Huskers Overcome No. 9 Wisconsin

Lincoln, Neb.- The Nebraska basketball team overcame the No. 9 Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday evening as the Huskers posted a 77-68 victory in front of a school record 15,998 fans at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

 

Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields led the Huskers with 26 points each, as the Huskers improved to 15-1 at Pinnacle Bank Arena.  Shields went 10-17 from the field and 6-of-7 from the foul line, while Petteway grabbed 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. 

Shields and Petteway also combined to shoot 17-of-21 from the free-throw line, while Walter Pitchford added 15 points on the evening. Wisconsin was led by Frank Kaminsky as he recorded 14 points and eight rebounds.

The win propelled NU to a 19-11 overall record and an 11-7 record in Big Ten play. Wisconsin closed the game with a 25-6 record and a 12-6 record in Big Ten play. The win clinched fourth place in the final Big Ten standings at 11-7, as Nebraska went 10-2 after a 1-5 Big Ten start.  

Nebraska trailed 40-33 in the second half, but used a  9-2 run to pull within one after a Petteway layup with 16:09 left. Wisconsin eventually built a 52-48 lead, but the Huskers took control with an 10-2 run, taking the lead for good on a Ray Gallegos 3-pointer with 7:44 left and building a 58-33 lead after a Pitchford 3-pointer. 

Wisconsin chipped the Husker lead to 60-57, but a Benny Parker basket and five straight Petteway points pushed the lead to 10, as Petteway had 17 second-half points for the Huskers.

Nebraska will play the winner of Thursday's first-round game between Ohio State and Purdue Friday at 1:30 p.m. (CT)

Notes
*-Nebraska collected its second win over an AP Top-10 team this season, the fifth time in school history that has happened and the first time since 1993-94

*-Nebraska clinches sole possession of fourth place in the Big Ten standings, its best conference finish since 1997-98. Nebraska closed the regular season with eight wins in the last nine games and went 10-2 after a 1-5 start to Big Ten play.

*-Nebraska finishes with an 11-7 Big Ten record, matching the third-most conference wins by a Husker team in school history. It is the most since the 1965-66 team won 12 games in the Big Eight

*-Nebraska improves to 15-1 at Pinnacle Bank Arena, its best home mark since going 17-1 in 1982-83

*-Nebraska snaps a five-game losing streak to Wisconsin dating back to 1992

*-Shavon Shields finished with 26 points, his fourth 20-point game of the season.

*-Terran Petteway had 26 points, his 11th 20-point game of the season. He also finished with 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the year.