Quick Hits: Wisconsin Suffers Crushing Overtime Loss at Nebraska
A 17-point lead on the road against one of the bottom three teams in the Big Ten is usually a guaranteed victory for the University of Wisconsin. Not this year.
The Badgers imploded down the stretch and fumbled away opportunities in overtime, leading to a demoralizing 73-63 overtime loss to Nebraska at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
A year after preventing the Badgers from clinching the outright conference title at the Kohl Center, the Huskers (12-14, 5-10) likely put a nail in Wisconsin’s NCAA Tournament at-large hopes thanks to Keisei Tominaga. Held to five points at halftime, Tominaga scored 17 of his game-high 22 points after halftime.
He had plenty of help, as Derrick Walker (18 points), Sam Griesel (15), and Jamar Lawrence all reached double figures to give the Huskers their biggest comeback win of the season, surpassing the eight-point comeback against Arkansas Pine-Bluff in November.
It’s the second time in nine days the Badgers (14-10, 6-8) held a six-possession lead against one of the four teams below them in the conference standings, only to find themselves in a fight late. But while Wisconsin’s 18-point lead against Ohio State was only whittled to one, it wasn’t nearly as fortunate the second time around.
The Huskers’ 20-2 run gave them their first lead with 11:14 remaining and the two teams exchanged the lead five times with four ties from that point forward.
Wisconsin had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation but Chucky Hepburn’s step-back three-pointer clanged off the iron.
The Badgers scored on the first possession of overtime but committed turnovers on the next three possessions that led to Nebraska field goals. Suddenly in scramble mode, the Badgers’ next three possessions were one-and-done with three-point misses.
Hepburn scored 19 points, Connor Essegian finished with 13, and Max Klesmit scored 10 of his 12 in the first half.
What it means: After shooting a season-best percentage on Wednesday, Wisconsin regressed backward on a 36.2 percent shooting afternoon. UW hasn’t won consecutive games since the beginning of January.
Star of the game: Nebraska reserve forward Blaise Keita scored only two points in 23 minutes, but he finished with 11 rebounds and two steals, making life miserable for UW forwards Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl. Nebraska outscored Wisconsin by 20 when he was on the floor.
Stat of the game: Wisconsin was 1-for-8 from the field in overtime.
Reason to be Concerned: Everything.
Don’t overlook: Wisconsin hasn’t beaten a Power-Five conference team by more than 10 points all season.
What’s next: The Badgers being a three-game homestand when it hosts Michigan Tuesday night (8 p.m./ESPN2). Led by first-team all-conference center Hunter Dickinson (18.0 ppg/8.5 rpg), the Wolverines (14-10, 8-5) had won a league-best three straight heading into the weekend. Wisconsin is 15-3 at home against Michigan since 2000, including last season’s 77-63 victory that was marred by head coach Juwuan Howard’s slap of UW assistant Joe Krabbenhoft in the post-game handshake line. The Badgers will see the Wolverines twice in a 12-day period, traveling to Ann Arbor on February 26.
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