Brice Williams’ 28-point night led three Huskers in double figures, as Nebraska advanced to the College Basketball Crown Semifinals with an 81-69 win over Georgetown Wednesday night.

Nebraska will face Boise State, a 100-93 winner over Butler, in Saturday’s first semifinal. Tipoff is set for 12:30 p.m. (Central) at T-Mobile Arena and it will be carried on FOX and the Husker Sports Network. Ticket info for Saturday’s game is available at collegebasketballcrown.com/schools/

Williams, who is averaging 29.0 ppg in the two games in Las Vegas, hit 8-of-14 shots from the field, including five 3-pointers to match a career high, as Nebraska improved to 19-17 on the season.

After Georgetown (18-16) whittled a 19-point Husker lead to 10 with just over five minutes remaining, Williams hit consecutive 3-pointers in a 31-second span to push the lead back to 76-62 with 4:18 remaining.

The Hoyas eventually whittled the lead to eight, at 77-69, with 2:43 left after a Austin Montgomery dunk but could get no closer as a basket from Andrew Morgan and two Williams’ free throws provided the final margin as Georgetown did not made a field goal in the final 2:30 of the contest.

Juwan Gary added his second double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Morgan provided a strong effort off the bench with 12 points and nine boards for the Huskers.

NU received contributions throughout its lineup as Nebraska’s bench enjoyed a 25-14 advantage with Connor Essegian (seven) and Ahron Ulis (six) giving NU’s bench a lift. Sophomore Cale Jacobson added seven points, six boards, four assists three steals and two blocks in his first career start, finishing a team-best +16 in a career-high 36 minutes.

Nebraska held Georgetown to 39 percent shooting and enjoyed a 40-31advantage on the glass against a short-handed Hoya lineup. The Huskers also converted 11 Hoya turnovers into 14 points.

Nebraska jumped out to an early 12-5 lead as Williams had six of his 10 first-half points in the first 3:12 of the contest. The Hoyas responded with an 8-2 run of their own to pull within 14-3 after a Jordan Burks 3-pointer at the 11:18 mark

Georgetown was within 16-15 before the Huskers ran off seven straight points in 1:36, building a 23-15 lead after Connor Essegian’s 3-pointer.  Leading 23-18, two straight Essegian baskets started a 9-0 Husker run to stake Nebraska its largest lead of the half at 32-18 with 3:13 left and the Huskers took a 34-24 lead into the break,

Nebraska got the second half off to a quick start, as 3-pointers from Gary and Williams sparked an 11-2 start, as Williams scored five straight points to give NU its largest lead at 45-26 with 16:17 remaining.

The Hoyas would not go away behind the play of Malik Mack, who scored 23 of his team-high 25 points in the second half to keep Georgetown within striking distance. As a team, the Hoyas shot 50 percent from the field and 3-point line in the final 20 minutes in mounting a comeback.

Nebraska Postgame Notes
*-Nebraska improves to 2-0 in the Crown and has won multiple postseason games for the first time since the 2003-04 season.

*-Brice Williams finished with a game-high 28 points, his 19th 20-point game of the season.  Williams now has 678 points on the second, matching Tyronn Lue for third place on NU’s single-season list.

*-Williams' five 3-pointers tied a career high set against Ohio State on March 4. As a team, the Huskers hit nine 3-pointers.

*-Juwan Gary posted his second double-double of the season and 10th of his career with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

*-Andrew Morgan finished in double figures with 12 points and nine rebounds, marking the 29th time NU had a reserve had reached double figures this season. In all, Nebraska got 25 points from its bench in the win.

*-Cale Jacobsen made his first career start this afternoon against Georgetown and set career bests in points (seven), rebounds (six), steals (three) and minutes (36:21). 

*-Nebraska improves to 1-0 all-time against Georgetown with tonight’s win. 

*-Nebraska went 16-of-18 from the foul line, its best performance from the foul line since Feb. 13

*-Nebraska is now 12-3 this season when holding opponents under 70 points.

Huskers Falter at Omaha on Wednesday

Nebraska fell 11-9 in a midweek matchup at Omaha on Wednesday night at Tal Anderson Field in Omaha.

Nebraska (12-17) scored nine runs on 16 hits and two errors, while Omaha (9-17) scored 11 runs on eight hits.

