Northwestern (8-10, 0-7 B1G) will have to wait another day for its first Big Ten victory, falling to the No. 8 Nebraska Cornhuskers (18-0, 7-0 B1G) in a 77-58 loss.
The blowout is Northwestern’s largest loss at home since Jan. 7, 2021 against Illinois,
For Northwestern, Nick Martinelli once again shouldered the offensive load, posting a double-double with 22 points and 12 boards while first-year Tre Singleton put together a solid performance with 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Arrinten Page was glaringly
absent, not attempting a single field goal and playing just nine minutes.
For Nebraska, Pryce Sandfort finished with 22 points off of five triples and Braden Frager added another 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting as the Huskers continued their perfect season.
To kick off the scoring, Singleton pulled up from along the baseline for a quick two points. Nebraska’s Berke Buyutuncel would get the Huskers on the board a possession later with a jumper of his own.
Nick Martinelli wouldn’t go long without getting some points of his own, pulling up from the top of the arc to make the games first three. Nebraska would answer back, scoring the next eight points off threes from Mast and Jamarques Lawrence.
Angelo Ciaravino would stop the bleeding with his first points on a layup as the game went into its first timeout with the Huskers leading 10-7 with 14:46 remaining in the half.
After a layup from Lawrence out of the timeout, Jayden Reid would quickly get in the scoring column after coming off the bench for the second consecutive game, pulling up just inside the free throw line. The ‘Cats would build off that momentum, with Martinelli powering through the defense for a layup and Ciravino finding Singleton in the paint with a crafty assist.
Braden Frager would convert a fast break layup off a Northwestern turnover, a theme for the Huskers defense all season, to briefly put Nebraska back in front. Martinelli sank another jumper to retake the lead 15-14 with 11:27 left.
After a nice block from Ciarvino out of the timeout, UNL responded as sharpshooter Pryce Sandfort knocked down his first triple of the game.
Martinelli would respond with a second-chance bucket, grabbing his own rebound twice to become the first scorer in double-digits. Sandfort hit a wild triple on a fastbreak opportunity and converted an and-one after the timeout bringing the Husker lead back up to five with 7:55 remaining.
Ciaravino used his strength to his advantage in the last ten minutes of the half, out-hustling opponents for rebounds and getting on the board by bullying defenders in the paint. A tough layup from No. 44 cut the Nebraska lead to three, before Sandfort hit back with a strong finish of his own.
Nebraska and Northwestern would both go cold during a 2:27 without a basket from either team. Martinelli broke the drought with his second three of the afternoon, but he’d get no help for the rest of the first half. Ciaravino’s layup with 7:31 remaining was the last non-Martinelli field goal for Northwestern in half one.
Northwestern closed the half on a good defensive possession with Reid pressuring Hoiberg, forcing him to scramble to find a teammate which ended in a missed three. Ciravino found Reid in transition for a potential last second shot which was unable to fall, resulting in a 34-29 Husker lead after the first twenty minutes of competition.
Martinelli was doing it all for Northwestern offensively, shooting 13-of-30 field goals for the ‘Cats and converting six of them, including the team’s only two made threes giving him 15 points at half. Arrinten Page didn’t take a shot in the first half
Nebraska’s offense was a lot more balanced with Sandfort finishing with nine points and Lawrence and Frager backing him with eight apiece.
Jake West got on the board first out of the break, sinking the first three for a Wildcats player not named Nick Martinelli. Nebraska would start to create a bit of a gap, sinking three straight field goals to bring the Husker lead to 41-32. Coach Collins took a timeout with 17:35 remaining.
Singleton came out of the timeout strong, going up against three defenders for a layup and reading a cross court pass intended for Sandford to force a turnover. Ciravino turned the steal into a nice bucket in traffic for two.
On the other end, the Wildcat defense got caught too far in help, leaving Sandfort open for another three to give the Huskers their largest lead at 46-36 with 15:11 remaining.
The timeout proved to work in the ‘Cats favor, with Martinelli driving for two and Max Green showing some life converting an and-one on a second chance bucket that brought Northwestern back within five.
Green then drained his first triple of the game just as the Huskers brought the game back to double digits, making it a 52-44 lead in Nebraska’s favor with 11:01 left in the game.
The boost from Green was not enough to contain the Huskers as Nebraska ripped off a 17-3 run going back to the 13-minute mark, powered by a plethora of threes from Frager and Sandfort. NU turned the ball over four times in that span, going down 63-44 with 7:42 left.
Nebraska continued to pour it on down the stretch. XX combined second-half points from Sandfort and Frager erased any hopes of a Northwestern comeback, and the ‘Cats limped to an 0-7 start to conference play.
Northwestern will get its next shot at its first Big Ten win on Wednesday, Jan. 21 against USC in Los Angeles.
