Huskers Fall to No. 5 Jayhawks, 64-54

Kansas City -- Nebraska led by five points at halftime but Kansas' 16-4 run to open the second period turned the tide as the No. 5 Jayhawks held on for a 64-54 victory over the Huskers in the second round of the Big 12 Championship on Friday at the Sprint Center.

With the loss, Nebraska fell to 19-12 on the season and will await word whether it has earned a postseason berth on Sunday, March 16. The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) selection show is expected to be seen on ESPNU and ESPN News at approximately 8 p.m. on Sunday.

Ade Dagunduro led the Huskers with 13 points, including 10 in the first half, while Paul Velander had 12 points and Aleks Maric added 10 points and seven rebounds. Maric hit 5-of-8 attempts from the floor but did not get to the foul line where, Nebraska hit 7-of-10 attempts while Kansas made 22-of-31 free throw attempts.

The Huskers' defensive effort was stellar from the start, as the league's best scoring defense held Kansas to just 22 points in the first period, tying the Jayhawks' season low. KU's 64 points were more than 18 points below its season average.  

KU got on the board with Brandon Rush's 3-pointer at the 18:22 mark to take a 3-2 lead, but NU held Kansas to just four field goals the first 10 1/2 minutes as Sherron Collins' basket at 9:31 knotted the score at 13-13. Collins added a free throw to complete a three-point play before the Huskers took control of the contest.

Dagunduro hit a 3-pointer at the 8:29 mark to give Nebraska a two-point cushion and Maric added a basket on his first field-goal attempt at the 7:15 mark before Jay-R Strowbridge put in five points around a KU basket to give Nebraska a 23-16 lead with just over four minutes remaining before halftime.

Cookie Miller added a free throw and Velander's 3-pointer with 32 seconds left in the period gave Nebraska the five-point edge at the break. Dagunduro led the way for the Huskers in the opening period, scoring 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting while adding three assists, a blocked shot and two steals in the frame.

The Jayhawks, who defeated Nebraska by an average of 28.5 points per contest in the first two meetings this season, came out as the aggressors in the second half, running to a 16-4 surge to take a 38-31 lead on Darnell Jackson's free throw with 13:58 to play. Nebraska hit just 2-of-8 shots from the floor and had four turnovers in the stretch.

Kansas extended the lead to nine points midway through the half before Velander completed his second four-point play in the past four games to trim the KU lead to 47-42 with 7:23 left. The Jayhawks then moved the lead out to double digits in the final four minutes, with Sek Henry's free throws with six seconds remaining making the final margin.

Nebraska hit just 38 percent from the field while KU hit 46.3 percent despite committing 18 turnovers that led to a 21-11 points-off-turnovers advantage for the Huskers. The Jayhawks also held a 34-24 advantage on the glass.