To win on the road in conference play, a team has to play at its best. But in its Big Ten opener, Nebraska men’s basketball played its worst. Michigan State buried the Huskers, 89-52, Saturday in East Lansing, Mich.
The Spartans (8-2, 2-0 B1G) led by as many as 42 points while outscoring the Cornhuskers (6-2, 0-1) by 27 after halftime. MSU hit 52 percent of its shots from the field, including 62 percent in the second half. Meanwhile, Nebraska made just one three-pointer after halftime and just 18 percent of its shots from behind the arc for the game. The most striking difference was on the glass, where the Spartans outrebounded the Huskers, 48-19.
It started badly for Nebraska, with Michigan State opening the game on a 7-0 run. NU scored the next seven points, and the Huskers stayed in it until a 9-0 MSU run opened a 24-13 lead. Another 9-0 Spartans run built a 35-21 lead with 4:10 remaining until halftime. Michigan State opened a 15-point lead with 3:37 to go in the first half, before the Cornhuskers assembled a 9-0 run that constituted Nebraska’s best sustained run of basketball and pulled Nebraska to within 37-31 with 1:15 to go until half. But on the ensuing possession, Jaxon Kohler got a tip-in on an offensive rebound to stop the run. After a travel by Cale Jacobsen, Kohler cashed in a layup to push the lead to 10 just before halftime.
That momentum carried to the first 10 minutes of the second half. After the teams traded baskets, Michigan State went on a 25-1 run over 9:30 to bury Nebraska and erase any remaining drama from the game.
Andrew Morgan led NU with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Brice Williams was the only other Husker in double-digits with 11 points. Meanwhile Michigan State was led by Jaden Akins, who scored 18 points including four three-pointers. Jase Richardson added 16 points in just 15 minutes off the bench, while Xavier Booker scored 11 points with six rebounds. Kohler narrowly missed a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds, though he had the two biggest baskets of the game to stuff squash the Huskers’ run at the end of the first half.
Nebraska will have to rebound quickly in its Big Ten home opener against Indiana Friday at 7 p.m., with pregame coverage at 6 p.m. on KLIN-1400 AM and 99.3 FM.