basketball at Nebraska led Minnesota by as many as 17 points in the latter half of the first half, and at the intermission, the score was 39-24. Less than seven minutes into the second quarter, the Huskers blew the lead, and on Wednesday night in Minneapolis, they lost 76-65 to drop their first conference game of the season.
Before the half, Brice Williams had already scored 17 of his 18 points for the game. Juwan Gary led the club with a first-half plus/minus of +16 and finished with 11 points, sparking NU once more from the bench.
First half, everything was coming up Huskers. Before the half, NU made 10 of its final 13 shots and forced the Golden Gophers to miss 12 of their last 14 shots of the half. The Huskers had a 20–11 advantage in rebounds and a 24–4 advantage in points in the paint.
Sadly for Nebraska, two separate squads came out of the locker rooms.
The Gophers swiftly overcame a 15-point deficit. After the break, they made four of their first six 3-pointers. They appeared to win every loose ball and grabbed eight offensive rebounds as opposed to Nebraska’s meager eight defensive boards. In the awful first half, Minnesota outscored the Huskers 52–26.
During the final 20 minutes, Brice Williams scored just one point, committed five fouls (including a technical foul), and turned the ball over four times. Only four points were scored by Keisei Tominaga, who came into the game leading Nebraska in scoring at 15.5 points per game—all of which came from free throws. Tominaga made just one 3-pointer in the first half and missed the other four in the second. With just one assist, Jamarcus Lawrence scored 16 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, but he also committed seven turnovers.
When the Huskers play Michigan State on Sunday, they’ll be looking to a bounce back from two straight defeats.
