Nebraska basketball caps off historic regular season with overtime win over Iowa

Nebraska basketball (26-5, 15-5) capped off its historic regular season with a thrilling 84-75 win over Iowa on Senior Day. The Hawkeyes battled back late to force overtime with 2.7 seconds left, but two massive OT 3-pointers from Cale Jacobsen gave the Huskers the win in front of a rowdy PBA crowd.

Pryce Sandfort led the way with 15 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. Sam Hoiberg had a strong outing in his final game at PBA, adding 15 points and five steals. Rienk Mast finally found a groove with 14 points and two triples. Jacobsen finished as the hero with 15 points and eight rebounds.

The Huskers shot 50% from the field and 37% from deep in the win. They forced 19 turnovers with 11 steals, but couldn’t capitalize, scoring just seven points off of them. Iowa won the rebounding battle 32-29 but 27 Nebraska free throw attempts proved to be just enough.

Here is an instant recap of the victory:

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Another scrappy first half

Physicality and hand-fighting characterized the first matchup between Nebraska and Iowa. Sunday’s game was much of the same.

The two rivals combined for 19 turnovers in the first half. Both teams shot at nearly identical percentages, but Nebraska couldn’t capitalize on the Hawkeyes’ errors. Iowa coughed it up 11 times before half but the Huskers scored 0 points in response.

Nebraska found some success down low with a 14-8 advantage as Berke Buyuktuncel led the team with seven points. Fred Hoiberg’s squad put together multiple runs, but 43% from the field and a 3-of-10 clip from deep wasn’t enough to pull away.

Guard Kael Combs opened the afternoon by giving Iowa a quick 7-3 lead, but Sam Hoiberg answered with a triple. The two went back and forth early, scoring 12 of the game’s first 17 points. Nebraska had four turnovers at the under-12 timeout with multiple head-scratching mistakes.

Buyuktuncel came out of a scramble with the ball and slammed it home before Jared Garcia drilled a 3-pointer deep in the corner, giving the Huskers a 15-10 advantage with 9:51 left in the half. Iowa went over six minutes without a field goal and turned it over eight times in the first 12 minutes.

Stirtz finally broke the drought with a pair of triples while Sandfort got down low for two contested layups. Nebraska struggled to retain glimpses of momentum, as Mast threw down a monstrous jam but forward Cooper Koch immediately answered with Iowa’s fourth 3-pointer. That narrowed Nebraska’s lead to 25-23 with 3:27 remaining in the half.

Buyuktuncel capped off 20 scrappy minutes with a tough and-one layup. He knocked down the free throw, giving the Huskers a 30-26 advantage at the break.

Hawkeyes battle back late

Nebraska came out of the locker room on fire. They hit three of their first 3-point attempts, as Mast opened the scoring and Sandfort followed with a pair of his own. The Huskers quickly extended their lead to 40-30 at the under-16 timeout.

Mast wasn’t done. After making just two 3-pointers since Feb. 10, he hit his second of the half. Koch answered with one of his own, but Sam Hoiberg nabbed his fifth steal and scored at the other end, extending the lead to 46-35 with 13:08 left in the contest.

Koch single-handedly kept the Hawkeyes alive, hitting four straight 3-point attempts, but Nebraska kept its foot on the gas. Jacobsen scored back-to-back buckets to maintain the seven-point buffer.

Neither team missed a shot for over four minutes as both sides combined for 10 straight field goal makes. The Huskers made six straight FG, including Lawrence’s second 3-pointer of the contest. Nebraska started the second half 5-of-7 from behind the arc and led 59-50 at the under-eight timeout.

The Hawkeyes clawed back with a quick 4-0 run but Frager answered with a drive to the basket. Two free throws from Mast pushed the lead back to 10 with 5:13 to go.

Koch wouldn’t go away quietly. He drilled his fourth 3-pointer of the half and forward Tavion Banks followed with another. Fred Hoiberg was forced to call a timeout as the Huskers’ advantage dwindled to 64-60 at the under-four media break.

A monster steal and layup from Jacobsen gave the Huskers a six-point lead late, however, Combs took it the distance twice to pull Iowa within two. Lawrence missed the front end of two trips to the line, but Combs did as well, giving Sandfort a crucial chance at the charity stripe. He hit both.

Stirtz air-balled a 3-pointer at the other end, but Combs got a wide-open look and tied the game 70-70 with 2.7 seconds left. Sam Hoiberg couldn’t connect on a half-court shot, sending the game to overtime.

Jacobsen is the hero

After nearly two scoreless minutes, Cale Jacobsen hit a wide-open corner 3-pointer to put Nebraska back on top. Hoiberg drew a foul and knocked down both free throws to push the lead to five, 75-70, with 2:37 left.

After the Hawkeyes scored two free throws of their own, Koch tied it once again. He was relentless all evening, finishing with 18 points, all from six triples.

Jacobsen refused to let his team lose. He hit a 3-pointer from the opposite corner to send PBA into a frenzy. Hoiberg followed with a contested layup, giving Nebraska control 80-75 with 52 seconds left. A pair of late steals was enough, as the Huskers escaped with an 84-75 win on Senior Day.

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