A week off was supposed to help Nebraska men’s basketball find themselves.
Head coach Fred Hoiberg said he had tweaked the offense. Guys looked good in practices. And for the first 11 minutes Sunday, things looked to be rectified.
To that point, Nebraska had made 5-of-10 3s and led Kansas State 25-15. But then the real Huskers returned.
Kansas State closed the half on an 18-2 run. Nebraska didn’t make a shot in more than seven minutes. And that lack of shot making continued through the rest of the game as the Wildcats beat their old Big 8 foe 67-58.
After shooting 50 percent through the first 10 attempts from deep, Nebraska missed their next 18 attempts to finish at just 17.9 percent. Over this five game stretch against high major opponents, Nebraska shot 21.5 percent (31-of-144) from 3, aiding the five game losing streak.
Kansas State didn’t play much better on the night. The Wildcats shot 39 percent from the field and made just 6-of-26 from deep.
But the visitors were better at scoring off of turnovers and offensive rebounds. Second chance point and points off turnovers were won by K-State 37-17.
Alonzo Verge Jr. led the Huskers with 21 points, adding a team-high five assists. Bryce McGowens added 14 points.
Nebraska is now 0-6 on the season against high major opponents. The Huskers will close out the non-conference slate against Wyoming Wednesday before diving fully into Big Ten play.