Nebraska Men’s Basketball Prepare for Matchup with Michigan State

Nebraska faces its second straight ranked opponent on Wednesday night, as the Huskers begin a two-game road trip with a matchup against No. 10/10 (AP/Coaches) Michigan State. Tipoff at the Breslin Center is slated for 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on KBBN 95.3 FM with coverage on the Huskers Radio Network beginning at 5 p.m.

The Huskers (6-8, 0-3 Big Ten) had a golden opportunity for a marquee win, but No. 13 Ohio State rallied for an 87-79 overtime win over the Huskers on Sunday. Nebraska battled back from an eight-point second half deficit to take a 72-67 lead with under a minute remaining after Lat Mayen’s dunk before the Buckeyes scored the final five points of regulation to send the game into overtime and scored the first six points of the extra session to take control.

The loss overshadowed another strong performance from Derrick Walker, as the junior finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high four steals. Walker, who posted his third double-double of the season, went 6-of-10 from the floor and helped limit Zed Key and E.J. Liddell to just a combined 5-of-19 shooting from the field. Walker is posting career bests in scoring (9.4 ppg), rebounding (6.6 rpg), blocks (1.3 bpg) and steals (1.0 spg) while shooting 76 percent from the field. Walker is one of just two Big Ten players entering the week averaging at least one block and steal per game.

Michigan State (12-2, 3-0) comes into Wednesday’s game riding a seven-game winning streak following a 73-67 win at Northwestern on Sunday. In that game, the Spartans trailed 33-26 at the break, but held the Wildcats to 30 percent shooting, including 1-of-10 from 3-point range in the second half to outscore Northwestern 47-34 after the break. Gabe Brown’s 20-point night led four Spartans in double figures, while MSU went 19-of-24 from the line in the final 20 minutes. Marcus Bingham Jr. added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Spartans.

Nebraska faces its first top-10 opponent of the season on Wednesday as the Huskers travel to East Lansing. Nebraska is looking for its first top-10 road win since a 60-51 win over No. 9 Michigan State on Feb. 16, 2014. The win in East Lansing is one of three top-10 road wins in program history.

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