Nebraska Basketball: A tale of two halves in loss to Wisconsin

Nebraska basketball just could not get the job done.

Nebraska basketball lost to the Wisconsin Badgers by a 67-53 score on Tuesday night. In this game, it was a tale of two halves.

In the first half, both teams started off slowly. There was sloppy play all-around, and that gave Nebraska basketball a chance to establish the pace against Wisconsin. They were able to make mistakes and Wisconsin was unable to capitalize. Conversely, it seemed like Wisconsin could not make a shot in the first half, and Nebraska could not capitalize on that either.

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I was very frustrated with Nebraska basketball continuing to throw up three-point shots instead of driving to the rim in the first half. Wisconsin struggled to make shots, and Nebraska basketball would let those possessions go to waste by shooting missed three-point shots.

In the second half, the opposite happened. Nebraska basketball made mistakes, and Wisconsin began to find their groove. Nebraska was no longer controlling the pace of play, it belonged to Wisconsin. It almost seemed like Wisconsin needed a half just  to warm-up.

They certainly did, and they did so in a big way. Wisconsin scored 42 second-half points. Perhaps even more disappointing for Nebraska basketball, Wisconsin shot the three-pointer much better. This was what I was expecting from Wisconsin all along. They are known to be three-point sharpshooters, and the second half showed that.

Furthermore, Wisconsin was no longer playing into the hands of Nebraska basketball, they began to play their game. That is what ultimately doomed Nebraska, and it put a difficult end to what had started out as a promising evening. Towards the end of things, it looked like Nebraska was chucking up three-point shots in an effort to play a Wisconsin style of basketball. Right now, that is not their game and they should have tried to force the issue.

Although their efforts to play a Wisconsin style of basketball were valiant, there is a reason why it’s Wisconsin’s style of basketball. The Badgers were able to shoot lights-out, because they have players that can do so on a regular basis. Nebraska basketball, although they made some shots in the end,  just could not keep up.

I’ll admit, this game was a lot more exciting than the last time these two teams met. What started off as a promising evening ended up playing into Wisconsin’s hands. It was quite an intriguing game for the start of Big Ten play, and Nebraska basketball will have to be ready to face 19th ranked Michigan on Christmas Day.