Michigan
11-8,5-4Big Ten
Nebraska
6-16,0-11Big Ten
Dickinson's Second-Half Surge Rallies Michigan to Win over Nebraska
2/1/2022 11:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» Michigan rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to beat Nebraska 83-79.
» Hunter Dickinson scored a game-high 26 points, with 20 points coming in the second half.
» With a career-best 7-fof-8 free-throw stat line, Eli Brooks posted 20 points -- the seventh 20+ point game of his career.
» DeVante' Jones added 18 points, with 10 of those coming in the first half.
Site: Ann Arbor, Michigan (Crisler Center)
Score: Michigan 85, Nebraska 79
Records: U-M (11-8, 5-4 B1G), NEB (6-16; 0-11 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 5 -- at #4 Purdue (West Lafayette, Ind.), 2:30 p.m. (TV: Fox)
• Watch: Juwan Howard Postgame Press Conference
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Scoring 20 of his 26 points in the second half, sophomore Hunter Dickinson helped the University of Michigan men's basketball team rally from a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat Nebraska 85-79 on Tuesday (Feb. 1) at Crisler Center.
After foul trouble hampered him early, Dickinson scored just six points and played only five minutes in the first half. In the second half, he scored 20 points to finish with a game-high 26, while adding eight rebounds and two blocks. Dickinson has now had 20+ points in five of his last six games and eight total on the season.
Graduate-student guard Eli Brooks posted his seventh 20+ point scoring game with exactly 20 points, shooting 7-for-8 from the free-throw line, with five rebounds and three assists. Fellow graduate-student guard DeVante' Jones, who played in his 100th career game, added 18 points and six rebounds with two assists.
Nebraska (6-16; 0-11 Big Ten) came out strong, making four of their first five shots to take an early 10-9 lead heading into the first media break. However, U-M's offense countered, and the Wolverines tied te game at 20, with both teams shooting over 50 percent from the field midway through the half.
With Dickinson playing just five minutes after picking up two early fouls, Nebraska star freshman Bryce McGowens continued to apply the pressure, scoring 14 of the Cornhuskers 36 first-half points. Even after Michigan () reached the bonus with seven minutes left in the half, the Wolverines went three minutes with a basket, while Nebraska capitalized, going 4-for-4 with a pair of three-pointers to cap a 9-0 run and extend its lead to 10 points, 36-26.
Jones and Brooks combined for a 7-0 spurt to help cut the lead to three, 36-33. That lead was short-lived as Nebraska's red-hot shooting (54.8 percent) continued with an 8-4 run to head into the break up by seven, 44-37.
Coming out in the second half, four quick Nebraska fouls led to a 12-2 run and Michigan (11-8, 5-4 Big Ten) reclaiming the lead, 49-46, as the Cornhuskers were forced to call a timeout. Despite snapping a four-minute scoring drought with a free throw, Nebraska could not stop Dickinson down low as he scored 12 quick points in the opening six minutes to give U-M a 57-47 lead.
With Dickinson getting a break on the bench, Nebraska rallied with five straight buckets to tie the game at 60 and then retook the lead, 62-60, with under 10 minutes left in regulation. A 16-2 run helped the Cornhuskers rebuilt a six-point lead, 66-60, and the U-M offense went cold, going 1-for-8. As Dickinson snapped the U-M drought with his 20th point, McGowens followed his 20th point at the other end to give Nebraska held a four-point lead, 70-66, with six minutes left.
Nebraska's Keisei Tominaga drained a three, but on the ensuing Michigan possession was called for a shooting foul on a Dickinson shot attempt and was assessed a technical foul. U-M drained all four free throws to cut its deficit to just three, 73-70. Another pair of free throws from Dickinson cut the Nebraska lead to one at 73-72.
After a Dickinson putback and a Brooks three-pointer, U-M took the lead, 77-75. After a steal by Houstan, his dish to a driving Jones helped the Wolverines go up four with two minutes left. A Cornhusker jumper and a pair of free throws tied the game again with a minute to play in regulation. Throwing the ball to Dickinson down low, his nifty assist to Jones led to an easy layup and an 81-79 lead.
With the Maize and Blue up two, a steal from Jones left to a missed three-pointer, but a key offensive rebound from Kobe Bufkin helped seal the game when the Cornhuskers were forced to foul Brooks with 15 seconds on the clock. Brooks drained the freebies, as did Jones with three ticks left to seal the victory.
Michigan will close its week heading to West Lafayette, Ind., on Saturday (Feb. 5) to square off with No. 4-ranked Purdue at Mackey Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on Fox.
