Huskers sink Illini
James Palmer Jr. made only four field goals Sunday, but the Nebraska guard hit 12 of his 14 free throws to lead the host Cornhuskers (7-1) to a 75-60 victory over Illinois (2-6).
That’s exactly what Illini coach Brad Underwood didn’t want to see in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
“I thought we might try to set a Nebraska record and see how many free throws we’d let Palmer shoot tonight,” Underwood said. “It’s really funny, you spend a couple days, and most of our talk was about not fouling. The one thing Palmer does is he puts a lot of fouls on people.”
Palmer finished with 23 points, Isaac Copeland 16 and Glynn Watson Jr. 14 for Nebraska, which has won 16 consecutive home games. Nebraska made 25 of its 30 freethrow attempts as an aggressive Illinois defense committed 23 fouls, playing right into the Huskers’ hands, Palmer said.
“As a team, we definitely wanted to get to the free-throw line,” he said. “We knew they extended their defense and pressured. We just wanted to get to the basket.”
Nebraska came out hot, hitting its first three field goals and all six of its free throws to go up 13-2 just 2½ minutes into the game.
Giorgi Bezhanishvili led Illinois with 14 points. Kipper Nichols scored 12 points and Ayu Dosunmu 10.
Underwood said that the early lead — and Nebraska’s smothering defense — were critical to the outcome.
“That’s a veteran basketball team who jumped on us early,” he said. “It was uphill from the get-go.”
Ohio State 79, Minnesota 59
Andre Wesson scored 16 points, Kaleb Wesson had 15 and the No. 16 Buckeyes (7-1) routed the visiting Golden Gophers (6-2) in the Big Ten opener for both.
C.J. Jackson and Musa Jallow each added 11 points, and Duane Washington Jr. and Kyle Young had 10 apiece for Ohio State. Amir Coffey led Minnesota with 19.
Valparaiso 82, UC Riverside 73
Derrik Smits had 18 points and six rebounds and Markus Golder 16 points as the Crusaders (5-3) topped the visiting Highlanders (2-7). Valpo has won three of its last four.