Lincoln – The Nebraska men’s basketball program will make its first postseason appearance in four years, as the Huskers were selected for the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) Sunday evening.

Nebraska, which enters the postseason with a 22-10 record, is the No. 5 seed and will take on No. 4 seed Mississippi State (22-11), on Wednesday, March 14 at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Miss. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. (central) and the game will be televised on ESPN2 and carried on the Huskers Sports Network.

The Huskers opened the season by playing the Bulldogs in a charity exhibition game in October, winning 76-72 in Starkville.

The 2018 NIT is the 25th postseason appearance in school history and 18th time NU has been selected for the NIT. The Huskers are 23-16 all-time in the NIT, including a championship in the 1996 NIT and semifinal appearances in 1983 and 1987. This is NU’s first NIT appearance since 2011.

The Huskers finished fourth in the Big Ten with a 13-5 record before losing to eventual tournament champion Michigan in the Big Ten Quarterfinals on March 2. Nebraska is led by a pair of All-Big Ten selections in James Palmer Jr. and Isaac Copeland Jr. Palmer was a first-team All-Big Ten pick by the conference coaches, as he averaged 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Copeland garnered honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors by both the coaches and media, as he averaged 12.9 points, a team-high 6.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game.

Mississippi State is 22-10 and finished tied for seventh in the Southeastern Conference. Coach Ben Howland’s team went 18-2 at Humphrey Coliseum this season. The Bulldogs feature four players who average double figures, including Quinndary Weatherspoon, who averaged 14.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game en route to second-team All-SEC honors. Nick Weatherspoon was a freshman All-SEC team member and is second in the team in scoring at 11.1 ppg.

If Nebraska wins, Nebraska will play the winner of top-seeded Baylor against eighth-seeded Wagner in the second round.

— NU Athletics —

NEW YORK (AP) — Maybe the most familiar fight song in college sports filled Madison Square Garden as Michigan turned the last six minutes of its Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal against Nebraska into garbage time.

“Hail to the victors valiant,” the many Michigan fans sang as they were able to start turning their attention to a semifinal on Saturday that will bring a little extra juice to the Garden. For just the second time, Michigan and Michigan State will meet in the Big Ten Tournament.

“It’s a rivalry game, even though it’s postseason you want to come out and have a sense of urgency and be ready for a fight,” Michigan guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman said after the 15th-ranked Wolverines eliminated the fourth-seeded Cornhuskers 77-58 on Friday.

Abdur-Rahkman scored 21 points and Moe Wagner had 20 as fifth-seeded Michigan (26-7) dealt a significant blow to Nebraska’s NCAA hopes.

Michigan and Michigan State’s only other meeting in the Big Ten Tournament came in the 2014 championship game at Indianapolis. The Spartans won 69-55.

“I expect it to be really exciting,” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “I think there will be a lot of Michigan fans here, but I expect Michigan State fans to travel well. I don’t know the numbers, but we are in New York City. Our alums and our fans are.”

The Michigan fans had plenty of time to sit back and enjoy Friday’s game against Nebraska.

Wagner and Abdur-Rahkman were both limited by foul trouble in Michigan’s opening tournament victory against Iowa on Thursday. The Wolverines’ stars fouled out in the overtime game against the Hawkeyes, but Michigan survived without them.

Against the Huskers (22-10), Wagner and Abdur-Rahkman were full-go and Nebraska could not do much to stop them. Wagner drove the baseline for a dunk late in the first half that helped the Michigan go up 34-24 at the break.

Abdur-Rahkman’s 3 with 6:01 left in the second half made it 61-42 for the Wolverines, giving their fans the opportunity to sing and chant “N-I-T” at Nebraska.

Isaiah Roby and James Palmer Jr. led Nebraska with 16 points each.

BIG PICTURE

Michigan: The Wolverines lost by 20 at Nebraska back in January in one of their worst offensive showings of the season. Abdur-Rahkman said Michigan failed to adjust to the Huskers’ defensive switches. “I think we just seen it a lot more. As of late, teams have been trying to switch out their defenses against us,” Abdur-Rahkman said.

Whatever the issue was in Lincoln, it was solved the second time around. The Wolverines got to the basket effectively in the first half, and the 3-point shooting that was off against Iowa (3 for 19) was on against Nebraska (11 for 23).

