LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit to defeat No. 6 Wisconsin 80-72 in overtime Thursday night, the second top-10 men's college basketball opponent the Cornhuskers have beaten this season. season.
Rienk Mast scored early in overtime to give the Huskers the lead for good, and as time expired, the students took the court for the second time this year. The first was on Jan. 9 when the Huskers beat then-No. 1 Purdue 88-72.
CJ Wilcher scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, Mast finished with 20 and the Huskers (16-6, 6-5) improved to 6-0 at home in Big Ten play.
It was Nebraska's biggest comeback since erasing a 19-point margin against Iowa in 2013. Since 2000, Wisconsin had been 120-0 when leading by 15 or more points at halftime.
AJ Storr matched his season high with 28 points to lead the Badgers (16-5, 9-2). Max Klesmit and Chucky Hepburn each had 13.
The Cornhuskers trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half, but were able to recover when Wisconsin, which shot 55% in the first half, dropped to 36% in the second and became sloppy with the ball.
Brice Williams' two free throws in the final minute of regulation gave Nebraska its first lead at 67-65. A Storr layup tied the score and Mast and Williams missed two shots in the final 20 seconds.
Nebraska took advantage of a streak of eight Wisconsin turnovers in eight minutes in the second half to tie the score at 52. The Badgers were ahead 63-56 after Klesmit scored 11 points in two minutes.
But Nebraska rallied, took the game to overtime and recorded one of its biggest comebacks in program history.
