In a game where hardly anyone gave Nebraska a puncher’s chance at even keeping it close, let alone getting a road upset over No. 9 Maryland, the Huskers nearly pulled off an absolute stunner.

Despite trailing by as many as 14 points early in the second half, NU continued to fight and slowly chipped the deficit down to one with just 12 seconds in the game. But with a chance to win as time expired, Cam Mack’s layup was blocked by Jalen Smith to secure a 72-70 loss.

Haanif Cheatham scored a game-high 20 points and Nebraska overcame an awful first half to shoot 54 percent and outscore Maryland 45-34 in the second half. But that wasn’t quite enough to prevent a ninth-straight defeat, matching the program’s longest losing streak since 2014-15.

“We’ve got some guys that are down in (the locker room),” head coach Fred Hoiberg told the Husker Sports Network. “But I told them, you just went toe-to-toe with the ninth-ranked team in the country and the No. 1 team in our league… To lose that game by two, we showed a lot of really good resiliency.”

Nebraska (7-17 overall, 2-11 Big Ten) took the first lead of the night on a pretty lob to sophomore Cam Mack on the opening possession and trailed just 8-7 at the first media timeout. But the offense would come few and far between from there.

The Huskers went on to miss 10 of their next 11 shots and didn’t make a field goal in five minutes, allowing Maryland (20-4, 10-3) to go on a 10-0 run. Nebraska also started just 1-of-10 from 3-point range for the second straight game.

But NU would rally back again and pull within one on five straight points by Thorir Thorbjarnarson, but the Terrapins responded with a 12-2 run to go up 30-19 on three free throws by Anthony Cowan with 5:31 left in the half.

Nebraska would only score six points over the final 8:55 of the half and allowed Maryland to go into halftime with its largest lead yet at 38-25. The 25 points were NU’s lowest in a half since scoring 22 in the first half at Creighton on Dec. 7, 2019.

Thorir Thorbjarnarson scored 10 of his 15 points in the first half on 4-of-7 shooting and going 2-for-3 from behind the arc. The rest of the team, however, combined to score 15 points on 5-of-26 and making just 1-of-15 from three.

It also didn’t help that all nine Huskers who played in the first half picked up a foul, including four whistled for two (Mack, Jervay Green, Cheatham, and Yvan Ouedraogo). In all, Nebraska was called for 13 fouls in the first half, resulting in 18 Maryland free throws.

“The thing that really cost us in that first half was the foul line,” Hoiberg said. “Unfortunately them going 14-for-18 from the free-throw line at halftime, that was a big reason we had that deficit. Other than that, I thought we defended them pretty well.

As rough as things had been early, the Huskers were able to reclaim some momentum with one of their best starts to a second half in conference play.

Nebraska made seven of its first nine shots with six assists over the first five minutes of the second half, and that cut the deficit down to 47-40.

Then things really got rolling, as NU followed that up with a 12-2 run to pull within 56-54 on a layup by Green with 7:37 left to play.

“I was really proud of how they went out there and they stayed together,” Hoiberg said. “There was a lot of positivity and talking in the locker room at halftime, and we went out and played maybe as good of a half as we’ve played all season.”

But then a paper airplane was thrown onto the court from the Maryland student section, disrupting an NU possession that ended in a missed three at the end of the shot clock. That sparked an 8-0 run for Maryland that pushed its lead up to 64-54 with 4:45 remaining.

Just when it seemed like the Terps were about to put the game away, though, Cheatham stepped up and scored eight straight points to get Nebraska back within 66-62. A 3-pointer by Cross and three free throws by Cheatham and Mack then made it 71-70 with 12 seconds to play.

Wooden Award finalist Anthony Cowan, who came in as a 78-percent free-throw shooter, went to the line after an immediate foul on the ensuing inbound pass and missed the front end of a 1-and-1.

The Huskers rebounded and opted not to call timeout, and Mack beat Cowan off the dribble for a clear path to the rim. But the 6-foot-10 Smith came out of nowhere and blocked the shot.

“We had an opportunity there,” Hoiberg said. “I thought Cam made a phenomenal, explosive move to the basket. Unfortunately, Smith made a heck of a play on it.”

