Tony Perkins had a career-high 20 points and No. 25 Iowa reached 20 wins for the fourth straight season, beating host Nebraska 88-78 on Friday night in a Big Ten game at Lincoln, Neb.
The sophomore guard had 15 points in the second half, making 8 of 10 shots for the game.
The Hawkeyes (20-8, 10-7 Big Ten) shot 56.3 percent from the floor after halftime and 50 percent for the game to keep alive their hopes of getting a top-4 seed in the Big Ten tournament next month.
Nebraska (7-21, 1-16) lost for the fourth straight time and has dropped 19 of 21 since a 5-2 start. Despite that, the school announced Thursday that coach Fred Hoiberg would return for a fourth season, albeit with a restructured contract that lowers his annual salary and buyout.
Iowa had six players in double figures, including Big Ten scoring leader Keegan Murray, who had 15 points along with 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.
Up 36-35 at the half, Iowa maintained a small lead throughout the first eight minutes of the second half before going up 58-51 on a Murray dunk with 11:32 to go.
A C.J. Wilcher 3-pointer got Nebraska within two with 10:51 remaining, but Iowa responded with an 11-0 run to build a 13-point advantage with 6:34 left. Kris Murray had seven of his 12 points during that run.
The Cornhuskers never got closer than seven after that, cutting it to 81-74 with 31 seconds to go on an Alonzo Verge Jr. layup. Verge, one of seven Nebraska seniors honored before the game, had a team-high 18 points to go with five rebounds and seven assists.
Nebraska led by as many as seven in the first half, going up 28-21 with 6:47 left on a Kobe Webster 3-pointer. Iowa retook the lead with 1:40 left on a Connor McCaffery triple, then took a one-point edge into the locker room on a Filip Rebraca drive just before the buzzer.
Iowa will face Northwestern on Monday in its home finale, while Nebraska starts a season-ending three-game road trip Sunday at Penn State.
–Field Level Media
