Nebraska basketball certainly shouldn’t be proud of losing to Michigan State by 15 points but the Huskers could have quit Tuesday night and they never did.
Nebraska basketball found itself in a really tough situation Tuesday night in East Lansing, facing a Michigan State team in the thick of the Big Ten race and fresh off a difficult road loss.
After watching Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo as his press conference last Saturday, you could tell the Spartans were going to come out fired up. And add to that, the fact that Michigan State needed a win to keep its hopes alive of capturing the Big Ten regular-season title and it was just about an impossible scenario for the Huskers, who were down two starters.
Obviously, that alone is not an excuse. Michigan State lost a pair of its starters and then turned around and won on the road at Michigan. But let’s not kid ourselves. When it comes to college basketball, Michigan State and Nebraska, even though they are in the same conference, are in completely different worlds.
The Spartans get kids that are good enough to go one-and-done, while the Huskers are lucky to get someone that is worth even being drafted, although Isaiah Roby did find his way into the first round of the Bleacher Report’s latest 2019 NBA Mock Draft.
The Huskers started out well enough and even had a lead about midway through the first half. Yet, Michigan State responded with a 19-2 run and that gave the Spartans a 47-29 advantage at halftime.
In the second half, Roby and James Palmer hit 3-pointers, which cut the lead down to 10 points. Later in the half, a hoop by Glynn Watson and a free throw by Roby got it all the way down to seven, giving Nebraska a shot at making a miracle comeback.
Yet, Matt McQuaid responded with a couple of jumpers, the second of which was a 3-pointer and at that point, the Spartans had a comfortable lead again and it wouldn’t get within single digits again.
Palmer had a solid outing for Nebraska, scoring 30 points on 11-of-24 shooting for the Huskers. He made 4-of-10 shots from 3-point range. Watson also poured in 25 points thanks to five 3-pointers. Roby also added 10 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
The Huskers are now 15-15 on the season with the loss and their hopes of making the NIT may hinge on Sunday’s home finale against Iowa. The Hawkeyes, who beat the Huskers in Iowa City earlier this season, will play in the Vault Sunday afternoon at 1 CST.