Nebraska Basketball: Huskers Fall to UAB

In many ways, it was more of the same for the Huskers as they fell to UAB for the second straight game 87-74.  In many ways, today may have been worse.  the Huskers once again had difficulty defending the post and were dominated on the glass.  NU actually started this game out playing well.  they played solid defense and were causing all sorts of trouble for UAB, causing turnovers and building a lead as big as seven points at 34-27.  The Huskers gave away two points on a back court violation 34 seconds before the half as NU was looking to extend a five point lead heading into the break.  Instead, the Huskers turned the ball over and UAB's Chad Frazier, who scored a game high 32 points, was fouled.  He hit both free throws and the Huskers only led by three at the break.  The Blazers controlled the rest of the game.

For the second straight day, the Huskers allowed their opponent to score more than 50 points in the second half.  Thursday, the Huskers nearly matched the UMass output, but on this day, the Huskers were outpaced by 16 in the second stanza.  Once again, the Husker opponent was able to get into the lane and finish at the rim almost at will.  The Huskers are at a significant disadvantage with only Walter Pitchford and Leslee Smith seeing significant minutes on the post.  The Huskers were unable to match the Blazers rebounding efforts as they dominated the Huskers on the boards 41-28.

On the offensive end, Terran Petteway once again had a big game, leading the team with 21 points.  Solid efforts from Shavon Shields, Deverell Biggs and Walter Pitchford kept the Huskers in the game until about five minutes to go in the game, but it was too much for the Huskers to overcome and the Blazers pulled away in the end.

The Huskers next play Sunday afternoon vs. the loser of tonight's matchup between Georgia and Temple.  They will tip things off at 1:30 and will once again be aired on ESPN3.