NU comeback falls short in 84-77 loss to Michigan State

After getting run out of the gym from start to finish last time out at Ohio State, Nebraska looked like it was well on its way to another embarrassing blowout loss at home to Michigan State on Saturday night.

But despite falling behind by as many as 17 points minutes into the second half, the Huskers kept battling and pulled back within five on four occasions down the stretch.

However, the Spartans had an answer every time the score got that close and handed NU a fourth-straight loss, 84-77.

Teddy Allen scored 19 of his team-high 23 points in the second half to spark the comeback, and Trey McGowens helped keep pace with a season-high 20 points as Nebraska shot 49.1 percent from the field and went 9-for-19 from the behind the arc.

That still wasn’t enough to overcome yet another second-half lapse, though, as Aaron Henry dropped a career-high 27 points to help MSU snap a three-game losing streak and earn its first conference victory of the season.

On the other hand, Nebraska lost its 21st consecutive Big Ten game dating back to last year.

After a dreadful shooting performance on Wednesday night vs. the Buckeyes, the Huskers opened the game hitting four of their first five shots from the field and led for the majority of the first eight minutes.

But early foul trouble for Allen and Lat Mayen and 11 first-half turnovers allowed Michigan State to lead by as many as eight points and go into halftime with a 40-33 lead.

McGowens scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half, as the Huskers shot 11-of-24 (46 percent) from the field as a team and went 4-of-9 from behind the arc as a team. At OSU, Nebraska made just 17 field goals and was 5-of-33 from 3-point range.

Michigan State came out firing to start the second half on a 12-2 run to go up 52-35 on a 3-pointer by Henry for its largest lead of the night.

Just when it seemed like the rout was on, though, Allen woke up and took the game over for eight minutes, scoring 17 of NU’s next 23 points to cut the deficit down to 66-61 with 7:32 remaining.

Michigan State answered and got its lead back up to 11 two minutes later, but five straight points from Dalano Banton and a free throw by Thorir Thorbjarnarson had it down to 78-73 with 1:12 to play.

That would be as close as Nebraska would get, as MSU knocked down four free throws in the final 23 seconds to seal the victory.

Banton had seven points, seven assists, and four turnovers, while Kobe Webster scored 10 points in 35 minutes off the bench.

Nebraska will return to action on Tuesday night when it travels to take on Purdue for a 6 p.m. CT tip on BTN.

1. There were positives, but the time for moral victories is over

Considering how ugly things got at Ohio State, Nebraska could have easily folded and quit when Michigan State jumped up by 17 early in the second half.

To the Huskers’ credit, they kept fighting and were in a position to win in the final minutes. In that sense, Saturday night’s loss could provide the confidence boost of knowing NU still has some resolve and resilience left in the tank.

In the end, though, it was still a fourth straight loss, the fifth defeat in seven games, and extended Nebraska’s Big Ten winless streak to 21 games and 361 days.

If Nebraska can figure out a way to bottle the way it played for the final 16 minutes vs. MSU and apply it for a full 40 minutes, it could arguably compete with anyone in the conference.

But that ‘what-if’ has been asked all year, and the devastating stretches where close games turn into lopsided deficits continue to plague NU now 11 games into the season.

The Huskers were much better than they were at Ohio State, but they were still nowhere near good enough.

2. Allen is as unpredictable as it gets

For about 22 minutes, Allen couldn’t have played much worse. Then, for the next 12 minutes, he couldn’t have played much better.

Saturday night was the ultimate example of the give and take Nebraska must accept with the talented-but-unpredictable junior guard.

Allen looked disengaged and sloppy to start the game. He picked up two early fouls (including a Flagrant One technical) and subbed out after just 2:34 of play after not getting back on defense.

After his flagrant, Allen went to the bench for the final 10:45 of the first half.

He wasn’t any better when he returned to the floor to open the second half, as he missed two shots, turned the ball over, and committed his third foul in the first 1:35 after halftime, and was quickly taken out.

But when he checked back in two minutes later, Allen was a completely different player. Michigan State had no answer for him defensively, and he scored 17 of NU’s next 23 points to trim a 16-point MSU lead down to six.

Head coach Fred Hoiberg said Allen “didn’t have the right mentality” to start the game. But something flipped a switch with him in the second half, and Hoiberg said Allen “was as good as he’s been all season.”

When Allen is in a groove, he’s one of the most potent scorers in the country. The problem is those stretches are paired with times where Allen looks like he’s playing a completely different game than the rest of his team.

That’s just how it is with Allen right now, and Nebraska knows it. Hopefully, runs like he had over the final 16 minutes are more frequent than what happened in the first 24.

3. McGowens played his best game as a Husker

While the rest of his team was all over the place against Michigan State in terms of effort and execution, McGowens was the one Husker who played like he was sick of losing from start to finish.

The junior guard was full throttle from the opening tip, and his intensity on both ends of the floor set the tone for the Huskers and helped keep the game from getting even further out of hand early on.

Hoiberg said McGowens “played his most complete game” of the season and got the rest of the team going with his aggressive attack on offense.

McGowens said he knew he had to be more aggressive with the basketball to help his team, especially after shooting the ball just once in the second half at Ohio State.

One of the Pittsburgh transfer’s best sequences came in the first half when he drew a charge, made a 3-pointer on the other end, drew another offensive foul on the next defensive possession, and then got fouled the ensuing trip down the floor and made two free throws.

McGowens set an example of what it will take from every Husker on the floor to turn this season around. Hopefully, his teammates were paying attention.