LINCOLN, Neb. — Count Texas among those very impressed by Nebraska’s upset of the No. 3 Longhorns.
Brandon Richardson hit a pair of free throws with 7.2 seconds left to seal the Cornhuskers’ 70-67 win Saturday. Nebraska hadn’t beaten a team ranked in the top three since knocking off No. 3 Missouri 98-91 in the 1994 Big Eight Conference tournament.
After Texas’ 3-point attempt fell short at the buzzer, Nebraska students stormed the court and hoisted the NU players on their shoulders.
“Man, what a great game,” Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said. “How can you not be excited? It’s a great day for us.”
The Cornhuskers’ second win over a top-25 opponent this season broke Texas’ school-record Big 12 winning streak at 11 games. Nebraska downed then-No. 13 Texas A&M 57-48 on Jan. 29.
Texas coach Rick Barnes said this one wasn’t a fluke.
“There’s no question Nebraska deserves all the credit because they were a terrific team today,” he said. “Doc Sadler is one of the great guys in this business, and it couldn’t have happened to a better guy. If this helps them to the NCAA Tournament, then it would be great for him. The fans were great, and they definitely deserved to win the game.”
Nebraska (18-8, 6-6 Big 12), which trailed by seven points at halftime, took a 64-53 lead on Lance Jeter’s driving layup with 2:35 left. But the Cornhuskers made just six of 11 free throws in the last two minutes to help Texas get back in it.
“We made it much tougher than we could have,” Sadler said. “They made some plays. You’re not going to just go beat teams like that. “
Texas (23-4, 11-1) went on a 12-1 run, making seven of nine free throws and adding a pair of baskets. Alexis Wangmere’s free throws tied it 65-65 with 1:07 remaining.
Richardson sank a pair of foul shots with 43.5 seconds remaining to put Nebraska back in front, and Drake Beranek made one of two free throws with 24.7 seconds left.
Texas’ J’Covan Brown made two of three free throws with 12.6 seconds remaining to cut the Longhorns’ deficit to one point, but his 3-point attempt at the buzzer fell short.
