D1 newcomer Incarnate Word shocks Nebraska 74-73

LINCOLN, Neb. — Kyle Hittle hit a contested baseline jumper after Nebraska's Terran Petteway threw away an inbound pass, and Incarnate Word upset Nebraska 74-73 on Wednesday night for the biggest victory in the Cardinals' one-plus seasons making the transition from Division II to Division I.

The Cornhuskers looked like they might survive after Shawn Johnson made 2 of 3 free throws to leave Incarnate Word (6-1) down a point with 6.7 seconds left.

But Petteway threw to no one on the inbound play, and the ball rolled out of bounds near the half court line. Mitchell Badillo inbounded to Hittle, who took two steps and made his 10-footer along the baseline.

Petteway's desperation shot at the buzzer was short, and Incarnate Word's players ran onto the court to celebrate while stunned Nebraska fans began heading to the exits.

The Huskers were the second Big Ten team in less than a week to be on the losing end of a major upset. Last weekend New Jersey Institute of Technology beat Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Jontrell Walker scored 19 points to lead five Incarnate Word players in double figures. Hittle added 18 points, Johnson had 13 and Denzel Livingston and Traylin Farris 12 apiece.

Shavon Shields had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead the Huskers (5-3). Petteway had 18 points and eight rebounds and Walter Pitchford had 10 points.

The loss goes down as one of the most embarrassing at home for a Nebraska team that returned almost everybody from the team that finished fourth in the Big Ten and went to the NCAA tournament.

Incarnate Word had never played an opponent from one of the Big Five conferences and was coming off a loss at UTEP on Monday night.

The Cardinals were down by eight points in the first half and by 10 with 13 minutes left. But they wouldn't quit, clawed their way back to 67-65 and then found a way to finish.

TIP-INS

Incarnate Word: Coach Ken Burmeister said he set up the game through a friend who knows former Nebraska director of basketball operations Jayden Olson. "At the time they were looking for an easy win, and we got the game," Burmeister said, chuckling.

Nebraska: Shavon Shields, who scored just seven points on 3-of-10 shooting in Sunday's loss to Creighton, made 4 of his first 5 shots before missing 4 of his last 5. ... Freshman Nick Fuller, who had played a total of nine minutes in three games before Wednesday, had six points in eight minutes in the first half.