LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Malcolm Hill scored 19 points and Illinois went on a 3-point shooting spree in the second half in a 73-57 victory over Nebraska on Sunday.

Tracy Abrams added 13 points and Maverick Morgan had 12 for the Illini (17-12, 7-9), who won their third straight road game and for the fourth time in five games overall.

Tai Webster had 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead the Cornhuskers (12-16, 6-10).

The Illini, who came into the game 12th in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting in conference games (32.9 percent) made seven of their first eight 3s of the second half to go up 61-44 with 9:15 to play. They finished 13 of 26 from beyond the arc.

The Huskers are last in the Big Ten in 3-point defense in conference games (41.3 percent).

Hill scored 14 of his 19 points after half. He and Abrams each made four 3-pointers.

Illinois led 30-28 at half, and Abrams and Hill hit a couple 3s during a 10-3 spurt that gave the Illini a seven-point lead. Jalen Coleman-Lands’ 3 pushed the lead to 47-37 with 13:41 to play, and the Huskers never got closer.

The Illini continued to play strong defense, holding the Huskers to 37.5-percent shooting from the field, 26.7 percent on 3s and their second-lowest point total. In the previous six games, Illinois opponents were shooting 39.7 percent overall, 32.5 percent on 3s and averaging 64.2 points.

BIG PICTURE

Illinois: The Illini won a third straight Big Ten game for the first time since the 2014-15 season and are now in sole possession of ninth place. The Illini need to finish 10th or higher to avoid a play-in game in the conference tournament.

Nebraska: The Huskers suffered their most lopsided home loss of the season and probably need to win at least one of their last two regular-season games to avoid a play-in game.

UP NEXT

Illinois hosts Michigan State on Wednesday.

Nebraska visits Minnesota on Thursday.

— Associated Press —

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Miles Bridges was having a mediocre game by his standings when Michigan State coach Tom Izzo put him back in a closely contested game late in the first half.

It didn’t take long for the freshman standout to take the game over.

Bridges scored nine points during a decisive run and finished with 20, leading the Spartans in an 88-72 win over Nebraska on Thursday night.

“My teammates got me the ball in all the right places,” he said.

One time, Cassius Winston put the ball about 11 feet in the air to set up Bridges for a spectacular slam.

Bridges made two layups, a dunk on Winston’s pass off the backboard and a 3-pointer in a 2:12 stretch late in the first half as part of a 21-5 run that turned a closely contested game into a rout. Winston ended the surge with a 3-pointer from about 40 feet just before the buzzer in the first half.

“I might skip that one on tape,” Cornhuskers coach Tim Miles said.

Nick Ward had 20 points, giving Michigan State two freshmen with 20-plus points in a game for the first time since the 1977-78 season when Magic Johnson scored 31 and Jay Vincent had 22 points.

Joshua Langford scored a career-high 17 points as the Spartans (17-11, 9-6 Big Ten ) bounced back from a 17-point setback at No. 14 Purdue and the loss of senior Eron Harris with a dominant performance in a game they needed to win.

Michigan State boosted its chances of earning a 20th straight invite to the NCAA tournament with its fifth victory in seven games and moved into a fourth-place tie with Minnesota and Northwestern in the conference .

“Feel comfortable? Forget about it,” Izzo said. “That’s not going to happen this year.”

The Cornhuskers (12-15, 6-9) were coming off two straight wins and fell into a ninth-place tie with Illinois and Penn State in the Big Ten.

Nebraska’s Tai Webster had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Evan Taylor scored 10 points.

The Spartans led 49-31 at halftime and coasted to another lopsided win over the Cornhuskers, who were trailing by just two points before Bridges and the Spartans took over the game for good.

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers simply haven’t been able to repeat the success they had at the start of the Big Ten season. They opened with road wins against Indiana and Maryland as part of a 3-0 start, then lost five straight and have lost nine of their last 12. During the slide, they mixed in a win over then-No. 20 Purdue.

