Nebraska men’s basketball is above .500 in late February.
The Huskers pushed their win streak to four with a 78-67 home victory Saturday afternoon. NU (15-14, 8-10 Big Ten) has won five of the last six contests.
On a day with plenty going on off the court, the Huskers too care of business on it. Nebraska raced out to a 14-6 lead then held roughly that advantage the rest of the way.
After Nebraska got up 14 points, the Gophers had a 14-6 run in the second half to close the gap to six.
Big Red made six free throws and a pair of layups in the final 1:03 to seal the victory.
Off the court, both Keisei Tominaga and Oleg Kojenets had family in from overseas. The Tominaga family was a fan favorite, garnering a loud applause each time they were shown on the big screen.
Also in attendance was five star quarterback recruit Dylan Raiola. Multiple times he received raucous roars from the crowd, but none louder than when he stood up and threw the bones late in the second half.
Student section chants for Dylan Raiola, rest of the crowd starts getting loud.
The 5 star’s response? Throw the bones. #Huskers pic.twitter.com/V8X24MLp28
— Kaleb Henry (@iKalebHenry) February 25, 2023
Back to the court, Nebraska shot 49.2 percent for the game. The Huskers went just 4-of-15 from 3, adding a 14-of-21 effort from the free throw line.
Minnesota made exactly 12 shots in both halves to finish at a 40.7 percent clip, adding 8-of-24 3s and a perfect 11-of-11 free throws.
Six Huskers finished in double-digits for scoring, led by Sam Griesel with 19 points. CJ Wilcher scored 12 points while Jamarques Lawrence, Tominaga, and Sam Hoiberg all finished with 11. Derrick Walker added 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Nebraska has just a pair of games left for the regular-season: the home finale with Michigan State Tuesday before travelling to Iowa next weekend.