Northwestern's winning streak over Nebraska snapped by Tominaga's dagger

Northwestern came storming back from an 11-point second half deficit to tie the game in the final four minutes, but Nebraska star guard Keisei Tominaga, who had been held in check all afternoon, drained a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left that secured the Huskers 75-69 win over the Wildcats.

Tominaga, who had just one 3 and was held to 11 points to that point, broke free on a screen and hit the shot that gave the Huskers a 74-69 lead. Northwestern couldn't recover and missed its final four shots of the game.

The Wildcats, who saw their seven-game winning streak against Nebraska snapped, were led by a sensational two-way performance from Brooks Barnhizer. The junior guard finished with a career-high 24 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks.

To quote head coach Chris Collins after the Maryland game, "that's a stat-sheet stuffer."

Tominaga was one of five Huskers to score in double digits. Forward Josiah Allick, who stopped in for injured starter Juwan Gary, led the way with 15 points, more than double his season average.

Here are our takeaways after another tough road loss in Lincoln dropped the Wildcats to 13-5 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten:

Barnhizer is heating up in the cold weather: Barnhizer played arguably his best game as a Wildcat, and with an ice-cold Boo Buie chipping in just nine points on 2-of-15 shooting, it was Barnhizer that put the Wildcats on his back and dragged them back to tie the game after falling behind by 11 in the second half.

After two tough games against Purdue and Illinois, Barnhizer has burst onto the scene in his past five Big Ten games. He's averaged 18.2 points per game, while taking an equal leap defensively with six stocks (steals plus blocks) against both Nebraska and Maryland.

There was concern around Barnhizer early in the season as he struggled to score and find his jumper. But that has disappeared, along with the wrap on left his shooting hand, and he's found more of a rhythm in conference play.

Buie won't be 2-of-15 shooting on many nights, and if Barnhizer can translate games like these into performances when Buie is also clicking, then the league is on notice and All-Big Ten honors are calling his name.

The game was eerily similar to last weekend's loss to Wisconsin: The Wildcats fell down 11 points with 17:37 left in the game and then again at 9:32, but each time they rallied to cut deeply into Nebraska's lead.

Nebraska never led by more than six points in the final 7:56 of the game as the Wildcats whittled into their lead with an 11-0 run, tying the game with 3:57 to go but never taking the lead despite having several opportunities.

In the loss at Wisconsin, the Badgers never led by more than six from 8:57 left until 21 seconds left, when the Wildcats turned to intentional fouls. Northwestern tied that game twice in the last 4:30, including with 2:51 to play, but were never able to get over the hump and retake the lead.

While this could seem like an inability to close out games, on the contrary, it's more of a testament to Northwestern's toughness. This team refuses to quit, and in games with the opportunity to fold on the road they categorically won't throw in the towel.

While Barnhizer excelled, it was a rocky night for Buie and Ty Berry, who combined to shoot a measly 4-for-25 from the floor. The Wildcats won't always get such a frigid performance from their experienced backcourt, and if they keep hanging in these ranges on the road, the shots will fall and the wins will come.

Defense got exposed in the first half: The Huskers shot a ridiculous 69.5% from the floor in the first half, and it wasn't simply unconscious shooting. They were simply getting easy, open looks by slipping screens and using rangy players to fire skip passes over Northwestern's traps.

The Huskers hit 54% of their 3s, again because of a preponderance of open looks. The Wildcats' intensity ratcheted up in the second half, led by Barnhizer and Ryan Langborg who finished with four steals apiece; but that defensive intensity needs to be present earlier if the Wildcats want to win.

Or, they need to find more rotational depth. The Wildcats made just one of their last 12 field goals and the quartet of Buie, Berry, Langborg and Barnhizer took 54 of the team's 63 shots. Those four players also played, on average, 35 minutes each.

The Wildcats have to find a way to keep their legs fresh or their shots will run flat and the team will run cold down the stretch. They've proven that, as is, this is a solid team that will keep them in games and give them a shot at returning to the NCAA Tournament.

If they want to take that next step and become an elite team in the Big Ten, they need to find ways to get more consistent points from guys like Nick Martinelli, Matt Nicholson or Luke Hunger (15 combined points against Nebraska) to keep their best players from tiring out at the end of games.

Riding the Big Ten rollercoaster: To parrot Collins, it's hard to win on the road in this league.

Nebraska moves to 12-1 at Pinnacle Bank Arena, and this year's Huskers are far from the run-of-the-mill pushovers that helped Northwestern win their last seven in the series. We'll see how it goes when the roles are reversed and Nebraska makes the trek to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Feb. 7.

The Wildcats now face a tough road ahead, enough to, as Collins said on Friday, make a coach ill if he looks at it all at once.

Illinois, with the potential return of star guard Terrance Shannon Jr., will be in Evanston on Wednesday. Then it's Ohio State at home and a trip to Purdue.

But, that's the name of the game in the Big Ten. The February schedule eases up, giving the Wildcats a chance to make a run against Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Rutgers, Indiana and Michigan, before playing at Maryland.

This was a tough loss to swallow, especially when it felt that it was in Northwestern's grasp. But there's a long road ahead, one that this team has traveled before. Saturday's loss at Nebraska was a step back, but not a deal breaker, for what could still be another special season.