The Illinois Fighting Illini picked up their fifth consecutive win Saturday night against the BYU Cougars in the United Center by a score of 75-73. Cougars guard Eric Mika led all scorers with 25 points on 9 for 12 shooting, but a deep buzzer-beating three point attempt by sophomore guard Nick Emery bounced off the back of the rim to finalize the victory for Illinois.
Senior guard Tracy Abrams was a difference-maker late in the second half for the Fighting Illini, scoring 10 of his fifteen points in the latter portion of the contest. With his team clinging to a three-point lead with 23 seconds to go, Abrams made this play to force BYU to start fouling:
Five players hit double figures for Illinois (Abrams, Malcolm Hill, Jalen Coleman-Lands, Maverick Morgan and Michael Finke).