With the program’s all-time leading scorer Boo Buie in the building, Northwestern looked like a team with an Agent Zero-shaped hole, falling to Nebraska 68-64 as it saw what had once been a 20-point lead disappear.
The Wildcats (13-13, 4-11 Big Ten) have now dropped three straight games, their third such skid of the conference season.
Jumping out to a double-digit lead after just 10 minutes of play, NU’s aggressive first-half shooting combined with a prolific performance on the offensive glass allowed it to jump out to a 36-21 lead at the intermission
A barnstorming 29-11 second-half Nebraska (17-9, 7-8 Big Ten) run brought the visitors all the way back to tie the game at 54-54 and stun the Welsh-Ryan Arena crowd with 6:05 left to play.
NU had a chance to send the game to overtime as the clock ticked down, but a botched handoff between junior forward Nick Martinelli and graduate student guard Ty Berry dashed all hopes of a win.
Here are three takeaways from NU’s Sunday loss to Nebraska:
1. NU’s hot start dissipates
Throughout the season, the ’Cats have struggled to start games hot — often relying on clutch plays in the final seconds to carry them to victory.
But in Sunday’s loss, it was a second-half collapse that cost them.
As Berry slammed home a fast-break dunk to give NU an 18-point lead and force a Nebraska timeout, a much-needed home win for coach Chris Collins’s group seemed all but shored up with 15 and a half minutes remaining.
The ’Cats had reversed their all-too-familiar narrative of slow starts, carrying the momentum of what had been a dominant first half back onto the floor after the break.
Yet, coming out of the timeout, the offensive well dried up. The ’Cats failed to score for four minutes and 42 seconds, allowing the Cornhuskers to cut the lead to seven.
Entering their showdown with the Cornhuskers, NU averaged 31.4 first half points per game, placing it at 299th in the nation, compared to its 58th-ranked second-half production of 40.9 points per game.
In its back-to-back West Coast losses against Washington and Oregon, NU continued that trend, scoring 30 and 25 points in those first halves, respectively.
Against Nebraska, the ’Cats wasted no time heating up on the offensive end of the floor. After scoring on its first two possessions of the game en route to a 7-0 run, NU got to the 12-minute media timeout leading 20-9 following a Martinelli layup.
While the offense marginally slowed down in the second portion of the half, the 36-point first-half performance was NU’s best since it scored 38 in a home win over Maryland exactly a month ago.
However, unlike in previous games, the offense regressed rather than improved following the game’s midpoint.
As Nebraska began to find its shooting range and the Welsh-Ryan Arena atmosphere grew increasingly tense, the Wildcats floundered and never recovered their magic touch.
2. Berry rides the green light but fades away
Coming off tying his season-high scoring output with 23 points at Oregon on 4-5 shooting from three-point range, Berry was given license to shoot on sight Sunday.
The graduate student guard took 12 shots from distance in the first half alone, surpassing his previous season-high of 10 three-point attempts in a game and tying his career-high by the intermission.
Berry started hot from beyond the arc, shooting 4-of-8 on threes to start the game before missing his final four attempts of the half.
Even when shots weren’t falling, the ’Cats’ offense looked more fluid and intentional with a single-minded mission of running sets for Berry to pull the trigger.
The Newton, Kansas native returned to form following the break, knocking down a triple from the top of the key on the first possession of the second half to put NU ahead 39-21.
However, as Nebraska mounted its comeback, Berry took a backseat in the offense.
Berry did not attempt a field goal after the 14:31 mark as the Cornhuskers closed a 12-point deficit — he finished with 23 points on 6-15 shooting from long range.
3. Crashing the glass
The ’Cats were back to their offensive-rebounding best on Sunday, crashing the glass to the tune of 23 offensive boards.
Additionally, graduate student centers Matthew Nicholson and Keenan Fitzmorris each played an important role in holding Nebraska to just five offensive rebounds, after the team’s failure to haul in defensive rebounds on two consecutive possessions cost it dearly in crunch time against Oregon.
NU out-rebounded Nebraska 46-27 on the day.
It was a performance reminiscent of the ’Cats’ last home game, in which 23 offensive rebounds propelled them to a last-second 77-75 win over USC.
This time, however, Martinelli’s heroics that saved the day on that occasion were nowhere to be found and the team slumped to a defeat that seemed inconceivable early in the second half.
NU returns to action Thursday when it travels to Ohio State still searching for its first road victory of the season.
Email: elikronenberg2027@u.northwestern.edu
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— Men’s Basketball: Northwestern dominates on the glass in 77-75 win over USC
— Men’s Basketball: Martinelli’s game-winning floater leads Northwestern to 77-75 victory over USC
