Huskers pull off 72-71 road upset of No. 11 Michigan State
Nebraska came into Wednesday night’s showdown with No. 11 Michigan State riding high on a three-game winning streak, while the Spartans had just lost two straight and were desperate for a victory.
Despite facing an MSU team that had been ranked No. 1 in the country just a few weeks ago on the road as 14.5-point underdogs, the Huskers had no plans of reversing the fortunes for either squad.
Behind a relentless performance from senior forward Shavon Shields, who finished with a team-high 28 points including the eventual game-winner in the final seconds, Nebraska held on to pull out a 72-71 upset.
Michigan State standout Denzel Valentine banked in a prayer 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds remaining to make it a one-point game, and then junior guard Tai Webster missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving the Spartans a chance to win it at the buzzer. But Valentine’s jumper as time expired was off the mark, sealing the Huskers’ fourth straight win in Big Ten Conference play.
The win marked NU’s first victory over a ranked opponent since knocking off No. 9 Wisconsin on “No Sit Sunday” back in March of 2014, and also its third consecutive win over the Spartans.
"The kids played great. Really great," head coach Tim Miles said on his postgame radio show on the Husker Sports Network. "What a fun college basketball game... The thing I'm most proud of the guys for is just their mindset. They really came out with a great deal of determination."
It took just 10 seconds into the game for Miles to burn his first timeout, as Michigan State (16-4, 3-4) jumped out to a quick 5-0 run. The early break seemed to pay off, as the Huskers (12-8, 4-3) came back and put together a 13-0 run and took a 21-14 lead on a free throw by Shields with 11:54 left in the half.
The Spartans quickly came up with an answer by going on an 8-0 run of their own, but NU was able to keep it a one-point game inside of five minutes. With 4:24 remaining, Shields was fouled while driving to the rim and slammed his back against the base of the basket. That left Nebraska without Shields and junior guard Andrew White, who was already on the bench with two fouls, for the remaining of the half.
With some tough defense and some big shots by Webster and freshman guard Glynn Watson, the Huskers were able to make it a 20-minute game by going into halftime tied up at 33-33. The Huskers shot 51.9 percent from the field in the first half and were only out-rebounded 17-16 by the second-best rebounding team in the Big Ten.
"You've got to be in kind of a, like, 'I'm going in the alley. This is going to be painful. It's going to be bloody and physical and all those things. That's not always a natural human concept. If you're linebacker it is. But when you come into Michigan State, you better have that mentality."
The teams would continue to exchange blows through the first eight minutes of the second half until a basket by Shields and a 3-pointer by freshman forward Jack McVeigh sparked another 13-0 run by the Huskers that helped them take a 64-56 lead with 8:35 to go in the game.
"I think as a team we did a good job of just staying calm," Shields said. "We have a lot of young guys, so I tried to just smile and lighten the mood a little bit and not make anything bigger than it was. This is a crazy environment to play, and I think our whole team handled it pretty well."
Nebraska would eventually carry a six-point lead inside of two minutes, but Michigan State refused to go down without a fight and strung together a 6-2 spurt that cut it to 70-68 on a 3-pointer by guard Eron Harris with 45.8 remaining.
Shields came up with a huge floater in the lane to make it 72-68 with 17.9 to play, but Valentine’s circus 3-pointer made it a one-point lead with just over five seconds to go. After Webster’s missed free throw, MSU rebounded and got the ball to Valentine, who had an open look from just inside the 3-point line but couldn’t connect.
"It seems like we're in good shape, and then all of a sudden we miss, foul underneath," Miles said. "We miss a free throw, foul underneath. Now all a sudden that (score) is tight. With two minutes to go you think you're OK, and then with one minute you're up two with the ball knowing they're going to get a shot if you miss it to win it."
Watson finished with 13 points despite dealing an illness the past few days, while Webster added 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the win. The Huskers shot 50 percent from the field as a team and were only out-rebounded 38-32 and actually out-scored MSU 32-24 in the paint.
Just as importantly, NU only committed two turnovers compared to 10 by the Spartans.
"We're better," Miles said. "We made a lot of errors (earlier in the season), and we're going to get better. I think we're going to get better. I like it."
Nebraska will try to make it five wins in a row on Saturday when it returns to Pinnacle Bank Arena to take on Michigan at 1 p.m in a nationally televised game on ESPN2.
The game will also be the second-annual #AveryStrong Day, honoring Avery Harriman, the young son of former assistant coach Chris Harriman, who continues to battle leukemia.
Around the rim
***Shields matched his season high of 28 set against Miami on Dec. 1.
***Nebraska picked up its third straight win over Michigan State and NU is 3-4 against MSU since joining the Big Ten.
***Nebraska’s win snapped a 10-game losing streak vs. ranked opponents.
***NU’s third straight conference road win was the first time NU won three straight conference road wins since 1998.
***Nebraska improves to 2-11 all-time against the No. 11 AP ranked team. The other win came against Indiana in 2011-12.