Juwan Gary had a team-high 21 points to lead three Huskers in double figures, as Nebraska advanced to the College Basketball Crown championship game with a 79-69 win over Boise State on Saturday.
Gary hit 7-of-12 shots from the field, including a career-high four 3-pointers and added nine rebounds and three blocked shots as Nebraska improved to 20-14 on the season.
Brice Williams added 14 points, a season-high six assists and five rebounds while Sam Hoiberg added 10 points, as Nebraska (20-14) shot 46 percent from the field and 12-of-19 from 3-point range. With the win, the Huskers secured consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time since the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons.
Nebraska will play the winner of today’s second semifinal between UCF and Villanova tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. central. The game will be carried on FOX and the Husker Sports Network.
Nebraska took control of the game late in the first half, using a 15-1 spurt to turn a seven-point deficit into a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the game.
Trailing 26-19, 3-pointers from Hoiberg and Gary pulled the Huskers within one and started 15-1 Husker spurt, as Nebraska built a 34-27 lead after a Williams basket. Williams and Gary combined for 22 first-half points, as Nebraska went 6-of-9 from 3-point range and 9-of-10 from the foul line in the opening 20 minutes to build a 39-33 halftime lead.
Nebraska built on the lead, using an 8-2 run in the first 2:46 to stretch the lead to 49-37 after 3-pointers from Hoiberg and Gary forced a Bronco timeout.
Boise State, which got a game-high 26 from Tyson Degenhart, got to within 49-24 before a Morgan dunk and a 3-point play from Gary to stretch the lead to 12.
Nebraska eventually built a 74-59 lead after a Williams basket with 4:48 left, but Boise State (26-11) made one last run, the Broncos used an 8-0 run to pull to within seven after a RJ Keene jumper with 1:31 left.
Two Connor Essegian free throws pushed the leaf back to nine before a pair of Javan Buchanan free throws with 1:04 left, but could get no closer, as NU hit 3-of-5 foul shots in the final 1:03 to seal the win.
Postgame Notes
*-Nebraska improves to 20-14 on the season and will play in the College Basketball Crown on Sunday.
*-Nebraska posted consecutive 20-win seasons for the third time in school history and the first time since 1997-98 and 1998-99.
*-Nebraska’s 12 3-pointers was a season high (previous high was 11 vs. Washington) and its 63.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc was also a season best. It was NU’s best 3-point effort by percentage since going 13-of-20 (.650) at Penn State during the 2021-22 season.
*-Juwan Gary had his ninth 20-point game of the season with 21 points and nine rebounds. Gary has scored 20+ points in four of NU’s last six games and is averaging 20.8 ppg over his last six games.
*-Gary’s four 3-pointers tied a career high, as he also had four against Minnesota on Feb. 24, 2024. His previous season best was three, which he had done six times this season. Gary is 7-of-9 from 3-point range over the last two games.
*-Gary now has 976 points at Nebraska and needs 24 to become the 33rd Husker to reach 1,000 points at Nebraska.
*-Nebraska got 26 points from its bench, including eight apiece from Connor Essegian and Ahron Ulis. For Ulis, it was his highest scoring effort since scoring a season-high 10 points vs. North Florida on Dec. 1. Ulis also tied a season high with five rebounds.
*-Brice Williams had 14 points and tied his season high with six assists. Williams now has 692 points this season and is 16 points shy of James Palmer Jr., who holds NU’s single-season record with 708 points.
*-Sam Hoiberg posted his second double-figure game of the season with 10 points as he has been in double figures in two of the past four games.
