Some of the best offenses in the nation have turned in their poorest results when facing Nebraska’s defense this season, including Creighton, Purdue, and Iowa.
Michigan State had no such trouble as they cruised to a 74-56 win over the Huskers Tuesday night.
Nebraska (8-7 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) led for just 18 seconds in this one, falling behind the Spartans early and slogging through a scoreless stretch of 7:34, including the final 6:34 of the first half. That drought allowed Michigan State (10-4, 2-1) to grow their advantage from nine to 22 points by halftime, 39-17.
Senior Derrick Walker paced NU with 15 points and nine rebounds. Both senior Sam Griesel and sophomore Wilhelm Breidenbach added ten points apiece.
The Spartans shot out to the early lead in due in large part to Tyson Walker, who hit six of his first seven shots en route to 16 first-half points. Walker tied a season-high with 21 points. MSU made half of their 34 first-half attempts, including 5-for-12 from long range, and became the first Husker opponent in five games to shoot better than 40%, ending the night at 48.4%.
Contrast that with Nebraska’s first half, an ugly 8-for-29 display with just one 3-pointer on 11 tries. Senior Emmanuel Bandoumel, junior Juwan Gary, and sophomore C.J. Wilcher each missed two 3-point attempts before the break.
The second half shooting was much better for the Huskers – 57.7% – but by then it was too late. NU clawed back to within 12 twice on Breidenbach buckets, but Sparty pushed it back to a 23-point lead, eventually winning by 18.
Chief among Nebraska’s issues was their lack of efficiency at the free throw line and the 3-point arc. While they did succeed in the paint, NU went just 8-for-20 from the charity stripe and 2-of 16 from beyond the arc. The 40% and 12.5% respective results both rank as their worst of the 2022-23 season.
The loss is the Huskers’ tenth straight to Michigan State, with six of the last nine coming in East Lansing. MSU was also Nebraska’s seventh Quad 1 opponent of the season, the most of any Division I school per Big Ten Network.
NU will look to rebound on the road in Minneapolis this Saturday against the Golden Gophers. Nebraska-Minnesota tips off at 11:00am.