Huskers fall 78-63 while missing two key defenders
Nebraska could not overcome injuries to key defensive pieces Wednesday night as the Huskers fell to the Northwestern Wildcats 78-63.
The first half was a competitive offensive battle led by two guards who could not seem to miss.
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Keisei Tominaga got it going early, hitting his first five shots and scoring the first 12 Nebraska points. Wildcat guard Ty Berry answered Tominaga’s hot start with 12 of his own, hitting his first five shots. Berry’s prolific shooting put Northwestern in front 20-16 with 10 to go in the first half.
Tominaga did not cool down. Out of a timeout, he hit his second three and assisted on two more, giving the Huskers a 25-22 lead. Northwestern was forced to take a timeout.
Northwestern head coach Chris Collins detailed why he thought Tominaga was so effective in the first half.
“Tominaga was brilliant early,” Collins said. “When a guy is a terrific shooter, and you give him layups, the basket can look really big and we gave him two layups on drive right away.”
Just as it seemed Nebraska was taking control of the game, the Wildcats responded fiercely out of the break. Berry hit two more threes and ended the half with 21. Over the final seven minutes, Nebraska got outscored 21-5. Northwestern finished the half up 43-30. Berry finished the half with 21, and Tominaga finished with 15.
Nebraska shot well from the floor in the first. The Huskers hit 50% of their shots but could not slow down the Wildcats, who shot an impressive 54% from the field and 53% from three.
Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg said two factors changed the game in the first half. “Obviously, the second-chance points and the turnovers in the first half did us in.”
Northwestern outrebounded the Big Red on the offensive glass 5-1, leading them in second-chance points 14-2. Nebraska also turned the ball over 10 times in the half, leading to 17 points off turnovers.
Northwestern came out of the locker room still hot. The Wildcats knocked down their first four shots of the half and led by 16 with 16 minutes to go.
Nebraska showed resistance early as a Tominaga three and a ridiculous Denim Dawson dunk kept the energy in Pinnacle Bank Arena, but a drought ensued. The Huskers did not hit a field goal for five minutes, allowing Northwestern to take control of the game.
The Cats went on a 9-0 run, giving themselves a 60-37 lead with 13 minutes to play.
The two sides traded misses and buckets until a late Nebraska run with four minutes left cut the deficit to 14. Northwestern thwarted the Nebraska comeback, thanks to a couple of Chase Audige layups, and walked away with a 78-63 victory.
Despite the double-digit loss, Nebraska shot the ball well. The Huskers shot 47% from the floor and hit nine threes, but it was clear how much the Big Red missed key defenders Emmanuel Bandoumel and Juwan Gary.
Nebraska guard Sam Griesel said the team’s defense needed to have more energy.
“They shot it well, credit to them, but from the jump, we needed to be better,” Griesel said, “Defense is a lot of mental stuff, I guess, and we didn’t come out with the right mindset tonight.”
The Wildcats finished the night shooting 52% from the field and had 11 made threes. Northwestern also outrebounded the Huskers 35 to 23
Northwestern's Ty Berry finished with 26 points, and Chase Audige ended the game with 15, all of which were scored in the second half.
Tominaga finished with 22 points, and in the first start of his career, Jamarques Lawrence dropped 12.
Nebraska moves to 10-11 this year and 3-7 in the Big Ten. The Huskers travel to face Maryland on Saturday.
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