No. 5 Nebraska (20-2, 9-2) returned home after suffering its first loss of the year to No. 2 Michigan, hosting No. 10 Illinois (19-3, 10-1) on Sunday. Following another game with second-half struggles, the Huskers fell to the Fighting Illini, 78-69, suffering their second-straight loss.
Illinois outscored Nebraska 45-30 in the second half, taking advantage of the Huskers' foul troubles. Nebraska coughed up 19 fouls, just like in its loss to Michigan, leading to the Fighting Illini finishing 21-of-26 from the free-throw line, landing 16-of-18 in the second half.
This once again negated Nebraska's day from beyond the arc. The Huskers shot 15-of-35 from three-point range and landed one more basket than Illinois. However, Nebraska only shot 4-of-5 from the foul line. The Fighting Illini also controlled the boards, outrebounding the Huskers 40-27.
Branden Frager led the Huskers with 20 points, hitting 6-of-12 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 from the foul line. Pryce Sandfort shot 4-of-9 from three-point range, tallying 14 points. Sam Hoiberg scored 13 points for Nebraska, shooting 5-of-9 from the floor.
He also earned a team-high six assists and co-led the team in rebounds alongside Berke Büyüktuncel. Jamarques Lawrence rounded out the Huskers' offense, racking up 10 points by shooting 4-of-9 in total.
Nebraska returns to the road for its next game, traveling east to face Rutgers on Saturday morning. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on the Big Ten Network.
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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: Nebraska basketball drops second straight game against Illinois