Nebraska: Selection Sunday is more than a week away with the Big Ten playing its tournament earlier than usual to get it into the Garden. It figures to be an uneasy wait for coach Tim Miles and his Huskers.

“I think we’re just going to wait to see what happens,” Palmer said. “Whether it’s the NCAA — which I think we should be. But we’re just going to wait this week and see what happens.”

Despite a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten, and winning eight of nine to end the regular season, many projections have Nebraska firmly on the bubble for an at-large NCAA bid.

“Well, I believe we’re an NCAA Tournament team now,” Miles said. “That was — we just ran into a buzz saw with Michigan, but I don’t think that undoes what we’ve already accomplished.”

The Huskers best regular-season victory is probably against Michigan. They had a close loss against Kansas and the Big Ten schedule did them no favors, giving them road games at Michigan State, Purdue and Ohio State with no return home games.

If Nebraska is left out, the Big Ten is looking at getting only four teams in the tournament, barring an upset winner at the Garden.

UP NEXT

Michigan: The Wolverines beat the Spartans 82-72 in January at East Lansing.

Nebraska: NCAA or NIT?

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska made history Sunday night, setting a program record for conference wins and winning 22 games overall for just the third time in school history with its 76-64 victory over Penn State.

“It’s a very important night, a historic night from what I’m hearing,” said Nebraska coach Tim Miles. “I’m just really proud of these guys, to have that, at least, accomplished. Now certainly we have more goals and we want to go a lot farther. But I’m just happy that this night they can enjoy that and put that in their back pockets.”

Nebraska (22-9, 13-5 Big Ten) clinched the No. 4 seed and double-bye into the quarterfinals of next week’s conference tournament. The Huskers kept hopes alive for their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2014.

“I’m just glad we finished it, got that bye,’ said Nebraska senior Anton Gill, who played his final regular season home game Sunday. “We’re not going to New York to just play around. We want to win that, too. We really feel like we have the best team in the Big Ten. More wins would obviously help. But if you ask my opinion, we’ve proven throughout the year we’re a tournament team.”

The Huskers, who led by 17 at half, stretched their advantage to 49-28 on Gill’s 3-pointer with about 13 minutes remaining. Then Penn State (19-10, 9-9) began to chip away at the lead behind Tony Carr, who had 19 of his 27 points in the second half.

The Nittany Lions cut the Nebraska advantage to 12 six times in the last 4:13, but got no closer.

“I’m really proud of my team the second half there,” Penn State coach Pat Chambers said. “Obviously they jumped us. Give Tim (Floyd) and Nebraska credit, they’ve been playing really good basketball the last month and came out and punched us in the mouth.”

Nebraska took control with a 17-3 first-half run, highlighted by three straight baby hooks by Jordy Tshimanga, going up 25-10 on Copeland’s basket with 6:44 left in the half.

The Huskers had a 46-28 edge in points in the paint and outrebounded Penn State 45-28.

Isaiah Roby had 13 points for Nebraska and James Palmer Jr. and Glynn Watson Jr. had 11 points each.

Lamar Stevens had 13 points for Penn State and Shep Garner added 11.

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: With Sunday’s win, the Huskers broke the school record for most conference wins in a season at 13. The previous mark of 12 conference wins was set in 1965-66 when Nebraska played in the Big Eight Conference and in 1915-16 when the Huskers were a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. Nebraska was undefeated at home in conference play for the ninth time in school history.

Penn State: The Nittany Lions played without Mike Watkins, the team’s second leading scorer, who had 20 points and 15 rebounds in the Penn State’s 76-74 overtime win over Nebraska in State College on Jan. 12.

QUOTABLE

Nebraska’s Evan Taylor on Senior Night — “It was crazy. All my teammates were saying I was going to be the one to cry of all the seniors. I was “nah, nah, nah.’ But in the tunnel, I got emotional. Everything I had to do to get here, it was a journey…I’m glad the whole community accepted me and we were able to finish strong.”

UP NEXT

Nebraska will play in the conference tournament quarterfinals Friday.

Penn State will play Northwestern on Thursday in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — James Palmer scored 15 points Tuesday night as Nebraska beat Indiana 66-57, allowing the Huskers the resume their NCAA Tournament pursuit.