“Just growing pains, I guess,” Webster said. “We’re a young team. We get in situations we’re not used to with a lot of young players.”

Just when Nebraska looked like it might be turning it around with a 16-point win over Penn State and a victory at Ohio State, the Spartans won easily.

“Anybody can beat anybody any night,” Miles said.

Michigan State: The Spartans played just fine without Harris, one of their three double-digit scorers. They leaned even more on their four freshmen — Bridges, Ward, Langford and Winston — and started senior Alvin Ellis for the first time in two years. Bridges, Langford and Ward took care of the scoring load while Winston directed the offense, making seven of his eight assists in the first half.

Bridges said it was “big,” that he and Ward both scored 20 in a game.

“We have to carry the scoring load, and stay aggressive,” Bridges said. “We’re tough to stop in the paint.”

HE’S NO LOSER

With the win, Izzo is guaranteed to extend his run of avoiding a losing record in the Big Ten for the 22nd time in his 22-season career. If the Spartans close the regular season with three straight losses, they will be .500 for the fifth time under their Hall of Fame coach and the first time in a decade.

FACES IN THE CROWD

Former San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions coach Steve Mariucci , Izzo’s best friend, attended the game and chatted at halftime with Lions coach Jim Caldwell and some of his assistants. Izzo said Caldwell addressed the team in the locker room after the game.

UP NEXT

Nebraska: Hosts Illinois on Sunday night.

Michigan State: Host No. 16. Wisconsin on Sunday in the Spartans’ last home game before closing the regular season at Illinois and at No. 24 Maryland.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Mistakes and sloppy play by Ohio State allowed Nebraska to climb back into Saturday’s game in the final 25 seconds and escape with a win for the first time in eight trips to Columbus.

The Huskers pulled out a 58-57 victory in a sloppy game marked by lousy shooting and careless ball-handling by both sides.

The Buckeyes led 57-52 before Nebraska’s Jack McVeigh hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 25 seconds on the clock to cut the lead to two points.

An Ohio State turnover led to a Glynn Watson layup to tie the score with 12 seconds left. Watson was fouled on the shot, and his subsequent free throw put Nebraska ahead for the first time in the second half.

Ohio State had 7.8 seconds to set up for a shot and win it, but the play blew up, Jae’Sean Tate picked up his dribble and was forced to throw up an errant jump shot just before the buzzer.

Afterward, Ohio State coach Thad Matta, whose team assured him of the first losing league record of his coaching career, couldn’t quite find the words to explain how the Buckeyes blew it.

“Dumbfounded,” Matta said.

Tai Webster scored 17 points, Watson had 14 and McVeigh added 11 for the Huskers (12-14, 6-8 Big Ten), who won their second straight game, despite shooting only 38 percent. The Buckeyes were only a little bit better, hitting 41 percent of their shots, but they committed 18 turnovers leading to 23 Nebraska points.

Tate had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Marc Loving and Trevor Thompson each added 13 for Ohio State (15-13, 5-10 Big Ten). The Buckeyes lost their third straight and watched their hopes of making the NCAA Tournament as a bubble team all but evaporate.

“We’ve got to be smarter, we beat ourselves tonight,” Tate said. “We deserve it.”

The first half wasn’t pretty.

Ohio State led by 11 with 5 1/2 minutes left, but a 7-2 run allowed the Huskers to close it to 30-24 at the break. Nebraska shot a dismal 33 percent from the floor, including 2 for 9 from beyond the arc, and didn’t have a basket in the last 2:54 of the half. The Buckeyes could manage only a single foul shot in the last four minutes and had eight turnovers.

Ohio State went up by 11 early in the second half but Nebraska stayed around. The Buckeyes held a seven point lead with 3:37 left, but a 10-3 run by Nebraska tied it with Watson’s layup.

“I saw the lane and I thought I had the big man beat, and I just finished it,” Watson said.

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: Gets some momentum and a reason to feel good in a season that has not been stellar.

