Nebraska
Nebraska overcomes 18-point deficit in second half to upset Wisconsin 80-72
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska loves to play at Pinnacle Bank Arena, and the record shows it.
No. 6 Wisconsin, on the other hand, might be getting a complex about the place.
For the second straight year, the Cornhuskers pulled off a dramatic comeback to beat the Badgers. On Thursday night, they erased an 18-point second-half deficit to win 80-72 in overtime. Last February, Nebraska erased a 17-point second-half deficit en route to an overtime win.
Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said he made sure to remind his players of that in the locker room when they were down 43-27.
“A huge win for us,” Hoiberg said. “We knew the importance of this. I’m proud of the guys for finding a way to dig in and come back when things were not looking good.”
Rienk Mast scored early in overtime to give the Huskers the lead for good, and when time expired the students spilled onto the court for the second time this season. The first was Jan. 9 when the Huskers beat then-No. 1 Purdue 88-72.
C.J. Wilcher scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, Mast finished with 20, and the Huskers (16-6, 6-5) improved to 6-0 at home in Big Ten play and 14-1 overall.
It was Nebraska’s biggest comeback since erasing a 19-point deficit against Iowa in 2013. Since 2000, Wisconsin had been 120-0 when leading by 15 or more points at halftime.
“I thought we got completely away from what makes us good,” Badgers coach Greg Gard said. “The shots we settled for at times, turning the ball over and gambling defensively when we didn’t need to gamble … just doing some very uncharacteristic things.”
AJ Storr matched his season high with 28 points to lead the Badgers (16-5, 9-2). Max Klesmit and Chucky Hepburn had 13 apiece.
The Huskers were coming off an embarrassing 73-51 loss at Maryland and found themselves down as many as 19 in the first half.
“Coach got on us about having our heads down,” Wilcher said. “That gave us a little spark and helped us play with a little bit of edge.”
Mast said he and his teammates were a bit taken aback by Hoiberg’s halftime speech.
“We needed that,” Mast said. “When you have a coach that’s super chill and then is super loud, it’s, ‘Come on guys.’”
Wisconsin struggled the entire second half against a more aggressive Nebraska defense. After shooting 55% in the first half, the Badgers dipped to 36% in the second and got sloppy with the ball.
When Wilcher hit a deep 3 to pull the Huskers within seven points, he beat his chest and asked the crowd for more noise. The fans obliged and were on their feet for the final 12 minutes of regulation and all of overtime.
“The roof came off the place,” Hoiberg said, adding that it was the best environment he has experienced in his five years at Nebraska.
Brice Williams’ two free throws in the final minute of regulation gave Nebraska its first lead at 67-65. Storr’s layup tied it and Mast and Williams missed two shots in the last 20 seconds.
Nebraska capitalized on a run of eight Wisconsin turnovers over eight minutes in the second half to tie it at 52. The Badgers were ahead 63-56 after Klesmit scored 11 points over two minutes.
But Nebraska came back again, got the game to overtime and posted one of its biggest comebacks in program history.
Big picture
Wisconsin: The Badgers had as nearly as many turnovers (10) as field goals (11) after half.
Nebraska: The Huskers posted their second win over a top-10 opponent in the same season for the first time since 2013-14.
Hepburn homecoming
Wisconsin’s Hepburn, playing 50 miles from his hometown of Omaha, was met with boos each time he touched the ball. Hepburn had strongly considered Nebraska, but picked the Badgers after the Huskers fired Tim Miles in 2019.
Hepburn played a big role in the first half. In a span of 29 seconds, Hepburn made a fallaway jumper and had two layups off steals, with a free throw tacked onto the second. Another layup pushed the Badgers’ advantage to 17 late in the half.
Up next
Wisconsin: Hosts No. 2 Purdue on Sunday.
Nebraska: Visits No. 14 Illinois on Sunday.
Nebraska and Wisconsin Volleyball have played a total of six sets against each other this season, all of which have been won by the Huskers. Seniors, Merritt Beason, Leyla Blackwell, Lindsay Krause, Kennadi Orr and Lexi Rodriguez were all celebrated for their contributions to the program after tonight’s win.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers are 30 minutes away from clinching bowl eligibility.
Nebraska leads Wisconsin 24-10 at halftime. The winner of this game will get to a sixth win on the season and become bowl eligible.
The Huskers got a kickoff return to midfield to open the game. That turned into a short field, and, eventually, a touchdown run by Heinrich Haarberg.
Wisconsin answered with a touchdown drive, but the Badgers struggled offensively the rest of the half, adding just one field goal. Wisconsin missed two other field goals.
Nebraska added touchdowns from Dante Dowdell and Jahmal Banks. After the Banks touchdown with 17 seconds to go, Wisconsin fumbled on the first play to give Nebraska a chance to score again. John Hohl drilled the 37-yard field goal to send the Big Red into the half with the lead.
NU has 237 total yards to UW’s 205. The Huskers have a two-yard advantage in passing and a 78-48 lead in rushing yards.
Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola is 17-for-22 passing. Emmett Johnson is leading the ground attack with 51 yards on eight carries.
Wisconsin will have the ball to begin the second half.
Nebraska Athletics Notes
MORE: I-80 Club: Has Nebraska Football Jumped the Shark?
MORE: After Nebrasketball: Nebraska Beats No. 14 Creighton
MORE: Red State: Nebrasketball Upsets No. 14 Creighton in Omaha, 74-63
MORE: Blue State: Creighton Women’s Basketball Upends No. 21 Nebraska, 80-74
Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.
All-Out Blitz Week 13: Wisconsin Badgers vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers
BadgerBlitz.com brings back its All-Out Blitz weekly series for the 2024 season, where you can find everything you need to know about Wisconsin’s upcoming opponent. We look at UW’s tenth opponent in the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who the Badgers will travel to play Saturday afternoon in Lincoln at 2:30 p.m. on BTN.
QUICK PROGRAM FACTS
Head Coach: Matt Rhule (57-55 career record, second season at Nebraska)
Nebraska All Time Record: 887-404-38 (.667)
2024 Record: 5-5 (2-5 Big Ten)
Rankings: N/A
Series vs. Wisconsin: 4-13
WHEN NEBRASKA HAS THE FOOTBALL
COMPARING THE PROJECTED STARTERS
Nebraska’s gradual decline over the course of this season is parallel with the decline of their offense.
Through the first five games, in which the team began 4-1, the offense averaged 405.4 yards per game. Over the last five, the 1-4 Cornhuskers are averaging just 294 yards per game.
This prompted the demoting of offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield, and promotion of Dana Holgorsen, prior to last week’s loss to USC.
It was the hope that Holgorsen, a former disciple of Mike Leach, could reinvigorate freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola.
It’s hard to tell if the former No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 class is responsible for the offense’s drop-off, or merely a victim of it, but all we know is that his season has fallen off of a cliff.
Through the first five games, he threw for nine touchdowns and two interceptions while completing 70% of his passes. In the five games since, he’s down to two touchdowns and eight interceptions, completing just 60% of his passes.
Raiola hasn’t received much help from his receiving core. He never had a true No. 1 receiver, even when the offense looked good, and nobody is stepping up now. No Husker receiver has reached 100 yards in a game since the season opener against UTEP.
They added two starters via the transfer portal — Isaiah Neyor (Texas) and Jahmal Banks (Wake Forest) — but both have been solid at best.
Wisconsin’s pass defense, which has only improved as the season has gone on, should create problems for Raiola and co.
They held Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel without a touchdown for the first time all season in what felt like a triumphant defensive performance, despite the 16-13 loss.
Beyond the strong coverage of cornerbacks Ricardo Hallman and Nyzier Fourqurean, what was most impressive about Wisconsin’s defense was how their line was able to generate consistent pressure on Gabriel.
It’ll be key for the Badgers to shut down Nebraska’s passing attack, because their running game isn’t particularly dangerous.
They rotate between three backs on a regular basis, led by Dante Dowdell, who averages a team-high 12 carries per game. Sophomore Emmett Johnson received more carries than Dowdell in the most recent outing against USC and could be ascending up the depth chart. Regardless, no Nebraska back has been a consistent threat.
WHEN WISCONSIN HAS THE BALL
COMPARING THE PROJECTED STARTERS
This will be the first game Wisconsin plays since offensive coordinator Phil Longo was fired on Sunday.
Fickell wasn’t willing to name a replacement play caller, instead alluding to a “collaborative” operation.
However that turns out, it must lead to some sort of reinvigoration. Over Wisconsin’s three-game losing streak, the offense is averaging just 261.6 total yards per game.
The offensive incompetence was especially frustrating against Oregon, a game in which the defense had their best performance of the season.
The offense needs to go back to basics. All season, they’ve been at their best when the offensive line opens up running lanes and allows for a balanced game plan.
Running back Tawee Walker struggled mightily against Penn State and Iowa, rushing for just 111 yards over those two games, but rebounded with a 97-yard performance last week against Oregon.
The front line will have a tough matchup against Nebraska’s defensive line trio of Ty Robinson, Jamari Butler and Nash Hutmacher, who lead the 20th-ranked rushing defense in the nation.
The production of Wisconsin’s running game will be key, because they simply can’t rely on quarterback Braedyn Locke, who’s coming off of a 96-yard passing performance against Oregon. He’s thrown an interception in all seven of his starts this season, bringing his season touchdown-interception ratio to 9-9.
Locke will try to take advantage of a Nebraska secondary that suffered a crushing blow earlier this week, with the announcement that Tommi Hill would miss the rest of the season due to a foot injury.
The best starter besides Hill is Malcolm Herzog, the team leader in interception (four) who primarily plays in the slot. Although the biggest priority for Wisconsin will be safety Isaac Gifford, who leads the team in tackles with 59 and can manage to fly all over the field.
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