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Huskers suffer another heartbreaker to Wisconsin in OT

FINAL STATS

Nebraska was less than a minute away from pulling off its biggest upset victory since “No-Sit Sunday”, but as has been the case far too often for the Huskers this season, they just couldn’t make the winning plays in the end.

Leading by two in the final minute of overtime, Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes nailed a 3-pointer with just 18.6 seconds to play to give the seventh-ranked Badgers a 70-69 win on Thursday night.

The Huskers (10-14 overall, 4-8 Big Ten) then turned it over on their final possession, sealing their fourth loss this season when they’ve had a chance to win with less than five seconds left in the game (Clemson, Rutgers, Ohio State).

"I thought it was a gritty effort by our team," NU head coach Tim Miles said. "I never questioned their resolve and their heart. It seems like we just do enough to lose. There's a lot of different factors that go into that tonight, not just a play here or a play there...

"We were just a play short."

Offense came at a premium through the first 20 minutes of the game, and Nebraska went nearly four minutes without a point to fall behind 14-6. The good news was Wisconsin quickly went on a cold streak of its own, making just 1-of-11 shots from the field during one stretch.

A 3-pointer by sophomore guard Glynn Watson and then a dish from Watson to sophomore forward Edward Morrow for a layup finally helped spark a 9-2 run that cut it to 23-20 with four minutes left in the half.

Both offenses would again go cold from there, however, as neither team would score for nearly the final three minutes until Morrow put in a layup just before the buzzer to cut the deficit to 25-24 going into halftime.

The Badgers didn’t score a point for the final 3:49 of the half and shot just 31 percent from the field. On top of that, their top three scorers on the season - Ethan Happ (4), Hayes (2) and Bronson Koenig (2) - combined for just eight points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field.

"I think it was just patience on offense," senior guard Tai Webster said. "We knew we weren't going to bring it back instantly and come down and shoot a bunch of threes. We just had to grind it out and just focus on getting the stops."

Nebraska fell behind by as many as seven points but was able to keep it a one-possession game at 41-38 with 10 minutes left after four straight points from freshman center Jordy Tshimanga.

In fact the Huskers came within one possession of either tying the game or taking the lead eight different times over the first 15 minutes of the second half, but each time they couldn’t find a way to get over the hump.

Finally, a steal and coast-to-coast layup by by freshman Isaiah Roby sparked a 9-0 run and gave Nebraska its first lead of the night at 50-49 with just over five minutes to play.

Wisconsin quickly reclaimed the lead on a layup by Koenig with three minutes left to make it 53-52, but NU would eventually get it back to 56-55 on a pair of Watson free throws with 1:20 to go.

Hayes then bounced in a fadeaway jumper with just 10.6 left on the clock to push the lead to 58-56.

After an NU timeout, the Huskers scrambled to get off one final shot and the ball ended up in the hands of sophomore forward Michael Jacobson. His last-second heave hit nothing but net with just 0.3 left, sending the game into overtime.

Prior to that shot, Jacobson hadn’t even attempted a 3-pointer since Dec. 28 vs. and hadn’t made one since Dec. 3 vs. South Dakota.

The teams traded the lead five times over the first two minutes of overtime, and a jumper by Watson made it 67-64 until Koenig banked in a 3-pointer to tie it with 1:27 to play.

Webster made two free throws with 1:11 left to put Nebraska back up 69-67, but Hayes again came up huge in the clutch by burying a three with 18.4 left to give the Badgers a 70-69 lead.

With time winding down, Webster drove to the lane but lost the ball, and Happ snagged it and quickly called timeout with 3.3 to play.

"Obviously I tripped over (a defender) and didn't do a good job in executing that myself," Webster said. "I felt like I let us down with that... It was a good opportunity to make a play, I just tripped over. I just made a mistake."

Hayes was fouled with 2.2 left, and while he missed both of his free throws, Nebraska couldn’t haul in the rebound and time ran out.

Webster led NU with 19 points and five assists, while Watson finished with 15 points and Jacobson added 10. Morrow, who saw his first action since Jan. 8 due to a foot injury, added five points and a team-high 13 rebounds.

Hayes led all scorers with 20 points, with 18 of those coming in the second half and overtime.

Nebraska will return to action on Tuesday night when it plays host to Penn State for an 8 p.m. tip on Big Ten Network.

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3-POINT PLAY

1. Despite game-winner, Miles OK with Hayes taking final shot

It seemed relatively ill-advised for Nebraska to leave a future NBA draft pick in Hayes open at the top of the key for good look at a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final seconds, but even in retrospect Miles said he wouldn't change how Nebraska handled that final defensive possession. There was a play earlier in the game where Wisconsin ran the same action for Koenig and NU switched defenders off of a screen, leaving Jacobson on an island to defend Koenig on the perimeter and Koenig banked in a three. So when faced with the same situation in overtime, Miles opted not to switch, this time leaving Jacobson scrambling to close out on Hayes for 3-pointer. Given that Koenig came in with a team-high 62 made threes while Hayes had made just nine of his past 35 attempts from behind the arc, Miles was OK with how the possession played out, just obviously not with the result.

2. Nebraska dominated the boards, but didn't capitalize

Nebraska finished the game with a season-high 50 rebounds and held a 50-37 advantage on the glass over Wisconsin. That marked its highest total since grabbing 52 against Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Nov. 24, 2015. However, the Huskers managed just seven second-chance points off of 20 offensive boards, a stat that Miles said was as big of a factor in the game as anything. With so many extra offensive opportunities, NU's inability to get more production and actually getting outscored by six in second-chance points certainly loom large. Yes, Nebraska also committed a season-high 22 turnovers, but the Badgers only managed 15 points off of those giveaways.

3. Morrow, Watson give NU something to feel good about

There was a question of whether either Morrow or Watson would even play on Thursday night, as both were nursing lingering injuries. As it turned out, not only did both guys play, they each came up huge for the Huskers. In his first action after missing the past seven games, Morrow posted his sixth double-figure rebounding effort of the season. In fact, after the game Morrow said his foot actually felt better than he expected it would. As for Watson, Miles said he by no means planned on him playing 38 minutes, but the staff kept asking him how he was feeling and Watson continuously said he was OK. The concern now turns to whether Watson will suffer any setbacks in his recovery after the big workload.

AND-1

"This will not sink us."

- Head coach Tim Miles on the effect of suffering yet another gut-wrenching loss could have on his team

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