Ohio State: Couldn’t rise to the occasion in a late-season home game when their backs were against the wall. Hopes for an NCAA bid all but disappear in a game the Buckeyes shouldn’t have lost.

UP NEXT

Nebraska: Plays at Michigan State on Thursday night.

Ohio State: Faces No. 11 Wisconsin at home Thursday night.

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Glynn Watson Jr. and Jack McVeigh scored 15 points apiece to lead four Nebraska players in double figures, and the Cornhuskers used their best shooting half of the season to set the tone in an 82-66 victory over Penn State on Tuesday night.

Jordy Tshimanga and Tai Webster had 12 points each for the Huskers (11-14, 5-8 Big Ten), who ended a three-game losing streak.

Tony Carr had 15 points and Lamar Stevens added 13 to pace Penn State (14-13, 6-8), which lost for the first time in three games.

The Huskers shot 63 percent in the first half. McVeigh scored five points at the start of a 10-3 spurt that got them out to a 34-25 lead, and he beat the buzzer with a swish from the half-court line to make it 45-37 at half.

Freshman Isaiah Roby brought some flair in the middle of the second half with back-to-back dunks to give Nebraska a 63-47 lead. He threw down a lob from Evan Taylor and followed with a left-handed jam after taking a pass from Watson during a 9-0 run.

The Huskers led by as many as 24 points and finished the game shooting 55.4 percent. They came into the game shooting 42.8 percent in conference games.

Penn State shot just 31 percent in the second half and 39.7 percent for the game.

Tshimanga, who was 6 for 7 from the field, led an inside effort that saw the Huskers outscore the Lions 46-28 in the paint.

BIG PICTURE

Penn State: The Lions didn’t show up offensively and missed a chance to get to .500 in Big Ten play.

Nebraska: The Huskers did show up offensively and created some momentum for a two-game road trip to Ohio State and Michigan State.

UP NEXT

Penn State hosts Purdue on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

Nebraska visits Ohio State on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nigel Hayes hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 18.4 seconds left in overtime and Ethan Happ blocked Tai Webster’s shot on Nebraska’s last try, giving No. 7 Wisconsin a 70-69 victory on Thursday night.

Nebraska’s Michael Jacobson forced overtime with his 3 just ahead of the buzzer, tying the game at 58-all.

Hayes scored 18 of his 20 points after halftime for the Badgers (21-3, 10-1 Big Ten), who won their eighth straight and 17th of their last 18.

Zak Showalter made 4 of 6 3s and finished with 15 points, and Bronson Koenig added 12 for Wisconsin.

Webster had 19 points and Glynn Watson Jr. added 15 for the Huskers (10-14, 4-8), who have lost eight of their last nine.

Jacobson came up big in overtime when he beat the shot clock with a jumper in the lane to put Nebraska in front 65-64, but Koenig banked in a 3-pointer to tie it at 67.

Webster made two free throws to make it 69-67 with 1:11 to play. Koenig missed a shot on the other end and Nebraska’s Ed Morrow got the rebound and was fouled.

Morrow missed the two free throws, and Hayes’ 3-pointer put the Badgers up a point.

Webster tried a shot from underneath with 3.3 seconds left, but Happ blocked it, got the rebound and was able to call time out before falling out of bounds.

Hayes missed two free throws with 2.2 seconds left, but the Huskers couldn’t get off another shot.

On seven occasions in the second half Nebraska was within one possession of the Badgers. The Huskers took their first lead of the game when Isaiah Roby made a steal and went for a layup to make it 50-49 with 5:10 to play.

The Badgers couldn’t get the lead back until Hayes bounced in a shot from underneath with 14 seconds left to make it 58-55.

Nebraska inbounded the ball and called time out to set up a final play. Instead of fouling and sending the Huskers to the line for two free throws, the Badgers let the possession play out, with Jacobson swishing his 3 from the wing with one-tenth of a second showing.

