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Illinois Basketball: 4 keys for the Illini to beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers

By Rees Woodcock

Feb 2, 2021; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers guard Armaan Franklin (L) passes the ball while defended by Illinois Fighting Illini guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) during the second half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 2, 2021; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers guard Armaan Franklin (L) passes the ball while defended by Illinois Fighting Illini guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) during the second half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 6, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini center Kofi Cockburn (21) celebrates with guard Da’Monte Williams (20) and guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) during the second half against the Wisconsin Badgers at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Win the offensive boards

There isn’t too much that worries me about Nebraska, but one thing they are okay at is in the rebounding department. This program is a solid rebounding team.

Nationally, the Cornhuskers rank No. 86 in rebounds, pulling down 37.2 rebounds per contest. That is actually a pretty good number. To break that number down even more, Nebraska is pulling down 8.4 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks No. 177 in the nation.

Offensive rebounding can keep teams in games they shouldn’t be competitive in. This would be the biggest worry I have against the Cornhuskers. If they can manage to snag more offensive rebounds than Illinois, that would give them more second-chance opportunities to score the ball.

The biggest culprit for Nebraska in offensive rebounds is 6-foot-9 forward, Yvan Ouedraogo. He isn’t getting a ton of minutes in each game, but he has managed to average 2.43 offensive rebounds in each game he has played this season. Ouedraogo is someone to keep an eye on.

With that being said, if Illinois’ big men are having a normal night, everything should be okay. Kofi Cockburn is a menace in the paint, and Nebraska has no one who can really stop him. Kofi alone is averaging 3.44 offensive rebounds per game this season.

Hitting the offensive glass hard is something Nebraska is going to need to do if they want any chance to beat Illinois. I just don’t see them having the manpower to go up against Kofi on Friday night.

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