Iowa Ruins Nebraska Men's Basketball's Senior Day, Keeps Huskers Out of Big Ten Tournament Field

A disastrous finish to the regular season for Nebrasketball.

Nebraska lost to Iowa on Senior Day in Lincoln at Pinnacle Bank Arena, ??-??. The Huskers close the regular season at 17-14 overall and 7-13 in the Big Ten Conference while the Hawkeyes finish 6-15 on the year and 7-13 in the league.

The Huskers lost their last five games of the season and finish in a five-way tie for 12th in the league standings, losing the tiebreakers to miss the Big Ten Conference Tournament.

Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Rollie Worster (24) gets fouled by Iowa Hawkeyes guard Brock Harding (2) during the first half. — Nebraska guard Rollie Worster (24) gets fouled by Iowa guard Brock Harding during the first half. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Nebraska started out on fire from 3, making 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. But that luck wouldn't last, as the Huskers missed their next 10 from deep.

Iowa, meanwhile, used an 11-0 run to jumpstart a 30-17 close to the half.

Nebraska got as close as two points in the second half, but Iowa stretched that back to double digits and continued to hold off the few Husker attacks that came.

Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Sam Hoiberg (1) shoots a three-point basket against Iowa Hawkeyes forward Payton Sandfort (20). — Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg shoots a three-point basket during the first half. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The Huskers shot 34.9% for the game, including 6-of-27 on 3s. The Hawkeyes made 49.2% of their shots, making 11-of-28 from deep.

Juwan Gary posted a game-high 24 points on Senior Day. He also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Sam Hoiberg was the only other Husker in double figures with 12 points.

Nebraska Senior Day ceremony — Mar 9, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg, guard Jeffrey Grace III (8), center Braxton Meah (34), guard Rollie Worster (24), forward Andrew Morgan (23), guard Ahron Ulis (2), forward Juwan Gary (4) and guard Brice Williams (3) pose during the Senior Day ceremony before the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Pinnacle Bank Arena. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Iowa's win puts them in to the Big Ten Tournament. Nebraska wont' play in a league tournament for the first time since 1976.

The Huskers will now likely play in either the College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas or the National Invitational Tournament.

Box score

Nebraska Athletics Notes

Juwan Gary finished with a team-high 24 points, his eighth 20-point game and third in a row. Gary averaged 23.0 ppg and 6.3 rpg over his final three games.
Sam Hoiberg finished with a season-high 12 points, his first double-figure effort of the year. His previous high was nine vs. South Dakota on Nov. 27.
Rollie Worster tied a season high with seven rebounds and had five assists without a turnover.
As a team, Nebraska finished with six turnovers tying a season low.
Brice Williams was held to a season-low seven points, only the third time in 31 games he didn’t finish in double figures. Williams finished conference play averaging a league-best 20.7 ppg in Big Ten action.

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