BIG PICTURE

Wisconsin: The Big Ten-leading Badgers shot just 36.5 percent and were outrebounded 50-37, but they were able to win for the eighth time in 11 games away from Madison and stay 1 1/2 games ahead of Purdue.

Nebraska: The Huskers were trying for their first win over a top 10 opponent since knocking off the Badgers in Lincoln in March 2014, but their 22 turnovers and 15-of-24 shooting from the free throw line weren’t going to get it done.

UP NEXT

Wisconsin hosts Northwestern on Sunday.

Nebraska hosts Penn State on Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Even with Peter Jok back in the lineup, Iowa stuck to the balanced scoring attack it was forced to fall back on without the Big Ten’s top scorer.

It’s working for Fran McCaffery’s young team.

Jordan Bohannon scored 15 points, Tyler Cook added 13 and the Hawkeyes held on for an 81-70 win over Nebraska on Sunday for their third straight victory.

Brady Ellingson scored 11 points off the bench and hit a late 3-pointer to help Iowa (14-10, 6-5 Big Ten) avenge a double-overtime loss at Nebraska last month. Bohannon and Ellingson combined for seven 3-pointers, while the Cornhuskers made only 3 of 19 3s.

“It’s all about ball movement and screening and recognition and how to get the ball to those guys,” McCaffery said. “Just be locked in to, `OK, who is hot? Who are our shooters?’. That’s an unselfish group.”

Jack McVeigh scored 16 points to lead Nebraska (10-13, 4-7), which outrebounded the Hawkeyes but let the game slip away late. Tai Webster had 14 points, six rebounds and six assists. The senior became the 28th player in Nebraska history to reach the 1,000-point mark.

The Cornhuskers cut Iowa’s lead to 67-64 on Evan Taylor’s 3-point play with four minutes left. But the Hawkeyes answered with a quick 9-2 run — capped off by an Ellingson 3-pointer with 1:23 left that put the game away.

“They finished us off,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles said.

Jok scored 12 points in his return to the lineup after missing Iowa’s last two games with back issues. Jok played 30 minutes and shot 2 of 7 from the field, but had five rebounds and five assists.

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers’ 3-0 start in Big Ten play feels like forever ago. Nebraska has lost seven of its last eight games since then — almost all of them tight contests. Eight of the team’s 11 conference games have been decided by eight points or less.

Iowa: The young Hawkeyes have shown resiliency and balance during their three-game winning streak. Crisp, smart passing is a big reason why. The Hawkeyes have eight games this season with at least 20 assists — three of them in this current streak.

FRESHMAN STANDOUT

Bohannon hit four 3-pointers and has a freshman school-record 54 on the season. Entering Sunday, Bohannon and UCLA standout Lonzo Ball were the only two freshmen nationally with at least 50 3-pointers and 100 assists.

INJURIES

Glynn Watson, who had a career-high 34 points against Iowa on Jan. 5, didn’t start because of a nagging groin injury. Watson was held to 3 points on 0 of 4 shooting in only 18 minutes.

Referee Tom Eades suffered an undisclosed injury with 12 minutes left in the second half and did not return. The rest of the game was officiated by two referees.

HE SAID IT

“Without question, it’s the most important thing that happened this weekend,” McCaffery said about the University of Iowa Dance Marathon event that raised $2.5 million to help youth cancer patients and their families.

McCaffery’s son, Patrick, had a malignant tumor removed from his thyroid in 2014. Fran McCaffery is actively involved in Coaches vs. Cancer program.

UP NEXT

Nebraska: Things don’t get any easier for the Cornhuskers when 10th-ranked and Big Ten-leading Wisconsin visits Lincoln on Thursday.

Iowa: The Hawkeyes try to keep their winning streak going at Minnesota on Wednesday in the only time the rivals play each other this season.

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Michigan State finally broke through against Nebraska.

Miles Bridges scored 16 points to lead five Spartans in double figures, and they shot 63 percent in the second half to pull away from Nebraska for a 72-61 victory on Thursday night.

