The No. 7 Nebraska men’s basketball team cranked it up from distance, draining 11-for-25 three-point attempts Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena as the Cornhuskers defeated Northwestern, 68-49.
Pryce Sandfort led the barrage from outside, draining 6-for-13 three-point attempts while totaling a game-leading 29 points. Sam Hoiberg added 14 with seven rebounds, while Cale Jacobsen pitched in 10 for Nebraska (22-3, 11-3 Big Ten). Nick Martinelli led the Wildcats with 11 points, but he was the only Northwestern (10-16, 2-13 Big Ten) player scoring in double-digits.
The Huskers took a 28-27 lead to halftime. The Wildcats started the second half on a 7-2 run in the first three minutes after halftime to build a 34-30 lead. A 5-0 Nebraska run briefly gave the Huskers a 35-34 lead, but was immediately answered by four straight Northwestern points to push the Wildcats back ahead, 38-35, with 13:16 remaining. But then Nebraska took control with an 11-1 run, opening a 46-39 advantage midway through the second half. An 8-0 run by the Huskers later in the half grew the lead to 60-45 with 6:37 remaining. Six straight points, including four from Sandfort, pushed the Nebraska lead to 68-47, the biggest lead in the game. Northwestern hit a late basket to cut the lead to 19, but the Huskers won comfortably.
Nebraska now prepares for Tuesday’s 8 p.m. game at Iowa. Pregame coverage begins at 7 p.m. on KLIN.