Michigan 77

Nebraska 58

The Nebraska men’s basketball team endured one of its worst shooting performances of the season Friday as the fourth-seeded Huskers were eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament in a 77-58 loss to No. 5 seed Michigan at Madison Square Garden.

Nebraska shot just 30 percent, making only 16 of its 53 attempts. The Huskers’ 16 field goals tied for their fewest in any game this season, while the 58 points marked the third-fewest points for Nebraska this year. The Huskers did the bulk of their scoring at the free-throw line, converting 22 of their 27 attempts.

While Nebraska struggled with its shot, Michigan was on fire from the 3-point line to avenge a 20-point loss to the Huskers in January. The Wolverines were 11-of-23 from beyond the arc against the Huskers, after Michigan made just 4-of-18 from 3-point range in their earlier loss to Nebraska and only 3-of-19 threes in their overtime win over Iowa on Thursday.

Nebraska (22-10) led by five early before missing 19 of its next 20 shots, allowing the Wolverines to turn a four-point deficit into an 18-point lead late in the first half. The Huskers attempted to claw back and cut the lead to 10 at the half and as few as seven in the second half. But Nebraska was never able to find its rhythm offensively, as Michigan (26-7) moved on to Saturday’s semifinal, where the Wolverines will take on in-state rival Michigan State.

Moritz Wagner, who was held to two points in the regular-season meeting between the teams, posted a double-double with 20 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman led all scorers with 21 points, as he made all five of his 3-point attempts. Duncan Robinson added 16 points and hit 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.

James Palmer Jr. and Isaiah Roby led three Huskers in double figures with 18 points apiece. Roby added a team-high seven rebounds and a game- and career-high five blocks. Glynn Watson Jr. chipped in 10 points for the Big Red.

In a cold-shooting first half, Nebraska made four of its first five shots to build an early 9-5 lead. But it was all Michigan after that, as the Wolverines used an 11-0 run to take a seven-point lead. A 7-0 spurt 10 minutes later gave Michigan a 33-15 advantage with less than three minutes to play in the half. After its 4-of-5 start, Nebraska missed 19 of its next 20 shots and went more than seven minutes without a field goal before Palmer hit a driving layup and converted a free throw. Palmer’s three-point play sparked a 9-1 run to end the half, with Palmer scoring seven points during the run as Nebraska headed into the locker room down by 10 at 34-24.

Nebraska shot just 23 percent in the first half (7-of-30). Michigan shot 47 percent (13-of-32) and was 6-of-13 from the 3-point line, while the Huskers hit only one first-half three. Wagner had 12 first-half points, while Abdur-Rahkman added eight points. Palmer had 10 points for Nebraska, as he went 5-of-5 at the free-throw line and was the only Husker to hit more than one field goal in the opening 20 minutes.

After scoring nine of the final 10 points of the first half, Nebraska opened the second half with an alley-oop from Watson to Roby that quickly cut the lead to single digits. The Huskers trimmed the lead down to seven before Michigan used a 13-4 run to take a 53-37 lead with less than 10 minutes remaining.

Watson then ended a streak of nine consecutive missed 3-pointers to pull Nebraska, but Michigan came right back with consecutive 3-pointers of its own to take a 61-42 lead and force a Husker timeout with 6:00 to play. Following the timeout, Roby hit four consecutive free throws and Watson knocked down his second straight 3-pointer during a 7-0 run that trimmed the lead to 12. But Nebraska would get no closer, as the Wolverines once again had an answer, scoring six straight points to stretch the lead back to 18 before cruising to the 19-point victory.

Nebraska now will wait to learn its postseason fate when the NCAA Tournament field is announced March 11. The Huskers are hoping to make the tournament as an at-large selection after winning 22 games in the regular season and setting a school record with 13 conference wins while finishing fourth in the Big Ten standings.

Postgame Notes

• With the loss, Nebraska falls to 3-7 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament.
• Nebraska saw its three-game win streak at Madison Square Garden snapped.
• Nebraska falls to 2-3 against ranked opponents this season.
• Isaiah Roby blocked five shots, one off his season high against Eastern Illinois in the opener. It marked the third time this season and fourth time in his career that he blocked four or more shots in a game. His five blocks was one off his season high against Eastern Illinois in the season opener. Roby also finished with a game-high 16 points and seven rebounds.
• Roby now has 62 blocked shots on the season, which ranks 10th on Nebraska’s single-season chart. He moved past Wes Wilkinson (61, 2005-06) on Friday.
• Nebraska finished with eight blocked shots, upping its season total to 178, which is third in school history. It is the 21st time this season that NU blocked five or more shots in a game.
• Michigan’s 11 3-pointers marked the second-highest total the Huskers allowed this season (15 vs. UTSA). Nebraska led the Big Ten in 3-point percentage defense during the regular season.
• Nebraska’s five assists were a season low (6 at Ohio State)
• James Palmer Jr. finished with 16 points, and is now four points away from 10th place on Nebraska’s single-season scoring list. Palmer has reached double figures in 30 of 32 games.
• Roby shared team-high scoring honors, marking the second time this season that Roby led NU in scoring.

Postgame quotes

Source: Nebraska Athletics

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