The Big Ten only had two games on Friday night, but both were intriguing. Nebraska went on the road to face rival Creighton in the first game and Iowa hosted arch-rival Iowa State in the late game. Both were competitive early, but faded late.

Let’s take a look at what happened.

Game of the Night:

-No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes 105, Iowa State Cyclones 77

For the second time this week, Iowa hosted a marquee opponent at home and came out victorious. The Hawkeyes scored a 13-point win against North Carolina on Tuesday and followed it up with a 28-point win against arch-rival Iowa State on Friday. The win pushed Iowa to 5-0 overall and in position for an epic showdown against Gonzaga next week.

What was particularly impressive about this win was how close things were early on. Iowa led throughout, but it was pretty competitive in the first half. However, an epic performance from Luka Garza put things away. The big man finished with 34 points, despite only playing 17 minutes. It was his third 30 point scoring performance already this year. An absolutely insane statistic and one that will grow in the weeks to come.

The win also marked Iowa’s third win in a row over Iowa State and its fourth in five contests. Iowa State dominated the early games of the decade, but the Hawkeyes certainly closed strong. Iowa will now prepare for a home game against Northern Illinois on Sunday before facing Gonzaga on a neutral court on the 19th. That could very well end up being the best non-conference game of the regular season.

The Rest:

-No. 8 Creighton Bluejays 98, Nebraska Cornhuskers 74

Like Iowa’s game, this one was really competitive in the first half before the winning team blew things open to close things out. Nebraska got a big performance from Teddy Allen, but just didn’t have enough to beat a really good Creighton team. Allen finished with 26 points, nine rebounds, and two assists. Trey McGowens also had 15 points.

The loss dropped Nebraska to 3-3 as the Huskers now prepare to enter conference play. Nebraska will face Wisconsin on the road on Monday and then Michigan at home on Friday. Fans are hoping the Husker squad of the first half shows up moving forward.