how his team has handled itself down the stretch.

"But to know that they are continuing to give every bit of effort that they've got makes me proud," Sadler said. "Because I knew without (this win) what kind of character and what kind of guys they are."

But just because NU finally got the monkey off its back and won a game doesn't mean the season is over by any means for the Huskers.

Nebraska has five games left in Big Ten play, and NU will be ready for its next opponent, Purdue, on Wednesday.

"It's good that (the win) happened," Spencer said. "We're going to have some fun today. But after today is over, we've got to stay in the gym and work on our jumpers and keep having practices like we've had the past few days."

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