CHICAGO (AP) 鈥� Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg lamented a handful of 鈥渕indless turnovers.鈥� He pointed to deficits in points off turnovers and second-chance points. He wondered aloud about his team’s focus.
The Cornhuskers are searching for the level they showed during their perfect start, and they are running out of time.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to find a way to put two halves together if we want any chance of advancing here starting next week,鈥� Hoiberg said.
No. 11 Nebraska dropped to 6-6 in its last 12 games after falling to No. 18 Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament on Friday. The Cornhuskers trailed by as many as 20 in their second loss of the season against the Boilermakers.
Hoiberg’s team is in line for a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament, but it could be a short stay if it can’t solve some of its recent issues.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to go back and learn from this film and figure out what went wrong exactly,鈥� Nebraska forward Pryce Sandford said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l do that for sure, and we鈥檒l go from there.鈥�
The Cornhuskers (26-6) opened the season with 20 straight wins, including victories at Illinois and home against Michigan State. They moved to No. 5 in the AP poll for the program’s highest ranking in school history.
The perfect start was halted by at Michigan on Jan. 27. Then they dropped their next game against the Illini. They also lost to Purdue and Iowa before posting consecutive wins against Penn State, Maryland and Southern California.
Following at UCLA, the Cornhuskers beat the Hawkeyes in overtime in their regular-season finale on Sunday.
鈥淲e found a way to regroup after the disappointing game at UCLA,鈥� Hoiberg said. 鈥淚 thought we played great, especially in that second half at USC. Did not play as well against a hot UCLA team, and then found a way to regroup and focus for Senior Night against Iowa at home. Now we鈥檝e got to get that same focus back.鈥�
Nebraska was outscored 17-5 by Purdue in points off turnovers. It also was outrebounded 23-14 in the second half, leading to a 13-3 advantage for the Boilermakers in second-chance points over the final 20 minutes.
鈥淚t came down to points off turnovers and second-chance points. That鈥檚 the game,鈥� Hoiberg said. 鈥淎nd just watching after the game in the coaches’ room, it just had some mindless turnovers in that first half.鈥�
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