Nebraska slowed the pace as promised against Illinois, and the Huskers saw a noticeable jump in offensive efficiency as they search for a formula that will work over the back half of the season.
The Huskers, who average 72 possessions per 40 minutes to rank 26th nationally coming in, finished with 74 possessions in 45 minutes Friday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Gone, for the most part, were the sprints up the court with the ball seeking a numbers advantage or a mismatch early in the shot clock.
And while NU still had 13 turnovers, that was about four fewer than what the Huskers had been averaging in their return.
"My big thing is looking to play smarter basketball, and for the most part, we did it," NU coach Fred Hoiberg said.
Nebraska averaged .973 points per possession against Illinois, a significant jump over its three previous games when it averaged .737 against Michigan State, .831 against Minnesota and .762 against Wisconsin.
"We did a much better job of going and not trying to fight through three or four guys coming down on the break and attacking numbers," Hoiberg said. "And if we didn't have anything we'd get into our offense and our sets.
"We were going to have a little more structure, and I thought we did a better job with that."
Battling in the post: Kofi Cockburn is not a normal human. The 7-foot, 285-pounder is so massive, so strong, so physical, it's tough for any player in the country to move him out of the way.
And Cockburn got his numbers against Nebraska, but the Huskers also showed they have a plan for their frontcourt going forward.
Derrick Walker handled most of the heavy lifting, playing one of his best games of the season. Eduardo Andre did what he could despite giving up about 60 pounds. And Yvan Ouedraogo also used his physicality.
"We talk to our bigs about, they have 15 fouls to give, and I thought we had some good ones in there," Hoiberg said. "Our bigs, they battled the strongest guy in the league. And if they can do it against him, and should be able to do it against anybody."
Walker could only smile when asked about having to defend Cockburn.
"He's a big dude," Walker said. "I'm a little sore, but that comes with playing every game."
By the numbers:Â Thorir Thorbjarnarson and Shamiel Stevenson were a combined 7-for-49 from three-point range coming into Friday's game. The duo combined to go 3-for-4 Friday, all in the first half. Thorbjarnarson was 1-for-11 from three in Big Ten play. Stevenson was 1-for-17 on the season. ... Derrick Walker set career highs for rebounds (eight) and assists (three). ... Nebraska fell to 4-6 in overtime games at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Photos: Nebraska takes No. 6 Illinois to overtime but falls 77-72