There are inexcusable losses and then there’s what the Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball team did on Tuesday night against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Perhaps we can at least say that NU has gotten it out of their system as it appears there is at least one conference game a season where they roar out to a big lead, look like they’re going to dominate and finally play really, really well on the road, only to find a way to blow that big lead, and appear as though they’ve forgotten how to play basketball down the stretch.
On Tuesday night, the Huskers built a 15-point lead early in the second half and looked so dominant that fans who normally know better were taunting the Hawkeyes on social media. And then the thing that Nebraska simply does far too often happened.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers couldn’t shut down a player they knew they needed to shut down (tonight it was Payton Sandfort who scored 27 points in the second half) and couldn’t keep hitting shots that were falling earlier.
Nebraska Cornhuskers find new ways to look awful on the road
With five minutes to go in the game, the Huskers held a 68-64 lead. They then fell behind to the degree that it looked like they’d found a way to blow it in regulation, then somehow hit a miracle 3-point shot to send it to overtime, only to basically get run out of the gym in OT.
It was an inexcusable loss all the way around for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, but there’s going to be some extra questions about the approach and the effort late in the game thanks to finding ways to squander multiple opportunities.
Easily the most frustrating part of all of it, is that Iowa’s home court is not a remotely intimidating place to play. Though a close second on the frustration meter is the Nebraska Cornhuskers shooting just 10-for-20 from the free throw line. In a 97-87 loss, that was entirely the difference.