Associated Press

Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten) at Iowa Hawkeyes (10-4, 1-2 Big Ten)

Iowa City, Iowa; Tuesday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Iowa hosts Nebraska after Drew Thelwell scored 25 points in Iowa’s 116-85 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers.

The Hawkeyes are 8-1 in home games. Iowa scores 89.4 points and has outscored opponents by 12.3 points per game.

The Cornhuskers are 2-1 against Big Ten opponents. Nebraska ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 35.0 rebounds per game led by Berke Buyuktuncel averaging 6.8.

Iowa averages 89.4 points, 24.8 more per game than the 64.6 Nebraska allows. Nebraska averages 7.4 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.3 fewer makes per game than Iowa gives up.

The Hawkeyes and Cornhuskers meet Tuesday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Payton Sandfort averages 2.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Hawkeyes, scoring 15.5 points while shooting 32.0% from beyond the arc.

Brice Williams is averaging 18.8 points for the Cornhuskers.

LAST 10 GAMES: Hawkeyes: 6-4, averaging 90.1 points, 29.3 rebounds, 19.1 assists, 8.4 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 51.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 79.6 points per game.

Cornhuskers: 9-1, averaging 76.6 points, 33.8 rebounds, 14.0 assists, 7.7 steals and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 47.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.2 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE’s representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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The No. 15-ranked UCLA men’s basketball team suffered its first Big Ten Conference loss of the season, falling 66-58 to Nebraska on Saturday afternoon at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The defeat dropped the Bruins to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference. Despite a strong defensive start, UCLA’s offense struggled, particularly from beyond the arc, where they shot just 4-of-28 (14.3%).

Coach Mick Cronin was blunt in his assessment of the game when he addressed the media postgame.

“We didn’t play well enough to win against a good team on the road.” he said. “That’s really all I have to say.”

Cronin didn’t mince words when evaluating the performance of his bench players.

“Dylan Andrews has got to play way better or Dominick Harris or Trent Perry got opportunities today,” he said. “They played a combined 17 minutes, neither one of them scored. I told them they were going to get an opportunity with Eric out. They played for 17 minutes and didn’t get a basket.”

The Bruins’ struggles from the floor were evident, as Cronin pointed out.

 “If you shoot the ball as poorly as we did, the only chance you have is to take care of the ball,” he said. “You can’t give them 17 points off your turnovers. You’ve got no chance, can’t overcome it. It’s just math at the end of the day.”

UCLA’s poor shooting performance was highlighted by a drastic dip in their 3-point shooting percentage. 

“We shot 42% from the three in the month of December as a team. Today we shot 14%,” Cronin said.

He explained that when the Bruins couldn’t hit their shots, Nebraska’s defense tightened, making it even harder for UCLA to score. 

“They did a good job, but I got to be honest, we missed a ton of open shots,” Cronin said. “They just try to take the paint away from you, and what happens is, in Basketball, and this isn’t just this game, when you can’t make a shot, they pack it in even tighter. You start making shots, all of a sudden, their cutting, their laying it in because you’ve got to open your defense up. So, the floor gets real, real small and easier to defend when nobody can make a shot.”

Despite the tough loss, Cronin was quick to credit Nebraska for their defensive effort. 

“Their players did a great job on the defensive end. They were the better defensive team today, and that’s why they won,” he said. “I don’t think environment has anything to do with anything, I just don’t. I think it makes it more fun for the players … somebody cheers so you play better? Not a big believer in that.”

Tyler Bilodeau led UCLA with 15 points, while Lazar Stefanovic added 10. Kobe Johnson contributed a career-high 11 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the offensive struggles. Despite solid individual efforts, UCLA couldn’t find consistency as a team, especially from long-range.

The Bruins will return to Pauley Pavilion to host Michigan on Jan. 7. Cronin and his team will need to refocus and recover from this setback as they continue their Big Ten journey. 

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