Television replays showed Smith’s right foot was on the baseline when he touched the ball after the block, but possession was awarded to Maryland, and Smith was fouled with 0.8 on the clock. Smith made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second to put the game away for good.

Thorbjarnarson scored 15 points with a team-high seven rebounds while Matej Kavas came off the bench and added 11 points. Nebraska ended up shooting 40 percent from the field for the game but finished just 7-of-33 from behind the arc.

The Huskers became just the second Big Ten team to score 70 points against Maryland at the XFINITY Center.

Smith extended his nation-leading streak of consecutive double-doubles to seven with 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Terrapins, while Eric Ayala also scored 16 and was 4-of-8 from behind the arc. Cowan posted a double-double as well with 13 points and 10 assists.

Nebraska will hope to end its losing streak in its next time out when Wisconsin comes to Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. CT tip on Big Ten Network.

“I told the guys how proud I am of them. We’ve had some games like this… We’ve had some stretches where we’re playing really well, and it’s certainly something to build on. Hopefully, we can get over the hump on one of these and get on a little run.”

1. Nebraska didn’t quit

In the end, Tuesday night was still Nebraska’s 17th loss of the season and a ninth-straight defeat.

But considering where this team was just three nights earlier, what the Huskers showed on the road against one of the best teams in the nation’s best conference cannot be ignored.

In previous losses to Penn State and then at Iowa, NU’s players looked like they were ready for the season to just be over. Their body language and effort plummeted at the first taste of adversity in those games, and it looked like the frustration of a grueling schedule had finally gotten the best of them.

Yet even after falling behind by 14 points for the ninth straight game, Nebraska didn’t quit this time. Instead, they out-hustled Maryland to almost every loose ball, attacked the rim against a much bigger frontcourt, and found the fortitude to knock down big shots in the final minutes.

You can question why the offense was so bad in the first half, or whether Hoiberg should have called a timeout on the final possession, or whether Mack should have passed it off to one of his open teammates for the last shot.

But you can’t question the heart the Huskers showed tonight, especially for a team that could have easily packed it in and let this season swirl further down the drain. Nebraska remains desperate for a win, but efforts like are the next best thing in terms of building the right culture.

2. What an effort by Cheatham

Hoiberg said after the game that he didn’t know whether Cheatham would even be able to play until shortly before tip-off, as he was still dealing with a right calf contusion he suffered at Iowa.

Not only did the fifth-year senior play and start his 24th consecutive game, he ended up being one of the main reasons Nebraska nearly pulled out the upset.

Despite hardly even being able to put weight on his right leg on Monday, Cheatham toughed it out and led all scorers with 20 points, with 18 of those coming in the second half.

The former Marquette and Florida Gulf Coast transfer shot 6-of-7 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line after halftime, including scoring 11 of 13 points during NU’s late rally.

Cheatham is a guy who has been looked to as one of the only true vocal leaders in Nebraska’s locker room this season. Nothing he could have said would have had a bigger impact than the examples of toughness and determination he showed at Maryland.

3. Hoiberg shook things up with a new lineup

Part of it was out of necessity, but the new starting lineup Hoiberg debuted at Maryland was also a statement that he wasn’t afraid to shake things up if needed.

With junior guard Dachon Burke left at home in Lincoln while dealing with the flu, Green got his first start since the loss at Creighton on Dec. 7, 2019.

He played 34 minutes on Tuesday – his most since playing 34 at Georgia Tech on Dec. 4 – and finished with eight points, six rebounds, and five assists.

Hoiberg also made the call to give Cross his first career start in place of Ouedraogo, who had started the first 23 games this season.

It was not Cross’s best night, as he had just four points on 2-of-10 shooting while playing in foul trouble. Ouedraogo had seven points and four boards in 16 minutes off the bench.

There could have been another big change had Cheatham not been able to play. Despite getting the start, Cheatham only played 10 minutes in the first half before his second-half flurry.

That starting lineup of Green, Cross, Cheatham, Mack, and Thorbjarnarson had not played a single minute together over the previous five games.