After a six-game losing streak, Nebraska was struggling with its identity. But Brice Williams helped the Cornhuskers find their way again.
Williams averaged 27.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.0 assists while helping Nebraska beat then-No. 18 Illinois and then-No. 16 Oregon. The Cornhuskers will look to keep the momentum going when they face Washington in Seattle on Wednesday for a Big Ten matchup.
The wins over Illinois and Oregon lifted Nebraska (14-8, 4-7 Big Ten) from being a possible conference tournament dropout to an NCAA Tournament hopeful.
“We’ve gotten our identity back,” said Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg on his postgame radio show after the 77-71 win over Oregon. “That was the biggest thing for me … to go out and play consistently on the defensive end. And we’ve done a much better job on the 3-point line.”
Nebraska almost lost a 15-point lead against Oregon, but managed to hold on for the win.
“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.”
Washington (11-10, 2-8) has also been working on its own recovery, snapping a six-game losing streak with a 71-68 win over Minnesota on Saturday. Tyler Harris scored 23 points, going 9-for-12 shooting, and Great Osobor added 16 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.
Five of Washington’s six losses during the streak were to ranked teams.
“It’s awesome for the guys,” said first-year Washington coach Danny Sprinkle. “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 leading scorer for the Huskies this season with 15.5 points per game.
