C.J. Wilcher came off the bench for 22 points Thursday night and Nebraska erased an 18-point second-half deficit, upsetting No. 6 Wisconsin 80-72 in overtime in Lincoln, Neb.
Rienk Mast added 20 points and eight rebounds, giving the Cornhuskers (16-6, 6-5 Big Ten) the lead for good with a hook shot 36 seconds into overtime. Brice Williams contributed 17 points and nine rebounds as Nebraska scored its second big upset at home in conference play this season. It routed No. 1 Purdue last month 88-72.
AJ Storr scored a game-high 28 points for the Badgers (16-5, 8-2), which fell into second place in the conference, a half-game behind Purdue. Wisconsin hosts the Boilermakers on Sunday.
Chucky Hepburn and Max Klesmit added 13 each for the Badgers. Klesmit rattled off 11 points to give them a 63-56 lead with 4:13 left in regulation. But ultimately, they lost for the first time in 121 games after leading by at least 15 points at halftime.
Wisconsin forced overtime when Storr drove and converted a floater in the lane with 20 seconds left. Nebraska had the last shot to win but Williams missed a tough leaner over Klesmit just before the horn sounded.
After beating Nebraska last month, Wisconsin appeared headed for another easy victory in the rematch. The Badgers did practically anything they wanted on both ends of the floor in building up a 27-8 lead just over 10 minutes into the game.
Storr’s mid-range jumper at the 9:51 mark capped a 9-0 burst and gave his team control for the remainder of the first half. Even when the Cornhuskers got within 31-22 on Wilcher’s 3-pointer with 2:59 left, Wisconsin didn’t lose its grip.
Hepburn went on a binge over the final 2:03 of the half, scoring his team’s final nine points, including a layup with five seconds left that sent the Badgers into the locker room with a 43-27 advantage. Wisconsin hit 16 of 29 attempts from the floor in the first half and held Nebraska to 38.5 percent shooting.
–Field Level Media
