Huskers can't keep up in 88-78 Senior Night loss to Iowa

Compared to the last time it faced Iowa this season, Nebraska played well enough to at least give itself a chance in its regular-season home finale on Friday night.

But, as has been the case all too often this year, the Huskers couldn’t make enough plays down the stretch and saw the Hawkeyes pull away for an 88-78 victory.

NU trailed by just two with 10 minutes to play, but Iowa broke the game open with an 11-0 run and never looked back.

Tony Perkins, who came in averaging just over six points per game, scored a career-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while Keegan Murray posted 15 points and 11 rebounds to help lead the way for Iowa.

Alonzo Verge Jr. led NU with 18 points and seven assists, but the Huskers gave up 12 offensive rebounds and were out-scored 19-5 in second-chance points.

Nebraska fell to 7-21 overall and 1-16 in Big Ten play with the loss. Iowa improved to 20-8, 10-7.

Like in the previous meeting in Iowa City, Nebraska started the night off well and eventually jumped out to a 28-21 lead after a 10-2 run capped by a 3-pointer by Kobe Webster.

But leading by six with 4:32 left in the half, Eduardo Andre missed the front end of a one-and-one, which sparked the Hawkeyes to close the half on a 12-5 run of their own.

A layup by Filip Rebraca with just one second left sent the Huskers into halftime down 36-35 after leading for the previous 9:42.

Nebraska was able to keep the game within reach through the first 10 minutes of the second half, and a 3-pointer by C.J. Wilcher cut the deficit to 58-56 with 10:51 remaining.

But Kris Murray scored seven points during an 11-0 Iowa run to give the Hawkeyes their largest lead of the night at 69-56 over the following four minutes.

The Huskers would never pull within nine the rest of the way, as Keegan and Kris Murray combined to score 23 points on 11-of-13 shooting in the second half.

Wilcher finished with 14 points off the bench while Derrick Walker added 10 points and eight rebounds. Bryce McGowens had 13 points, as NU shot 51.8 percent from the field.

1. Iowa got way too many chances

A handful of turning points ultimately changed the game for Nebraska, but the one constant problem from start to finish was Iowa getting multiple shots during possessions.

With five offensive rebounds in the first half and seven more in the second, the Hawkeyes dominated with a 19-5 advantage in second-chance points. They also ended up with three more possessions than NU (68-65) in a four-score game.

Keegan Murray led the charge on the offensive glass, as his game-high four offensive rebounds led to nine Iowa second-chance points.

“When you give them that many extra chances, they’re gonna sting you,” head coach Fred Hoiberg said. “You gotta find a way to finish off the possession."

This is an Iowa team that has posted double-digit offensive rebounds against Ohio State (20), Michigan, and Michigan State this season.

But Nebraska has struggled on the defensive boards all year due to its lack of post size and, more importantly, frequent lapses in effort and want-to in rebounding.

“Just hustle and not boxing out,” Walker said. “The second half is the most crucial half, and even myself, I missed the biggest box out of the game tonight. So that weighs on me a lot. It’s just about effort. It’s just about wanting to get the ball and wanting to do the right thing.”

2. Keegan Murray got his, but Perkins was the difference

Keegan Murray torched Nebraska in Iowa's 98-75 blowout win on Feb. 13, going off for a career-high 37 points.

The potential Big Ten Player of the Year and fourth-leading scorer in the nation (23.5 ppg) had a relatively quiet night for his standards, but his 11 points and five rebounds in the second half helped Iowa seal the win.

The real difference for the Hawkeyes in this one, though, was Perkins.

The 6-foot-4 sophomore guard came in averaging a modest 6.1 points per game and hadn’t scored in double figures since Dec. 6.

On Friday, Perkins dropped a career-high 20 points and had 15 of them in the second half alone while shooting 8-of-10 from the field.

After the Huskers pulled within 50-49 on a three by Wilcher, Perkins responded by scoring Iowa’s following six points to help push the lead up 58-51 with 11:32 left.

“Guys we were OK with shooting; they stung us tonight,” Hoiberg said. “Perkins hadn’t hit a three in a long time, and he goes out there and looks like he’s Ray Allen."

3. When Nebraska fights, it at least has a chance

Friday night’s game ended in yet another double-digit defeat for Nebraska, but it felt different than the past few losses.

The Huskers gave Iowa all it could handle for most of the game, especially defensively. That was a notable improvement considering how poor NU was on that end of the floor in the previous outings vs. Maryland, Northwestern, and in Iowa City.

The Hawkeyes eventually broke the game open down the stretch, but for the first 30 minutes, at least, Nebraska came up with answers each time Iowa looked like it was going on a run.

In the end, the Huskers just have too many flaws to overcome the number of mistakes they made at the most critical moments tonight.

If nothing else, this shows they can at least give themselves a chance when they play with enough fight.

The next step, which has been a serious problem all season, is keeping up that fight long enough to win some games.

“We’ve been struggling with that the whole season,” Verge said. “When we get hit, we don’t know how to get back up. I feel like that’s something we’ve just been struggling with all year. We could be down two points, four points, and we hold our heads down.

“It’s frustrating. It’s so frustrating because I feel like we compete, and we’ll be so close. It’s just right there.”