A quiet night in college basketball had two Big Ten matchups on display. Michigan, the only ranked team in the conference to be in action Monday night fended off a slow offensive night and late Northwestern comeback to rebound after a loss at Purdue.
Nebraska, squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, picked up a massive road win at Wisconsin after being behind for most of the game. Let’s take a look at Monday night’s Big Ten hoops action.
Game Of The Night:
-Nebraska Cornhuskers 74, Wisconsin Badgers 63
Despite two starters failing to score a point, Nebraska rallied from an 11-point second half deficit to win their fifth game out of their last six.
With 9:59 remaining, a Khalil Iverson dunk put the Badgers up 55-44. Over the next two minutes, the Cornhuskers went on a 9-0 run to get within one at 55-54. With 4:35 a James palmer Jr. layup gave Nebraska their first lead since the final minutes of the first half. The Badgers were never able to re-take the lead and lost their third straight game and sixth out of their last seven.
James Palmer Jr. continued to be an offensive catalyst for Nebraska scoring a game high 28 points. He was joined in double figures by Isaac Copeland and Glynn Watson Jr who scored 17 and 15 points respectively. Isaiah Roby and Anton Gill each did not find the scoreboard despite starting.
Ethan Happ recorded another double-double to lead Wisconsin with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Iverson was the Badgers only other player in double figures finishing with 13 points.
With the win Nebraska improved to 17-8 on the year and 8-4 in conference play. Wisconsin’s struggles continued after falling to 10-13 on the year and 3-7 in Big Ten play.
The Rest:
-No. 24 Michigan Wolverines 58, Northwestern Wildcats 47
An ugly offensive night led to the Michigan Wolverines outlasting Northwestern for their seventh conference win on the year.
Michigan, led by Charles Matthews 14 points, labored through a 21-point first half to coming just three points short of 40 in the final 20 minutes. The Wolverines failed to get any sort of rhythm on the offensive end in the first half, struggling to hit open shots and shooting just 36 percent from the floor.
After trailing through the majority of the first half, Michigan went into the break on a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the game. They did not trail again for through the remainder of the game.
Matthews was joined in double figures by Muhammed Ali Abdur-Rahkman with 11 points.
After a Scottie Lindsey dunk gave the Wildcats a 19-11 lead, Northwestern did not score a single point in the final seven minutes of the first half. That stretch continued through the first two minutes out of the break as they had to work their way back into the game. Lindsey led the Wildcats with a game high 15 points and was his team’s only scorer in double digits.
With the win, Michigan improved to 18-6 overall and 7-4 in conference play. Northwestern fell to 13-10 on the season and 4-6 in Big Ten play.