Field Level Media
Mar 1, 2020
Miller Kopp had 21 points and three 3-pointers, and Boo Buie had 15 points and seven assists as Northwestern broke a 12-game losing streak with an 81-76 overtime victory at Nebraska on Sunday.
Pat Spencer had 10 of his 12 points after halftime, Ryan Young had 10 points and Pete Nance had six points and a career-high 14 rebounds for the Wildcats (7-21, 2-16 Big Ten), who had not won since beating the Huskers in the first game of the season series Jan. 11.
Haanif Cheatham had 20 points, Dachon Burke Jr. had 19 points and freshman Yvan Ouedraogo had his third double-double with 11 points and a career-high 19 rebounds for the Huskers (7-22, 2-16), who have not won since beating Iowa on Jan. 7.
Nebraska made only 8 of 30 free-throw attempts (26.7 percent), marking a historically poor performance. Since the 2010-11 season, no Division I team has shot a lower percentage with at least 25 attempts in a game, and only four teams have been worse on 20-plus attempts.
Kopp made his third 3-pointer on the Wildcats' first possession of overtime. Then Spencer and Young hit layups after back-to-back turnovers for a 74-67 lead, but Nebraska came back.
Burke hit consecutive 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 78-76 with 44 seconds remaining, and after a Burke steal on the Wildcats' next possession, Ouedraogo was fouled on a drive to the basket. He missed two free throws with 23 seconds remaining. Young made two free throws, and Buie hit one with 11 seconds left.
The Huskers made 3 of 16 free throws in the second half and overtime, including 1 of 5 in overtime. Ouedraogo was 1 of 9 from the foul line. Jervay Green was 0 of 4, Cam Mack was 0 of 3. Cheatham was 3 of 7.
Northwestern was 15 of 20 from the foul line. Spencer forced overtime when he made two free throws with 49.5 seconds left. Neither team had led by more than nine in the first half or by more than seven after halftime.
Cheatham, Mack and Burke had three 3-pointers apiece for the Huskers.
--Field Level Media