Sam Griesel led four Nebraska players in double figures with 16 points in an 81-77 victory against host Iowa on Sunday in the Big Ten regular season finale in Iowa City, Iowa.
The Cornhuskers (16-15, 9-11) earned their first sweep against the Hawkeyes (19-12, 11-9) since joining the Big Ten in 2011-12. Nebraska won in Iowa City for the first time since Jan. 26, 2012.
Jamarques Lawrence added 15 points for Nebraska, which overcame Iowa’s 21 offensive rebounds that resulted in the Hawkeyes outscoring the Cornhuskers 31-11 in second-chance points.
C.J. Wilcher had 12 points, Keisei Tominaga added 11 and Derrick Walker finished with nine points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Iowa was led by Patrick McCaffery with 23 points and Kris Murray with 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
The Hawkeyes went the last 6:12 without a made field goal. They were 0-for-7 in that span.
McCaffery’s two free throws with 1:56 left cut Nebraska’s lead to 80-77.
Filip Rebraca had a chance to pull the Hawkeyes closer but missed both free throws with 1:15 left.
After Griesel missed a layup, Iowa’s Payton Sandfort missed a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left.
Sam Hoiberg made 1 of 2 free-throw attempts with 30 seconds remaining to increase the lead to 81-77.
Iowa’s Connor McCaffery was then called for an offensive foul with 16.8 seconds left.
Hoiberg missed a front end of a one-and-one situation with 15 seconds remaining.
Iowa grabbed the rebound and raced down the court but Murray missed a 3-pointer with four seconds left.
Walker got the rebound and Nebraska ran out the clock.
Nebraska had an 18-9 lead with 13:25 left in the first half, but Iowa responded by scoring 12 unanswered points.
Patrick McCaffery had two 3-pointers in the run that gave Iowa a 21-18 lead with 10:07 left until halftime.
The Hawkeyes led 43-39 at halftime.
Murray’s 3-pointer with 12:07 left put Iowa ahead 62-55.
Nebraska rallied to take a 68-67 lead with 8:16 remaining on Hoiberg’s 3-pointer.
The Cornhuskers built an 80-75 lead with 2:33 left on Wilcher’s shot from beyond the arc.
–Field Level Media
