Nebraska falls to Michigan in ugly slugfest
Nebraska tried to win an ugly slugfest against 12th-ranked Michigan on Monday night, and the Huskers came up short.
Berke Buyuktuncel’s three-point attempt at the buzzer barely hit iron, if it hit it at all, and Michigan held on for a 49-46 triumph at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Buyuktuncel, who missed the previous three games with an ankle injury, wound up 0-for-10 from the field.
Nebraska, led by Brice Williams’ 26 points, falls to 17-11 overall and 7-10 in the Big Ten, while Michigan improves to 21-6 and 13-3 in Dusty May’s first season in charge.
Michigan point guard Tre Donaldson’s two free throws with 2.6 seconds left provided the final margin for a Wolverines team in the hunt to win the Big Ten regular-season crown.
Michigan won despite making only 18 of 61 field-goal attempts (30%). But Nebraska was even worse, hitting only 16 of 62 attempts (26%).
Williams carries Nebraska in first half
The teams played a largely uneven, ragtag first half, with Michigan emerging with a 25-21 lead despite shooting 1-for-14 from deep.
Williams was Nebraska’s saving grace, as he had 18 points at the break on 7-for-13 field-goal shooting. The rest of the team was only 1-for-19. The Huskers were just 4-for-17 from three-point land.
The halftime team scoring totals were season lows for both contestants.
Entering the night, BTN bracketologist Mike DeCourcy projected Michigan as a No. 4 seed for the NCAA Tournament, while he had Nebraska as a 10 seed.
Nebraska returns to action Saturday with a 1 p.m. game on BTN against Minnesota at PBA.
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