Keyontae Johnson scored 23 points to lead Kansas State past Nebraska 71-56 on Saturday night in Kansas City, renewing a rivalry that goes back to 1906.
Kansas State (10-1) matched its best start since 2011-12. The Wildcats stretched their winning streak in the series to seven straight games. The Wildcats own a 128-93 all-time series lead. They’re now 20-3 all-time in Kansas City against the Cornhuskers.
This was just the second meeting between the two programs since Nebraska left the Big 12 for the Big 10 following the 2010-11 season. Kansas State won in Lincoln, Neb., last season, handing the Cornhuskers a 67-58 defeat.
K-State had four players in double figures, led by Johnson. Nae’Qwan Tomlin added 15, Markquis Nowell had 11 and Cam Carter had 10. Johnson also pulled down 10 rebounds.
Nebraska (6-6) was just 18-of-55 (32.7 percent) from the field, including just 4-of-20 from three-point range. The Cornhuskers were led by Wilhelm Breidenbach with 13 points. The Huskers’ leading scorer coming in, Derrick Walker, picked up two early fouls in the first half, and an offensive foul 3:32 into the second half. He scored just seven points.
Nebraska didn’t threaten until late in the second half. The Cornhuskers cut the deficit to single digits with just under four minutes left. A 3-pointer by Jamarques Lawrence with 1:20 left trimmed it to 62-55.
Seven straight K-State free throws extended the lead back to 14 points as the Cornhuskers did not hit another field goal.
Nebraska scored on its first possession but then didn’t score again until K-State had scored eight straight points to grab an 8-2 lead. Nebraska never regained the lead. K-State struggled to pull away for most of the rest of the first half, but finally stretch the lead to double figures with 3:59 remaining. K-State led 39-26 at halftime.
Johnson, who started slowly, led the Wildcats with 11 points and six rebounds in the first half. Nowell had nine points and four assists. Breidenbach led Nebraska with nine points off the bench.
–Field Level Media
