Nebraska basketball thumps Wisconsin 90-60 to open Big Ten play

No. 23 Nebraska improved to 10-0 with an emphatic 90-60 win over Wisconsin on Wednesday. The Huskers opened Big Ten play with a dominant performance in all facets.

Forward Berke Buyuktuncel was the story of the game, keeping a rowdy crowd engaged all night long. He finished with 14 points and five rebounds, including two 3-pointers and a monster block that sent him to the locker room with a bloody face.

Forward Rienk Mast tallied another double-double, leading the way with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager each had a strong outing with 29 combined points and five 3-point makes between them.

The Huskers shot 54% from the field and 11-of-30 from deep. They racked up six blocks and four steals on the defensive end, and outscored Wisconsin by 20 points in the paint.

Here is an instant recap of the victory:

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Huskers pull away

It was all Nebraska in the first half. Backed by a pissed-off crowd, the Huskers dominated Wisconsin in nearly every facet.

The Badgers started hot, scoring on each of their first three possessions, but that momentum didn’t last long. Guard John Blackwell hit a triple to put Wisconsin up 7-2, but Sam Hoiberg answered with one of his own. Mast followed up a miss to tie the game, 7-7.

The Badgers found early success on slip screens, getting the ball down low to their bigs. Aleksas Bieliauskas and Nolan Winter each scored a pair of easy layups to put the Badgers up 13-9 at the under-16 timeout.

The Huskers started 1-of-4 from deep, but Frager was having none of it. He drilled a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer to give Nebraska its first lead of the night, 14-13. After two misses from Sandfort and Lawrence, the redshirt freshman knocked down another. Sam Hoiberg scored a contested layup and was fouled, capping off a 10-3 run.

The Huskers led 19-18 at the under-12 timeout while shooting 53% from the field and 3-of-8 from deep.

Mast ended a two-minute scoring drought, tying things up 21-21 with 9:40 left. He found his groove with back-to-back hook shots before Hoiberg and Cale Jacobsen scored contested layups. An 8-1 run put Nebraska up 27-22.

The Huskers dominated in the paint throughout the first half, with 22 points to Wisconsin’s eight. The Badgers went away from their early success down low and chose to chuck 3-pointers instead. They shot 4-of-19 from deep in the first half, including a stretch of 13 consecutive attempts.

Wisconsin didn’t score a field goal for over five minutes. Multiple questionable officiating calls sent the PBA crowd into an all-out frenzy, spurring the Huskers to a fiery first-half finish.

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Dominant five minutes

Forward Will Garlock finally broke the Wisconsin drought, but Mast answered with a 5-0 personal run. He sparked a cascade of momentum with a 3-pointer from the top of the key and forced a Badger timeout by extending the lead to 34-26.

Sandfort knocked down his first 3-pointer shortly after and Berke Buyuktuncel hit another to bring the crowd to its feet. The Huskers started 6-of-13 from deep, but were even better on the defensive end.

After Buyuktuncel drew a charge, Lawrence dished his sixth assist to a cutting Sandfort. His layup extended the Huskers’ lead to 44-31. Frager was fouled on a corner 3-point shot and knocked down all three free throws. Nebraska finished the half on a 10-0 run and took a 16-point lead into the locker room. The Badgers didn’t score for the final 3:40.

Lawrence finished the half with six assists, while Mast led all players with 11 points and eight rebounds.

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Foot on the gas

Nebraska didn’t let up in the second half. Buyuktuncel sparked a 7-0 run with an emphatic block. He stuffed Winter and then, with a bloody face, got off the hardwood and fired up the crowd. Mast scored a second-chance look at the other end, and on the next possession, Sandfort drilled a transition 3-pointer.

The Huskers led 61-39 after the under-16 timeout, its largest lead of the night thus far.

Wisconsin attempted to cut into the deficit with back-to-back makes, but it was to no avail. The Huskers kept attacking the rim and nothing could stop them.

Hoiberg knocked down an and-one opportunity to set the second-half tone. Sandfort followed with a pair of driving layups, flying past defenders who picked him up at the 3-point line.

Tenacious Husker defense resulted in another two-minute scoring drought for the Badgers. Wisconsin had no answers for Nebraska in the paint, and multiple players took advantage.

Jared Garcia put up eight points in the second half, and Frager added an and-one bucket of his own to extend the lead to 75-48. The Huskers’ lead grew to as many as 33 points before they ultimately finished with a 90-60 victory.

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