“We couldn’t come out here and lay an egg after getting a big win at Michigan State,” said Petteway, who scored 26 points to lead five Huskers in double figures. “We had to come out here and prove something. We still got stuff to prove. We got a lot of winning to do. We just got to keep building on it.”

Nebraska again counted on its defense, holding Penn State to 34.9 percent shooting, the fourth straight game the Huskers have held their opponent to less than 40 percent shooting.

In a choppy, start-and-stop game that featured five technical fouls — four on Penn State — the Huskers were 37-of-48 on free throws. The attempts and makes were both season highs for Nebraska, and the most by any Big Ten team this season.

“The fouling, it was just one of those games. Everybody got testy, it got a little chippy,” Miles said.

“You can say whatever about the officiating, but we were obviously on the attack. And they foul. One of their things is they’re very aggressive, and they’re a team that fouls. You have to take advantage of that.”

D.J. Newbill and Tim Frazier had 17 points apiece to pace Penn State, which defeated Nebraska 58-54 a month ago.