It took a road game against the No. 3 team in the nation, without 2 of its 3 leading scorers, to deal No. 5 Nebraska its first defeat of the season.
Michigan got a tiebreaking layup with 1:07 to go in the game and held off the Huskers for a 75-72 win inside the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor. The result snapped Nebraska’s 24-game winning streak, which stretched back to last season.
The win streak for the Huskers — a program that still has yet to win an NCAA Tournament game — came out of nowhere and marked the longest by a Division I school since Kentucky famously won 38 consecutive games to start the 2014-15 season.
Nebraska played the game without senior forward Rienk Mast, who sat out with an illness. Forward Braden Frager also missed the game with an ankle issue. Together, they combine to average 26.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game.
Pryce Sandford scored 20 in the effort, making 5 of his 16 attempts from 3. Jamarques Lawrence added 20 of his own on 8-of-15 shooting. Sam Hoiberg scored 13. No other Huskers reached double-figures.
Even without key pieces of its rotation, Nebraska led by as many as 9 points in the second half. Michigan chipped away at the deficit and then turned the clamps on over the game’s final 6 minutes.
A layup from Hoiberg with 5:52 to play put Nebraska up by 5. The Huskers scored just 2 points from there. They missed 8 of their final 9 shots and went scoreless over the final 3:21 of the game.
A layup from Trey McKenney to break the tie put the Wolverines on top. Sandfort then missed a 3. Nebraska gave up an offensive rebound that led to a second-chance free throw. Lawrence missed another 3 with 4 seconds to play and Hoiberg missed a shot right at the buzzer.
Nebraska’s mettle will be tested over the coming days. A 2-seed in the latest bracket projections from SDS, the Huskers will face No. 9 Illinois on Sunday and then No. 12 Purdue on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
