They say it’s tough to beat a team three times in one season. That certainly looked to be the case in the first half as Northwestern trailed red-hot Nebraska by as many as 15 points in their opening round Big Ten Tournament matchup.

But the 12th-seeded Wildcats got off the mat and took the fight to the 13th-seeded Huskers in the second half, rallying for a thrilling 71-69 win to advance to a matchup with fifth-seeded Iowa on Thursday.

The victory was the program’s first in the conference tourney since their lone NCAA Tournament team reached the semifinals in 2017. It was also the Wildcats’ sixth straight win over the Huskers.

Northwestern, which had beaten Nebraska handlily twice during the regular season, got overwhelmed in the first half. The Huskers, who were riding a three-game winning streak, took advantage of Northwestern turnovers and attacked the basket relentlessly, outscoring the Wildcats 28-6 in points in the paint.

Northwestern, meanwhile, shot just 28% from the floor and had more turnovers (10) than baskets (8) for the opening half.

The Wildcats flipped the script in the second half, however. They went on a sensational 14-0 run that included a crossover, spinning layup by Elyjah Williams and a Boo Buie three-pointer from the corner to pull to within 50-49 with 12:24 left.

Defensively, the Wildcats went to a 3-2 zone, with Casey Simmons out front, that took the Huskers out of their first-half rhythm, and the Cats crashed the glass to generate second-chance baskets. Northwestern finally took the lead at 63-62 on a Buie three-pointer with 6:24 left, the team’s first advantage since the opening minutes of the game.

It was another big three-pointer from Buie that gave the Cats their biggest lead at 69-65 with 1:49 left. But Nebraska came back to even it up at 69 and the game went into the final minute tied.

Northwestern closed out the win at the foul line as Chase Audige and Buie both drew fouls and hit one of two free throws. That turned out to be enough for the two-point win as Nebraska could not get a shot off on its final possession.

Buie lit the Wildcats’ fire in the second half, scoring 14 of his team-high 16 points after the break. Pete Nance scored 14 points and led NU with eight rebounds and eight assists.

Nebraska was led by Alonzo Verge Jr., who scored a game-high 21 points and led the Huskers with seven rebounds and nine assists. Derrick Walker added 16 points.

Here are our takeaways from the win that raised Northwestern’s record back to .500 at 15-15 and snapped a five-game postseason losing streak:

The second half was the complete opposite of the first: Northwestern looked dead in the water in the first half. The Huskers were more aggressive from the opening tip and outplayed the Wildcats in every facet.

With Verge penetrating at will, the Huskers had a 22-point edge in points in the paint and a 12-2 edge in points off turnovers. The Wildcats turned the ball over 10 times in the first half alone, eclipsing their season average of 9.8 a game.

But Northwestern did a 180 in the second half, accepting head coach Chris Collins’ challenge to fight back. The Wildcats outscored Nebraska 20-6 on points in the paint, using back-cuts and offensive rebounds to get layups inside. They had just four turnovers after halftime and had a 20-13 edge in rebounds.

Buie hit big shots: Collins said that assistant coach Talor Battle gave Buie some “brotherly love” at halftime, getting in his younger brother's face about his first-half performance that included just two points and four turnovers.

Whatever he said worked because Buie carried the Wildcats offensively as the Cats fought back. He went 3-for-5 from long distance, and every one of them was a big shot, including the threes that gave the Wildcats the lead, and another that gave them their final basket.

After going 0-for-5 in the first half, Buie drained 4-of-6 in the second.

NU’s bench played a huge role: Reserves gave the Wildcats a big lift in the second half, scoring 15 points. For the game, Northwestern’s bench outscored Nebraska’s 21-10.

Williams hit a couple big baskets for the Wildcats, including a key three-pointer, and finished with seven points. Ryan Young scored all seven of his points in the second half and came up with two big offensive rebounds that extended possessions. Berry had five points, including a triple. Simmons had just two points and two rebounds in his five minutes, but his play up front in the 3-2 zone changed the complexion of the game.

The Cats finally closed one out: The story of the year has been Northwestern’s inability to win close games. The Wildcats went 4-12 in single-digit games during the regular season.

But they managed to get the job done in this one without hitting a single field goal down the stretch.

Audige, who took his share of ill-advised shots, drove to the basket and drew a foul with the score tied at 69 with 18.1 seconds left. He made one of two free throws.

Then, after a Verge drive to the basket resulted in a charging call, it was Buie who drew a foul and hit one of two with 7.4 seconds left to close the scoring.

Nebraska had one last chance but Trey McGowens’ wild drive to the basket sent bodies, and the ball, flying, but no foul was called and time expired.