Nebraska wants to avoid late-season spiral with Northwestern on deck

Field Level Media|published: Sat 15th February, 21:42 2025

Feb 13, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg talks to guard Rollie Worster (24) during a timeout in the first half against the Maryland Terrapins at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Nebraska wants to stop its losing streak before it begins.

The Cornhuskers will tip off against Northwestern in a Big Ten Conference matchup on Sunday afternoon in Evanston, Ill. It will be the first game for Nebraska since it lost 83-75 to No. 25 Maryland on Thursday.

The loss snapped a string of four straight victories for Nebraska (16-9, 6-8). Before that, the Cornhuskers had lost six games in a row.

Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said his players would need to move on quickly and focus on beating Northwestern (13-12, 4-10). Another losing streak that resembles anything like the Cornhuskers' most recent skid could cost the team a shot at the NCAA Tournament.

"It's been a while since we've lost and we have to handle it the right way," Hoiberg said. "We were right there at the end (against Maryland). Same thing when we played at their place a couple weeks ago. We cut that thing back down to one possession at the end and we tied it, actually, and we couldn't get the stop when it mattered.

"And so we're hanging with the best team. And I've said this before, guys, you can play well in this league and lose."

Northwestern is also looking to turn things around after back-to-back road losses against Washington and Oregon. The Wildcats have lost five of their past six games.

"On this road trip, I think we put ourselves in a position to win both games," Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. "We had a four-point lead at Washington at the under-four timeout, we were within two possessions at the under-four timeout against a really good Oregon team. ...

"I think our guys can still be very competitive in this league against good teams, but hopefully we also understand what it takes to get over the hump, not just lose by five."

Brice Williams leads Nebraska with 19.4 points per game on 47.1 percent shooting from the field and 35.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Juwan Gary (13.5 ppg) and Connor Essegian (10.6) also average double figures.

Northwestern's top scorer is Nick Martinelli at 19.7 ppg. Martinelli has matched Williams with 47.1 percent shooting overall but he has knocked down 37.8 percent of his 3-point attempts.

Northwestern is 11-3 at home this season. Nebraska is 4-5 on the road.

--Field Level Media