Former Wisconsin guard leads team to statement win over Illinois

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Former Wisconsin guard Connor Essegian helped lead the Nebraska Cornhuskers to a season-defining home victory over No. 18 Illinois on Thursday.

The Cornhuskers entered the matchup on a six-game losing streak, the latest result a 28-point defeat at the hands of the Wisconsin Badgers. The team ended its losing skid emphatically with an 80-74 overtime triumph over the Fighting Illini.

Related: Wisconsin coach Greg Gard discusses how Badgers can avoid recent February struggles

The result is just Nebraska’s third Quad 1 win of the season and its first since a Jan. 4 home victory over UCLA.

Essegian finished the game second on the team with 14 points, plus tallied four rebounds, two assists, a block and two steals. He played a total of 28 minutes off the bench, his highest minute total since a Dec. 22 win over Murray State (32).

Guard Brice Williams led the way for the Cornhuskers with 27 points, eight rebounds and four assists on 10-of-26 shooting and seven-of-10 from the free-throw line. Other than Essegian with 14 points, Juwan Gary was the only other Nebraska player in double-figures, finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds.

Essegian’s two three-point makes were critical to Nebraska’s upset win. They each came in the first five minutes of the game, setting a tone that the team would carry through the rest of the contest. The former Badger guard made several key plays in the second half, including a steal and assist to extend the team’s lead to 10 at the 12-minute mark, plus two key baskets at 9:56 and 9:16 to keep Nebraska’s lead at nine.

Essegian was then quiet in overtime as Williams scored eight of his 27 points to seal the victory. Still, he played a significant role in the Cornhuskers’ much-needed triumph.

The former Badger now averages 23 minutes per game, 11.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and one assist on 41.8% shooting and 40.5% from three. Those numbers are nearly identical to his production from his freshman season at Wisconsin (27.4 minutes, 11.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 0.7…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/former-wisconsin-guard-leads-team-150909340.html

Author : Badgers Wire

Publish date : 2025-01-31 15:09:00

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