LINCOLN, Neb. — It had been more than 34 years and 10 months since Nebraska hosted as big a basketball game as its Friday night matchup with Michigan State, two top 15 opponents going at it in a big conference game. And the mood around Lincoln reflected the occasion.

A fan base that has drawn fairly well for lackluster basketball most years came out in force for the first game of the New Year. A sellout crowd of 15,500 packed Pinnacle Bank Arena, and showed up early, and loud, for just the second ranked home game in program history.

This one was as big as they come for Nebraska, and it came with heartache for the Spartans. No. 9 Nebraska (14-0, 3-0 Big Ten) downed No. 13 Michigan State (12-2, 2-1), 58-56, at Pinnacle Bank Arena in a Big Ten slugfest that ended in fans storming the court.

Just three times since March 3, 1991, had Nebraska found itself in a ranked-on-ranked game, and that day its win over Kansas was the last time it had played in a duel of top 15 teams. That is, before Friday. A road win at Illinois and a sterling record through 13 games sent the Cornhuskers skyrocketing up the polls as the Big Ten’s new kid on the block. Michigan State, meanwhile, has played four of these ranked games this season alone, and won three, as the incumbent Big Ten champion.

But Michigan State didn’t look the part of its experience in these big games early on, and it trailed as the clock ticked down, center Carson Cooper missed a free throw to all but seal the loss.

Jaxon Kohler scored 19 points to lead Michigan State as teammates Jeremy Fears Jr. and Kur Teng finished in double figures. For Nebraska, Reink Mast led with 19 alongside big contributions from teammates Pryce Sandfort and Jamarques Lawrence.

Michigan State shooting guard Divine Ugochukwu did not play after four straight starts, dealing with an illness that had him masked up on the sideline. Teng started in his place.

Out of a tied game, 33-33, at halftime, neither team could assert true control in the second half. Just like the first, every possession came with strain and anxiety.

Foul trouble took a starter from each team less than four minutes in, Sam Hoiberg for Nebraska and Coen Carr for Michigan State.

Nebraska took a slim lead as turnovers and fouls continued to muddle Michigan State’s offense. A 3 from Nebraska sharpshooter Pryce Sandfort over the late hand of Trey Fort was the difference as the Cornhuskers held a 41-38 lead with 11:33 minutes to go.

After an empty MSU possession out of a timeout, Sandfort banged another 3 after waiting out a closeout by MSU point guard Jeremy Fears Jr.

With 9:25 to play, Nebraska freshman Braden Frager hit another 3 over Fears and mimed a gun at Fears, who was shot over Christmas break his freshman year. The refs called a Class A technical foul on Frager, who was immediately coralled by Mast after the whistle.

After hitting both throws, Fears then hit two more on a cylinder foul called on Frager on the ensuing possession. After a steal by Teng, Fears got to the line for six straight free throws, all makes. Frager hit another 3 with eight minutes to go, this time with a tamer celebration.

These plays opened up a frantic run that saw Teng tie the game at 50 with a corner 3. When a Hoiberg drive took a lead, Teng took it right back with another 3. Without a break in the action for an extended run, a timeout with 5:09 to go saw Michigan State up 53-52.

A Fears jumper made it 55-52 into another timeout, but Nebraska tied it at the foul line with a little over two minutes to play as Mast split free throws.

Dribbling against Mast with 2:03 to play, Fears tried to get around him and swung the ball out of bounds. Initially called the Spartans’ ball, a review gave it to Nebraska.

It took 13 seconds for Mast to get the ball and drain yet another 3 over Kohler’s closeout, and Michigan State missed three straight putbacks at the other end before a foul call sent Cooper to the line. He split them with 1:20 to go and Nebraska rebounded the ball. Mast airballed a 3 to give the Spartans the ball with 49.9 to go as MSU called timeout.

Fears kicked the ball out of bounds, but Nebraska didn’t score on a possession that chipped the clock down to its final seconds. With 0.7 seconds left, Cooper took a shot and was fouled. But he missed both free throws, all but sealing the loss.

Though Friday’s game started off a low-scoring affair, it never lacked in intensity. Both sides grinded out halfcourt sets against scrappy defense, and neither could really pull away with control.

Nebraska got as close as anyone off the stellar play of star big man Reink Mast, who drilled four 3s and had 15 points in the half. Three of his 3-pointers fell, to turn a slim Michigan State lead into a 28-22 lead for Nebraska that brought the crowd to a roar.

Michigan State gifted some of those early points to Nebraska. Ten first-half turnovers stuck the offense in the mud. And some were particularly brutal.

Tied at 16 with eight minutes to go, backup point guard Denham Wojcik — thrust into even more playing time with Ugochukwu out — tried to rebound the ball and tripped over Jesse McCulloch for the Spartans’ eighth turnover of the half.

That extra possession turned into the third 3 of the game for Mast, who center Carson Cooper lost track of in a poor first half. It wouldn’t be the last error that led to a 3, either. The next possession, a loose ball in transition yielded a 3-on-1 break for Nebraska against Cooper, leading to another 3 for Nebraska sixth man Braden Frager.

As Nebraska’s offense exploded for a string of six 3s across five minutes, Michigan State kept up with its own 3s from Trey Fort and Kohler.

In a duel of floor-stretching bigs, Kohler tied the game with a 3-pointer with 2:12 to go. But before that, it looked like he’d have to leave the game as he fell down on the floor with an injury. He got to his feet, stayed out and banged home the tying shot.

Nebraska called timeout with 32.8 seconds left to draw up the final play of the half, a 3, but it missed and the ball bounced out of bounds. With 4.1 seconds left, Michigan State point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. drove for the potential go-ahead but missed under contact.

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