IOWA CITY -- One day after cracking the Top 25 for the first time this season, No. 19 Iowa continued its winning ways with a 77-66 victory over Nebraska at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Tuesday.

The Hawkeyes (12-3, 3-0 Big Ten) won their fifth straight, while the Cornhuskers (8-8, 0-3) fell for the fourth time in five games.

Once again, it was Iowa's seniors who made the difference. Forward Jarrod Uthoff continued his season-long streak of scoring in double figures with a game-high 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting. He also pulled down eight rebounds, tying a team high.

Hawkeyes guard Mike Gesell tallied 22 points and a game-high 10 assists for his first career double-double, and center Adam Woodbury finished with eight points and six rebounds.

"It took a lot for us to get this win, and it was all experience," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said.

Nebraska received a strong showing from junior guard Tai Webster, who played 33 minutes off the bench and led the Cornhuskers with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor.

What ultimately did in Nebraska was foul trouble. Four Cornhuskers finished with four or more fouls -- senior guard Benny Parker fouled out with 1:23 remaining -- and the Hawkeyes took advantage by shooting 24-for-32 on free throws. Gesell alone finished 11-for-13 at the line.

"It was more them trying to be overly physical with us and trying to chuck us off cuts and stuff like that. I think that's why they got in foul trouble," Uthoff said. "When they got into us, our response was to go around them because if somebody comes up into you, you don't have a shot, you have a drive. So it's more of a response to them getting up into us and being physical with us."

Nebraska coach Tim Miles made similar remarks and spoke highly of how Iowa was able to attack whatever defense he threw at them.

"Because their ball movement and their player movement is very good, they get you out of position," Miles said. "They know when to attack, so consequently, you get a whistle. ...

"Then we went into more of a switching defense, which got us into mismatches and we made some mistakes, too."

Nebraska began the game hot, jumping out to an 8-0 lead and going ahead by as many as 10 points early in the first half. Aiding the Cornhuskers' cause was Iowa missing its first six shots, four of which came from 3-point range.

"I wouldn't say we didn't come ready to play," Woodbury said. "It probably looked like that from the fans' standpoint, but we just missed some key things we usually do well and they hit some shots. You got to give them credit. They didn't let us score.

"We had to scratch and claw our way back into the game."

When the Hawkeyes began to heat up, it was Uthoff igniting the team. He scored nine of the Hawkeyes' first 13 points.

Iowa took a 24-22 lead on Woodbury's three-point play. It was part of a 12-0 run that ended the half as Nebraska was held without any points for the final 7:35. The Cornhuskers finished the half shooting 9-for-31 from the floor, and they trailed 31-22.

"We just kind of took our foot off the throat a little bit," Webster said. "We stopped being aggressive and were just playing to be out there. We weren't attacking like we were the first (12) minutes of the first half when we were scoring. We were doing well, but we can't afford to have lulls like that."

The Hawkeyes don't play again until Jan. 14, when they visit No. 5 Michigan State. The Hawkeyes upset the then-No. 1 Spartans 83-70 on Dec. 29 and will be seeking their first victory at the Breslin Center in 23 years.

NOTES: Iowa senior G Anthony Clemmons started Tuesday's game against Nebraska just three days after leaving the Hawkeyes' 70-63 win over Purdue with a hip injury he sustained in the closing minutes. Clemmons has started every game for Iowa this season. ... Iowa is 3-0 in the Big Ten for the first time since the 2002-2003 season. The Hawkeyes finished 7-9 in the conference that season and appeared in the NIT, where they lost in the quarterfinals to Georgia Tech. ... Nebraska plays at Rutgers on Saturday.