Nebraska unravels down the stretch in a 97-87 OT loss at Iowa
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Nearly a year ago to the day, Nebraska had just upset No. 1 Purdue before traveling to take on Iowa. The Hawkeyes handed NU a 94-76 beatdown.
After knocking off 15th-ranked UCLA, the Huskers again headed to Iowa City for a showdown with the Hawkeyes on Tuesday night.
This one was a much different story, but it finished with an all-too-familiar ending, as Nebraska fell 97-87 in overtime.
Iowa erased a 15-point second-half lead behind 27 points from Payton Sanfort. Brice Williams sent the game to overtime with a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but it was all Hawkeyes in the extra period.
Iowa opened OT on an 11-2 run and never looked back, going 3-of-4 from the field and 14-16 on free throws over the extra five minutes. Josh Dix hit seven 3-pointers for a game-high 31 points, while Sanfort scored all 30 of his points over the second half and overtime.
Huskers took control early but couldn’t hold on
Iowa came out firing to open the game, hitting five of its first six shots and then five of its first nine 3-pointers to jump out to a 23-16 lead.
The momentum would shift dramatically from there, as Nebraska answered with an 18-3 run, including 14 unanswered, to claim a 34-26 advantage with 3:04 left in the half.
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Dix scored 16 of his 30 in the first half while hitting 4-of-6 from beyond the arc to start the night. That helped the Hawkeyes trim NU’s lead to 34-31 at the break, as Williams, who had 12 points at the half, sat for nearly the last five minutes.
Despite Iowa hitting seven 3-pointers at the break, Nebraska kept pace by shooting 50% from the field and draining five threes of its own.
Iowa turned the game behind the arc after the break, hitting 10 of its final 18 threes. Meanwhile, the Huskers went 12-of-22 at the free-throw line and 15-of-27 on layups.
Nebraska falls to 12-3 overall and 2-2 in Big Ten play, with another road trip to Purdue up next on Sunday.
