Iowa basketball has punched its ticket to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987.
The 9-seed Hawkeyes took down 4-seed Nebraska on Thursday night, earning a 77-71 victory to advance to the Elite Eight. They are the lowest-seeded Big Ten team to ever reach the Elite Eight.
Want to re-live the historic win? Scroll below to see the recap of Iowa’s Sweet 16 victory.
FINAL: Iowa 77, Nebraska 71
The Hawkeyes stick around long enough to take the lead at the very end and punch their ticket to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987.
They’ll face Illinois on Saturday in Houston (5:09 p.m. CT, TBS and truTV).
2H/0:46.5- Iowa 74, Nebraska 68
Iowa didn’t have the lead for the first 38 minutes of the game, but now it looks all but assured that they’ll be heading to the Elite Eight.
2H/0:58.4- Iowa 71, Nebraska 68
A Bennett Stirtz 3-pointer gave Iowa its first lead of the night with just under two minutes to play. Tate Sage followed that up with another deep bucket to make it a 6-point lead. But Nebraska answered with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 3.
2H/3:11- Nebraska 65, Iowa 65
Whoa boy, it’s all tied up. Since things got evened up at 65, both teams have had several really good looks to take the lead, but none of them have fallen. Nebraska’s got the ball when play resumes after this break, but they’ve hit just one of its last seven shots from the field.
Neither team is really in any foul trouble. Only one player, Nebraska’s Cale Jacobsen, has more than two fouls and neither team is remotely close to being in the bonus.
2H/7:48- Nebraska 62, Iowa 59
Defense on both ends of the floor has clearly taken a step up in intensity. Cooper Koch just stuffed a lay-up attempt to put the ball back in Iowa’s hands on the other side of this media timeout.
2H/9:43- Nebraska 58, Iowa 57
Nebraska will be at the line shooting two on the other side of this media timeout. That’ll be a chance for them to break a scoring drought that’s lasted nearly three minutes.
2H/11:30- Nebraska 58, Iowa 55
Huskers went on a mini run there to extend the lead back up to five points, but a Kael Combs lay-in has it back to a one-score game.
2H/14:45- Nebraska 50, Iowa 50
Hawkeyes have locked down Nebraska so far in the second half, only allowing four points in the first 5+ minutes of action.
Offense isn’t as hot as it was in the first half for Iowa either, but they’re making shots and causing turnovers while the Huskers are just coming up with empty posessions.
2H/20:00- Nebraska 46, Iowa 43
We’re back underway in Houston with 20 minutes to go in regulation. Will either team cool down on offense? Who will step up and become a March Madness hero? We’re about to find out.
HALFTIME: Nebraska 46, Iowa 43
Here are some live odds at the break from BetMGM
HALFTIME: Nebraska 46, Iowa 43
Check out the box score from the first 20 minutes of action. Crazy first half full of offense. Does that cool down for either team in the second half?
HALFTIME: Nebraska 46, Iowa 43
Tate Sage drills a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it a one-possession game at the break.
Both teams are on fire on offense, shooting over 55% from the field. Iowa is shooting 60% from the field. It’s a barn-burner in Houston.
1H/3:32- Nebraska 40, Iowa 35
Hawkeyes on a quick 5-0 run, including a Bennett Stirtz 3-pointer. That snaps a 0-for-10 streak from deep dating back to the second-round game against Florida.
Safe to say this game is drastically different (and a lot more fun to watch) than the 57-52 Iowa win back in Carver-Hawkeye Arena last month.
1H/8:26- Nebraska 32, Iowa 24
As suspected, the referees overturned the good basket on the floor from Koch. Got it off maybe a tenth of a second after the shot clock went off.
Huskers ball now. They added three more seconds to the game clock too.
1H/8:23- Nebraska 32, Iowa 26
It’s down to a 6-point game… for now. Cooper Koch got a shot off seemingly before the shot clock, but upon further review it’s pretty clear he did not beat the buzzer. That’ll revert it back to a 32-24 game once confirmed by the refs.
1H/11:34- Nebraska 25, Iowa 17
The offense certainly woke up for the Hawkeyes after that last timeout. They’ve hit five of their last six shots from the field. The only issue is that Nebraska, after a few empty posessions, is back into a groove. Braden Frager has come off the bench and, in three minutes on the floor is 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
1H/14:59- Nebraska 16, Iowa 6
Hawkeyes got a bit of offense going by utilizing their ball movement and finding open guys in the paint. That has stopped the bleeding a bit, but Nebraska is still dominating when it has the ball on its offensive end. Berke Buyuktuncel has been an issue for Iowa. He’s got four rebounds, two offensive and two defensive, and the Huskers are out-boarding the Hawkeyes 7-0.
1H/16:54- Nebraska 12, Iowa 2
Woah. Huskers come out on fire off the tip. They’re 3-for-6 from beyond the arc and have a three-point play on top of that. Perhaps even more importantly, Nebraska is winning the battle on the glass 6-0. If both of those trends continue, it’s going to be a long night for Iowa.
Former Hawkeye Pryce Sandfort is leading the way for Nebraska with six points, hitting 2-of-2 from long range.
1H/20:00- Iowa 0, Nebraska 0
Nebraska wins the tip and we’re underway from Houston. Somebody’s season is about to end, somebody is going to the Elite Eight. Let’s have some fun.
Just about 15 minutes until tip-off
The Hawkeyes and Huskers will hit the floor shortly. Be sure to refresh this page often as the two teams battle for a trip to the Elite Eight.
Iowa vs Nebraska odds in March Madness
All odds come from BetMGM as of Thursday evening
Iowa vs Nebraka Sweet 16 prediction
There are a couple of scenarios that could be disastrous for the Hawkeyes. One, if Iowa has a total letdown after an emotional high against Florida. Two, Nebraska goes nuclear offensively.
Iowa has been vulnerable to giving up big runs. The Hawkeyes did a similar dance in losses to Michigan, Nebraska (the second time) and Ohio State (in the Big Ten Tournament) late in the season, where they dug themselves sizeable second-half holes. So when Nebraska does go on a run, it’s crucial that Iowa doesn’t let it balloon out of control
If Iowa can execute the way it did against Florida — controlling the tempo, being physical and getting contributions from a variety of players — the Hawkeyes can take down the Cornhuskers for the second time this season.
Iowa 72, Nebraska 69
— Tyler Tachman (read full preview story here)
Iowa vs Nebraska start time in NCAA bracket
The Hawkeyes and Huskers will play at 6:30 p.m. CT in Houston, Texas.
What channel is Iowa vs Nebraska on today in March Madness?
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa vs Nebraska score, recap of Hawkeyes’ March Madness bracket win
Reporting by Will Kennedy, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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