Field Level Media
Dec 22, 2020
Micah Potter delivered a double-double Tuesday night as No. 9 Wisconsin overcame a terrible start for a 67-53 win over visiting Nebraska in each team's Big Ten Conference opener.
Potter finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds as the Badgers (7-1, 1-0) shrugged off icy shooting in the first 12 minutes of the game. Brad Davison led the offense with 15 points and added seven assists, while Aleem Ford scored 13 points. Nate Reuvers added 10.
Dalano Banton's 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists led the Cornhuskers (4-4, 0-1). Teddy Allen added 11 points despite drawing three first-half fouls, and Trey McGowens scored 10. But Nebraska made just 33.3 percent of its shots from the field, including 8 of 27 on 3-pointers.
Potter and Davison combined for 13 points in a 16-0 run after a McGowens 3-pointer gave Nebraska a 33-32 edge with 14:23 left. Potter contributed seven of the first 10 with two free throws, a layup and a 3-point play. Davison tossed in consecutive 3s to make it 48-33 with 9:26 remaining.
Wisconsin finished the night at 40 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle 40-31.
The rims took a beating for most of the first half as neither team could hit a shot. It was 2-0 Nebraska at the first TV timeout and 7-3 Cornhuskers at the under-12 TV timeout. At the under-8 TV break, the Badgers were 1 of 15 from the field and 1 for 6 from 3-point range to go along with six turnovers.
Yet they trailed just 13-5 at that point because Nebraska wasn't able to get any rhythm offensively, which ended up giving Wisconsin time to gain traction. Banton's layup did give the Cornhuskers a 21-11 lead with 4:40 remaining, but that was it for the visitors.
Beginning with Ford's 3-pointer at the 4:22 mark, the Badgers rattled off 14 straight points, taking the lead for good when his layup with 1:59 left made it 23-21. Despite a late 3-ball from Thorir Thorbjarnarson, Nebraska trailed 25-24 at halftime.
--Field Level Media