Second-half collapse dooms Nebraska in 80-67 Senior Night loss to Michigan State
For 20 minutes, all of the magic was on Nebraska’s side.
On Senior Night in front of another packed house at Pinnacle Bank Arena, the Huskers could do no wrong in the first half against Michigan State. But after leading by as many as 15 points, the momentum swung entirely to the Spartans.
MSU hit a blistering 12-of-17 3-pointers in the second half and closed the night on a 33-12 run to pull away for an 80-67 victory on Tuesday night.
After dropping 38 points at a nearly 60-percent clip in the first half, Nebraska made just three field goals over the final 14 minutes. One of those was a meaningless layup in the final seconds.
Jaden Akins scored 14 of his 17 points on 4-of-6 3-point shooting after the break. Michigan State hit 67.9% from the field and 70.6% from behind the arc over the final 20 minutes.
Nebraska’s four-game winning streak came to an end and dropped its overall record to 15-15 and 8-11 in Big Ten play. Michigan State improved to 18-11, 10-8.
Nebraska could do no wrong in the first half
Nebraska couldn’t have asked for a better start on either end of the floor than what it got in the first half.
Michigan State opened the night just 4-of-24 from the field and went scoreless for a stretch of nearly five minutes. Behind nine quick points from Jamarques Lawrence, the Huskers turned that into a 19-10 lead with a 9-0 run after the first 11 minutes.
The Spartans ended up going 7:44 without making a field goal, and back-to-back 3-pointers by Sam Griesel and Keisei Tominaga pushed NU’s run to 15-2. NU led by as much as 15 before going into halftime with a 38-26 advantage.
Nebraska shot 57.7% from the field, four made 3-pointers, and scored 20 of its 38 points in the paint in the first half. Tominaga had 10 of his team-high 20 points at the break, while Derrick Walker and Lawrence followed up with nine each.
Conversely, MSU went 27.8% but turned eight offensive rebounds into eight second-chance points.
Michigan State flipped the script completely after halftime
Michigan State came out firing to open the second half, hitting its first four 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 45-38.
That eventually turned into a 13-3 Spartan run that made it 48-45 after five minutes. But Nebraska came back with a 7-0 answer and got its lead back to 10 on a 3-pointer by Tominaga with 14:01 remaining.
The Huskers wouldn’t make another field goal for the next six minutes. That allowed MSU to go on a 15-1 run and take its first lead since the 17:41 mark of the first half.
Michigan State hit seven of its first 11 3-pointers after the break and eventually went up 68-60 on a dunk by Mady Sissko with 4:33 remaining.
Seven straight points from Tyson Walker put the nail in the coffin, increasing the Spartans’ lead to 75-61 and sending Husker fans filing to the exits.
The Huskers were outscored 54-29 and committed nine of their 14 turnovers in the second half. Lawrence had 15 points, while Griesel finished with 13 points and eight assists.
Joey Hauser led MSU with 20 points while hitting 6-of-11 from behind the arc. AJ Hoggard added 10 points and 14 assists.
Nebraska will close out the regular season on Sunday at Iowa, which will tip at 1 p.m. CT and be televised on Big Ten Network.
