James Palmer Jr. had 18 points and Nebraska opened up a double-digit lead early in the second half then held off three Wisconsin surges to take a 63-59 win Tuesday night.

Nebraska (12-6, 3-2 Big Ten) led by as many as 13 early in the half, then saw the lead shrink to five as Wisconsin (9-9, 2-3) made five of six field goals.

The Huskers went back up by 10 at 50-40 when Thomas Allen hit a pair of free throws after a Wisconsin technical foul with 7:22 left.

The Badgers’ Ethan Happ then scored seven straight against one Nebraska free throw to cut the lead to 51-47 with 4:45 left. Three Nebraska free throws and a Palmer jumper, the Huskers’ last field goal of the game, put Nebraska back up by nine.

The Huskers led 62-53 after Isaac Copeland’s free throw with 11 seconds left. But Wisconsin’s Brevin Pritzl bombed in a long 3-pointer with just over 2 seconds left, Nebraska turned the ball over and Brad Davison hit another long-range 3 to pull Wisconsin to 62-59 with a second left.

Evan Taylor’s free throw then sealed the win for Nebraska.

Nebraska won the game at the free-throw line. The Huskers were 21 of 28 from the line, including 18 of 24 in the second half. Wisconsin made just 4 of its 10 free throws, 3 of 8 in the second half.

Isaac Copeland had 12 points for Nebraska.

Happ had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Wisconsin. Davison had 15 points and Pritzl scored 10.