Nebraska basketball: Notes from upset against No. 17 Ohio State

Nebraska 68 No. 17 Ohio State 62

Player of the Game:

Shavon Shields- The sophomore captain finally came alive after a slow start to conference play. Shields scored 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting, but it was the way those points came that made it seem like he was out of the slump. He attacked the basket instead of settling for mid-range jump shots. He looked more like he did at the beginning of the season. “I liked that older Shavon Shields out there,” teammate Terran Petteway said. “I hope that guy stays for a while.”

Key Stat:

Nebraska made 20-of-26 free throws, including 14-of-16 in the final two minutes of the game. Not bad for a team that shoots 71 percent as a team. It was only a two-point game with two minutes to go before the Huskers pulled away from the charity stripe.

Play of the Game:

Ohio State’s Aaron Craft got the better of Deverell Biggs most of the night. Craft forced Biggs to commit six turnovers and Biggs showed visible frustration. But with about four minutes to go, Biggs stole the ball from Craft and then scored on a layup over him to give Nebraska a 47-46 lead.

Check out Nebraska fans rushing the court.  

Quotes worth mentioning:

“You have to respect this league. It’s tough.” –Ohio State coach Thad Matta on team’s four-game conference losing streak

“This is a phenomenal crowd. We’ve been to a lot of place and this is one of the best in the Big Ten.” Matta on Pinnacle Bank Arena

“Our crowd is the reason we’re 8-1 at home. At one point tonight, we couldn’t even hear the whistle it was so loud in here.” Petteway on Pinnacle Bank atmosphere

“I’ve lost way more than this. I’ve been 0-16 in conference before. So no, I wasn’t worried about the season unraveling.” Nebraska coach Tim Miles on previous five-game losing streak

“I’ll probably make him clean my office with a toothbrush since you can’t run him.” Miles on Petteway’s eight turnovers

Other notes:

-Nebraska outrebounded the Buckeyes 33-27.

-The Huskers scored 38 points in the pain compared to 26 for Ohio State.
-The win snaps a 15-game losing streak to ranked opponents for Nebraska. 

-Nebraska improves to 9-8 overall and 1-4 in the Big Ten. Ohio State falls to 15-4 and 2-4.

That's it from me. Check out the Daily Nebraskan for the game story by my colleague Nedu Izu. 

Reach me at: award6344@gmail.com

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram: @_andrewward