Brice Williams wills Nebraska basketball to season-saving win

Fred Hoiberg and the entire Nebraska basketball team can breathe a huge sigh of relief after an 80-74 overtime win over 18th-ranked Illinois on Thursday night.

It might be hard to believe, but even after six straight losses, Nebraska basketball is still on the NCAA tournament bubble. ESPN listed the Huskers as the eighth team out and with 10 games to go, there is plenty of time to play their way into the tournament.

Thurday’s win — a quadrant-1 over a team ranked 10th (via NET rankings) coming in — will certainly help. It keeps Nebraska basketball on life support and nobody had more to do with that than Brice Williams.

Williams attempted 26 shots on Thursday night, making 10. He also made seven free throws to finish with 27 points. It wasn’t always pretty but the Illini defense was keyed in on Williams and he still found a way, especially in overtime.

Juwan Gary came through too. His offensive rebound and putback late in regulation helped Nebraska basketball get into overtime. He also scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Williams dished out four assists and grabbed eight rebounds in addition to just one turnover.

As a team, Nebraska basketball was much sharper. This was the team we saw beat Indiana and UCLA. The Huskers forced 17 turnovers, while they had just six of their own. Even more impressive, the defense allowed just seven assists. Illinois made 10 3-pointers but shot just 24 percent.

57 percent of Illinois shots came from beyond the arc. But instead of a death sentence, Nebraska had much more energy on defense. They were active and contested shots.

Illinois nearly pulled off a comeback. Yet, Nebraska still beat a third, ranked opponent this season. That will buy Fred Hoiberg some grace from a frustrated fanbase. It also adds another elite win to the resume.

Don’t get me wrong, Nebraska has a ton of work to do. This team needs to win at least six or seven games before the Big Ten tournament — assuming they make it — to have a chance for the field of 68. Nine conference wins plus a couple in the conference tournament might just do it.

It seems far-fetched and one win doesn’t make up for six consecutive losses. But this Nebraska basketball team at least has a pulse and that might not have been true with a loss on Thursday night.

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