(Photo credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images)

Iowa and Nebraska will meet Sunday in Lincoln, Neb., in the final push for positioning in the Big Ten Conference tournament.

Nebraska (17-13, 7-12 Big Ten) landed in a five-team logjam following its 116-114 double overtime loss at Ohio State on Tuesday. Northwestern and Southern California, also part of the five-team tie, entered the final weekend of the regular season with road games on Saturday at Maryland and UCLA, respectively.

Minnesota and Rutgers, also part of the tie, face off on Sunday in Piscataway, N.J., guaranteeing at least one of the five teams an 8-12 conference mark. Any of the fivesome could land at No. 15 in the Big Ten tournament -- the last seed in the field -- or as high as No. 11.

The Cornhuskers limp into the finale having lost four straight, including the past three by a single possession.

'We've got one opportunity left in front of us,' Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said. 'We've got to go out there and play our best game of the year, play our best 40 minutes. The last week has been incredibly difficult, you lose three games essentially on the last possession.'

Tuesday's loss came despite the Cornhuskers' Brice Williams scoring a program-record 43 points on 16-of-29 shooting from the floor, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range.

Williams enters Sunday averaging 20.4 points per game, tops in the Big Ten.

Iowa (15-15, 6-13) is on a three-game skid and has dropped five of six after giving up a 14-point first-half lead in Thursday's 91-84 home loss to No. 8 Michigan State. The Hawkeyes are still alive for a spot in the conference tournament but need plenty of help -- not the least of which is a win on Sunday.

Extending the season for a shot to play its way into the NCAA Tournament and to continue the careers of its upperclassmen, drives Iowa in its final push. Among the Hawkeyes' seniors are leading scorer Payton Sandfort, who averages 16.1 points per game

Another is Even Brauns, a reserve big man who 'is just an incredibly delightful young man in every way,' Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said.

'Everybody on the team loves him,' McCaffery added. 'The coaches appreciate him. Put him on the scout team, put him in the starting lineup, bring him off the bench, play him in crunch time, don't play him at all. He just comes with it every day. And that's character.'

--Field Level Media