Nebraska (21-9, 12-5 Big Ten) bounced back from a Sunday loss at Illinois that stopped a six-game winning streak. Isaac Copeland added 13 points, and Isaiah Roby contributed 11 points and nine rebounds.

Indiana (16-13, 9-8) had a four-game winning streak snapped, hurting itself with 19 turnovers.

Indiana started a 10-2 run in the second half with back-to-back 3-point plays by Justin Smith and Juwan Morgan, taking a 41-37 lead with 13:50 remaining. Nebraska answered with 10 straight, including a 3-point play and two free throws by Evan Taylor, and led the rest of the way.

The Huskers, who tied a school record with their 12th conference win, finished off the Hoosiers when Palmer had two free throws and a dunk during an 8-0 run that made it 64-53 with 1:51 remaining.

Smith and Robert Johnson paced Indiana with 16 points apiece.

Indiana somehow emerged with a halftime lead despite a shaky first 20 minutes, going ahead 26-25 after Devonte Green and Johnson scored on hard drives in the final 90 seconds. Nebraska had a chance to regain the lead it held for much of the first half, but Roby missed a 3-point shot as time ran out.

Nebraska had taken a 25-22 lead on a 3-point basket by Thomas Allen with 1:52 remaining, but the Huskers made just 3 of 15 from behind the arc in the first half and did not attempt a free throw.

Indiana also hurt itself with nine turnovers but never trailed by more than five points in the half, facing its largest deficit at 9-4 after a Roby dunk.

BIG PICTURE

Indiana: The Hoosiers had built some late-season momentum by beating four consecutive Big Ten lower-division teams. They will try to rebound with a Friday night home game against Ohio State that concludes their regular-season schedule.

Nebraska: The NCAA tourney hopes remain fragile, but Nebraska picked itself up nicely after its costly loss at Illinois. The play of Palmer, a junior, continues to be an important part of one of the Huskers’ best seasons in years.

UP NEXT

Indiana hosts Ohio State on Friday

Nebraska hosts Penn State on Sunday

— Associated Press —

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Close games have not gone well for Illinois this season. The Illini have lost nine games by single digits, including three losses in overtime and one at the buzzer against Nebraska on Jan. 15.

But in a rematch Sunday afternoon, the Illini got their revenge in a 72-66 victory over the Cornhuskers, powered by Leron Black.

Black poured in a career-high 28 points and snagged seven rebounds to help Illinois outlast Nebraska. He scored 17 points in 12 minutes in the first half, including a stretch in which he made seven consecutive field goals.

“My teammates were finding me in all the right spots,” Black said. “I had a lot of open shots. They were looking for me and getting me the ball.”

There were six ties and nine lead changes during the game, but the deciding basket came from Black. He nailed a turnaround, fadeaway jumper with two minutes left that put the Illini ahead by three and brought the State Farm Center crowd to its feet.

On the Illini’s final two possessions Trent Frazier and Mark Smith knocked down four free throws to secure the win.

Illinois (13-15, 3-12 Big Ten) shot 62 percent from the field and made 7 of 9 from behind the arc to outscore Nebraska 43-36 in the first half. But after the break, the Cornhuskers used a 16-4 run to climb back in it for a five-point lead.

The teams traded baskets the rest of the way, but Black proved to be too much. He knocked down 3 of 5 from behind the arc in his second consecutive 20-point performance.

“Huge night from Leron,” coach Brad Underwood said. “Everyone got to see how (his game) has expanded. He shot a couple off the dribble today, he hit a couple threes. Really pleased with the way he played.”

Frazier and Kipper Nichols were the only other Illini to score in double figures, finishing with 12 points apiece.

Isaac Copeland led the way with 17 points for Nebraska (20-9, 11-5), who lost for the just the second time in its past 10 games.

“We had just kind of gone to sleep (in the first half),” coach Tim Miles. “We hadn’t practiced that great coming in and we played that way.”

BIG PICTURE

Glynn Watson Jr., Nebraska’s third leading scorer, finished with just three points on 1-of-9 shooting. The loss snapped the Cornhuskers six-game winning streak.

Illinois’ slight win should give Underwood’s young squad some confidence moving forward as it prepares to close out the regular season.

