No. 5 Nebraska loses for first time as upset bid of No. 3 Michigan falls short

And then there were two. Arizona and Miami (Ohio) are the final two undefeated teams in college basketball after No. 3 Michigan rallied late to survive No. 5 Nebraska’s upset bid with a 75-72 victory Tuesday in Ann Arbor. Michigan erased a seven-point hole with eight minutes left in regulation to improve to 19-1 and, at 9-1 in the Big Ten, join Michigan State and the Cornhuskers atop the conference standings.

The Huskers (20-1, 9-1) lost their perfect record, but won plenty of respect, showing championship-level mettle in their toughest test of the season without star big man Rienk Mast (illness) and stud sixth man Braden Frager (ankle injury). Even with two of its best four players sidelined, Nebraska gave Michigan all it could handle and then some with a barrage of treys in the first half. The Huskers dropped 50 on Michigan’s vaunted defense in the first 20 minutes alone, but they ran out of gas down the stretch. Nebraska didn’t score a single point for the final 3:21 of the game

Both Michigan and Nebraska came into the game as projected No. 1 seeds in the CBS Sports Bracketology model and are both expected to remain on the top line after their only regular-season meeting when the NCAA Tournament bracket projection updates Wednesday.

After Nebraska’s loss, No. 24 Miami defeated UMass 86-84 and matched No. 1 Arizona’s 21-0 mark this season. The Wildcats held on to defeat No. 13 BYU 86-83 on Monday. 

Home losses are killers for Big Ten Championship hopes, and Michigan was on life support until it got a spark from some unlikely sources. Senior forward Will Tschetter changed the tenor of the game with his attention to detail defensively and constant energy. Tschetter finished with seven points, didn’t miss a shot and Michigan outscored Nebraska by eight points in his 15 minutes of playing time. Freshman Trey McKenney hopped off the bench and was terrific, pouring in 11 points, including a go-ahead, big-boy bucket in the final minute.

Without key contributions from McKenney and Tschetter, Nebraska very well could have notched one of the most impressive road wins of the season. 

Ultimately, Michigan used its patented brawn to finally put the Huskers away for good. Michigan had six enormous offensive rebounds in the second half to stem the tide and stay alive. Morez Johnson Jr. erupted for 17 points and 12 rebounds. His frontcourt mate, Aday Mara, chipped in 10 points and seven boards. 

Pryce Sandfort was outstanding for the Huskers, yet again, chipping in 20 points. Jamarques Lawrence hit some big-time treys in the first half on his way to 20 points. Former walk-on Sam Hoiberg (13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals) continued his stellar breakout season.