Shavon Shields scored 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead No. 11 seed Nebraska to an 89-72 victory over No. 14 Rutgers Wednesday night in first round action of the Big Ten tournament.
Tai Webster had 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and the Cornhuskers (15-17) advanced to Thursday’s quarterfinals where they will meet No. 6 seed Wisconsin.
It was the Cornhuskers’ third victory over Rutgers this season and ended their five-game losing streak. Nebraska’s last victory was at home against Penn State on Feb. 13.
Rutgers (7-25) trailed 37-33 at halftime but tied the game at 43 on Corey Sanders’ 3-pointer with 16:51 to play.
That’s when Nebraska caught fire. The Cornhuskers went on a 17-2 run over the next seven minutes to break the game open at 60-45. Five different Nebraska players scored during the run.
