A stifling defensive effort lifted No. 13 Nebraska to a 58-56 win over No. 9 Michigan State, Friday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The win was the Cornhuskers’ 18th in a row, dating back to last season, and was Nebraska’s second win over a ranked foe in less than a month. The win came in the Huskers’ second home game all-time as a ranked team against a ranked opponent, both Nebraska (14-0, 3-0 Big Ten) wins. The Huskers improved to 5-6 as a ranked teams against ranked foes in school history.
Nebraska’s defense forced 19 turnovers by the Spartans, which the Huskers converted to 11 points. Michigan State forced just eight NU turnovers and converted them to six points. Nebraska held MSU to just 34 percent shooting, though the Huskers hit just 32 percent of their shots from the field. Nebraska hit three more three-pointers than the Spartans (13-10), which made up for Michigan State’s 45-31 rebounding edge.
Rienk Mast ended the game with 19 points to lead Nebraska. Mast was red-hot in the first 20 minutes, racking up 15 points while shooting five-for-nine from behind the arc. He was also the Huskers’ leading rebounder with seven. Pryce Sandfort added 13 points while JaMarcus Lawrence tallied 12. Jaxon Kohler led the Spartans with 19 points on seven-for-10 shooting, while also notching a double-double with 11 rebounds. Jeremy Fears, Jr., scored 14 points driven by a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line. Kur Teng contributed 12, but no other Spartan scored more than six.
The first half was hotly contested throughout, with neither team holding a lead larger than six. After Michigan State tied the game at 22, Mast hit back-to-back threes to build a 28-22 lead with 4:10 to go in the half. After the teams traded threes, the Spartans went on an 8-0 to take a 33-31 lead with 1:49 to go in the half. Two free throws by Jamarcus Lawrence sent the game to halftime tied at 33.
The Huskers cranked up the defensive intensity in the second half, forcing nine MSU turnovers in the first 11 minutes of the half. Nebraska went on a 10-0 run to build a 47-38 lead with 9:31 to go. The Huskers’ advantage was erased in a 12-3 Michigan State run that tied the game at 50 with 7:50 to go. After a Sam Hoiberg gave the Huskers a 52-50 lead, Michigan State answered with a 5-0 run to go ahead 55-52 with 4:41 remaining. Hoiberg hit two free throws out of the break to cut the deficit to one, then Mast followed by making one free throw to tie the game at 55. Then, with under two minutes to play, Mast drained a three from the right wing to put Nebraska ahead, 58-55. A free throw by Carson Cooper cut the NU lead to 58-56 with 1:19 to go. The score remained until Cooper drove the right side, was fouled as he shot. Cooper missed the first free throw, then intentionally missed the second free throw. The Spartans lost the rebound out of bounds, and Nebraska inbounded the ball into the frontcourt, running the last seven-tenths of a second to clinch the victory, setting off a court storm at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Nebraska is back in action Monday at 5:30 p.m. at Ohio State. Pregame is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on KLIN.