Nebrasketball: Hometown Huskers Hesitantly Humble the Leathernecks of Western Illinois

It wasn’t alway pretty but the Nebraska men’s basketball team pulled off another win against the Leathernecks of Western Illinois 73-49. It was not always pretty but Nebraska pulled off a another blowout win.

One expected the Huskers to come out swinging after their major loss to the gritty Texas Tech Raiders just a few days ago. That wasn’t the case tonight as Western Illinois started out strong and had an early 9-4 lead over the Big Red.

It could have been a wakeup call within the team or the fact that the Leathernecks number one player got into foul trouble early and allowed Nebraska to push the ball towards the basket. Western Illinois center Brandon Gilbeck had to watch his play throughout the game which took his place in their defense out for the Huskers to exploit.

This gave Nebraska the ability to play a more cohesive game. It also helped that Western Illinois struggled to put up points at this point of the game. By the end of the first half Nebraska was leading 40 to 17. A nice lead to go into the locker room at half with.

If it was not for the padded score from the first half the Huskers might have been in trouble at the end of the game. Western Illinois fought back and scored 32 points to Nebraska’s 33 points in the second half to end the night with a 23 point Nebraska win.

The Huskers were lead by Glynn Watson Jr. who had 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. Following Glynn was James Palmer Jr. with 19 points and 4 rebounds. Shooting was the major difference between these two team with Nebraska having 46% from the field and Western Illinois had 30%.

The Huskers head to South Carolina to take on the #16 Clemson Tigers in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. A win here would not only help the Big Ten out in the challenge but also give the Huskers a much needed confidence boost for the next few weeks.