Huskers no match for No. 9 Michigan in 82-53 drubbing

On a night that seemed to have everything working against Nebraska’s favor going in, Thursday’s road trip to take on No. 9 Michigan went about how most expected.

The Wolverines pulled away in the opening minutes and never looked back to hand NU an 82-53 defeat in a game that felt like it was over before it even started.

Michigan ended up shooting a whopping 55.6 percent from the field and hit 12-of-22 3-pointers, the most made threes the Huskers had allowed all season. The Wolverines played 14 of the 15 players on its roster and were led by 22 points from center Jon Teske and 20 from Ignas Brazdeikis.

Sophomore Nana Akenten scored 11 points off the bench while senior Glynn Watson added 10, but the rest of NU’s starting lineup combined for 22 points and three starters were benched to open the second half.

The loss was the latest low in a total season collapse for Nebraska, which has now dropped 10 of its last 12 games and fell to 15-14 overall and 5-14 in Big Ten play. Michigan, on the other hand, kept itself in the thick of conference title contention and improved to 25-4 and 14-4.

“A lot of silence,” head coach Tim Miles said when asked about his team’s demeanor on his post-game radio show on the Husker Sports Network. “I ask them, and there’s not much. They’re frustrated.”

The 7-foot-1 Teske scored eight of Michigan’s first 13 points to spark the Wolverines to an early nine-point lead out of the gates. That deficit ballooned to 31-11 with 6:36 left in the half after Nebraska made just two field goals in a span of nine minutes and allowed UM to go on an 18-4 run in the process.

Michigan would go up by as many as 24 points before settling on a 43-21 halftime lead. The Wolverines shot a blistering 65.4 percent from the field, hit six of their first eight 3-pointers, and held a 20-13 edge on the boards.

The Huskers went just 30.3 percent from the field and missed all eight of their attempts from behind the arc. Their starting lineup –Watson, James Palmer Jr., Isaiah Roby, Thomas Allen, and Tanner Borchardt – combined for just 11 points on 5-of-26 shooting.

“It was all in the first half,” Miles said. “I mean, games are rarely decided at halftime, but they came out very aggressive. Michigan’s playing for a championship, and we talked about that to our guys and talked about the energy, the focus, and how hard we have to play, and we just didn’t. It was extremely disappointing.”

The effort in the first half was so poor that Miles decided to sit starters Palmer, Roby, and Allen to open the second half in favor of Akenten, Amir Harris, and Thorir Thorbjarnarson. After eight minutes, Nebraska’s deficit had increased with 59-34, and the three starters checked back into the game.

“I almost benched all five of them (starters), but I decided not to,” Miles said. “I want Glynn to run the team, and Tanner had done a solid job… But if two guys are 5-for-7 and three guys are 0-for-15, come on now. This is a gut-check.”

The motivational tactic did little to change the final result, as Michigan’s lead grew to as much as 31 before all was said and done in the final 29-point margin.

The Wolverines finished 55.6 from the field, 54.5 percent from downtown, out-rebounded NU 43-31, and had 19 assists on 30 made baskets. Palmer finished with just seven points on 3-of-15 shooting and didn’t make his first basket until the 8:58 mark in the second half, snapping his streak of 24 straight games scoring in double figures.

“What I do know is we didn’t come with a mentality that was equal to Michigan’s,” Miles said. “Michigan is a really, really good team… So if you don’t come with the same mentality as a team that’s really, really good, this is what happens. That’s my job as a coach, is to get that out of them.”

Nebraska will hit the road again on Tuesday night for a 6 p.m. CT tip at No. 6 Michigan State, which will be televised on ESPN2.

1. Nebraska ran into a buzz saw

It's hard to imagine a situation where a team faced as many motivational hurdles going into a game as Nebraska did on Thursday night. Not only were the Huskers, who had been already been struggling to score, facing one of the best defensive teams in the country, they were on the road against a top-10 opponent desperate for a win in order to keep their Big Ten title hopes alive. Michigan was also on the heels of a tough loss to in-state rival Michigan State and was looking to bounce back in a nationally-televised game on ESPN. Oh, and it was Senior Night for the Wolverines. Given the circumstances, the game played out as expected, especially considering this was a matchup that was already difficult enough without all of the additional UM motivators. Add in how completely uninspired and disinterested Nebraska's players seemed all night, the Huskers never stood a chance.

2. No Matthews, no problem

Michigan was dealt an unexpected blow just before tip-off when it was announced that senior guard Charles Matthews would miss the game with an ankle injury he suffered last time out vs. Michigan State. It was unfortunate that the senior, who was the team’s third-leading scorer (12.8 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (5.1.), had to miss his final home game, but it didn’t really hold UM back at all. Sophomore Isaiah Livers got the start in Matthews’ place and posted 12 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists. More importantly, he took over the primary defensive assignment on Palmer and helped hold him to his lowest scoring output in 24 games. Just when it looked like Nebraska might finally get a good break, it proved to only be a minor setback for its opponent.

3. Injuries to Allen, Akenten could make things even worse

Thursday night was the definition of adding injury to insult, as both Allen and Akenten left the game in the second half with unknown injuries. Miles said after the game that he wasn’t sure on the full extent of either injury but added: “I feel like Tom’s is significant." Nebraska already couldn’t afford to have any of its available roster miss time, but the fact two of its more promising young players could be sidelined stings even worse. Akenten was having arguably his best game as a Husker before falling hard on his back while contesting a dunk. Allen left midway through the second half with what appeared to be a foot/ankle injury. More information on both players should be known after further evaluation in Lincoln.