Nebraska men’s basketball has finally notched a Big Ten Conference victory in 2021-22.
The Huskers (7-17, 1-12 Big Ten) earned their first conference win since March 1, 2021. It is also the first win against any high major opponent over those 346 days.
“It feels great,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said. “As I said to the guys in the locker room the approach that they brought after the embarrassment on Saturday was what won the game. The 40 minutes between the lines is what you see when it is the preparation that puts you in position.
“I thought our defensive energy out of the chute got a little rhythm for us offensively.”
NU raced out to a 9-2 lead on the back of strong defense and a pair of highlight alley-oop dunks. That momentum for the team, and the energy in the building, helped build that lead to stay around 10 points for the rest of the half.
Minnesota (11-10, 2-10 Big Ten) put an 8-0 run together early in the second half, but that was snuffed out by a 14-1 Big Red run that stretched the difference to 20 points.
The Huskers notched the first conference win of the season 78-65.
“It means a lot to us,” Nebraska forward Derrick Walker said. “After everything we’ve been through this season, all the close games, one of them even went to three or four overtimes. It means a lot for us to finally come out with a win.
“Hopefully we can keep this going for the rest of the season and continue to win.”
The 18 turnovers for the Gophers is their most on the season. Nebraska turned those into 25 points.
Alonzo Verge Jr. led all scorers with 22 points to go with four assists and three steals.
Bryce McGowens, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week, put together 16 points.
Walker was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field to finish with 11 points, adding seven rebounds and two blocked shots. He is shooting 69 percent from the floor on the season.
The Huskers shot 40.6 percent for the game, including 7-of-18 from 3.
Next up for Nebraska is a road matchup at Iowa.