INJURED STARTER

Michael Finke missed his third consecutive game with a concussion. The Illinois forward has started in 25 games this season and is the Illini’s fourth leading scorer at 9.6 points per game.

FRESHMAN HISTORY

Frazier has scored in double-figures in 16 of Illinois’ last 18 games. He’s averaging 12.3 points this year which is the most by an Illini freshman since Dee Brown during the 2002-03 season.

QUOTABLE

“You talk about having pride? You talk about feeling good? That’s everything we have to be about,” Underwood said regarding a loose ball scrum in the second half. “That was three, four guys on the floor all fighting to win a game. Didn’t care about a little burn from the floor, didn’t care about getting knocked. Tonight I knew we were in good shape when we were to that point because that is selfless. That was the play of the night in my opinion.”

UP NEXT

Nebraska returns home to take on Indiana. The Hoosiers are led by Juwan Morgan, who is ranked eighth in the Big Ten in scoring at 16.6 points per game.

Illinois will hit the road and face Michigan State on Tuesday. The No. 2 Spartans have a 10-game winning streak.

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — James Palmer Jr. was driving to the basket, making 3-pointers from the corner, hitting mid-range jumpers. The guy seemed unstoppable.

“When you get in a rhythm, everybody knows it and they throw you the rock and you don’t think you can miss,” Palmer said after scoring 24 of his 26 points in the second half of Nebraska’s 70-66 win over Maryland on Tuesday night. “Guys were doing a great job finding me.”

Palmer, just 1 for 6 from the field in the first half, was 9 of 13 after halftime and combined with Isaiah Roby for 35 of the Cornhuskers’ 40 second-half points.

Palmer scored 15 straight points for the Huskers (20-8, 11-4 Big Ten) over a 10-minute span that ended when Roby hit one of two free throws with 2:57 left for a 64-59 lead. Roby had all 11 of his points in the second half and added 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double. He also blocked three shots.

“James, he got cooking,” Nebraska point guard Glynn Watson Jr. said. “That was big. And (Palmer and Roby) both made some plays at the end. Roby did a better job in the second half being aggressive, and that was the key to winning.”

Nebraska secured its first 20-win season since 2008. It was the first time since 1993 that the Huskers posted their 20th win in the regular season.

“It’s great,” coach Tim Miles said, “but we’re not planning on stopping here. I’ve told our guys a week ago that if you counted wins, you’ve done it wrong. If you think, `Oh, I think we can win 21 or 20 this year,’ you need to get your mind free of that and keep playing and keep winning.”

The Terps (17-11, 6-9) had a chance to take the lead with a minute to play, but Watson blocked Anthony Cowan Jr.’s 3-point try. From there the Huskers hit six straight free throws after making only seven of their first 13.

Bruno Fernando led the Terps with 21 points and nine rebounds. Kevin Huerter added 12 points and Darryl Morsell had 11.

“Another tough loss for us on the road,” Terps coach Mark Turgeon said. “We keep competing out here and losing by three or four. I thought we were going to get over the hump tonight.”

BIG PICTURE

Maryland: The Terps’ fading NCAA Tournament hopes might have been dashed with their seventh straight road loss.

Nebraska: The Huskers are resting firmly on the NCAA bubble and absolutely needed this win. They got it, thanks to Palmer and Roby’s efforts in the second half.

WATSON HIT 1,000

Watson went over 1,000 career points when he hit two free throws with six seconds left. The junior from Bellwood, Illinois, has 1,001 in 93 career games.

“I haven’t been playing that well offensively, so I try to bring it on defense,” Watson said. “It means a lot to have 1,000 points, but it doesn’t mean anything if we’re not winning.”

KEY NUMBERS

Nebraska has won 11 conference games for just the fifth time in program history. … NU has won a season-high six straight games, all in conference play. The last Nebraska team to win so many in a row in conference play was in 1997-98, when the Huskers won their final six Big 12 games. … Palmer tied a school record with 24 second-half points. … Fernando had a career-high five assists for Maryland. … The Terps held a 40-28 advantage in points in the paint.

UP NEXT

Maryland hosts Rutgers on Saturday. It’s the teams’ only meeting this season.

Nebraska visits Illinois. The Huskers beat the Illini 64-63 in Lincoln on Jan. 15.

