Nebraska-Michigan Gave the Nation a Game For the Ages

Sometimes, sports surprise you in ways you never considered. That’s exactly what happened when Nebraska took the court in Ann Arbor against Michigan on Tuesday night.

The fifth-ranked Huskers arrived to play third-seeded Michigan for the game of the year, so far, in the Big Ten. The buildup felt like a Final Four game. Expectations for a classic game were off the charts. Two Big Ten powerhouses on the same court, battling for conference supremacy — with likely national implications.

There was only one problem for Nebraska. Better make that two problems. Talented and invaluable reserve Braden Frager, who is day-to-day with a sprained ankle, couldn’t play. The Huskers were 1-0 with Frager but didn’t want to make a habit out of playing without him.

Problem No. 2 was a big one — about 6-foot-10, give or take. Rienk Mast would miss the game due to a stomach bug. Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said he found out about 12 minutes before tipoff that Mast was unavailable.

That’s a heckuva way for the Huskers to approach the season’s biggest game. Their one true big man was on the bench against the large and talented Wolverines.

Simply, a great game

So there were the 20-0 Huskers, revved up coming off an impressive, 76-57 win at Minnesota without Frager. Nebraska was ready to prove its record was no fluke and neither was its national ranking. And there was no better place to show it than at Michigan, a team considered by some the favorite to win the national championship in April.

The Crisler Center crowd, one of the good and loud ones in the conference, was revved up, too.

It doesn’t get much better than this in college basketball in January. Except one of the teams was shorthanded, extremely shorthanded.

Nebraska guard Cale Jacobsen battles Michigan center Aday Mara during the second half at Crisler Center. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If you expected a one-sided outcome, well, you were wrong. The pregame consensus was obvious: Why wouldn’t Michigan just blow away Nebraska given the circumstances? A best-case scenario was that Nebraska would valiantly hang around before Michigan bullied the Huskers and won by double digits.

The postgame consensus was obvious, too: Oh my goodness, what a game. What a back-and-forth duel. Nebraska led for most of the game and deserved to. That Michigan won, 75-72, might have felt inevitable but not if you watched the game.

“Our guys, again, they fought through adversity, they battled,” Hoiberg said in a postgame news conference. “And listen, that team is projected by a lot of people to win a national championship.”

Nebraska mismatch

At times, watching Nebraska play defense against Michigan’s three big men almost looked comical. A 6-foot-5 guy playing a 6-11 guy, fronting him, trying to keep him off the boards.

And succeeding.

Eventually, Michigan’s size wore down the Huskers. Michigan outrebounded Nebraska by 35-23. But the Huskers’ defense flourished, harassing the larger Wolverines in the half-court. Michigan had 19 turnovers to Nebraska’s 11.

The Wolverines only shot 23 percent from distance (6-of-26). Nebraska shot 11-of-32 from distance (34 percent), a major part of the Huskers’ offense that kept them in the game for its entirety.

Every possession was thrilling. The game was physical and the refs let the players play. Rebounds were fought for. Defense was sticky, especially in the second half. Shots were contested at both ends.

“We knew it was going to be a battle and we were going to have to fight and we were going to have to have guys step up,” Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg said in a postgame news conference.

“We’re not an excuse team. We’re not going to say we ran out of gas. We played a lot of minutes, more than usual probably, but you’re juiced up at the end of the game. I can’t blame it on not having legs.”

In defeat, Nebraska made believers out of the non-believers who might not have bought into this non-traditional program.

And the nation got to enjoy one of the most entertaining games of the season between two of the best teams in the nation. Who would have thought that at tipoff, that this game could be so competitive?

Michigan coach Dusty May reacts to a play against Nebraska during the second half at Crisler Center. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“First of all, I want to congratulate Nebraska on a great game,” Michigan coach Dusty May said in a postgame news conference.

“Being shorthanded and playing as hard and as physical as they do. They gave us everything. And I thought the last five minutes of the game we were determined to find a way.”

In defeat, Nebraska showed it is a team with a deep March Madness run on its radar. Can’t imagine many teams wanting to play the Huskers. Can’t imagine the Huskers taking a major hit either in Bracketology or in national polls after this loss.

“You got no Braden, you got no Rienk, and you fight them all the way to the finish and you lose by a basket,” Fred Hoiberg said. “That shows the character of our team. It also shows that we can compete with anybody in the country.”

In defeat, Nebraska earned more respect that it might have garnered with a victory.

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