LINCOLN, Neb. – Greg Gard picked up his first technical foul as coach of the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team, an outburst that appeared to light a fire under his squad.
It was too little too late for the Badgers, however.
James Palmer Jr. scored 18 points to lead Nebraska to a 63-59 victory over UW on Tuesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Junior center Ethan Happ had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Badgers, who dropped to 1-6 away from home this season.
Freshman guard Brad Davison added 15 and sophomore guard Brevin Pritzl had 10 for UW (9-9, 2-3 Big Ten).
Junior forward Isaac Copeland had 12 points for the Cornhuskers (12-6, 3-2).
After going 2 of 13 from 3-point range during a loss at Rutgers on Friday night, the Badgers went 5 of 19 from beyond the arc against the Cornhuskers.
UW also went 4 of 10 from the free throw line, with Happ missing five of his six attempts.
Nebraska used a 13-2 run that included three-point plays by Copeland and Palmer to build a 41-28 lead with 13:56 remaining.
UW managed one basket in eight possessions during that stretch, with four turnovers in a span of five possessions at one point.
The Badgers answered with a 10-2 run to pull within five points and had a chance to get closer, but Happ missed a shot in the paint.
Anton Gill missed a 3-pointer on the other end, but Isaiah Roby got the rebound while sitting on the court and fed Gill for a 3-pointer from the right corner.
Gard picked up his technical foul with 7:22 left after Davison came up empty on a drive to the basket.
After freshman guard Thomas Allen made two free throws to give Nebraska a 50-40 lead, Happ scored all of UW’s points during a 7-1 run that cut the Badgers’ deficit to four points with 4:47 left.
But Nebraska answered with the next five points to create a cushion.
UW pulled within 56-51 after a layup by Happ with 54.8 seconds left.
But Glynn Watson Jr. answered with a pair of free throws to restore Nebraska’s five-point lead.
The Badgers had missed nine consecutive 3-pointers until Pritzl and Davison connected on back-to-back possessions in the closing 6.6 seconds to draw UW with 62-59.
A free throw by Evan Taylor with 0.9 seconds remaining sealed the win for Nebraska.
The Badgers trailed 26-22 at the half after shooting 33.3 percent from the field and going 3 of 11 from 3-point range.
Nebraska used an 8-0 run to build a 24-14 lead with 5:31 remaining in the first half. But the Cornhuskers took some questionable shots down the stretch and managed only two points in their final nine possessions of the half.
UW, meanwhile, used a 7-0 run to get back in the game, with Happ and junior forward Khalil Iverson converting steals into easy baskets. The Badgers finished with a 12-2 edge in points off turnovers in the opening half.