LINCOLN, Neb.—Nebraska and Colorado set a Big 12 Conference record on Wednesday, but only the Cornhuskers were happy about it.
Nebraska beat Colorado 46-41 to set a conference mark for the lowest combined score in a league game. The previous record was 89 points set twice in 2006, in Texas A&M’s 46-43 win over Texas and the Aggies’ 45-44 loss to Oklahoma.
Nebraska’s 46 points were the fewest put up by the Cornhuskers in a win in 43 years, and Colorado’s 41 were the fewest points a Big 12 Conference opponent had scored against the Huskers in 25 years.
The record-low final score didn’t bother Nebraska’s Ryan Anderson.
“If you win and the score is 81 to 80, it doesn?t matter, as long as you get the win,” Anderson said. “It was really big, spirit-wise, confidence-wise. It’s a load off your back. You get it and move on.”
Nebraska’s stingy defense was the key to the win, said Husker coach Doc Sadler.
“If you can’t win at home giving up 41, it wasn’t meant to be,” Sadler said. “I thought we were really good defensively tonight, as good as we can play defensively.”
Nebraska (16-8, 6-5 Big 12) led by as many as eight twice in the game, the latest after Brandon Richardson’s free throw made the score 38-30 with 6:18 remaining.
Colorado (9-16, 1-10) got a three-point play from Cory Higgins, an Austin Dufault basket and another Higgins jumper to cut the Nebraska lead to 39-36 with 4:07 left.
Ade Dagunduro?s jumper put Nebraska back up by five 30 seconds later and his three-point play gave the Huskers a 44-38 lead with 2:25 remaining.
“Coach told me ‘you’ve got to make plays, man,'” said Dagunduro, who led all scorers with 18 points. “I just made an extra effort to be more assertive.”
Neither team scored another field goal in the game. Dufault hit three of four free throws in the last 1:26 to cut the Nebraska lead to three with 11.4 seconds remaining.
Paul Velander sealed the win for the Huskers with a pair of free throws with 8.8 seconds remaining.
Both teams struggled offensively throughout the game, including a four-minute stretch early in the second half when neither put up a single point.
Nebraska ended the game 16-for-46 from the floor for 35 percent, while Colorado shot 31 percent.
Nebraska tied an NCAA record with no turnovers in the first half.
“We just weren’t strong enough with our balance when we get knocked off, or we just get the ball taken from us or we just lose it,” Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik said of the turnovers. “Nebraska plays well, but we played well too. I thought, defensively, we did enough to win the game.”
Nebraska defeated Oklahoma State 45-41 in overtime in 1966. The Huskers lost to Kansas State 41-39 in the Big Eight conference tournament in 1984.
