When coach Chris Collins addressed the media inside Trienens Performance Center Friday, he spoke of a Northwestern team energized by its recent string of three victories in four games. Collins said his group had the confidence and ability to compete with any Big Ten foe — though he stressed that conference wins are tough to come by.
“We have to continue to improve because the teams you play against are getting better,” Collins said. “The level of teams you play against, the coaches, the environments, you have to get better in all areas.”
Hours later, the Wildcats (13-5, 4-3 Big Ten) jetted off toward Lincoln, Nebraska, eyeing a Saturday showdown against an opponent they had bested in seven consecutive games. Despite entering the matchup on a two-game losing skid, Nebraska built a buzzsaw capable of dethroning the strongest conference powers inside its building.
The Cornhuskers (14-5, 4-4 Big Ten) had amassed an 11-1 home record, and no Big Ten team had ridden into Pinnacle Bank Arena and lived to tell the tale unscathed — not even No. 2 Purdue. For the first time in a decade, Nebraska faithful’s March Madness dreams may come to fruition.
That success had Collins and company on high alert.
“It’s probably the best Nebraska team that (coach Fred Hoiberg) has had,” Collins said. “He’s done a good job the last couple of years adding pieces. They do a great job, especially at home. To go into that building and try to get a win is incredibly difficult.”
Although NU appeared ready for the challenge, Nebraska packed just enough firepower to stave off the ‘Cats in a 75-69 victory.
After 20 minutes of a Cornhusker inside scoring clinic, NU was still within striking distance. Nebraska knocked down 16-of-23 first-half field goals, and graduate student guard Boo Buie poured in just four points on a 1-of-6 clip.
With their most dangerous weapon declawed offensively, the ‘Cats clung to a 39-35 deficit. In a game of runs, NU was just a hop, jump and a skip away from breaking Saturday’s contest wide open.
Instead, the Cornhuskers launched a 10-3 run in the second half’s opening 143 seconds. Once Nebraska guard Jamarques Lawrence drilled his second 3-pointer in less than three minutes, Collins called a timeout to stop the bleeding.
Collins said he urged his group to battle back during the break.
“I said ‘You’re on the road, and this is a point right now where you’re going to fight back as a group and get back into this thing, or you’re just gonna let them run away from us,’” Collins said. “The rest of the game we played really well, our defense got physical, we were able to generate some turnovers.”
Down 49-38, the ‘Cats turned to a veteran star to set the tone of a game swiftly slipping out of reach. It wasn’t Buie’s day, nor would last season’s Cornhusker kryptonite in senior guard Ty Berry unleash a downtown barrage.
Junior guard Brooks Barnhizer’s second-half spark plug ability has flashed throughout the season, but NU needed its Swiss Army knife to display his two-way prowess to muster a fighting chance for the ‘Cats.
With Nebraska looking to extend its lead to 12 points, Barnhizer leapt to deny a 3-pointer before corralling the miss, driving into the paint and converting a spinning layup. Later, Barnhizer fed graduate student guard Ryan Langborg an outside jumper that cut the Cornhusker lead to just four points.
Behind the junior’s quickfire 16-point downpour, NU fought back to even the score at 65 apiece with just under four minutes to play. Collins’ crew earned a clean slate in its final push, but the ‘Cats experienced an untimely 1-of-12 stretch from the field.
Nebraska guard Keisei Tominaga’s 3-pointer with 25 seconds to play provided the dagger, and the ‘Cats fell on the road despite Barnhizer’s career-high 24 points on a 9-of-15 clip.
“When you’re right there in a one-possession game, you just want to find a way to steal it,” Collins said. “We just weren’t able to do that.”
NU will look to reverse its fortune against No. 14 Illinois at home Wednesday night. With Fighting Illini guard Terrence Shannon Jr. back in the rotation, the ‘Cats must stymie extra star-power against their in-state rivals, who won the teams’ Jan. 2 meeting by 30 points.
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