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HOUSTON — A contest that many people around the country didn’t think was possible in March. But, it did. Nebraska and Iowa men’s basketball, the second time ever two Big Ten teams met in the Sweet Sixteen.
Senior guard Bennett Stirtz led the Hawkeyes to victory, punching their ticket to the Elite Eight with 20 points and four assists, 77-71, inside the Toyota Center on Thursday, March 26.
A rubber match — the perfect way to solve the tiebreaker between these two teams, who have faced off two previous times this season. The Hawkeyes took the first contest, Feb. 17, in Iowa City, 57-52, as it out-rebounded the Huskers by 13. On senior day in Lincoln, March 8, Nebraska escaped Iowa in overtime, 84-75.
Nebraska led for the majority of the game until Iowa took it away in the final moments. NU led by as many as 10 points, but saw its lead stripped from it down the stretch.
Here are three takeaways from the Huskers’ Sweet 16 loss:
Stirtz was a problem
Coming off back-to-back rough shooting games against Florida and Clemson, Stirtz notched 20 points in Thursday’s contest. In Iowa’s two previous NCAA Tournament games, Stirtz shot 9-for-33 from the field, but turned the tide tonight.
Along with his double-digit outing, the Drake transfer tallied two rebounds and four assists in his 40 minutes.
When it felt like the Huskers were going to extend their lead further, Stirtz responded. He shot 7-for-15 from the field, scoring 10 points in each half.
Late in the game, with 2:10 on the clock, Stirtz drilled a triple to give Iowa a 68-65 lead, which it held onto for the rest of the game. His three 3-pointers all came at the right time for the Hawkeyes.
All-around strong performance from Iowa
The Hawkeyes found 38 of their 77 points from their bench. Freshman guard Tate Sage recorded 11 of his 19 points in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting. Sage marked a new career-best, bettering his 17-point performance against Rutgers.
To go along with Stirtz, Iowa found dominant performances from junior forward Alvaro Folgueiras as well, who finished with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting. With less than a minute to go, the Spanish native was found wide-open for an and-one dunk on junior forward Berke Büyüktuncel. Who then dunked on him again, a possession later. The Huskers only had four players on the court when Iowa inbounded the ball.
Iowa finished on a massive scoring run to finish the game, whereas Nebraska couldn’t make a shot on the other end.
Sandfort, Frager shine offensively, despite the loss
Junior forward Pryce Sandfort and redshirt freshman Braden Frager combined for 41 points of Nebraska’s 71 points. Sandfort notched 25 on 8-of-13 shooting, while Frager shot 5-for-8 for 16.
The talk around the country has revolved around Sandfort, who’s known to be the player who transferred to Nebraska after spending two seasons with Iowa. Out of the gate, the Waukee, Iowa, native connected on his first two looks from 3-point land. In the second half, when Iowa knocked on the door, Sandfort drilled 3-pointers to give the Huskers more space to breathe — until it was too late.
Aside from Sandfort and Frager, senior guard Sam Hoiberg committed an uncharacteristic five turnovers. As a team, Nebraska allowed Iowa to score 20 points off turnovers, while it had seven.
Although the Huskers lost, Büyüktuncel excelled on the glass, as he grabbed 10 rebounds, despite his rough shooting night. The Turkey native shot 1-for-7 from the field and 0-for-4 from 3-point land, causing the Huskers issues offensively.
Final thoughts
Coming into the matchup, the biggest factor talked about was rebounding. Nebraska out-rebounded the Hawkeyes, 35-26 on the glass, but that didn’t matter. Iowa kept better control of the ball, only committing five turnovers, while the Huskers had 10.
Nebraska finished its season 28-7 and 15-5 in conference play. The record-breaking season has come to an end, and the Huskers will head back to Lincoln as the Hawkeyes advance and play the winner of Illinois and Houston.
Eli Rodriguez is a men’s basketball beat writer at The Daily Nebraskan. Follow him on X at @efrodriguez23.