The Spartans (14-9, 6-4 Big Ten), who beat Michigan on Sunday, won consecutive games for the first time since December and ended a three-game losing streak against the Cornhuskers (10-12, 4-6).

“Nebraska has beaten us like a drum,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “I don’t think we have any players that have beaten Nebraska.”

His team’s difficulties against the Huskers have been a head scratcher. Michigan State regularly is near the top of the Big Ten. Nebraska is usually near the bottom.

It wasn’t as if the Spartans’ players were obsessed with ending the skid.

“That’s the funny thing in the Twitter era,” Izzo said. “Nobody thinks about yesterday or the day before. People don’t think about the past as much. I didn’t hear that as a battle cry. Maybe that’s good.”

The Spartans’ Cassius Winston said he and his teammates came into the game looking at the big picture. Michigan State is trying to make the NCAA Tournament for the 20th straight year, and there’s a lot more work to be done to get there.

“We said there’s no more room for error,” Winston said. “If we want to make our dreams, our goals we put out at the beginning of the season — if we want to make them come true, we’ve got to play consistently for every game.”

Michigan State’s bench outscored Nebraska’s 31-9, with Alvin Ellis III scoring 11 points and Nick Ward and Winston adding 10 apiece. Kenny Goins also had 10 points.

Tai Webster had 18 points to lead Nebraska, Jordy Tschimanga added a season-high 15 points and nine rebounds and Glynn Watson Jr. scored 13.

Michigan State made eight of its first 10 3-pointers in the second half and finished 11 of 17. The Spartans took the lead 7 minutes into the game and were ahead by single digits until Winston’s 3-pointer made it 50-38 with 13:50 left. They led by as much as 20.

“We pushed through adversity when they were starting to come back,” Bridges said, “and we fought to bust the lead wide open.”

Bridges, the Spartans’ 6-foot-7, 230-pound freshman sensation, was 7 of 10 from the field, including 2 of 5 on 3s, and had a team-leading six rebounds.

“He’s so versatile,” the Huskers’ Evan Taylor said. “Especially to be that size, he can go both ways — shoot the 3, shoot mid-range. We didn’t do too bad of a job on him. Good players are going to make plays.”

Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue was at Pinnacle Bank Arena to have his Huskers jersey retired during a halftime ceremony. He played at Nebraska from 1995-98.

BIG PICTURE

Michigan State: The Spartans won away from East Lansing for the first time since Dec. 27. Izzo says his team is still a long way from being very good, let alone great. He said 15 turnovers were too many and that the Spartans need to do a better job rebounding. Nebraska held a 32-27 edge on the glass and got 12 on the offensive end.

Nebraska: The Huskers couldn’t carry over the momentum from beating a then-No. 22 Purdue at home on Sunday, and now they’ve lost six of their last seven.

SICK SPARTANS

Goins made his first start since Dec. 18 in place of Ward, who had started 10 straight games. Both missed two practices because of illness, but Izzo said Goins started because he felt better than Ward.

“Ward and Goins are sicker than dogs,” Izzo said. “I’m happy they could go. If you watched both of them, they were dying.”

UP NEXT

Michigan State visits Michigan on Tuesday. The Spartans beat Michigan 70-62 at home on Sunday.

Nebraska visits Iowa on Sunday. The Huskers beat Iowa 93-90 in double overtime at home on Jan. 5.

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An improbable trio led the way as Nebraska ended its five-game losing streak and upset 20th-ranked Purdue.

There was Jack McVeigh, who has a love-hate relationship with his 3-point shot, and Jeriah Horne, who didn’t even play in the Cornhuskers’ previous game by coach’s decision.

And then there was Michael Jacobson, who took intravenous fluids at halftime after getting sick to his stomach twice in the first half.

McVeigh and Horne came off the bench to combine for 37 points and 10 rebounds, and Jacobson’s putback gave Nebraska the lead with 42 seconds left in an 83-80 victory Sunday.

