Nebraska came out shooting pretty well, particularly from deep. Juwan Gary hit 2 and Sam Hoiberg hit 1 to give Nebraska an early lead. Payton Sandfort had a decent start to the half, scoring 6 points and recording 5 rebounds in the opening seven minutes. Iowa used an 11-0 run to take a 20-18 lead.
The Hawkeyes were not shooting particularly well from beyond the arc, missing their first 4 attempts, but then they got hot. Iowa would hit 5 of its next 6 from downtown and was keyed by the little Sandfort brother Pryce. Balanced scoring was the theme for Iowa, as Pryce Sandfort, Even Brauns, Brock Harding all had 6 points at the halfway mark.