Case Sanderson led NU at the plate, going 4-for-6 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Max Buettenback had a 3-for-4 night with a home run, five RBI and two runs scored. Cayden Brumbaugh went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and two runs. Dylan Carey tallied two hits, while Cael Frost and Joshua Overbeek recorded one hit each.

Carson Jasa pitched two innings, allowing three runs on one hit and two walks. Gavin Blachowicz and Caleb Clark combined to pitch the third and fourth innings, while Casey Daiss and Aiden White saw an inning of action. J’Shawn Unger fell to 0-1 on the season after allowing two runs on one hit in 0.2 innings, before Blake Encarnacion and Ty Horn tossed the final 1.1 innings.

Omaha took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on just one hit. A hit batter, single and walk loaded the bases with one out for the Mavericks. Back-to-back hit batters with the bases loaded plated the two runs in the opening frame for the Mavericks.

Nebraska responded immediately with three runs on three straight hits to begin the second to take a one-run lead. Singles from Stone and Carey set up Buettenback’s 441- foot three-run homer to right that sailed into the parking lot.

Brumbaugh began the top of the third with a double down the left-field line and later came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Buettenback to grow the lead to 4-2.

The Mavericks locked the at four in the bottom of the third with a pair of runs on just one hit. A trio of walks loaded the bases with one out, while an RBI single to center trimmed NU’s lead to 4-3. A fourth walk in the inning allowed the Mavericks to tie the game at four.

The NU offense erupted for five runs on six hits to snag a 9-4 lead in the fourth inning. Overbeek’s leadoff single, followed by an RBI double down the left-field line off the bat of Sanderson scored the Big Red’s first run of the inning.

Brumbaugh lined an RBI double down the left-field line to bring home Sanderson and double the lead to 6-4, while a single through the left side by Stone put runners on first and third for the Huskers with one out. An RBI groundout to shortstop from Carey brought home Brumbaugh, while an RBI single by Buettenback and Frost’s RBI double gave the Big Red its five-run advantage.

UNO plated four runs on three hits in the bottom of the fifth to bring the Mavericks within 9-8. Two straight walks and a single loaded the bases with no outs, while a bases-clearing RBI triple down the right-field line made it a two-run game. A sacrifice fly to deep right in foul territory cut the deficit in half and made it a 9-8 game through five innings.

The Mavericks added a run in the sixth to lock the game at nine. Two walks a ground-rule double loaded the bases, while a sacrifice fly to deep center allowed the tying run come home.

Nebraska loaded the bases in the top of the seventh after Brumbaugh drew a two-out walk, but a groundout to second ended the threat and sent a tied game into the bottom of the seventh.

Omaha grabbed an 11-9 lead in the bottom of the seventh with a two-run homer to left field after a two-out walk.

The Huskers loaded the bases for the second consecutive inning in the top of the eighth, but couldn’t get the tying run home. Carey began the frame with a single, while Will Jesske and Overbeek drew walks to load the bases, but a strikeout put a halt to NU’s eighth-inning threat.

Nebraska steps back into conference play this weekend, as the Huskers welcome Rutgers to Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. First pitch of Friday night’s series opener is set for 6:02 p.m. 

Christopulos Named Big Ten Gymnast of the Year

Taylor Christopulos was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Year for the second-career time, as the conference announced the awards on Wednesday. Additionally, Chris Hiser earned the Sportsmanship Team honoree. 

Christopulos is the first Husker in school history to win Gymnast of the Year twice. Anton Stephenson is the only other Nebraska gymnast to collect this accolade. The eight-time All-American was Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2021 and currently holds 27 individual titles. Earlier this week, he was named as a regular-season All-American for his rankings on the floor (seventh) and on the high bar (fourth). Christopulos is ranked 14th on pommel horse and 11th on vault. 

Illinois garnered both other conference awards as Brandon Dang was named Specialist of the Year, and Ian Sandoval was unanimously voted Freshman of the Year.

Hiser collects his second conference career accolade after being named Freshman of the Year in 2022. The senior is tied for the fifth-most individual rings title in school history as he currently has seven titles. 

2025 Big Ten Men’s Gymnastics Awards
Gymnast of the Year: Taylor Christopulos, Nebraska
Specialist of the Year: Brandon Dang, Illinois
Freshman of the Year: Ian Sandoval, Illinois (Unanimous)

Sportsmanship Team Honorees
Amari Sewell, Illinois
Paul Juda, Michigan    
Chris Hiser, Nebraska   
Justin Ciccone, Ohio State  
Matt Underhilll, Penn State