Nebraska Men's Basketball Holds Off Ohio State, 79-71

The Huskers notch their fourth win in a row to improve to 16-8.

Nebraska's Braxton shoots the ball against Ohio State's Ivan Njegovan during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The hot February continues for Nebraska men's basketball.

Nebraska held off Ohio State Sunday afternoon at Pinnacle Bank Arena, 79-71. The Huskers improve to 16-8 on the year and 6-7 in the Big Ten Conference, while the Buckeyes fall to 14-10 overall and 6-7 in the league.

NU has won four consecutive games.

Nebraska guard Brice Williams passes to forward Berke Buyuktuncel during the first half. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Both teams started out on fire in the first half, shooting about 60% for much of the first several minutes. Nebraska shot 51.9% in the opening 20 minutes but trailed 39-34 at the break.

After an Ohio State 3 in the first minute of the second half, the Huskers tore off on an 8-0 run. A couple minutes later, the Big Red used an 11-0 run to take the lead and never trail for the rest of the game.

The Huskers shot 51.9% for the game, including 7-of-21 from 3. The Buckeys made 42.6% of their shots, including 10-of-25 from deep.

Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg reacts after a play during the first half. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Nebraska made 18-of-21 free throws to Ohio State's 9-of-15.

Brice Williams scored a team-high 24 points to go with 10 rebounds and four assists. Juwan Gary tallied 19 points and five boards, chipping in a blocked shot and a steal as well.

Nebraska stays home Thursday to host Maryland. Tip at Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. CST on the Big Ten Network.

Box score

Nebraska Athletics Notes

• Brice Williams posted his fourth straight 20-point game with 24 points and 10 rebounds. It marked his fourth straight 20-point game, matching a career high (last three games of 2023-24 and 2024-25 opener).
  
• Williams posted his first double-double of the season, the second of his Nebraska career (at Northwestern last season) and sixth of his college career, as he finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds. His 10 rebounds were a season high, topping his previous season high of eight against Illinois.
  
• Nebraska has now won four straight games, including three Quad 1 wins in that stretch (Illinois, at Oregon, Ohio State). NU has now won four of the last five meetings against Ohio State.
  
• Berke Büyüktuncel reached double figures for the fifth time this season and the first since scoring a career-high 16 points against Oregon State, finishing with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Büyüktuncel tied career bests in 3-pointers (three) and assists (three).
  
• Nebraska shot 51.9 percent from the field and has shot over 50 percent in each of the last three games.
  
• Braxton Meah has now made his last 11 field goals dating back to Dec. 30. Meah had five points, including 3-of-3 from the foul line, in 7:15 of action.
  
• Nebraska’s 11-0 second-half run was NU’s 17th double-figure run of the season.
  
• Nebraska improves to 1-5 on Super Bowl Sunday games in program history.

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