Michigan snaps NU winning streak in 81-68 defeat

Everything had been rolling Nebraska’s way the past three weeks during a four-game winning streak, but its luck finally ran out in an 81-68 defeat at the hands of Michigan on Saturday afternoon.

The Wolverines shot lights out from the opening tip until the final buzzer, hitting 53.2 percent from the field and an impressive 52.4 percent from 3-point range. The Huskers on the other hand struggled to maintain much offensive flow all day - including going just 6-of-22 from beyond the arc - and each one of their rallies were answered with clutch UM baskets.

Nebraska was able to cut an 18-point deficit down to two points with just over three minutes remaining in the game, but that would be as close as it would get. The Huskers fell to 12-9 overall and 4-4 in Big Ten play with the loss, and still have yet to defeat Michigan since joining the conference back in 2011.

"I think our kids showed a lot of heart," head coach Tim Miles said. "They fought back. Unfortunately we've lost a whole bunch of games at home this year, and they hate that. They want to do well for our fans and they want to win games. But I just think they absolutely played with a lot of heart, because this wasn't our best night."

Michigan (15-5, 5-2) came out red-hot to start the game and knocked four of its first five 3-pointers of the day to go on a 15-2 run and lead 18-6 after the first five minutes. The Wolverines would cool off as the half went on, though, making just one field goal in the final 7:44.

That allowed Nebraska to slowly chip away at the deficit, including going on a 10-3 run that got them to within 27-23 after a tough basket by senior forward Shavon Shields with 3:52 left in the half. A free throw by UM center Mark Donnal put Michigan up by six with just 12 seconds to go, but freshman guard Glynn Watson drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the Huskers into halftime down just 33-30.

Watson’s 3-pointer was NU’s second make in 12 attempts (16.7 percent) in the first half, while the Wolverines ended the half 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) from beyond the arc.

"It was a little bit of both," junior guard Andrew White said. "They executed really well. We gave them some momentum in the first half, and a few of those mistakes were mine. When you have a team like that who is a rhythm team, you can't let them get rolling, and that was our emphasis all week, was to not let them have a hot start. That's not the kind of team that you want to play and try to dig yourself out of a hole."

Once again, it was Michigan that came out firing to open the second half. The Wolverines made their first nine shots, including three more 3-pointers, while Nebraska started just 1-of-6 from the field. That resulted in a 16-3 run by UM that gave it its biggest lead yet at 49-33.

Michigan would go on to lead by as many at 18 points, but the Huskers weren’t ready to give in just yet. Behind a scoring surge led by Watson and junior guard Andrew White, NU responded with a 10-0 run of its own to pull within 54-46 with 11:26 still to play.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by junior guard Tai Webster and Shields got Nebraska down to 64-59 with 6:30 remaining, and three minutes later Webster converted a steal and And-1 finish to cut it to 66-62.

The next time down court, Webster snagged another steal and took it all the way for a layup to make it a two-point game at 66-64 with just under three minutes to go.

Nebraska simply couldn’t get over the hump from there, however. Shields missed three clutch free throws in the final minutes, the third of which coming on the front end of a one-and-one, while the Wolverines milked the clock and made clutch shots and free throws down the stretch.

Four Huskers ended up scoring in double figures in the loss, led by 15 points each by White and Watson, 12 points from Webster and 11 from Shields. Duncan Robinson led Michigan with a game-high 21 points while Derrick Walton added 19 points with four made 3-pointers.

The road won’t get any easier for NU from here, as it travels to take on No. 22 Purdue (17-3, 5-2) next Saturday and then hosts No. 7 Maryland (17-2, 6-1) the following Wednesday night.

"It was a disappointing night, just from a defensive errors standpoint," Miles said. "But hey, buck up. This is big boy basketball. You've got the two biggest and most-physical teams in college basketball probably looking at you in Purdue and Maryland, which is something we've worried about all year. So we need a great week of practice, get our guys back in order, and figure out how to win on the road."

***Nebraska was out-rebounded by Michigan 32-24, but actually held 40-24 advantage in points in the paint. The Huskers also scored 20 points off 14 Wolverine turnovers to just seven UM points off 10 NU turnovers.

***Miles said Nebraska's goal defensively is to hold opponents to less than one point per possession. Michigan scored 18 points on its first nine possessions of the game and then 21 points on its first nine possessions of the second half.

***Along with scoring 12 points, Webster finished with five rebounds, a career-high five steals, and was 5-of-8 from the field for another solid individual outing.

***Webster's five steals were the most by a Husker since Brandon Richardson had seven against Ohio State on Jan. 3, 2012.

***Not only was Nebraska out-scored by 15 off of 3-point shooting, it also was just 6-of-9 from the free throw line compared to Michigan's 20-of-23.

***Nebraska had four players score in double figures for the eighth time this season.

***Watson's 15 points marked his fourth-straight game in double figures.

***Michigan's 56-percent shooting from the field was a season-high by an NU opponent. It marked just the fifth time in the last 65 contests that an opponent shot over 50 percent against Nebraska.

***Michigan has won the last eight meetings, including all six since Nebraska joined the Big Ten.