3 thoughts on painful Nebraska basketball loss to Ohio State

It’s hard to be a Cornhuskers fan. Tuesday’s loss by the Nebraska basketball team was a reminder of that.

Despite trailing by 10 points in the first half, Nebraska basketball should have left Columbus with a win. Brice Williams had a free throw to take the lead with less than 10 seconds.

He missed it. Ohio State missed, and the game went into overtime.

Williams, out for redemption, drilled a 3-pointer and got the Huskers a five-point lead. But the defense fell apart, allowing two open 3-pointers in the last two minutes while trying to protect a lead.

Ohio State missed a free throw to win the game, and then Williams missed a game-winner at the end of overtime. In double overtime, the Buckeyes got hot, the referees made some weird calls, and Nebraska basketball lost 116-114.

The Huskers got 43 points from Williams. Juwan Gary added 24. Connor Essegian tacked on 16 coming off the bench. Andrew Morgan also scored 14, including a 3-point play to tie the score in regulation.

It still wasn’t enough, and here are three thoughts on a painful loss for Nebraska basketball.

Nebraska got a raw deal

Fans always feel like their team got a raw deal. I get it. But Nebraska basketball did. The flagrant-1 foul on Brice Williams was one of the most ridiculous calls I’ve ever seen. It was accidental contact and was in no way flagrant.

That gave Ohio State two free throws and possession of the ball in a one-possession game. Williams also got it in the face at the end of the first half, and there was no call or review.

There were numerous ticky-tack calls on Sam Hoiberg and Andrew Morgan down the stretch, but when Morgan tied the score with a 3-point play, an Ohio State player slammed the ball twice. That’s a technical foul, and it was ignored.

You can’t ignore a textbook call because it’s late in the game. The refs missed another technical foul on a clear taunt directed at Connor Essegian after a blocked shot.

There were other missed calls, too. Even Fred Hoiberg said the “officiating bothered him” on the radio after the game.

Brice Williams performance was marred by miss

Williams has carried this Nebraska basketball team. He’s scored at least 20 points in nine of the last 10 games. On Tuesday, Williams was incredible. He made 16 field goals, five 3-pointers, and scored 43 points. He was also 6-of-7 from the free-throw line.

Unfortunately, the one miss came with eight seconds left. Maybe the final seconds play out differently if he makes it, but it’s hard not to wonder, what if?

Nebraska’s season might not recover

The swings of this season have been wild. The Huskers dropped six games in a row and seemed dead in the water. Then, the Huskers won five out of six, and it felt like their spot in the NCAA tournament was somewhat safe.

Nebraska has now dropped four games in a row. Three of them have come by three points or less. It’s been hard to watch.

The Huskers are now just 0.5 games ahead of Iowa and USC, the two teams tied for 15th place. Iowa plays at Nebraska on Sunday. If the Huskers win that game, they will head to the Big Ten tournament, but if not, their berth isn’t guaranteed.

Even if Nebraska wins, they will be 8-12 in the Big Ten. Considering that, Nebraska might need to make the semifinals (3 wins) or even the championship game (4 wins) to get an at-large berth.

It’s grim, and it will be hard to forget that missed free throw.

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