Nebraska

Nebraska overcomes 18-point deficit in second half to upset Wisconsin 80-72

Published

4 months ago

February 2, 2024

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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.

What You Need To Know

The Cornhuskers pulled off a dramatic comeback to beat the Badgers

Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said he made sure to remind his players of that in the locker room when they were down 43-27

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

Wisconsin struggled the entire second half against a more aggressive Nebraska defense

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.

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Nebraska

Nebraska Baseball vs Niagara NCAA Elimination Game Thread

Published

5 hours ago

June 1, 2024

Press Room

Nebraska Baseball vs Niagara NCAA Elimination Game Thread

#4 Niagara Purple Eagles(38-16) at #2 Nebraska Cornhuskers (38-20)

Location: O’Brate Stadium, Stillwater, OK

Date/Time: Saturday, June 1st @ 1 pm CDT

Head Coaches: Rob McCoy (16th season, 299-459-3) & Will Bolt (5th season, 165-96-1)

TV/Stream: ESPN+

Radio: Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com, Huskers App

Probable Pitchers: RHP Maximillian Ramirez IV (4-5, 6.38 ERA) vs RHP Mason McConnaughey (8-3, 3.09 ERA)

Check out the Corn Nation Stillwater Regional Preview!

Niagara did not pitch their top starter or the best bullpen arm in the 19-7 loss to the top seeded Cowboys. Nebraska is down their ace and hottest bullpen arm of the past two weeks, needing a more lively arm than the normal softer tossing lefties that make up the next tier of their pen.

Niagara likes to change pitchers more than Creighton. Expect to see at least 7. Their goal is to get their closer in the game somewhere in the mid to late innings with a close game. Then he can go 3-4 innings.

This is the first time Nebraska and Niagara have ever met on the diamond.

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Dan Osborn might not face Democratic Senate write-in candidate • Nebraska Examiner

Published

12 hours ago

June 1, 2024

Press Room

Dan Osborn might not face Democratic Senate write-in candidate • Nebraska Examiner

OMAHA — Two weeks after spurning a likely endorsement from the Nebraska Democratic Party, nonpartisan Senate candidate Dan Osborn has not yet drawn a party-backed write-in candidate against Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer.

And he could avoid one altogether.

U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., talks with reporters after an event on Monday, June 19, 2023, in Lincoln. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

Leaders in Nebraska’s second-largest political party recently met and discussed whether to embrace state party Chair Jane Kleeb’s May 15 push for a party-approved write-in candidate.

Discussions continue, attendees told the Examiner.

Kleeb said the party still could recruit a write-in candidate. She said Democrats still want Osborn to agree to endorse President Joe Biden and caucus with the Democrats if elected.

“That is not asking too much,” she said.

Hasn’t decided in presidential contest

Douglas County Democratic Party Chair CJ King echoed Kleeb in saying he would prefer that Osborn side with Democrats, regardless of whether he wants a formal endorsement from the party.

“I hope he wins and caucuses with the Democrats,” King said. “I’d love to see him endorse President Biden.”

Osborn, a former Omaha-area labor leader at Kellogg’s, has said that he doesn’t know which party he will caucus with and that he hasn’t decided on who he will back in the presidential race. He has said he doesn’t want to alienate Republican supporters, including some who support former President Donald Trump.

“I’m a true independent who will never be beholden to any political party or politician, and that’s why I’ve been clear that I’m not taking their endorsements,” Osborn said. “I’m focused on defeating do-nothing Deb Fischer.”

Osborn may have to take sides

Kleeb and Senate observers have said Osborn will have to take sides in order to join Senate committees, where much of the day-to-day work in Congress gets done. Osborn said earlier this month he might have more influence in a tightly divided Senate by being open.

Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb addresses more than 50 delegates to the State Central Committee. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)

After the primary, Osborn announced he would not seek or accept endorsements from political parties — after spending months courting the state Democrats and persuading them to try keeping other candidates out of the Fischer race.

Osborn supporters also helped Kerry Eddy win the Legal Marijuana NOW Party’s Senate primary, even as Eddy posted plans to drop out and shift her supporters toward Osborn. And Osborn briefly sought the backing of other third parties, including the Libertarian Party.

Fischer’s campaign declined to comment for this story. Before the May primary, Fischer, a former teacher, state senator and school board member in Valentine, Neb., described Osborn as “a Democrat in sheep’s clothing.”

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Kenyan delegation visits Central Nebraska and tours facilities

Published

19 hours ago

June 1, 2024

Press Room

Kenyan delegation visits Central Nebraska and tours facilities

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) – A Kenyan Delegation visited Central Nebraska on Friday and toured facilities they could potentially send employees to.

The truck driver shortage is no secret.

“There are tens of thousands of truck driving jobs that are open at any given time,” said Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen.

But, global workforce developments in collaboration with Kenya hope to combat that issue.

Grand Island Express is one of the facilities the delegation toured, and they currently have over 20 employees with green-card sponsorships and 60 more in the process of obtaining one.

Evnen addressed concerns Nebraskans may have about the global workforce development, “In this industry, the immigrants aren’t taking people’s jobs, they’re filling jobs that are going unfilled.”

Once the ball gets rolling, Evnen said they expect to have around 500 Kenyans join the workforce.

Kenya Principal Secretary, State Department for Diaspora Affairs, Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Roseline Njogu, has led the delegation and said in her time here, she’s seen similarities in Nebraska and Kenya.

“When people bring 100% or 120% of who they are into these places that just comes through in the workplace,” said Njogu. “So I saw that here and I thought that’s something I’ve also seen at home and I think these values even across all these miles are shared and make for a good, a good pairing.”

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