Minnesota upset bid of No. 7 Nebraska fades in second half of 76-57 loss

MINNEAPOLIS — The halftime cheers that warmed Williams Arena, with Minnesota fans celebrating a six-point lead over unbeaten Nebraska, froze as if they were left outside in the subzero temperatures on Saturday.

A 21-4 run by the undefeated Cornhuskers took the wind out of the Gophers players, too.

“For the first time,” coach Niko Medved said after the Gophers’ 76-57 loss to the No. 7 Huskers, “they kind of looked like they lost their spirit. I thought Nebraska really kind of broke us and that doesn’t really happen to this team.”

Buckets starting falling for the Huskers’ best player, forward Pryce Sandfort, and they stopped falling for the Gophers and for forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, who finished with 12 points — all in the first half.

During a runaway second half for Nebraska, “Go Big Red!” chants filled Williams Arena from the many Cornhuskers faithful who made the trip to watch their program’s first 9-0 conference start since the 1965-66 season. At 20-0, the Huskers are one of three remaining undefeated teams in Division I men’s basketball.

The Gophers (10-10, 3-6 Big Ten) absorbed a fifth consecutive loss. But this one felt different to Medved, the first-year coach who has overseen an otherwise competitive group.

Minnesota, which led 36-30 at halftime, built its best chance with a 40-32 lead early the second half.

That melted away as Sandfort heated up. Sandfort had two of the first buckets in the ensuing 21-4 run, during which he and Huskers guard Jamarques Lawrence each had seven points.

Sandfort finished with a game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds.

“Once he got in a rhythm,” said Gophers forward Bobby Durkin, who had 12 of his team-high 16 points in the first half, “that got them going.”

The Gophers offense also fell apart.

Crocker-Johnson, coming off three consecutive 20-point games, played physically against a taller Nebraska team, but he shot 0-of-5 from the floor in the second half. The Gophers, who hit nine three-pointers in the first half, failed to hit a three after halftime, when they also committed as many turnovers (nine) as made shots.

“We just got punked,” Crocker-Johnson said. “They made some runs that [we] let affect us on the offensive end. They got going and we just looked defeated. We couldn’t really do nothing much in that long stretch.”

Guard Isaac Asuma was pulled from the beginning of the game after committing two quick fouls, and he picked up a third early in the second half. He finished with zero points on 0-of-3 shooting.

“You could tell that probably kind of rattled him,” Medved said of Asuma’s early foul trouble. “Could never get into the flow.”

What it means

The Gophers fell to 2-3 against ranked teams. Medved has preached persistence as the losses mount, because they have been positioned to win each of the five consecutive losses.

The Gophers have not won since beating ranked Iowa on Jan. 6. In this stretch, they have lost while leading Nebraska by eight in the second half, lost twice in overtime, lost to a buzzer-beating shot by Wisconsin and lost while tied midway through the second half at No. 13 Illinois.

“You can’t let one loss affect the rest of the season,” Crocker-Johnson said. “We still got to go play Wisconsin in the next game. We have to move on from this quick. Let it sting a little bit, but we still got a rivalry game coming up.”

Tyson injures ankle

Cade Tyson, the Gophers’ leading scorer this season at 20.1 points per game, had 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting before subbing out with 10 minutes left, and he did not return. He rolled his ankle while landing on someone, Medved said.

Tyson appeared to emerge with a limp after challenging Sandfort for a rebound and getting called for his third foul.

The short-handed Gophers could not afford to lose Tyson while Asuma was already having a rough day. They trailed 53-44 when Tyson left. Nebraska went on a 14-4 run immediately afterward.

“We were already kind of bending a little bit,” Medved said, “that felt like that maybe broke us. Just looked like it broke our spirit and that was disappointing, but listen they’re a terrific team. They really force you on the offensive end to keep making plays.”

Medved said he was not yet sure how much time Tyson will miss with the ankle injury.

“Those things are tricky, right?” Medved said. “Sometimes people respond really, really quickly.”

MVP

— Pryce Sandfort, Nebraska The likely future NBA talent sparked the Cornhuskers’ comeback victory with 20 second-half points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Medved liked what he saw from the Gophers’ early defense on screens to Sandfort, who struggled to get a shot off in the first half with two points on two attempts. But that defense fizzled.

“It’s great that we did it for 27, whatever it was, minutes,” Medved said, “but once he gets loose and gets going, they’re going to keep going to him.”

Key stat

— 0 for 11. The Gophers’ accuracy went ice cold after halftime. Minnesota failed to hit any of the 11 3-point attempts in the second half after shooting an impressive 9 for 20 (45%) in the first half.

Up next

The Gophers return to Madison, Wis., where they will face the Badgers (8 p.m. Wednesday. Wisconsin (14-5, 6-2 Big Ten) has won five consecutive games, including beating the Gophers, 78-75, on John Blackwell’s buzzer-beating three at Williams Arena on Jan. 13.

“We’ve got a day off,” Medved said, “which we probably desperately need. We’ve got a lot of guys that are banged up. We’ve got to come back with a spirit and ready to go. That’s the way these leagues are. They’re brutal.”