Nebrasketball: Heading Into The Holidays On Top

Three days away from Christmas, the crowd wasn’t as great, but Nebraska still got the job done.

Miles Jacket Tracker: 17:57 (right after Huskers first basket, JPJ three)

Nebraska looked very rusty to start, with Isaiah Roby missing his first three shots, and only leading 5-4 at the U16 Media Timeout.

Something to keep a note of, Nana Akenten started for his second consecutive game over Thomas Allen Jr., and Thorir Thorjbarnarson was the first to come off the bench. Apparently Allen was late to a film meeting, versus last game he was sick.

After a pair of threes from James Palmer Jr. and Akenten, things got rolling for Nebraska, jumping to a nine point lead at the U12 Media Timeout. Akenten has served as a very nice sixth man (well I guess starter these past two games) recently, and will have an important role deep into the season.

The majority of the half went in Nebraska’s way, but here and there, Cal State Fullerton would go on the hot streak to cut the lead. Every time Nebraska would begin to pull away, CSF stuck around, especially in the last two minutes. It was sloppy on both sides towards the end of the first half, with Nebraska leading 36-25 at the break.

Palmer picked up right where he left of pulling up on the Huskers first possession and nailing a three. The last couple of games have been the JPJ show, and if that continues, I think an All-American selection could be on the way for him. Most of his points in this game came from floaters as well, not even his traditional getting to the foul line and making tough layups.

Nearing the U12 Media Timeout Nebraska started to feel it, after two straight assists from Watson, including a feed to Isaac Copeland for the jam. Then Roby finished off the run with an And-1 to give the Huskers a 58-37 lead.

Roby had a great second half as well, contributing to the second half offensive burst just as much as Palmer. With only two points in the first half, Roby finished with 20 (career high), most of that coming from the charity stripe. However he could’ve had much more if he didn’t go 9-of-16 from the foul line.

The first half Nebraska did not look like an AP Top 25 team, but the second half they most definitely did. The great thing about this team is if someone like Copeland or Watson have an off day, Roby and Allen can pick up the slack, and vise versa.

Final Score: Nebraska 86, Cal State Fullerton 62.
Next game is next Saturday against SW State at 2:00PM ET. Hopefully we don't lose until next year (had to do the pun).