Nebraska stretched its win streak to four games with a Super Bowl Sunday win over Ohio State, 79-71, at home inside a packed Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Nebraska basketball is now 1-5 on Super Bowl Sunday.
Here are three quick thoughts on the Huskers' win, which pushes their record to 16-8 overall and 6-7 in the Big Ten.
Nebraska's stud, Brice Williams, came through again when his team needed it — especially at the free-throw line
After a 13-point, five-rebound, two-assist first half from Brice Williams, Nebraska's best player took it upon himself to shoulder the load in the second.
The 6-foot-7 guard scored five straight to cap an 11-0 run that helped Nebraska regain the lead and go up by seven, 55-48, with 8:08 remaining. The Huskers trailed 39-34 at halftime.
With the Huskers leading 65-60 with under three minutes left, Williams calmly got to his spot near the free-throw line, pump-faked to get his defender in the air, and dropped in another of his patented mid-range jumpers to put NU up 67-60. It was a shot that looked like Williams had practiced hundreds of times alone in the gym.
Knowing his team was in the bonus, Williams was in attack mode to end the game and he was rewarded with a good chunk of free throws, and he made them all, going 5-of-5.
Williams ended the game with a double-double of 24 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. That's four consecutive 20-point games for Williams, who's making a strong case for first-team All-Big Ten.
Big plays down the stretch for Nebraska made the difference, and so did the defense and free throws to end the game
The Huskers had winning plays from several role players down the stretch.
Juwan Gary started the second half hot, scoring seven points in the first seven minutes — along with being a beast on the offensive glass — to help Nebraska cut into its 39-34 halftime deficit. Gary finished with 19 points and five rebounds — his plus/minus was a team-best plus-19.
Connor Essegian, not known for his work inside the 3-point arc, showed toughness by crashing the offensive glass, snagging a missed shot and connecting on a putback to tie the game at 48 with 11:30 left in the game.
NU then took a 50-48 lead with 10 minutes left after Andrew Morgan dove on the court for a loose ball and dished it off to Rollie Worster, who wound up finding Morgan under the hoop for an easy paint bucket to give NU a 50-48 lead.
Worster came up big from behind the arc by slashing in a 3 in front of his head coach, Fred Hoiberg, to put NU up 65-60 with 3:05 left. Worster, who came into the day shooting 21.6% from 3, has done well lately playing within himself and limiting his 3-point attempts. He also hit a key jumper late in the win at Oregon.
First-half foul trouble kept some of Nebraska's key players off the court, and Ohio State took advantage
A total of three starters and four rotation players dealt with foul trouble in the first half, leading the Huskers to dig deeper in its roster and Ohio State to stretch its lead at the break.
Starters Gary, Berke Buyuktuncel and Worster, as well as Morgan, all picked up two fouls relatively early. Gary only played nine minutes (and scored six points) while Buyuktuncel played 15, Worster 13 and Morgan six.
That meant important first-half minutes for Braxton Meah, Ahron Ulis and walk-on Cale Jacobsen against the full-strength Buckeyes.
All things considered, it was impressive for the Huskers to only trail by five points, 39-34, at the break. In seven minutes of action, Meah had five points and went an uncharacteristic 3-of-3 from the free-throw line.
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