Nebraska basketball: Huskers shock No. 9 Spartans

Nebraska 60 No. 9 Michigan State 51

Player of the Game:

Terran Petteway- Walter Pitchford was great, and he could have easily gotten this honor. But Petteway was spectacular down the stretch once again. I don’t know how he kept making those shots, but it seemed like everything he threw up  went in. He made at least three shots from behind the arc with five seconds or less in the shot clock, including one with two minutes to go. Nebraska couldn't do anything offensively without him. Literally. He scored 14 straight points in the game's final 10 minutes for the Huskers. He also had a layup with under a minute to help seal the deal. He finished with 23 points.

Key Stat:

Fast break points- Michigan State is second in the Big Ten in scoring offense at 78 points a game. It gets most of those points off of transition, led by guards Keith Appling and Gary Harris. The Spartans didn’t score a single fast break point Sunday as Nebraska did a phenomenal job defensively throughout. This was mainly Benny Parker’s doing, who has become a nightmare for opposing point guards. The Huskers don’t win this game if they don’t defend in transition and they did that Sunday afternoon.

Play of the Game:

Lets see, which Petteway jumper should I choose? Petteway hit one with two minutes remaining in the game with a Michigan State defender all over him. I mean he was leaning into the shot and everything. It was insane. It might have been a little luck, but you could visibly see the energy leave Michigan State after that jumper. Nebraska just needed a couple rebounds and free throws to seal the game after that.

Other notes:

-Nebraska’s win was just the fourth in school history over a top-10 team on the road and first since a 74-69 win at No. 7 Iowa State on Feb. 22, 1997
-Nebraska snaps a 21-game losing streak to ranked teams on the road, dating back to a 65-59 win at No. 22 Texas A&M and Feb. 23, 2008. NU had lost its last 24 games away from home against ranked teams.
-Nebraska picks up its first Big Ten win against Michigan State, snapping a four-game losing streak to the Spartans. Nebraska’s only other win in East Lansing was an 85-81 win on Dec. 18, 1993.
-Terran Petteway eclipsed the 20-point mark for the eighth time this season.
-Walter Pitchford set a career high with 218 points, topping his previous best of 15 set at Northwestern on Feb. 8
-Nebraska won three straight conference games for the first time since the 2010-11 season
-Nebraska’s five turnovers matches a season low (also vs. South Carolina State).

-Another note, look for a feature on Benny Parker in Tuesday’s Daily Nebraskan. It’s amazing how that guy has been so effective for a team in the Big Ten.

Thanks for reading! And send me your reactions of Nebraska’s win. Check out the Daily Nebraskan tomorrow for the game story.

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