Everyone can now take a deep breath. This game was an up-and-down affair where Michigan State Basketball struggled to maintain a lead over lowly Nebraska for much of the evening but ultimately pulled away in the second half to win a much-needed road game with a comfortable lead. The final score on the evening 86-65.
Jack Hoiberg got the start tonight in Lincoln, Nebraska in a cool gesture from head coach Tom Izzo. Jack’s father Fred is the current coach of Nebraska and the former coach of the Chicago Bulls.
This was a tight game in the first half, to Nebraska’s credit, mostly due to the Cornhuskers’ commitment to launching three-pointers. However, their proficiency from deep didn’t maintain through the second-half, while Michigan State caught fire. MSU shot a blistering 48% from three on the evening behind the hot shooting of Gabe Brown (17 points) and Kyle Ahrens (14 points). The Spartans hit 13 threes on the night and Brown and Ahrens had nine of them.
With added spacing, Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman had much more room to operate. Winston had 23 points and Tillman had 10 and they combined to go 12/17 from the field.
MSU is back at home on Tuesday against Iowa before a rematch against Maryland next Saturday on the road.