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska took care of business Saturday, building double digit leads in each half on the way to defeating Rutgers and keeping its postseason drive alive.

Nebraska last made the NCAA Tournament in 2014, and has its sights set on a return to the tournament. But a low RPI and a lack of wins over ranked opponents has the Huskers needing to win every game.

“You look at what’s at stake, you’ve got fourth place in the Big Ten, undefeated at home in the league and a chance to play your way into the NCAA Tournament, that’s a lot at stake,” said Nebraska coach Tim Miles. “So we need their focus. I think they understand what their goals are and we want to accomplish them.”

Nebraska (19-8, 10-4) won its seventh Big Ten conference game in its last eight tries. Rutgers (12-15, 2-11) has now lost seven consecutive conference games.

Nebraska, which built a 16-point first half lead only to see Rutgers cut the margin to five early in the second, used a 10-0 run capped by a pair of Isaac Copeland jumpers to take a 48-32 lead with 14:35 remaining.

Then, as they had in the first half, the Scarlet Knights surged back with three straight baskets, cutting the Nebraska lead to 10 on Corey Sanders’ basket with 12:15 remaining.

The Huskers responded with a 15-6 run to take a 63-44 lead on Isaiah Roby’s coast-to-coast layup with 6:31 left. Rutgers scored the game’s final six points against the Huskers reserves to cut the final margin to 12.

“The first half, I was worried because we had given up a lead,” Miles said. “The second half, I thought we played well with the lead. I was pleased with the second half. I was pleased with the team and their demeanor, but I also reminded them we haven’t beat Maryland at home yet.”

Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell was pleased with his team’s effort in coming back in both halves. But he said, the Scarlet Knights made too many mistakes to win

“We just kept fighting,” he said. “We missed a lot of layups. You’ve got to make layups, especially on the road. … We’re a pretty good defensive team, so eventually our defense kind of catches up. … We kind of clawed back into it, but you’ve got to do more than that to win the game on the road in this league.”

Nebraska was led by Isaiah Roby, who had 10 points, 11 rebounds, two blocked shots and a spectacular dunk that saw him take off from the Big Ten logo in the middle of the lane and slam the ball through the hoop. Roby had 19 points and eight rebounds in Nebraska’s 91-85 win at Minnesota Tuesday.

“I’m just being more aggressive, just trying to move harder, cut harder, not be so timid out there,” Roby said. “My teammates have been finding me really well. That’s just a product of that.”

Nebraska’s swarming man-to-man defense held Rutgers to just 35 percent shooting for the game. Nebraska hit 45 percent of its shots and outscored Rutgers by nine from the free-throw line.

THE BIG PICTURE

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights were unable to find their shooting touch, making just 14 percent from 3-point range.

Nebraska: The Huskers’ 19 wins match the program’s highest win total in 10 years. Nebraska won 19 games in 2010-2011 and 2013-2014. The Huskers have at least five games remaining in the season. Nebraska also won for the 13th time at home this season. It’s only home loss came against No. 10 Kansas in December.

WORTH NOTING

Nebraska wore black warm-up T-shirts emblazoned with “Hate Will Never Win,” the team’s message it is delivering to University of Nebraska-Lincoln community following the release of videos of a white nationalist student that have roiled campus. The Huskers also appeared in a video shown before the game that concluded with the statement that Nebraska is “a community that stands together like a team. We rise together against racism and hate because hate will never win.” The Huskers will wear the T-shirts in warm-ups for the rest of the season, Miles said.

QUOTABLE

Nebraska’s Duby Okeke came off the bench to block four shots and sent the sold-out Pinnacle Bank Arena crowd into a frenzy when he accidentally “threw the bones,” the Nebraska Blackshirts crossed arm gesture, after he swatted a Eugene

“Ben Wallace is one of my favorite players. I wanted to do what he did,” Okeke said “But I ended up doing this (crossed his arms). I didn’t even think about the whole Boneyard thing. When that happened, I just started throwing it up.”

UP NEXT

Rutgers returns home for its next contest, hosting Northwestern on Tuesday.

Nebraska stays at home to host Maryland on Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sophomore Isaiah Roby led a balanced attack with a career-high 21 points and eight rebounds as Nebraska defeated Minnesota 91-85 on Tuesday night.

