No. 9 Nebraska men’s basketball lost its fourth game in the last six, falling 57-52 to Iowa Tuesdsay in Iowa City. The Cornhuskers struggled to rebound, with the Hawkeyes (19-7, 9-6 Big Ten) outrebounding NU (22-4, 11-4 Big Ten), 37-24. The difference was especially marked on the offensive glass, as Iowa grabbed 12 offensive rebounds to just two by Nebraska. The Huskers also struggled to shoot from the perimeter, hitting just 5-for-24 from beyond the arc.
Bennett Stirtz paced the Hawkeyes’ effort, scoring 25 points including a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. Cooper Koch added 10 points, while Tavion Banks had six points and a team-leading 10 rebounds. Pryce Sandfort led Nebraska with 13 points while Jamarcus Lawrence added 11 points.
The first half was hard-fought defensively, with neither team getting into an offensive rhythm. Iowa dominated the glass, outrebounding Nebraska 19-6, including six offensive rebounds by the Hawkeyes to none by the Huskers in the first 20 minutes of play. Iowa went on an 11-0 run to build a 30-21 lead with 1:36 to play in the half. The Hawkeyes pushed the lead to 10, 33-23 with 58 seconds to play in the half, before a Sam Hoiberg layup and a Jacobsen three built a 5-0 run that sliced Iowa’s advantage to 33-28 at halftime.
A three-pointer by Koch pushed the lead to 36-28, but then Nebraska scored six straight points, shrinking the deficit to 36-34 with 15:36 remaining and forcing the Hawkeyes to take timeout. After an Iowa three by Isaia Howard, a 7-0 Huskers run gave NU a short-lived 41-39 lead with 13 minutes remaining. Iowa tied the game at 41, but a Braden Frager dunk on an inbounds play put Nebraska back ahead, 43-41 with 12 minutes to go. A Tate Sage putback tied the game at 43 with 10:24 to go. A Stirtz jumper gave Iowa a 45-43 lead, but Rienk Mast immediately answered to tie the game at 45 with 6:51 to go. Stirtz again gave the Hawkeyes the lead after stealing a pass and driving in for a layup to make it 47-45 with 5:36 to go in the game. Stirtz pushed the lead to 50-45 with a stepback three from the right wing.
Sandfort broke a four-and-a-half minute scoring drought with two free throws, cutting Iowa’s lead to 50-47 with 2:27 to go. Nebraska had a possession to tie the game with under a minute to go, but Mast was called for an offensive foul trying to set a screen. On the ensuing possession, Hoiberg fell for a ball fake and Stirtz got three free throws, of which he made all three to open the lead to 53-47 with 36 seconds to go. Lawrence jacked up a right sideline three and drained it to cut the Hawkeyes’ lead to 53-50 with 27 seconds to go. Koch was fouled on the ensuing possession and hit both free throws to push the lead to 55-50 with 24 seconds to go. Banks hit two free throws to push the lead to seven. Lawrence’s layup cut the lead to five, but the final seconds ticked away and Iowa’s fans rushed the floor.
Nebraska is next in action Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena against Penn State. Pregame coverage begins at noon with tipoff at 1 p.m. on KLIN.