Nebraska (7-22, 2-16 Big Ten) men’s basketball entered the day ranked 347 out of 350 for free throws, making 60.6-percent on the season. The Huskers would fall to what was last-in-the-conference Northwestern (7-21, 2-16 Big Ten) by not making even half of that percentage.
“It gets contagious,” said Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg. “I’ve been around this game long enough, when you miss a few early it just seems to get in everybody’s head and tempo gets quick; don’t trust your stroke. To have a night like this, where you make a couple more and you’re on the winning end which would have been great for our fans.”
Things started well for Nebraska on Senior Day, using runs of 6-0 and 5-0 to lead 11-7 at the 15:00 mark of the first half. Northwestern then tore off on a 16-3 run where the Huskers managed just one field goal in nearly five minutes.
The teams played fairly even the rest of the half, as a Jervay Green three-pointer with 1:05 to go in the half was the final bucket before halftime where Northwestern led 37-34.
Through the first 20 minutes, Nebraska was 5-for-14 on free throws and 5-for-15 on three-pointers. Despite not playing the final few minutes, freshman Yvan Ouedraogo already had a stat line that featured 13 rebounds, nine of which came in the first 10 minutes.
It looked as though Nebraska may run away with the game out of halftime, starting on a 13-4 run, eight of those from Dachon Burke Jr., to lead 47-41 at the 14:53 mark. But an 8-0 run by the Wildcats and another nearly five minutes without a bucket allowed Northwestern to retake the lead. Over a nearly nine minute stretch, Northwestern outscored Nebraska 22-9 to lead 63-56 with 4:54 to go in the game.
After a Haanif Cheatham free throw cut the deficit to six, a 30-second span saw Cheatham hit a three-pointer and Burke get a steal and a dunk to cut the lead to just one as Northwestern took a timeout.
The Wildcats got a layup out of the timeout, but Cheatham knocked down another three-pointer followed by a Cam Mack layup to give Nebraska a 67-65 lead with just over a minute to go in regulation. Northwestern answered by drawing a foul and making both free throws, giving Nebraska the ball in a tied game with 47 seconds remaining.
The Huskers burned most of the shot clock, but an errant pass in the paint gave Northwestern the ball with a chance at the last shot. The Wildcats were unable to get into a decent set and the forced final shot missed the mark, sending the game into overtime.
Through 40 minutes the game was tied, but Nebraska was just 7-of-25 on free throws. The stripe would prove fatal in the extra period.
Northwestern opened up a 7-0 run in overtime, but Nebraska used eight points from Burke, including a pair of triples, to close the gap to two in the final minute.
With 25 seconds left, Burke stole the ball and led a 2-on-1 to tie the game. Burke passed the ball to Ouedraogo who was fouled and unable to convert the shot. As had plagued Nebraska the entirety of the game, the freshman was unable to connect on either attempt.
Northwestern added three more three throws themselves in the closing seconds, taking the 81-76 win in overtime.
The fourth overtime of the season ties a school record.
The loss makes 14 in a row for Nebraska, who falls to last place in the Big Ten standings. Northwestern’s only two conference wins came against the Huskers as the first and fourteenth losses over this current streak.
The Wildcats shot 46.3-percent for the game, including 5-of-6 in overtime. Northwestern made just four three-pointers in the game while going 15-of-20 at the free throw line.
Nebraska, meanwhile, shot 42.4-percent from the floor, including 12-of-32 from deep. But the free throw line was a killer, as the Huskers managed just 8-of-30 on the day. According to the Sports Reference Play Index, that is the worst free throw percentage by a team with at least 24 attempts in at least the last 10 seasons.
“I felt like it was a problem for us in the beginning of the year,” said Cheatham. “I think we fixed it, kinda. I don’t know what came back and haunted us. The free-throw monster or something came back and told us ‘you’re not making nothing’.”
The Huskers did have a season-high 16 steals on the day, tying a Pinnacle Bank Arena record. That number is the most by a Husker team since 2008.
Cheatham lead the Huskers in scoring on his Senior Day, dropping 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
“I thought (Haanif) was terrific on his Senior Day,” said Hoiberg. “It’s a game he’ll remember the rest of his life. Haanif, I thought went out there and played terrific and did a lot of great things at the end of the game and in crunch time.”
Burke added 19 points, while Mack and Ouedraogo contributed 13 and 11, respectively.
Ouedraogo also ended the game with 19 rebounds, matching a Pinnacle Bank Arena record first set by Maryland’s Bruno Fernando on Feb. 6, 2019. The 19 rebounds are the most by a Husker freshman since at least the 1986-87 season and the most by a any Husker since Aleks Maric had 19 against Missouri in 2007. This is the third double-double for Ouedraogo this season, matching the freshman record for Nebraska.
“I continue to see great growth with Yvan,” said Hoiberg. “He’s been so good, you can just see his confidence. 10 offensive rebounds, 19 rebounds overall in a Big Ten game as a 17-year-old, that’s pretty darn impressive.”
Besides hitting double figures, Mack dished out seven assists, bringing him to 179 on the season. He is now tied with Charles Anderson for the third-most assists in a single-season in Nebraska history.
Despite going 5-11 overall and 2-8 in the conference at home, Nebraska finished the season with an average attendance of 15,605, breaking the school record for highest average attendance (15,569, 2014-15).
“When they say ‘there’s nothing like Nebraska’, they really mean it,” said Cheatham. “We had a really tough season but (the fans) showed out every night, every afternoon. They came and had PBA rocking.”
Nebraska goes on the road for the final two regular season games, beginning with Michigan (18-11, 9-9 Big Ten) March 5 and finishing at Minnesota (13-14, 7-10 Big Ten) March 8.
“We’re gonna go out and continue to fight,” said Hoiberg. “Hopefully shock somebody.”
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