Nebraska outlasts Iowa down the stretch, wins 81-77

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Sam Griesel scored 16 points, C.J. Wilcher broke a tie with five key points late in the game, and hot-shooting Nebraska defeated Iowa 81-77 on Sunday to close out the Big Ten regular season.

Wilcher scored on the fast break then added a 3-pointer for an 80-75 Nebraska lead with 2:33 remaining. The Cornhuskers committed fouls on their next three possessions but Iowa came up empty except for two free throws by Kris Murray. Nebraska made only 1 of 3 free throws in the final minute but Iowa failed to capitalize at the other end.

Nebraska shot 60% in the second half (58.5% for the game) and made 8 of 12 3-pointers after halftime.

Wilcher finished with 12 points, Jamarques Lawrence had 15 and Keisei Tominaga 11 for Nebraska (16-15, 9-11 Big Ten). All eight players who scored for the Cornhuskers had at least nine points.

Patrick McCaffery had 23 points off the bench for Iowa (19-12, 11-9) and Murray added 22 to go with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Filip Rebraca added 10 points but missed two key free throws in the final minute. Iowa made 9 of 21 3-pointers in the first half but only 3 of 16 in the second half.

McCaffery made five of Iowa’s nine 3-pointers in the first half and scored 16 points to lead the Hawkeyes to a 43-39 halftime lead. Griesel had 14 points and Tominaga 11 for the Cornhuskers who kept it close by shooting 57% before halftime.

The loss ended Iowa’s seven-game home winning streak.

Nebraska has won four of its last five games.

The conference tournament begins Wednesday in Chicago.

___ More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25