It's too bad Northwestern can't play Nebraska more often.
A little more than two weeks after destroying the Huskers by 24 points in Lincoln, the Wildcats cruised to a 77-65 win at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Tuesday night.
This wasn't exactly a game between basketball royalty, as Nebraska came in with a 1-14 league mark, while Northwestern had won just five of 16. But the Wildcats proved that they are light years ahead of the Huskers.
Northwestern started the game on 7-0 run and never really looked back, leading the rest of the way. The Wildcats were up by six at the half and stretched their advantage to 21 in the second half before the Huskers rallied to make the final scorer more respectable.
It was a welcome performance for a Wildcat team coming off an embarrassing loss at Minnesota on Saturday.
The Cats, who ended a three-game losing streak, were led by 20 points from Pete Nance, who had his most efficient game of the season. Chase Audige (15), Boo Buie (15) and Ty Berry (10). were also in double figures.
The Cornhuskers were led by 15 points apiece from Bryce McGowens and Alonzo Verge Jr.
Here are our takeaways from the win that raised Northwestern's record to 13-13 overall and 6-11 in the Big Ten:
Nance puts on a show: Northwestern's star senior forward was in control all night. He scored 20 points and was lights out from beyond the arc, shooting 4-for-5. Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg said the Cornhuskers changed their defense specifically to try and run Nance off the three-point line.
Nance shot 8-for-11 from the floor and also had five rebounds and five assists.
Nebraska didn't have anyone to match up with Nance, and he took full advantage. After enduring a recent cold stretch, Nance has bounced back to lead the Cats in scoring in each of the last two games, pouring in 38 points combined.
"To me he's been such an indispensable piece of what we do," head coach Chris Collins said. "He really sets the table for us."
Audige handles McGowens: Audige's shot selection has been questionable for much of the season, but he has brought it every night on defense. Tuesday was no different.
Collins' called Audige's performance against the Huskers his best game of the season, as he held McGowens, Nebraska's lottery-pick-in-waiting, to 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
McGowens has been named Big Ten freshman of the week the last four weeks in a row, and seven times overall coming into the game. He was averaging 16.8 points per game on 40% shooting from the field.
But Audige kept him in check and made him work for every shot. McGowens had just five points in the first half, and many of his points came after the game was mostly decided.
Strong shooting night: Northwestern isn't an offensive powerhouse, but they were very efficient on offense against Nebraska. The Wildcats finished the night shooting 50% from the field and 40.6% from the three-point line.
That's a vast improvement from their recent shooting. The Wildcat shot in the 30s in their last four contests, three of them losses.
"We haven't made shots," Collins said. "So making shots seeing the ball go in tonight was really nice."
Collins complemented the Cats' ability to kick the ball out when Nebraska's defense collapsed down in the paint.
The Cats bounced back: Northwestern seemed to never get off the plane on Saturday in Minneapolis. A bad Minnesota team with a 3-12 conference record ran the Wildcats out of the Barn from the opening tip en route to a 17-point win.
Despite the three-game losing streak and the demoralizing loss to the Gophers, the Wildcats came out and played with impressive effort against the Huskers. Their intensity was reflected in the score.
"We didn't play very well on Saturday afternoon from an energy standpoint," Collins said. "It was important to get back to being us."
