Huskers out-fight Terps in 69-61 Big Ten Tourney upset

CHICAGO – Tim Miles stood in the hallway of the United Center outside Nebraska’s locker room as he waited for senior point guard Glynn Watson to get done with his post-game interview with the Big Ten Network.

With a smile as wide as the Chicago River, the seventh-year head coach turned to a group of local reporters and said, “See you boys tomorrow!”

That combination of joy and confidence was swirling throughout the 13th-seeded Huskers’ locker room following a 69-61 upset over No. 5-seeded Maryland on Thursday. Nebraska, which won for the third time in the past five days, believed it could do it, even when most everyone didn’t.

Less than 24 hours after dropping a career-high 34 points in NU’s win over Rutgers in the first round, senior James Palmer Jr. was fantastic once again, scoring a game-high 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Watson came up with one clutch play after another, scoring 12 of his 19 points in the second half.

But it was the Huskers’ relentless tenacity on defense that defined the victory, as they held Maryland to shoot just 29 percent from the field, forced 11 turnovers, and matched the bigger, stronger Terrapins on the glass at 33 rebounds apiece.

As a result, Nebraska’s season continues for another day, as it moves on to face No. 4 Wisconsin in the quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon. The Huskers became just the second No. 13 seed ever to advance to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals (also Penn State in 2015).

“Just this whole little run with these guys since the end of the year, it makes a coach so proud," Miles said. "You’re sitting there and it seems like you’re the Black Knight in Monty Python, you know what I mean? You lose an arm, lose a leg, and pretty soon you’re like, ‘Come back here, you coward!’ You’re just hemorrhaging. So to be in that situation and be able to see these guys come back … That’s what makes it so cool. That allows you to win.”

While Nebraska didn’t make its first field goal until the 15:46 mark, its defense kept the game in control to start. The two teams opened the day a combined 3-of-19 from the field, but the Huskers eventually found themselves up 14-10 after the first 10 minutes.

Nebraska went four scoreless minutes to allow Maryland to tie it, but a dunk by Roby and four straight by Palmer reclaimed the lead at 20-14 with five minutes left in the half. That would eventually turn into a 13-2 run capped by a Roby layup.

The Huskers took their biggest lead of the half at 30-17 on a 3-pointer by Palmer with 1:38 remaining, and NU would end up going into halftime with a 32-20 lead.

While Nebraska’s defense was excellent all half, Palmer carried the load offensively by scoring 14 of his 24 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting. Maryland only shot 29.2 percent as a team, while NU out-rebounded the Terps 16-14, out-scored them 12-8 in the paint, and scored seven points off seven forced turnovers.

“When you get to stick with your initial game plan, that’s always a good sign because that means that it’s working and we’re fulfilling our coaches wishes,” Roby said of the strong start. “That was awesome.”

It didn’t take long for Maryland to close the gap, though, as it kicked off the second half on a 9-0 to cut the lead to 35-30 run while Nebraska opened the second half 1-of-10 from the field. But just like that, the Huskers regrouped and responded with a 9-0 spurt of their own to match their biggest lead of the day at 44-30 on a 3-pointer by Watson with 12 minutes to play.

“We knew they were going to come back and make a run,” Palmer said. “We had an advantage in playing yesterday, so I guess they weren’t hitting shots, but we played terrific defense, too. We were just ready to come to play today.”

Maryland was starting to chip away again and pulled back to within 46-37, but then UM head coach Mark Turgeon was issued a technical foul for going onto the court during live play arguing a no-call with 8:25 left. That led to two Watson free throws and an And-1 by Roby that put NU up 51-37.

Another three by Watson with 4:56 left got NU up 13, but Maryland answered with a 3-pointer by Anthony Cowan and a dunk by Darryl Morsell cut it to 58-50 with four minutes remaining. Two free throws by Cowan, who led UM with 18 points, made the lead six with 2:27 left.

But after a clutch offensive rebound by walk-on Johnny Trueblood led to a 3-pointer by Palmer and then Trueblood followed with a layup, it put NU up by 10 with 55 seconds to play. Cowan hit another three with 46 seconds, but that would be as close as the Terrapins would get.

“Too many times I think we just get down on ourselves or we lose our will or our confidence too easily, and you’ve got to have that resilience,” Miles said. “One thing I’ve been most impressed with is that acceptance to be able to go in, and now if a team makes a run, you hang in there with it and you don’t overthink it. It’s an important mentality, and they’ve got it.”

Roby scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half, while senior Tanner Borchardt hauled in a game-high nine rebounds, five of which coming on the offensive glass to help NU post an 11-3 edge in second-chance points.

Thursday’s quarterfinal game vs. Wisconsin will tip-off at approximately 2 p.m. CT and will be televised on Big Ten Network.

“We’re just out there having fun,” Roby said. “We came in as a 13 seed with nothing to lose and everything to gain. So we’re playing loose and playing free, but we’re focused. I think earlier in the year we weren’t as focused as we were right now. It’s a good time to be focused, and it’s a good time to play as hard as we’re playing.”

1. Nebraska brought the fight

Given its size, strength, talent, and depth in the frontcourt, Maryland has been about as difficult of a matchup for Nebraska as there is in the conference. But unlike the first two losses in the regular season, the Huskers were the ones who set the tone with their effort and energy from the opening tip. With relentless on-ball pressure on defense and an attacking mentality on offense, NU went right at the Terrapins and didn’t back down the entire day. Maryland made a couple runs to cut the deficit, but each time Nebraska came up with an answer with one clutch play after another. The Terrapins were flustered and frustrated from the start, as the Huskers got in their heads early and didn’t leave until the game clock read zero.

2. Fernando got shut down

At the very top of Nebraska’s game plan for today was finding a way to keep Maryland center Bruno Fernando from completely dominating the low post. The 6-foot-11, 240-pound sophomore destroyed in NU in the first two meetings this season, averaging a whopping 15.5 points and 18.0 rebounds in the victories. On Thursday, Fernando was relegated to an afterthought, finishing with just three points on 1-of-4 shooting, eight boards, and three turnovers. That stat line wasn’t lost on the Huskers after the game.

“Toughness, and heat, and bringing the fight to them,” Borchardt said of Nebraska’s game plan for Fernando. “You can’t wait to get punched in the mouth, and I think we went to them right away. I don’t know if he wasn’t expecting it or he wasn’t ready, but we were ready from the tip.”

3. Miles wasn’t bothered by Moos’ absence

The day got off to an unusual start well before the game started, as it was learned that Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos, who was at the Rutgers win, decided to leave Chicago and fly to California on Thursday for his son’s spring game at Cal on Saturday. Miles was asked after the game if he’d like his A.D. to be in attendance for Thursday’s quarterfinal.

“I think he’s got his son’s spring game, and you what, I’d want to be there for my son’s spring game, too,” Miles said. “He can catch us on TV; I’m fine with that. Bill’s a good dude, a good guy, and he’s told me before, ‘Listen, I’m going to make a decision at the end of the year; it’s going to be a difficult decision, and retention’s an option.’ I’m just trying to coach and get these guys to get the most out of this experience. It’s a big-boy business, and whatever will be, will be.”