Shorthanded on the road against a team fighting for an NCAA Tournament bid, Michigan struggled to score all night at Nebraska -- and still won.
The Wolverines found a way, shutting down every Cornhusker except one and doing enough down the stretch on Monday to move into a tie for first place in the Big Ten.
After Tre Donaldson made two free throws with 2.6 seconds left to put Michigan up three, Nebraska's 3 at the buzzer came up short. Michigan didn't have 50 points but it had a victory.
The shooting was abysmal inside Pinnacle Bank Arena, with both teams not just missing but often missing badly. Michigan finished just under 30 percent from the floor, including 5 for 27 from 3. Nebraska was worse: 26 percent from the field and 6 for 28 from deep.
In late February, on the road, the Wolverines will certainly take the ugly win. It gave them the same Big Ten record as Michigan State, which beat Michigan on Friday. The rivals will meet again in East Lansing to close the regular season.
Nebraska (17-11, 7-10) had won five of its last seven to get into the NCAA Tournament conversation. Brice Williams did his best to earn a big résumé boost, scoring 26 points, though only eight after halftime. His teammates made just 7 of 41 shots.
Michigan's Roddy Gayle Jr. scored a team-high 12 points, returning to the starting lineup for Rubin Jones, who was listed as questionable in the pregame availability due to an illness and did not play. Sam Walters (back injury) missed his fourth straight game.
Danny Wolf had another double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds), while Goldin (eight points, 10 boards) just missed one. Tre Donaldson scored 11, including the clutch free throws late.
Michigan improved to 7-2 in Big Ten road games.
Wolf's contested 3 with 6:12 left put Michigan back ahead for good, 40-39. He scored again on a baseline jumper before L.J. Cason drained a 3. Nebraska called timeout with 4:25 left and Michigan leading 45-39. The margin was four with 3:37 left when a hook-and-hold call against Nebraska gave Michigan two free throws and the ball. Vladislav Goldin missed both and Burnett stepped out of bounds.
Michigan lost possession on a replay review with just under two minutes left that illustrated one of the problems with the system: Donaldson got hit across the arm and lost the ball out of bounds; no foul was called, and possession was changed to give the ball to Nebraska.
Sam Hoiberg took advantage, hitting his second 3 to bring Nebraska within one. Will Tschetter missed a 3. Williams missed a baseline jumper. Michigan called timeout with 40 seconds to go. Another review and fouls eventually led to Gayle making two free throws with 18 seconds left.
Williams answered with two free throws of his own to get Nebraska back within one, and Gayle was fouled again with 11 seconds left. He missed the front end, his only miss in seven attempts, and Nebraska pushed; Connor Essegian got a decent look at a 3 but missed. He finished 0 for 4 from deep. The long rebound caromed towards midcourt; Donaldson snatched it on the run and was fouled with 2.6 seconds left.
He made both and Nebraska took its final timeout. An inbounds from the baseline reached the opposite 3-point line, but Berke Buyuktuncel's 3 missed. The center who had missed the last three games with a sprained ankle missed all 10 of his shots and didn't score.
Nebraska led 11-8 with Williams scoring every point but went the next five minutes without scoring. Michigan missed its first seven 3s before Wolf connected from the corner to make it 17-15 Michigan.
The bricks piled up for both sides. Nebraska started 6 for 25 from the field and Michigan led 21-16. Williams answered with two more buckets to give him 18 points and tie the game at 21. Gayle scored the next four to close the half, giving Michigan a 25-21 edge despite making just 1 of 14 from 3.
The shooting didn't get much better after in the second half in Lincoln.