Nebraska basketball suffered another loss on Tuesday night, time at the hands of Wisconsin.
Tuesday’s conference contest between the Wisconsin Badgers and Nebraska Cornhuskers featured two teams on opposite ends of the spectrum. Wisconsin came into Pinnacle Bank Arena having won three contests and a row. Nebraska basketball on the other hand came into this game having lost their last four contests. Even more disappointing was the fact that they had to play with that one of their top scorers in Issac Copeland. That among other things made for a very rough outing Tuesday night as the Cornhuskers fell victim to the Badgers by a 62-51 score.
Thomas Allen scored the first basket of the game for either side, but Ethan Happ made his presence felt early. This game was a back and forth contest from the start and Nebraska could not pull away even when they had the lead. A pair of baskets by Nate Reuvers stretched Wisconsin lead to 14-8, and from there, they never looked back. At one point, Wisconsin held a 23-9 lead following a layup by Khalil Iverson and as a result, that gave them a little breathing room.
More from Husker Corner
- Former Nebraska football star returns to the program in new role
- Travis Hunter injury uproar has some Nebraska football fans reminding Colorado about Adrian Martinez
- Nebraska Football: Freshman RB in line for big playing time
- Nebraska Cornhuskers News: Heinrich Haarberg has believer in Rhule, more
- Nebraska Football: Matt Rhule faces tough decision between Heinrich Haarberg and Jeff Sims
Nebraska basketball did manage to make a run towards the end of the half, and by the end of the first frame they were only down by a 21-25 margin thanks to a made free throw from James Palmer. That gave Nebraska basketball some hope heading into the second half. The first buzzer would ring with Nebraska down by a 21-28 margin.
Palmer continued the good momentum into the second half as he made a layup to trim Nebraska’s deficit down to five. Wisconsin would extend their lead yet again thanks to made baskets from Ethan Happ, and that would make it a 32-26 game. However, Nebraska was not out of this contest by any stretch of the imagination. They got as close as three points during the first part of the second frame, as Isaiah Roby made a three-point jumper at the 17:03 mark in the second half. A made dunk at the 15:41 marked would tie the game and it appeared that Nebraska was finally hitting their stride at just the right time.
The seesaw battle would continue as Thomas Allen and Badgers forward Charles Thomas would trade three-point shots as the game would be tied at 40 following the treys. Brevin Pritzl made a three-point shot for Wisconsin and from there, the Badgers began to pull away. Nebraska basketball would get as close as nine for the rest of the contest but they would not be able to come back as they would lose the game. In yet another frustrating loss, the season appears to be slipping away.
The biggest statistic for me this game was decided was the lack of made three-point shots. Nebraska went four-of-20 from behind the arc. That led to a 20% three-point percentage. Nebraska shot nine-of-20 from three-point range and that amounted to 39%. Although those numbers aren’t exactly awesome, one is certainly greater than the other. Now with the loss, Nebraska basketball has to focus and rebound against Illinois on Saturday.