ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- Jon Teske scored a career-high 22 points, and No. 9 Michigan easily rebounded from its loss to Michigan State with an 82-53 victory over Nebraska on Thursday night.
The Wolverines (25-4, 14-4 Big Ten) were without Charles Matthews, out with a right ankle injury, but they raced out to a 22-point halftime lead behind Teske and Iggy Brazdeikis. It was the last home game for Michigan, which finishes the regular season with trips to Maryland and Michigan State.
The Wolverines lost only once at home in 2018-19 -- 77-70 to Michigan State on Sunday. That dropped Michigan a game behind the Spartans in the Big Ten title race, but the Wolverines still look formidable. The biggest question after Thursday's game is how long Matthews will be out. He had a boot on the injured ankle.
Brazdeikis went down holding his left knee near the end of the first half, but he walked off without assistance and was back at the beginning of the second. He finished with 20 points.
Isaiah Livers, who replaced Matthews in the starting lineup, had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Nana Akenten scored 11 points for Nebraska (15-14, 5-13) but took a hard fall in the second half near the basket.
BIG PICTURE
Nebraska: The Cornhuskers nearly shook up the conference title race when they played Purdue tough over the weekend but lost by three. They put up little resistance against Michigan. James Palmer, Nebraska's leading scorer, was held to a season-low seven points.
Michigan: When Brazdeikis is shooting well, the Wolverines are tough to beat because they don't need as much scoring from Teske or point guard Zavier Simpson. And when Teske is also contributing -- the 7-foot-1 center made all three of his 3-point attempts Thursday -- that's an additional bonus.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Michigan took care of business while short-handed, but its next matchup this week is the more intriguing game.
UP NEXT
Nebraska: The Cornhuskers will try one more time to be a spoiler in the race for first place, playing at No. 6 Michigan State on Tuesday night.
Michigan: The Wolverines play at No. 17 Maryland on Sunday.
