Advertisement
basketball Edit

Nebraska no match for Golden Gophers in 88-73 rout

FINAL STATS

On the heels of its two worst losses in Big Ten play, Nebraska found a way to hit another low point in an 88-73 loss at Minnesota on Thursday night.

A game that was close through the first 15 minutes of play turned into the Huskers’ third straight defeat by 15 points or more, and it all but put an end to their NIT hopes barring a run in next week’s Big Ten Tournament.

After pulling within one point with just over five minutes remaining in the first half, Nebraska (12-17 overall, 6-11 Big Ten) saw the Golden Gophers blow things open the rest of the way and take as much as a 24-point lead before all was said and done.

Minnesota shot 55.9 percent from the field and a blistering 62.1 percent in the second half, while the Huskers were just 37.7 percent and committed 16 turnovers that led to 17 UM points.

The defeat marked the fifth time this season that NU has gone on a three-game losing streak.

"You saw a team with a crisis of confidence for a while," head coach Tim Miles said on his post-game radio show on the Husker Sports Network. "Quite frankly, so saw a team out there wondering, 'Why is this happening? What's going on?'

"That's my job to get on top of them and make sure that we can get stops and get in a position where we get our defense back in order."

After a back-and-forth start Minnesota made the first push with the help of a wave of turnovers and missed shots by Nebraska to give the Gophers an early 14-7 lead.

The Huskers quickly answered with a 7-0 run of their own and tied it at 14 on a basket by senior Tai Webster with just over 11 minutes left in the half.

NU would either tie the game or get within one possession three more times from there, including getting it to 26-25 on a 3-pointer by Webster with 5:03 to go before halftime.

Things would go south from then on, however. Minnesota ended up closing the half on a 14-2 run over the final 4:38 to go into the locker room with a commanding 40-27 lead.

It was pretty much an all-around ugly first 20 minutes for Nebraska, as it shot just 34.3 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from 3-point range while turning it over nine times.

Minnesota, on the other hand, shot 50 percent and was 10-of-13 from the free throw line, while NU did not attempt a single free throw in the first half.

"We really weren't up to the task right away," Miles said. "At the rim, I thought the did a good job rim protecting, because we were 6-for-18 at the rim, they were 11-for-18 at halftime. You know, 13 fouls shots to zero, I'm like, 'Hey, what's going on?' That could be us, that could be them."

Nebraska opened the second half with a nearly 4:30 field goal drought that let the Gophers push their lead to the biggest margin yet at 48-31 on a jumper by Nate Mason with 16 minutes left.

It only got worse from there, as Minnesota eventually extended its lead to 22 when Dupree McBrayer scored 10 of UM’s 12 points during one stretch.

The Gophers then took their largest lead of the night at 84-60 on a layup by Mason with 4:02 to play, and it would be all semantics from there.

Sophomore guard Glynn Watson led Nebraska with 14 points, while sophomore forward Edward Morrow finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

Sophomore forward Michael Jacobson scored eight of his 10 points in the first half and added five rebounds, two blocks and an assist.

Webster finished with 11 points, extending his streak of consecutive games scoring in double-figures to 30 dating back to last season. He also became just the 15th Husker to score 500 points in a season.

Mason led Minnesota with a game-high 25 points and Jordan Murphy followed up with 20 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Nebraska will return to action for its regular season finale at home against Michigan on Sunday, which will also feature Senior Night festivities for NU’s lone senior, Webster.

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network.

"At this time of year, all you can do is get better," Miles said. "All you can worry about is how to get better. Especially when you're in this situation where you have this kind of crisis of confidence.

"These young guys, it's amazing - and I'm not even talking about my team, I'm talking about my kids and everything - they'll have confidence for a while, lose it easily, get it back more easily.

"You've just got to stick with them. I like our guys, we've just got to keep teaching, keep doing the right things and get this thing squared away."

Advertisement