A six-game losing streak left Nebraska with a bit of an identity crisis. However, Brice Williams helped the Cornhuskers remember who they are.
Williams averaged 27.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists in helping Nebraska post victories over then-No. 18 Illinois and then-No. 16 Oregon, and the Cornhuskers will try to continue their winning ways when they travel to Seattle on Wednesday for a Big Ten battle with Washington.
The victories against the Fighting Illini and the Ducks helped Nebraska (14-8, 4-7 Big Ten) go from conference tournament bubble team to NCAA Tournament hopeful.
“We’ve gotten our identity back,” Cornhuskers coach Fred Hoiberg said on his postgame radio show after the 77-71 victory over Oregon on Sunday. “And that was the biggest thing for me … to go out and play consistent on the defensive end. And we’ve done a much better job on the 3-point line.”
The Cornhuskers nearly blew a 15-point lead against Oregon before holding on for the victory.
“It’s about regrouping,” Hoiberg said. “I told the guys in the locker room this doesn’t mean anything unless we come out and play well on Wednesday.”
The Huskies (11-10, 2-8) have done some regrouping of their own, snapping a six-game losing streak with a 71-68 victory over Minnesota on Saturday. Tyler Harris scored 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, and Great Osobor added 16 points and 10 rebounds in the slump-busting victory.
Five of the Huskies’ six losses during their skid came against ranked teams.
“It’s awesome for the guys,” first-year Washington coach Danny Sprinkle said. “We deserved it. We’ve been playing good basketball, and we’ve played maybe the hardest schedule in the country. We’ve had our chances to win games and, for whatever reason, we didn’t make plays and some of the other teams did.
“But I thought our guys did a good job learning from all of those lessons in January — taking care of the basketball in the final 10 minutes and making sure we take good shots. And it comes down to guys making plays. I wish I could say it was coaching, but it’s not.”
Osobor is the Huskies’ leading scorer this season at 15.5 points per game.
–Field Level Media
