Survive and advance: NU upsets Badgers 70-58
INDIANAPOLIS - Nebraska knew it would come down to playing top-flight defense and making clutch plays down the stretch if it were to have any shot at upsetting Wisconsin in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday night.
Good thing for the Huskers, they accomplished both.
By holding the No. 6-seed Badgers to just 30.2-percent shooting from the field and 4-of-20 from 3-point range while forcing 12 turnovers, the No. 11 Huskers set the tone from the opening tip and carried it on through the entire 40 minutes en route to a 70-58 victory.
Senior forward Shavon Shields led the way with a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds, and NU ended up making seven of its final eight free throws in the last 1:08 to hold on. The win marked the first time Nebraska has won two games in a conference tournament since 2005-06.
“I’m not trying to glamorize March basketball, but I was so proud of those guys," head coach Tim Miles said. "I looked at the clock with 35 seconds left and got chills. I could feel goosebumps on my legs, because I was just so happy for these guys. I saw just extreme joy. A tough-minded group hanging together, finding a way to beat a ranked opponent. I was just so happy for them, and that’s kind of the essence of what we’re supposed to do.”
Defense was the name of the game in the first half, as the Huskers came out with as much energy and tenacity as they’ve shown in weeks and held Wisconsin to just 10 points through the first 10 minutes.
The bad news for NU was it wasn’t exactly lighting it up on the offensive end, either. That allowed the one Badger who could put the ball through the basket - forward Vitto Brown - to keep his team within striking distance by scoring 10 of UW’s first 14 points.
That defense eventually led to some scoring for Nebraska, though, including back-to-back steals and layups by freshman guard Glynn Watson that sparked an 11-3 run and gave the Huskers their biggest lead of the half at 26-19 with 2:11 left to go.
Nebraska would take a 26-21 lead into halftime, having shot 40 percent from the floor while holding Wisconsin to 29.2 percent and forcing seven Badger turnovers. Brown scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting, but the rest of his team was just 2-of-19 for seven points combined.
“That was the difference," Shields said of NU's defensive intensity. "If we don’t play good defense, we don’t win the game.”
It didn’t take long for Wisconsin’s offense to pull it together in the second half, as it reeled off an 8-0 run and reclaimed the lead at 29-27 after consecutive baskets by forward Nigel Hayes.
Nebraska answered with six straight points of their own, and would end up equalling its largest lead of the night at 51-44 on an And-1 finish by Shields with 8:06 remaining
The Badgers would rally again and cut it to 55-52 on a basket by guard Bronson Koenig with 5:39 left, but the Huskers would again answer with six points in a row and go up 61-52 on a pair of free throws by senior Benny Parker with 3:47 remaining.
A 3-pointer by Koenig and got Wisconsin back to 63-57 with 1:52 on the clock, but Nebraska would get it done on the free throw line the rest of the way to close out the win.
"(UW coach Greg Gard) told us that they want to come out with passion and fire, and I think we downplayed their abilities in the beginning," Brown said. "We were kind of taken by surprise at how hard they were going on both ends of the floor."
Watson finished with 16 points while Parker added 12 points, four rebounds and three steals, as the Huskers shot 46.9 percent from the field and were 22-of-28 from the free throw line on the night. Nebraska only attempted eight 3-pointers on the night compared to Wisconsin's 4-of-20.
“When we’re good, I think it’s Hell or high water going to the basket for us. We took eight threes, and certainly that’s fine… To be able to shoot as many foul shots as Wisconsin at this point in the season, when we’re dead last (in free throws attempted) and they’re first, I thought that was as important of a key to the game as anything.”
With the victory, Nebraska moves on to face No. 3-seed Maryland in the quarterfinals on Friday night, with tip-off set for approximately 8 p.m. and will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
Around the rim
***Nebraska avenged a 72-61 loss to Wisconsin in Madison on Feb. 10, a game where Shields (concussion) and Ed Morrow (foot) did not play. NU also snapped a three-game losing streak to the Badgers dating back to 2014.
***Shields recorded his second straight 20-point effort and fourth in the last five games. He now has scored in double figures in 15 straight games
***Shields now has 1,611 points, moving past Jaron Boone (1,609) for sixth on NU’s career scoring list.
***Nebraska held Wisconsin to 30.2 percent shooting. Only Oklahoma, which held the Badgers to 23.5 percent shooting, held Wisconsin to a lower shooting percentage. The 30.2 percent shooting was the second-lowest total by a Husker opponent (25.9 by Mississippi Valley State in the opener).
***Parker made his 129th career appearance, moving into a tie for second all-time at Nebraska. He also reached double figures for just the third time this season with 12 points. Prior to tonight, Parker averaged just 3.5 ppg in six previous games with Wisconsin.
***Watson reached double figures for the 14th time this season as he finish with 16 points.
***Nebraska had nine steals against Wisconsin and has averaged 10.0 steals per game in the Big Ten Tournament.