Lincoln – Shavon Shields’ 24 points and eight rebounds paced Nebraska to an 84-59 romp of Minnesota Tuesday evening.
Shields, who was making his 100th consecutive start for the Huskers, scored 19 of his points in the first half on 6-of-9 shooting, as the Huskers raced to a 21-point halftime lead.
Nebraska took control midway through the first half, using a 29-4 spurt to erase an early deficit, behind Shields, who scored nine points in the run to help NU take a 20-point lead in the first 14 minutes of the contest.
The Huskers, who shot 51 percent on the night, used an 8-0 lead to take the lead following a 3-point play from freshman Edward Morrrow Jr., before a 15-0 spurt later in the run provided the Huskers a comfortable margin, as Nebraska (10-8, 2-3 Big Ten) put up 47 first-half points, its highest total in a conference game since 2001.
The 25-point win, along with Saturday’s 34-point win at Rutgers, gave the Huskers consecutive 20+ point wins in conference play for the first time since 1971. Nebraska also cracked 80 points in back-to-back conference games for the first time since 2001.
Andrew White III joined Shields in double figures with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Michael Jacobson, Morrow and Tai Webster finished with nine points each, as 10 players broke into the scoring column. NU held the Gophers to 41 percent shooting and outrebounded Minnesota, 40-22.
The Huskers took any drama out of the game early in the second half, scoring the first eight points of the half to extend the lead to 29 points with 17:55 led. The Huskers led 80-42 with 7:26 left before the Gophers outscored the Big Red, 17-4, down the stretch to cut the final margin to 25.
Jordan Murphy led Minnesota (6-11, 0-5) with 12 points and eight boards while Joey King added 10 points, all coming in the second half.
The Huskers return to action on Saturday afternoon, as they travel to Illinois. Tipoff is at 1:30 p.m. and the game will be carried on the Husker Sports Network and televised nationally on BTN.