Down by 15 points in the second half, Northwestern rallied to defeat Nebraska, 71-69, on Wednesday evening at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the Big Ten Tournament. The Wildcats advance to the second round and will play Iowa at 1 p.m. CT tomorrow, March 10.

The Wildcat defense stepped up in the second half, holding Nebraska to 31.8% (7-of-22) from the field. NU went on a 14-0 run over a 2:45 span to start the second half. The Wildcats only allowed one field goal over the last 8:43 of the game.

With the game tied at 69 with 18 seconds left, Chase Audige hit the go-ahead free throw to give the Wildcats a one point lead. On the defensive end, Boo Buie took a charge to give the Wildcats the ball back with 10 seconds left. Robbie Beran sealed the game with a block on a layup attempt with two seconds left.

Buie led the team with 16 points, including 14 second-half points. Buie was red-hot from the field in the second half, going 4-of-6 from the field and 3-of-5 from behind the arc. He also added three assists and a steal.

Pete Nance scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field while leading the team with eight rebounds and a career-high eight assists.

Ryan Young was also pivotal in the second half, scoring all seven of his points in the final 9:13 and grabbing all four of his rebounds in the half.

Chris Collins moved to 10-2 in his career against Nebraska, his most wins against an opponent as the Wildcat head coach. The Wildcats have now won six consecutive games against the Cornhuskers. This win marked the first time the Wildcats have defeated the same opponent three times in a season since 2016-17, when Northwestern beat Rutgers three times.