Huskers can't get over hump in 91-85 loss at Michigan
To reference some Greek mythology, Nebraska was Sisyphus pushing his giant boulder up the mountain only to see it come rolling back down time and again in its 91-85 loss at Michigan on Saturday.
The Huskers never led in the game but made multiple pushes to come within one possession. Yet they could never get over the hump, as the Wolverines kept NU at arm’s reach all day by knocking down 11-of-22 3-pointers and going 26-of-30 from the free throw line.
Senior guard Tai Webster had a career-high 28 points, nine rebounds and four assists while sophomore Glynn Watson added 22 points, but it wasn’t enough to keep Nebraska (9-8 overall, 3-2 Big Ten) from dropping its second straight conference game after a 3-0 start in league play.
"I don't like losing. I'm not light on losing," head coach Tim Miles said during his post. "But out guys battled our butts off. They did a lot of things right for a long time. They did a lot of things right offensively and put us in a lot of tough spots... They earned that (win). We have to get better defensively, but I'm looking forward to this matchup back in Pinnacle Bank Arena."
Michigan (12-6, 2-3) made the first move of the game with a 6-0 spurt early in the first half to take a 15-8 lead. The Wolverines eventually extended that lead to 24-16 after six turnovers by the Huskers through the first 10 minutes of action.
After giving up a number of easy baskets, NU switched to its 1-3-1 zone defense and immediately saw dividends. The Huskers held Michigan scoreless for 2:34 and more than three minutes without a field goal after the defensive change.
As a result, Nebraska came back with a 6-0 run over its own and got it to 30-28 after a 3-pointer by Webster and an And-1 by freshman Jordy Tshimanga.
But more sloppy ball security kept the Huskers from ever getting taking a lead before halftime, as eight turnovers led to 16 Michigan points.
Despite shooting 61.5 percent from the field as a team, scoring 28 points in the paint and getting 17 points from Webster, Nebraska went into the locker room down 40-34.
"We have to be better defensively," Miles said. "Our offense has grown leaps and bounds from the beginning of the season, and our defense has dropped off a bit."
Michigan came out firing to start the second half, making five of its first six shots and quickly taking its biggest lead of the game at 53-43 on another 3-pointer by Mortiz Wagner with 15:41 to go.
Junior forward Nick Fuller checked into the game for the first time at the 13:58 mark and the Huskers immediately forced two turnovers and scored two quick baskets to cut the deficit to 54-50 in a span of just 50 seconds.
Sophomore Jack McVeigh then knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to get the score to 59-56 with 11 minutes left.
Michigan continued to hold onto its lead, but the Huskers continued to keep it with reach and again pulled to within three at 69-66 on a 3-pointer by freshman Isaiah Roby with 6:23 remaining.
Junior Evan Taylor then knocked down a jumper with 5:40 left to get it one, but Derrick Walton Jr. knocked down Michigan’s 10th made 3-pointer of the day to push the lead back up to 72-68 with five minutes left.
Watson buried a three to pull within two points, but Walton again answered with a trey of his own, and Michigan quickly extended its lead back up to 78-71 with just under four minutes on the clock.
"Walton was really good down the stretch," Miles said.
Watson hit another 3-pointer to make it 80-76 with 1:33 to go, but that would be as close as the Huskers would get the rest of the way.
Taylor finished with 11 points and five rebounds, while McVeigh had one of his best games in weeks with eight points. Roby, who made his first-career start in place of injured sophomore Edward Morrow (foot), had seven points and three boards.
"We played well without Ed," Miles said. "I'm impressed that we got 44 paint points, but I'm a little bit confounded that we only got five foul shots out of 44 points in the paint. I'll be curious to take a look at the tape and what my emotions tell me and what's real."
The Wolverines had three players in all top 20 points in the win, led by 23 from Wagner, who was 4-of-7 from behind the arc.
The Huskers will return to action on Wednesday when they host Ohio State for an 8 p.m. tip on Big Ten Network.