Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Nebraska

5. Avoided midseason disaster

Even in the first half of the Nebraska game, I felt that Illinois was in control of this game. Despite being down by three points at halftime, the Illini had the firepower to overtake the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska continued to fight, though. They had this game tied at 65-all with 3:57 to go in the contest. That is when I got a little nervous. Thankfully, Illinois flipped a switch and took over from there. We would go on a 16-6 run to end the game.

Could you imagine what the headlines would have been today if Illinois had dropped the Nebraska game on Tuesday night? There would have been chaos within the Illini fanbase.

Beyond the fanbase, though, Illinois avoided a midseason disaster that would have held them back for weeks if not months. If we would have dropped the game to the Cornhuskers, no one would have taken this program seriously for a while.

You also have to think, Illinois would have dropped out of the top 25 and probably wouldn’t get back into the top 25 for many weeks ahead. That is how much damage a loss to Nebraska would have caused.

Illinois managed to pull off the victory, though. It wasn’t easy, but a win is a win on the schedule. We are now 12-3 overall and 5-0 in the Big Ten. If we beat Michigan on Friday, I would venture to say the Illini will end up moving up in the rankings come next Monday as well.

If Illinois didn’t rally for this win, we are sitting at 11-4 overall and 4-1 in Big Ten play with one of the worst losses in the nation on the record. We are dropping outside the top 25 and would be questioned by nearly everyone in the country. I would say Illinois avoided a major midseason disaster on Tuesday night.