McVeigh said it was about time the Huskers (10-11, 4-5 Big Ten) had some good fortune. Two of the five straight losses came on last-second shots.

“We battled in the other games, where you put yourself in a situation where anything is possible,” McVeigh said. “Everyone who has watched the Big Ten, no game is a joke. Every win is a good win here in conference play. That was a big win for the morale, and in terms of positioning and everything.”

McVeigh matched season highs with 21 points and four 3-pointers after coming into the game a 33-percent shooter from deep. Horne was 7 for 12 with 16 points and seven rebounds three days after not playing in a loss at Northwestern. Horne said coach Tim Miles kept him on the bench to drive home the point that he needed to work harder in practice.

“The minutes haven’t been the same lately, and they’ve been on the bench a lot,” senior guard Tai Webster said of McVeigh and Horne. “It’s a true show of character for those guys to stay the course and (handle) the adversity. We couldn’t have done it without those guys tonight.”

Dakota Mathias made 5 of 7 3-pointers and scored 19 points to lead Purdue (17-5, 6-3), which lost for the first time in four games. Carsen Edwards had 16 points, and Caleb Swanigan had 14 points and 14 rebounds. Swanigan had one of his worst shooting games of the season, going 5 for 15 and committing four turnovers against a mix of defenses.

“They were just stunting all game,” Swanigan said. “You didn’t know what they were doing. You just had to go to your basketball instincts. I wanted to get my best shot. I took too many dribbles and should have shot it sooner.”

The Huskers took the lead for good after Jacobson stole the ball from Swanigan and was there to put back McVeigh’s missed 3-pointer for a 79-78 edge.

Swanigan passed out of a double-team to Vincent Edwards on Purdue’s next possession. Edwards tried to pass to Mathias, who bobbled the ball and had it swiped by Glynn Watson Jr. Watson got fouled and made two free throws for a four-point lead with 10.5 seconds left.

BIG PICTURE

Purdue: Coach Matt Painter said he would have thought the Boilermakers would win with their 14-for-24 3-point shooting, but with 13 turnovers and Swanigan not able to control the inside offensively, they were ripe for the upset.

Nebraska: The Huskers got 39 points from their bench and outrebounded the bigger Boilermakers 40-35, including 15-11 on the offensive end.

MORE 3s THAN 2s

Miles said the Huskers did an excellent job defensively against the 6-foot-9 Swanigan and the 7-2 Isaac Haas, or “Hercules and the other guy,” as he called them.

The Huskers allowed 14 3-pointers but just 13 2-pointers. They had the 6-11 Jordy Tshimanga and the 6-9 Jacobson guard Swanigan and Haas, often sending McVeigh on double-teams. The Boilermakers were 13 of 38 from inside the arc.

“Our goal was to have them beat us from 2, and that worked out really well,” Miles said.

HE SAID IT

“It surprised me he played. Most guys who don’t play in the game before don’t play. He was on the scouting report and we talked about him. He’s made shots before but not a lot. Any time you play sparingly, it’s hard to gauge a guy because it’s not who they are.” — Painter.

UP NEXT

Purdue hosts Northwestern on Wednesday.

Nebraska hosts Michigan State on Thursday.

— Associated Press —

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Dererk Pardon dominated with 19 points and a career-high 22 rebounds to lead Northwestern to a 73-61 victory over struggling Nebraska on Thursday night.

Pardon, a sophomore, had the first 20-rebound game for Northwestern since Evan Eschmeyer grabbed 21 against Penn State on Jan. 20, 1999.

Vic Law scored 20, and the Wildcats (17-4, 6-2 Big Ten) won their fifth straight to match their longest streak in conference play since the 1965-66 season.

Tai Webster led Nebraska with 23 points. Glynn Watson Jr. scored 14, but the Cornhuskers (9-11, 3-5) dropped their fifth in a row after a 3-0 start in the Big Ten.

The Wildcats were leading 57-53 when Law hit two free throws with just under five minutes remaining in the game to start a 16-1 run.

