No. 7 Nebraska men’s basketball ignited in the second half, outscoring Minnesota to 25 after halftime en route to a 76-57 victory Saturday in Minneapolis. The win was the Cornhuskers’ 24th straight dating back to last year’s Crown Tournament, with No. 3 Michigan looming Tuesday.
Nebraska (20-0, 9-0 Big Ten) was led by Pryce Sandfort’s 22 points, 20 of which came after halftime. He turned in a double-double with 10 rebounds as well. With Braden Frager missing his first game with an ankle injury, Jamarcus Lawrence and Sam Hoiberg stepped up their scoring with 14 points each. The Golden Gophers (10-10, 3-6 Big Ten) were led by Bobby Durkin’s 16 points on 6-for-13 shooting. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson and Cade Tyson each added 12 points.
Nebraska struggled with cold shooting in the first half, hitting 2-for-11 from behind the arc, while Minnesota was 9-for-20 from three-point range. Hoiberg scored 14 first-half points, but no other Husker scored more than six in the first 20 minutes. The first half was fairly close, tied at 24 until a 6-0 Minnesota run put the Golden Gophers ahead, as Cade Tyson and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson both hit threes. Another Crocker-Johnson three gave Minnesota its largest lead of the first half, 33-26. After four straight Nebraska points, a three-pointer by Bobby Durkin pushed the lead to 36-30, which was the halftime score.
Minnesota pushed its lead to eight, 40-32, before a 7-0 Huskers run including five in a row by Sandfort cut the Gophers’ edge to 40-39 with just under 16 minutes to go. After Tyson made a layup to boost the Minnesota lead to three, Nebraska ignited on a 9-0 run, taking a 48-42 lead with 11:16 remaining. The Gophers cut the Huskers’ lead to 53-48 with 8:50 to go, but Nebraska put a stranglehold on the game with a 14-0 run. Sandfort tallied nine of the points on the run, as the Huskers built a 67-48 lead with just under six minutes to go. After shooting well from the perimeter in the first half, Minnesota went 0-for-11 from behind the arc in the second half.
Nebraska is next in action Tuesday at 6 p.m. against No. 3 Michigan. Pregame coverage begins at 5 p.m. on KLIN.