• Video: Highlights from Kansas' 84-72 win over NU:



• Box Score

• More video available below the story.

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LINCOLN — For Nebraska, the list of good things to think about from Wednesday night’s basketball game ran pretty long.

There was the fast start against Kansas, putting the nation’s No. 3 team in an 11-point hole in the first three minutes.

There was the halftime lead.

Add in the comeback from an early KU run in the second half.

And don’t forget the career-high 18-point game from Husker guard Brandon Richardson, who lost eight pounds the past two days because of the flu and wasn’t sure that he would play.

But it still wasn’t enough.

Kansas pulled away in the final seven minutes for an 84-72 win before a season-high crowd at the Devaney Center of 12,510.
“There are so many positive things,’’ NU coach Doc Sadler said. “But I’m tired of losing at home. You can’t lose at home to these guys.

You’ve got to beat them.

“I can talk about how good we played. But the bottom line is we didn’t get it done.’’

At Texas A&M on Saturday, Nebraska took the lead with 9:09 to play but ended up losing by 11.

Against Kansas, the Huskers fought off a 12-2 Kansas run midway through the second half to close to 65-61 with 7:26 left on forward Christian Standhardinger’s three free throws.

But Kansas unleashed another 10-1 run, with forward Marcus Morris scoring seven of his 19 points in that surge, and Nebraska couldn’t counter.

Why the second-half difficulties? Is it because NU has eight newcomers to Big 12 play?

“We don’t have the mental toughness you’ve got to have right now,’’ Sadler said. “I can come up with excuses, but they don’t matter.

“When the game is on the line, we are not getting stops. It doesn’t mean enough to us to get in a stance and hurt and grind. Until we get the mental toughness and understand that, you’re going to play a lot of close games, but you’re not going to win many of them.’’

Kansas (15-1, 1-0) trailed Nebraska 12-1 after the first three minutes and was still down 44-43 at half after Richardson canned a 3 with two seconds left.

But the Jayhawks outshot Nebraska (12-5, 0-2) in the second half 57.1 percent to 30.8 percent (12 for 21 vs. 8 for 26).

And the 3-point shot was a weapon all night, as KU drilled 13 of 21 (61.9 percent).

Even with the Jayhawks No. 8 nationally in 3-point shooting at 41.5 percent, Sadler built his defensive plan around doubling the post and clogging the lane. That strategy limited All-America center Cole Aldrich to six points and nine rebounds.

But it helped open some things for All-America point guard Sherron Collins, who had a game-high 22 points, including 4 of 5 3-pointers.

“Flip a coin,’’ Sadler said. “They’ve not been making (3s), but they made them tonight. When you play a team like that, you’re going to give up something.’’

Kansas coach Bill Self, who had seen his team struggle to beat Cornell and then lose at Tennessee, was happy with the win.

“We played good tonight, and I thought Nebraska played great,’’ Self said.

Having a point guard like Collins helps fight off upset hopes.

After Nebraska took its 12-1 lead, Collins hit three 3s in the next four minutes. Then in the second half, after NU took a 54-53 lead when Richardson struck for eight straight points, Collins powered down the lane for consecutive layups.

“Sherron put us on his back,’’ Self said. “Sherron got us back to the point where it was a basketball game, and we played a lot better after that.’’

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• Video: Doc Sadler at the postgame press conference:



• Video: Jeter and Richardson at the postgame press conference:

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