Michigan State basketball thunders back to knock off Nebraska, 80-67, with lots of 3s

Poor shooting and porous defense for the first 20 minutes put Michigan State basketball in jeopardy of a second rough road loss in three days.

Sensational shooting and disruptive defense in the final 20 minutes gave the Spartans a ridiculous recovery to stun Nebraska.

Joey Hauser, Jaden Akins and Tyson Walker led a sizzling second-half 3-point barrage as MSU rallied to an 80-67 victory Tuesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska.

And three days after blowing a 13-point lead in the final 2:03 of regulation at Iowa on Saturday, the Spartans came back from a 15-point first-half deficit to overtake the Cornhuskers with a 35-12 eruption (lessened only by Nebraska scoring the final four points) in the last 13:30.

"We didn't do a good job at the beginning of the game," said junior guard A.J. Hoggard, who had a career-high 14 assists with 10 points and only one turnover, on Big Ten Network. "We found a way to get down in the second half and fight back and come out with the win. ...

"It's March coming up. We know what this time of year means. We got some veteran guys that have been through it and want to see a different outcome come around this time. We just had to buckle down."

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After making just four of 12 3-pointers in the first half, the Spartans splashed 12 of 17 after halftime. Hauser finished with three second-half 3s among his 6-for-11 performance for the game, plus a game-high 20 points and team-high seven rebounds. Akins and Walker each made three 3s in the second half, in which MSU outscored Nebraska, 54-29.

Walker finished with 19 points, including two key baskets late. Akins added 18 points and made five of nine from 3-point range. Malik Hall added a pair of second-half 3-pointers as part of the takeover, finishing with eight points.

Hoggard's 14 assists tied him for third-most in a game in MSU history, the most by a Spartan since Mateen Cleaves' school-record 20 against Michigan in 2000. Gary Ganakas had 17 assists against Rochester in 1972, and Magic Johnson had 14 assists three times in 1978-79.

The Spartans shot 67.9% in the second half after making just 27.8% in the opening period. MSU (18-11, 10-8 Big Ten) finishes the regular season at noon Saturday against Ohio State at Breslin Center on ESPN.

"I was concerned," MSU coach Tom Izzo said. "I was concerned that we'd run out of gas. How many times can you get up off the canvas? I was concerned about all those things. And I give my team a lot of credit. They've been through it all in the last three weeks. …

"We needed a win. We got a big win. And we have some drained guys in there. Coaches, too. And we gotta get back up for Saturday."

MSU’s defense put the clamps on in the second half, holding Nebraska (15-14, 8-10) to just 3-for-12 from 3-point range in the final period.

"It was the defensive effort that was the difference," Izzo added. "That's what the halftime (talk) was all about."

Keisei Tomanaga led the Huskers with 20 points, Jamarques Lawrence added 15 points and Derrick Walker scored 13 to help his team to a 30-14 scoring edge in the paint. Sam Griesel had 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds, but the Spartans owned a 34-27 advantage on the boards and turned 12 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points.

"It's disheartening. It hurts," said Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg, whose team had won four straight and five of its past six. "We haven't felt that in that locker room in a while. And now, how are we going to respond to that?"

Ugly start

The Spartans topped the 100-point mark for the first time this season Saturday at Iowa before falling in spectacular fashion, 112-106 in OT. They put together their best shooting performance of the season despite falling apart in the last two minutes of regulation and into overtime.

Three days later and one state to the west, MSU looked like an entirely different team on offense early.

Hoggard opened the scoring with a driving layup on the Spartans’ second possession; MSU then proceeded to miss their next seven shots. Nebraska got 3-pointers from Tominaga and Lawrence, answering with eight straight points. Hauser hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, with a Lawrence drive around Hoggard for a layup sandwiched between, to tie the game 10-10.

And then … a long, long scoring drought for MSU.

Nebraska dashed off nine straight points as the Spartans missed shot after shot, going scoreless for 5:12 until Tyson Walker made two free throws, then without a field goal for 7:42 in all by the time Hall hit a short jumper with 6:16 to go before half. By that time, the Cornhuskers were on a 17-2 run — with MSU’s defense struggling to stop the driving into the paint or prevent shots beyond the arc — ballooning their lead to 15 points.

"We're just not guarding like a Michigan State team," Izzo said.

By halftime, MSU's offense woke up a little, finishing the half 10-for-36. But the Spartans' defensive issues allowed Nebraska a 20-8 scoring advantage in the paint as the Huskers made 15 of 26 to carry a 38-26 lead into halftime.

Hauser had nine points on three 3-pointers but those were his only makes on nine overall tries. Tominaga had 10 points, while Derrick Walker and Lawrence each scored nine and Griesel eight.

Turning it around

The Spartans’ shooting and defense came out of the locker room much more locked in — immediately and repeatedly.

Hauser hit his fourth 3-pointer, followed by one from Tyson Walker. Then Akins hit two in a row to spark a 13-2 run, bookended by a 3 from Hall off a Hauser drive and kickout that was MSU’s fifth straight to open the half, puling the Spartans within 48-45 with 14:57 to play.

"Then they got comfortable and confident," Hoiberg said. "That's how this game is. When you get comfortable, you get on a roll like that, it's hard to stop."

Nebraska answered with a 7-0 run to push it quickly back to 10, but Akins hit an elbow jumper and Jaxon Kohler got a putback to stunt the Huskers’ momentum. Hoggard’s driving layup out of the left corner set up a significant sequence.

A bad over-and-back call on Hauser on a ball that bounced off Nebraska’s Wilhelm Breidenbach ended up as a turnover, but the Spartans’ defense got a stop at the other end. Hall came down the other end and drained another MSU 3 to pull the Spartans within a point.

Breidenbach hurt his ankle just before that shot, then Griesel got called for an offensive foul. Tyson Walker took advantage with the Spartans’ seventh 3-pointer of the half to give them their first lead — 57-56 at 8:22 to play — since Hoggard’s basket to open MSU's scoring with 19:35 left in the first half. Hauser followed with another 3-pointer out of the media timeout to extend MSU’s run to 11-0 and the lead to four.

It only grew from there, as the Spartans used that Hauser deep ball to spark a 12-1 knockout punch. And it allowed MSU to do what it couldn’t at Iowa — finish off Nebraska.

"We just had a hell of a second half," Izzo said. "I mean, we had a second half and we made 3s like Iowa made 3s. And I guess when that happens, you win games."

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball notches 11th straight vs. Nebraska, 80-67