James Palmer Jr. had 19 points and nine assists for the Huskers (18-8, 9-4 Big Ten), who won for the sixth time in seven games. Anton Gill scored 12 points, while Glynn Watson Jr. and Isaac Copeland each scored 10 for Nebraska.

Nate Mason poured in a career-high 34 points and added six assists for the Golden Gophers (14-12, 3-10), who have lost six in a row. Jordan Murphy scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while freshman Isaiah Washington scored 10 points and dished out eight assists.

Nebraska ranks 13th out of 14 Big Ten teams in shooting percentage, but the Huskers came out firing. They hit nine of their first 15 shots from the floor, including 5 for 7 on 3-pointers, as they pulled out to a 23-18 lead.

That was all without a point from Palmer, who had averaged 25.2 points over his last six games. But he ran off seven straight points before Gill hit a transition layup and a 3 to push Nebraska’s lead to 37-22.

Washington hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut Nebraska’s halftime lead to 44-37. The Huskers shot 59 percent from the floor and hit 8 of 12 from 3-point range in the first half.

Mason almost single-handedly willed the Gophers back into the game in the second half. Trailing by eight, the senior guard hit three free throws, and after a Thomas Allen 3-pointer, Mason made a driving layup, dished to Bakary Konate for a dunk, and drained a 3 to cut Nebraska’s lead to 60-59 with 10 minutes to play.

Minnesota tied the game 62-all on a 3-point play by Michael Hurt, but Nebraska immediately answered with an 8-0 run to restore its cushion. Gill hit a pair of free throws during that run after Gophers coach Richard Pitino was assessed a technical foul for arguing with the officials.

Mason hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute to pull Minnesota to within four, and after a steal Washington had a chance to cut the deficit to one point but his 3-pointer was long. Palmer then hit four straight free throws to close it out.

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: Since joining the Big Ten in 2011-12, the Huskers have one fourth-place finish and a combined .289 winning percentage in their other five seasons. This year’s club now stands alone in fourth place, and its five remaining opponents are a combined 21-40.

Minnesota: Coming off an overtime loss at No. 24 Michigan on Saturday, the Gophers again showed heart but were outgunned by a deeper, more athletic team. Minnesota felt the absence of starting forward Amir Coffey (shoulder). The Gophers also lost starting guard Dupree McBrayer, who has been battling leg injuries all season and didn’t play in the second half.

UP NEXT

Nebraska: Hosts Rutgers on Saturday.

Minnesota: Visits Indiana on Friday.

— Associated Press —

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — James Palmer Jr. scored 28 points and keyed a second-half comeback, as Nebraska rallied for a 74-63 victory over Wisconsin on Monday night.

The Cornhuskers trailed by double digits midway through the second half but held the Badgers to just eight points over the final nine minutes to extend their winning streak to three games.

A spinning, one-handed dunk by Khalil Iverson gave Wisconsin a 55-44 advantage, but the Cornhuskers answered with 10 straight points to pull within 55-54 with 7:28 to play and continued rolling.

Palmer Jr. scored 16 points during a 30-8 Nebraska run to close the game, including a layup that gave the Cornhuskers their first lead of the second half with 4:35 remaining.

Isaac Copeland added 17 points and Glynn Watson Jr. had 15 for Nebraska (17-8, 8-4 Big Ten).

After trailing the majority of the first half, Nebraska went on a 9-1 run to take a 30-29 lead on a pair of free throws by Palmer with 1:13 left in the first half.

But Ethan Happ scored the final three points of the half, including a layup just before the buzzer, to give the Badgers a 32-30 halftime advantage.

Happ led Wisconsin (10-13, 3-7) with 25 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four blocks. Iverson added 13 points and five rebounds.

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: The second-half comeback was big for a Cornhuskers team gaining momentum toward its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2014. Nebraska now has won three straight and 10 of 13.

Wisconsin: A disappointing season continues for the Badgers, as Wisconsin let a win slip through its fingers and lost for the third consecutive game.

UP NEXT

Nebraska will have the rest of the week off from game action before playing at Minnesota on Feb. 6.

Wisconsin hosts Northwestern on Thursday. The Badgers and Wildcats will meet twice over the final four weeks of the regular season.

— Associated Press —-