Wildcats too much for Nebraska in 74-66 defeat

After having nearly everything go its way during a four-game winning streak and perfect 3-0 start to Big Ten Conference play, Nebraska’s luck finally ran dry in a 74-66 loss to Northwestern on Sunday afternoon.

The Huskers (9-7 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) didn’t play their worst game of the year by any means, but the Wildcats (13-4, 2-2) seemingly could do no wrong in an impressive display on both ends.

Led by five 3-pointers by guard Vic Law, Northwestern ended the game 11-of-24 from 3-pointer range, 13-of-14 from the free throw line and shot 51 percent from the field with four players scoring in double figures.

Senior guard Tai Webster paced NU with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, but the Huskers only shot 37.5 percent from field in the second half and got a combined 13 points from sophomores Glynn Watson (6) and Edward Morrow (7).

"I think you have to credit Northwestern," head coach Tim Miles said. "I think they came in and really played well. We jumped on them each of the first five minutes, and they didn't flinch. We weren't able to capitalize on playing well to get enough stops.

"We blew defensive assignments, they made threes - which was like the No. 2 key - and then we just kind of morphed into this team that was forcing the ball at the rim and just that ugly basketball. You have to credit their defensive edge and intensity to create that."

Nebraska and Northwestern traded 10-2 runs to start the game, but the Wildcats made the first big move behind three straight 3-pointers by Law to take a 26-18 lead.

Northwestern extended that lead to 33-23 on a 3-pointer by Bryant McIntosh with 2:37 left before halftime. That, however, would be the last points the Wildcats would get the rest of the half.

A 3-pointer by sophomore Jack McVeigh, his first since Dec. 18, sparked one of the most furious rallies in recent memory for the Huskers.

They ended up reeling off a 14-0 run in the final 1:42 of the half, capped off by a 3-pointer by Webster at buzzer to send NU into halftime up 37-33.

"That was awesome," sophomore forward Michael Jacobson said. "It was good to get it back and get in front right before the half and maybe take some momentum away from them. But it's a long game, and there was still a half of basketball left. Clearly it was not the deciding factor there."

That momentum didn’t last very long into the second half, though, as Northwestern came out firing and knocked down its first five 3-point attempts to take a 56-50 lead with 11 minutes to play.

"They packed it in (defensively) and dared us to shoot outside shots," junior guard Evan Taylor said. "I thought their defensive game plan was good, and we kind of got timid on offense. We've got to stay away from that."

Scottie Lindsay was fouled on a three-pointer and made all three of his free throws to push the Wildcats’ lead to 63-56 with six minutes to go.

Northwestern would keep NU at arm’s reach over the next five minutes, but Morrow converted an And-1 to cut it to 70-66 with 51.9 seconds remaining.

That would be as close as the Huskers would get, as they missed their final three shots while the Wildcats added two more free throws to close out the victory.

Jacobson ended up with a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Taylor added 11 points and four assists in the loss.

The Huskers will get a needed break before returning to action again on Saturday, when they travel to take on Michigan in Ann Arbor for a 1 p.m. tip on BTN.

"I just thought our offensive execution was poor all night," Miles said. "It seems like we made shots, but we didn't run offense... We weren't up to the fight. We were not up to the fight. They took the fight to us."

1. If Watson struggles, Nebraska struggles

There is a direct correlation between the play of Watson and Nebraska’s chances for victory this season. When Watson has been held to scoring in single digits, the Huskers are just 2-4 on the year, including Sunday’s defeat. When the sophomore scores 10 points or more, NU is 7-3. For a team that has had its share of issues scoring the ball, Nebraska simply cannot afford for one of their primary sources of offense in Watson to have an off day. “I think Glynn talked himself out of it tonight,” Miles said. “He saw more than what was there.”

2. Hangover from Iowa win not an excuse

Nebraska had only two days’ rest between Thursday night’s physically and emotionally draining double-overtime victory over Iowa and Sunday’s showdown with Northwestern. The Husker players refused to use the quick turnaround as an excuse for their performance against the Wildcats, and Miles said fatigue was far from his team’s biggest issue. If anything, the fact that NU only had one day of normal preparation leading into the game had as big of an impact as tired legs did. Miles said the team held a quick shoot-around, stretched and watched film on Friday and came back with a strong practice on Saturday. Based on the multiple mental mistakes the Huskers made in the game, though, the short prep may not have been enough.

3. Season still on track despite disappointing loss

Sunday’s loss may have taken some of the air out of Nebraska’s sails after its improbable four-game winning streak, but the Huskers are still in strong position to continue their run to a potential NCAA Tournament bid. Northwestern head coach Chris Collins had nothing but praise for NU after the game and said “this team is going to win a bunch of games” this season. The Huskers will have a week off to regroup before heading out to face Michigan, and with the way the Big Ten is this year, no team is unbeatable in the conference. If Nebraska can find a way to own its home court and steal another couple wins on the road, getting to 16 or 17 wins is certainly well within reach. If that happens, the Huskers will have a very strong case to go dancing once again.

"I don’t want to make any excuses. Everyone has quick turnarounds and it’s a long season for everyone. I don’t think (there was an impact), I think we just got away from ourselves a little bit. Not to discredit anything (Northwestern) did, they did a good job on positional defense and they sat in those lanes and kind of forced us to take some outside shots. I think that hurt us.”

- Sophomore forward Michael Jacobson on a potential hangover from Thursday double-overtime win over Iowa