The No. 14-seeded Illinois women’s basketball team pulled off an upset during the first round of the Big Ten tournament, and that earned them a date with the No. 6-seeded Nebraska Cornhuskers tonight.

Illinois entered the Big Ten tournament with an overall record of 6-19 (1-13 in the Big Ten). They were riding an 11-game losing streak going into the tournament, and faced off against the No. 11-seeded Wisconsin Badgers. 

The Illini put together a historic performance in their 75-66 win versus Wisconsin. The team shot a historic 75% from the three-point line, and were led by sophomore guard Aaliyah Nye who scored 17 points on 5-6 shooting from downtown. 

Head coach Nancy Fahey has all the confidence in the world in Nye, and hopes she can continue her hot shooting versus Nebraska. 

“Rarely does Aaliyah take bad shots,” said Fahey. “After every game I say, if it’s a bad shot, I’ll tell you, but you have to keep shooting. The confidence I have in Aaliyah showed up tonight against Wisconsin.”

On the other hand, the Nebraska Cornhuskers entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten with a 22-7 record (11-7 in the Big Ten). Their strong performances over the past few months earned them a bye to the second round.

Nebraska is led by the Big Ten freshman of the year, center Alexis Markowski, who leads the team both in scoring (13.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.9 ppg). Four starters on Nebraska all average in double digits, which displays their ability to get offense from all over their roster.

Illinois will need several players on their squad to perform big if they want to pull off another upset, but Nebraska has established themselves as a team that will certainly do their best to shut the other team down. They rank first in the Big Ten in both opponent field goal percentage (.374) and opponent three-point field goal percentage (.275).

The Cornhuskers began the year with a 13-0 record before recording their first loss to Michigan State in December. Despite Illinois losing both their matchups with Nebraska during the regular season, the Illini have a little piece of history on their side.

Although Nebraska has won the last seven games versus Illinois, the last time the Illini defeated them came in the 2017 Big Ten Tournament, where they were victorious 79-70.

Tip-off at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse is set for 7:30 p.m. CST and the game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. On the airwaves, Mike Koon will call the game from the Illini Busey Bank Sports Network.

@WillPayne33

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