Illinois drilled eight 3-pointers in the second half to pull away for a 73-57 victory over Nebraska on Sunday night in a Big Ten game at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb.

Senior swingman Malcolm Hill scored 14 of his game-high 19 points after halftime to lead the Illini (17-12, 7-9 Big Ten) to their third win in a row. It is first time Illinois has won three consecutive conference games since a four-game run Jan. 31-Feb. 12, 2015.

Senior guard Tracy Abrams added 13 points and six assists as Illinois canned 13 of 26 3-point attempts for the night -- its highest 3-point total against a Division I opponent this season. Abrams buried 4 of 5 3-point tries while Hill hit 4 of 6 as the Illini resumed their climb up the RPI and KenPom rankings. They have moved into the top 60 in the RPI and Top 70 of the KenPom numbers.

Nebraska (12-16, 6-10) was paced by senior guard Tai Webster's 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals, but the Cornhuskers shot just 37.5 percent from the field and 26.7 percent on 3-point attempts.

Illinois built a 15-7 bulge as Nebraska missed 10 of 11 shots, but the Cornhuskers recovered to take a 22-21 lead on Webster's three-point play with 5:48 left in the half.

Illinois turned to a 2-3 zone to slow down the Cornhuskers and regained a 30-28 lead at the break as the visitors limited Nebraska to 33 percent shooting.

The Cornhuskers regained a brief lead at the outset of the second half, but then Illinois started raining 3-pointers from all over the floor. The Illini canned 7 of 8 3-point attempts over an 8:40 stretch -- Hill sinking three, Abrams making two and sophomores Jalen Coleman-Lands and Leron Black adding one apiece -- to transform a 32-32 tie into a 61-44 lead with 9:15 to play.

Nebraska got as close as 61-50 on sophomore forward Ed Morrow's dunk with 7:50 to go, but Abrams answered with Illinois' final 3-pointer of the night.