3 takeaways from a nail-biting loss for Nebraska to Michigan

Nebraska basketball wound up being more shorthanded than expected on Tuesday night, in Ann Arbor, but you wouldn’t know it by watching the game.

Against the No. 3 team in the country, Nebraska controlled the game for a huge chunk. Their defense forced turnovers, the 3-point shots were falling, and even without Rienk Mast and Braden Frager, Nebraska proved it can play with anyone in the Big Ten, despite. 75-72 loss, thanks to a late Michigan rally, which included the go-ahead bucket for the Wolverines with 1:03 t0 go.

Jamarques Lawrence was another stepped up, scoring 17 points in the first half to set the tone. Cale Jacobsen, who started for Mast, did what he always does — played winning basketball.

Pryce Sandfort wss exceptional. He strengthened his argument for Big Ten Player of the Year, making five 3-pointers as he scored more than 20 points for the fifth consecutive game.

The defense was impressive, too. The offense just didn’t make enough shots. Nebraska basketball made just one 3-pointer in the second half. The Huskers didn’t score in the final three minutes of the game, and here are three takeaways from the Huskers first loss of the 2025-26 season.

Nebraska basketball came out swinging

Despite missing two of their best players, Nebraska opened the game exactly the way it needed to. The Huskers made 10 3-pointers in the first half. Meanwhile, the Wolverines had eight turnovers.

The game was back-and-forth early, but the Wolverines’ only lead in the first half was a 3-2 advantage. Nebraska basketball led by as many as 11 points at one point.

Regardless of how it ended, without Frager and Mast especially, that was a heckuva start. It was a hell of an effort, one that Nebraska fans should be proud of.

Nebraska really missed Rienk Mast

The Huskers missed the former All-Big Ten performer on both ends of the floor. Michigan was able to bully its way to the free-throw line 24 times, which is 10 times more than Nebraska allowed during the season. Meanwhile, the Huskers attempted just four free throws.

Not having Mast and Frager killed Nebraska. The Huskers went cold from 3-point range, then were without two of their best scorers. Nebraska shot 58 percent on 2-point attempts — a really strong number against Michigan. However, the defense allowed the Wolverines to shoot 70 percent on 2-point field goals, which doesn’t count the free throws.

Mast would have found a way to convert one of those shots down the stretch. Not having its best low-post scorers and one of its best low-post defenders explains why Michigan won the critical 2-point percentage battle by 13 points.

I wrote before the game that Nebraska needed to be close to even with that number and that they needed to keep the Wolverines off the foul line. They weren’t able to do either.

Huskers are still in a good spot in the Big Ten title race

The loss hurts. 21-0 with a win over a top-5 team would have been nice. Nebraska can still win the Big Ten. Their chances to0k a hit, but with a wins over Michigan State, and the other two teams tied for first, along with Michigan and Nebraska — Purdue and Illinois — coming to the Vault, the Huskers just need to hold serve.

Michigan plays Michigan State on Friday, so this was a must-win for the Wolverines. Now, they have some cushion in the sense that Friday’s game isn’t do-or-die now for U-M. That’s how the next game feels for Nebraska now.

Still, a 9-1 start, and being tied for first place is a great place to be. It feels like it will take a 17-3 record to hoist the Big Ten championship outright, maybe even more.

That’s still doable, even after Tuesday’s loss.

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