As the first-half clock ran down, the Nebraska men’s basketball team worked for a final shot, started its offense … and then fell down.
Wisconsin grabbed the ball. Aleem Ford hit a three-pointer at the buzzer.
And the Huskers’ misery continued.
A strong start on offense fizzled after 10 minutes, and No. 21 Wisconsin, despite its own offensive issues, pulled away in the second half for a 61-48 win late Wednesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
After scoring 22 points in the game’s first 10 minutes, Nebraska needed 25:40 to score its next 22. After hitting eight of their first 12 shots, the Huskers made just 10 of their next 37, and missed 10 of their final 11 three-pointers. NU scored just 26 points over the game's final 30 minutes. Once again the Huskers turned it over, committing 17. Once again they missed free throws, going 7-for-17.
"I was so encouraged (by the start). It was leading to great energy on the defensive end — we were all over the place, swarming the ball, and we built a nine-point lead against a phenomenal basketball team; an old, experienced basketball team," NU coach Fred Hoiberg said. "And then we just stopped doing what was leading to success on the floor."
The second half began, and NU’s frustrations only mounted. Wisconsin (15-6, 9-5 Big Ten) missed its first five shots out of the locker room, and still extended its lead with a Jonathan Davis three-pointer as Nebraska started the half 0-for-4 with two turnovers.
Eight minutes into the second half, the Huskers had been whistled for nine fouls. Their second-half point total didn’t surpass their second-half foul total until nearly 11 minutes were gone.
"You miss 10 more free throws tonight... It's deflating when that happens. It's deflating when you miss the easy ones. It's deflating when you turn the ball over like we did after that great start," Hoiberg said.
The continued lack of offense spoiled another strong defensive effort from Nebraska. Wisconsin shot just 32% from the field, only creeping past 30% late in the game, and none of the Badgers' starters scored in double figures as Davis came off the bench to lead UW with 10 points.
Lat Mayen led NU with 14 points, and had seven rebounds as he continued to be a bright spot on offense. Teddy Allen, back in the starting lineup after being benched at Minnesota, scored 12 points.
No other Husker scored more than six.
Nebraska (4-11, 0-8) fired out of the gate, adding a wrinkle to the offense by putting Derrick Walker at the high post where he fed cutters for a pair of layups to open the game.
Allen hit a couple of threes. Mayen got loose for a couple more. And 10 minutes in, the Huskers had a 22-14 lead after a 10-0 run forced a Wisconsin timeout.
That advantage was their largest in a game since Dec. 22, also against Wisconsin, when they led the Badgers 21-11 in the first half.
NU also got another lift from freshman Eduardo Andre, who was the first Husker off the bench.
And after the 6-foot-10 forward entered, Wisconsin went the next six-plus minutes without scoring.
But Nebraska was beginning to have its own troubles. A few careless turnovers during the early offensive outburst were a portend.
By halftime, Nebraska had scored on 35.7% of its possessions. The Huskers also turned it over on 35.7% of their possessions, committing 12 in the opening 20 minutes.
Those giveaways came against a Wisconsin team that barely even tries to turn its opponents over, ranking 258th in the country in opponent turnover percentage at 17.8%.
Put another way, Nebraska was turning it over twice as often as the average Wisconsin opponent.
In a disjointed, disappointing season, it was just one more depressing number to add to the list.
"In this league nothing's going to be handed to us. We're going to have to fight every possession," point guard Dalano Banton said. "We know that there's a fine line between winning and losing. The way the season's been going, once you stop doing what you've been doing that's giving you success, you find yourself going downhill."
Nebraska forward Lat Mayen (11) drives to the basket for two of his 10 first-half points against Wisconsin’s Aleem Ford and Tyler Wahl (5) on Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.