February 10, 2016

----------------------------- 
            1   2   total 
Wisconsin  30  42    72 
NEBRASKA   26  35    61 
----------------------------- 

Madison, Wis. — Nebraska ran into a hot-shooting Wisconsin team Wednesday night, as the Badgers hit 11 3-pointers in a 72-61 win over the Huskers.

Wisconsin (15-9, 7-4) hit 11-of-18 from 3-point range, including four consecutive 3-pointers after Nebraska pulled within two points in the opening minutes of the second half. Vitto Brown went 3-for-3 from long range en route to an 18-point effort, while Bronson Koening had a pair of 3-points in the 12-4 Badger run to extend the lead.

Nebraska, playing without senior Shavon Shields for the first time in 107 games because of injury, cut the deficit to 44-38 after a Jack McVeigh basket with 13:32 left, but Wisconsin took command with seven straight points, including 3-pointers from Zak Showalter and Brown to extend the advantage to 51-38.

For Nebraska, freshman Glynn Watson Jr. led the way with 16 points, while Andrew White III added 10 for the Huskers, who fell to 13-12 on the season and 5-7 in Big Ten play.

Nigel Hayes led four Badgers in double figures with a game-high 20 points, while Koening and Showalter added 12 and 10 points respectively for Wisconsin, which won its sixth straight game.

In the first half, the Huskers managed to stay within striking distance, trailing only 30-26 despite extensive foul trouble. NU's zone slowed the Badgers for most of the first half and allowed the Huskers to rely on its bench in the opening 20 minutes.

Nebraska, which shot 38 percent in the half, took control midway through the half, using a 9-0 spurt to turn a three-point deficit into a 13-7 lead after a Jack McVeigh 3-pointer with 11:43 left in the half.

NU which built a 15-9 lead after a Michael Jacobson tip-in, saw the Badgers regain the lead with a 15-3 run, including a trio of Badger 3-pointers after a slow start to take a six-point lead with 4:42 left in the half. Nebraska stayed in range behind Watson Jr., who had four of his six points in the final four minutes, including a pair of free throw with 16.6 seconds left to cut the deficit to four.

Watson made it a two-point game on the opening possession, but the Badgers quickly stretched out the lead with its 3-point shooting. In all, Wisconsin hit six of its first seven shots to open the second half.

Nebraska returns to action Saturday afternoon, as the Huskers host Penn State. Tipoff at Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 5 p.m. and a limited number of tickets are available by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets or calling 800-8-BIGRED.

Postgame Notes:

*-Shavon Shields sees his consecutive start streak end at 106, as he did not make the trip to Wisconsin after his injury on Saturday. Shields' first start of the streak came against Wisconsin during his freshman year on Jan. 6, 2013.

*-Nebraska started three true freshmen tonight (Michael Jacobson, Glynn Watson Jr. and Jack McVeigh). It marked the first time Nebraska started three true freshmen since Dec. 23, 2006, and the first time since Dec. 23, 2009 that NU had three freshman start (including redshirt freshmen).

*-Jack McVeigh earned his first career start tonight, marking the fifth different starting lineup of the season, but the first since Dec. 22. NU had started the same lineup for the last 12 contests.

*-Michael Jacobson finished with a career-high nine rebounds, topping his previous best of eight on two occasions.

*-Nebraska committed 10 or fewer turnovers for the sixth consecutive game.

*-Nebraska's 61 points was its second-lowest total of the season.