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Nebrasketball is no longer undefeated in Big Ten play. Northwestern came into Pinnacle Bank Arena, shooting well from all over the court and Nebraska had no answer on defense. This loss does hurt, sure, but it shouldn’t hurt Nebraska’s RPI. Northwestern is a good basketball team and just might make their first NCAA Tournament in their program history this season. Nebraska does however need to defend home court going forward. Home losses will hurt Nebraska’s chances at making the NCAA Tournament themselves.
The Good
Nebraska’s post game inside was pretty good in this game. Nebraska was able to move the ball inside pretty well in this game and scored a lot of points that way. Their free throw shooting was a lot better in this game too. Nebraska shot 10-13 from the charity strike this is 77%. Tai Webster led the Huskers in scoring with 17 points. He also helped Nebraska end the first half with a buzzer beating three, capping off a 14-0 run. Of course this wasn’t enough to win the game. But it should be able to get some more confidence into him going forward in conference play.
The Bad
Nebraska’s defense wasn’t very good in this game, particularly behind the arc. Northwestern basically couldn’t miss a three in this game. The Wildcats shot 11-24 from three point land which is 46%. They made almost half of their three point shots in this game. That is going to be a good recipe to win a road game in any conference. Northwestern also shot 51% from the field and made 13-14 from the free throw line. Northwestern basically did everything right in this game, and secured a huge road win for their resume. Nebraska’s offense did struggle in this game. The Huskers only shot 43% from the field. Teams are not going to normally win games with they shoot that poorly. Watson also only had 6 points in this game. If Nebraska is going to want to contend in this conference, Watson and Webster need to score some points. It just wasn’t there on Sunday for Nebraska.
What’s Next?
Nebraska will get almost a week off to get ready for their next test. Classes for the spring semester begin on Monday so students and the players will be getting back into their school routine. Nebraska’s next game is on Saturday, January 14th at Michigan. Nebraska has also never won in the Crisler Center so it will be a tough challenge. The Huskers have played well on the road so far in conference though. Tip-off for that game is at 1:00 CT and can be seen on BTN.