Bryant McIntosh stole a pass that hit Nebraska’s Evan Taylor and fed Law for an alley-oop. Cornhuskers coach Tim Miles picked up a technical after pointing to a spot where he thought Pardon stepped out of bounds after grabbing a defensive rebound. That led to two free throws for McIntosh, making it 63-53 with 4:12 remaining.

Northwestern continued to pour it on with Sanjay Lumpkin nailing a 3 and Law getting fouled on a rebound dunk for a 3-point play with 1:17 left, making it 73-54. Pardon then exited to hugs from his teammates and “MVP! MVP!” chants.

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: The struggles continue for the Cornhuskers, who have lost five straight after a 3-0 start in conference play.

Northwestern: The program that hosted the first Final Four continues to inch toward its first NCAA appearance.

UP NEXT

Nebraska: Hosts Purdue on Sunday.

Northwestern: Hosts Indiana on Sunday.

— Associated Press —

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Rutgers finally put together a 40-minute game in conference play and coach Steve Pikiell earned his first Big Ten win with a 65-64 nail-biting victory over Nebraska on Saturday.

Corey Sanders scored a season-high 25 points, including the game-winner with one second left.

Sanders stole a ball that bounced off Nebraska’s Tai Webster’s foot with 12 seconds to play. Following a timeout, Sanders drove to the basket, corralled his own rebound and gave Rutgers the lead.

“We’re in every game,” Pikiell said. “We just have to learn how to win and today these guys made sure that happened on the court.

“Offensive rebounding has been huge for us all year, so it’s great to win a game like this with our biggest strength, which is rebounding.”

Deshawn Freeman and C.J. Gettys each added 10 points for Rutgers (12-8, 1-6).

Sanders’ layup with 4:42 tied it at 55-all. From there, the teams exchanged leads five times over the final minutes. Rutgers was led by Sanders down the stretch, including a fast-break dunk for a 57-55 lead before a jumper gave the Scarlet Knights a 59-58 lead with 2:31 left.

Jack McVeigh hit three 3-pointers in the span of 1:14 to give Nebraska (9-10, 3-4) a 64-59 lead with 1:31 to go.

“I didn’t think our guys were on balance and in the second half I thought we just ran much better offense and we handled the man-zone switch up, the press — we handled everything pretty well,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. “We just couldn’t hang on to the lead.”

Webster finished with 14 points while Glynn Watson Jr. and McVeigh scored 12 points apiece for Nebraska.

“It wasn’t going to happen overnight,” Sanders said of the program’s rebuilding process. “But I feel like with this win we can keep things rolling and hopefully get more wins.”

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: After starting 3-0 in Big Ten play, the Cornhuskers have lost four straight by single digits. Nebraska lost at Ohio State when Marc Loving scored with 0.6 seconds left to escape Lincoln with a 67-66 victory.

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights returned home after playing six of their last eight games on the road. Nebraska was Rutgers’ sixth opponent in the last eight games to have been ranked or receiving votes this season.

TOUGH SHOTS

Rutgers continued its tenacious defense, forcing Nebraska into tough shots. Rutgers entered the game holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting for the season and Nebraska shot 34 percent overall after just 22.2 percent in the first half.

WELL RESTED

The Scarlet Knights had almost a week off to prepare for Nebraska after losing at Indiana 76-57 last Sunday.

“Prep is always great,” Pikiell said. “They had a good practice — a great practice yesterday. They’re really learning how to fight through adversity, which in this league, there’s nothing but adversity and as we continue to face it and conquer it, it’s a good thing for us.”

HIGH SCORER

Entering the game with an 18.3 scoring average, Webster was held four points below that mark. Webster’s on track to have the highest average for a season since Aleks Maric’s 18.5 in 2006-07.

UP NEXT

Nebraska: Has five days off before playing at Northwestern on Thursday night.

Rutgers: Travels to College Park to play No. 25 Maryland.

— Associated Press —