MINNEAPOLIS (KMTV) — Nebraska men's basketball blew an 11-point halftime lead in a 98-87 loss to Illinois in the Big Ten semifinal.
The Illini will face Wisconsin for the title on Sunday.
Brice Williams led Nebraska with 23 points.
The Huskers had a 15-point lead early in the second half, but a series of Illinois runs cut the deficit.
The Illini took the lead with 8:22 left in the game on a Luke Goode three-pointer, and they never relinquished the lead again.
Rienk Mast scored 13 of Nebraska's first 18 points in the game, pushing them to an 18-14 lead with 13:35 left in the half.
A Matar Diop jumper with 1:22 remaining in the first half gave the Huskers a double-digit lead for the rest of the period.
But a 10-0 run by the Illini cut that lead back down to single digits in the second half, with Illinois eventually pulling ahead and away.
Nebraska now waits for Selection Sunday to find out its seed in the NCAA Tournament.
