Fred Hoiberg has said it multiple times this season, and Thursday night's loss to No. 25 Maryland brought it out of the coach one more time.

"You can play well in the league and lose," Hoiberg said not long after the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard.

For being in the situation they were in — without an injured starter in Berke Büyüktuncel, plus both Brice Williams and Connor Essegian feeling sick and Williams needing an IV the morning of the game — the Huskers battled and fought and clawed with the Terrapins all night.

Chalk it up as a loss, yes. Without the 6-foot-10, 246-pound Büyüktuncel there to help, the dynamic big duo of Derik Queen and Julian Reese did what they wanted for much of the night and combined for 37 points and 23 rebounds. Nebraska's defense struggled to stay in front of Maryland's core three guards, especially down the stretch, too.

"We just had no edge. I just felt that the first half we had no edge," Juwan Gary said after the game. "The second half coming out, we didn't have an edge either."

But at the end of the day, this Husker team competed with and went blow for blow with one of the best teams in the Big Ten — while short-handed. Hoiberg saw a locker room that obviously didn't want a loss or to see its four-game winning streak end, but spirits were still high.

"I do think they're hurt, but they're not deflated. You could see that in the locker room," Hoiberg said.

Maryland is getting smaller in the rear view mirror, though, and the Northwestern Wildcats are quickly approaching. The Huskers (16-9 overall, 6-8 B1G) head to Evanston on Saturday and will play the Wildcats (13-12, 4-10) with a tip time of 2 p.m.

Day/Time: Sunday at 2 p.m. CT

TV: BTN with Dave Revsine and Jess Settles on the call.

Stream: Fox Sports App.

Listen: Huskers Radio Network with Kent Pavelka and Jake Muhleisen on the call, including KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln, KXSP (590 AM) in Omaha and KRVN (880 AM) in Lexington. The pregame show begins an hour before tipoff and will also be available on Huskers.com and the Huskers app.

Chris Collins' Northwestern will be short-handed as well, even more than the Huskers will be. The Wildcats have lost two starters to season-ending injuries this season in guard/forward Brooks Barnhizer (foot) and point guard Jalen Leach (ACL).

As one would imagine when adversity like that happens, the team has struggled. The Wildcats will come into Sunday on a two-game losing streak — they lost to both Oregon and Washington on the Pacific Northwest swing — and are just 3-9 in their last 12.

Nebraska will focus its game plan on 6-7, 220-pound forward Nick Martinelli, who has stepped up in a big way this season for Northwestern. The forward has five double-doubles on the season and, since the injuries, has gotten more opportunities.

In the last three games Martinelli has two double-doubles. Against USC, he willed Northwestern to a 77-75 win with 27 points and 13 boards. The next game, at Washington, he put up 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Northwestern has owned this series lately. Nebraska hasn't beaten Northwestern in Evanston since Feb. 8, 2014. Nebraska did pick up a road win at Northwestern in January 2018, but that game was played in Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., while the Wildcats' current home, Welsh-Ryan Arena, was being renovated.

In the last nine matchups with the Wildcats, the Huskers are 1-8, with the lone win coming last season in Lincoln.

While Northwestern is struggling against Big Ten competition, Sunday's game will still rate as a Quad 1 opportunity. As of Friday, the Wildcats had a NET rating of 59 while Nebraska saw a drop of two spots, from 47 to 49 following the Maryland loss. The Huskers have a 5-7 record against Quad 1 opponents.

Still plenty of Quad 1 games down the stretch to end the regular season, too. Three of the final six after Penn State recently went from a Quad 1 opponent to a Quad 2. Here's a quick look at the remaining opponents and their Quad rating:

>> Sunday: at Northwestern (59, Quad 1)

>> Wednesday, Feb. 19: at Penn State (78, Quad 2)

>> Monday, Feb. 24: vs. No. 20 Michigan (20, Quad 1)

>> Saturday, March 1: vs. Minnesota (94, Quad 3)

>> Tuesday, March 4: at Ohio State (27, Quad 1)

>> Sunday, March 9: vs. Iowa (61, Quad 2)

Recapping the home and away:

Away from PBA: Northwestern (59), Penn State (78), Ohio State (27).

At home in PBA: No. 20 Michigan (20), Minnesota (94), Iowa (61).

Like the trip out West when the Huskers played at Oregon and Washington, the Huskers will stay on the road and head to State College, Penn., after the game against the Wildcats in Evanston.

"We get an opportunity to spend time with each other, just like we did when we went out West," Hoiberg said after the Maryland loss. "We're going to stay on the road and travel to Penn State the day after we play Northwestern. We'll stay overnight Chicago, practice at Northwestern, and then hit the road and hopefully play well."

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