Dialing it up from distance benefited Northwestern during Wednesday’s road romp at Nebraska.
The Wildcats aim for an encore when they return home to face Minnesota in a Saturday matinee at Evanston, Ill.
Northwestern drilled 11 3-pointers during a 78-63 victory at Nebraska, marking the sixth time this season the team has made at least 10 shots from long distance and the second time in the past four games.
Despite a sore ankle, the Wildcats’ Ty Berry made six 3-pointers against the Cornhuskers en route to a career-high 26 points, helping Northwestern (14-5, 5-3 Big Ten) win its second game in a row.
Boo Buie chipped in 17 points for the Wildcats, going 3 of 5 from 3-point range. The game was moved back a day as Northwestern worked its way through postponements stemming from COVID-19 issues this month.
“Really proud of the guys. Really proud to be able to get two league wins in three days with traveling,” Wildcats coach Chris Collins said. “We’re in the midst of a big stretch for us right now.”
Minnesota (7-12, 1-8) has lost four in a row and six of seven, with the last two defeats coming by eight combined points.
The Golden Gophers were missing leading scorer Dawson Garcia (bone bruise) and reserve forward Pharrel Payne (concussion) on Wednesday, when they fell 61-57 to visiting Indiana.
Jamison Battle scored 20 points to lead Minnesota, which had just seven available scholarship players. Treyton Thompson flirted with a double-double, finishing with eight points and eight rebounds.
Injury issues contributed to Thompson playing a season-high 37 minutes before fouling out. Before Wednesday, he had logged 44 minutes in eight games since Nov. 28.
“He comes into practice every day, head held high, working his tail off,” Battle said. “It’s just a testament to what he’s done to prepare himself for this moment. I’m excited for him.”
Minnesota coach Ben Johnson said Friday that Garcia could be a game-time decision at Northwestern, while Payne still is in concussion protocol.
–Field Level Media