3 keys and a prediction for Nebraska basketball vs. Bethune-Cookman

After a win on Monday to open the season, the Nebraska basketball team returns to the Vault on Saturday to host Bethune-Cookman in another non-conference matchup.

The Wildcats are coached by former NBA standout Reggie Theus. But they are ranked 307th according to Kenpom. They were 17-17 last season and had a winning record within the SWAC but are 0-1 this season.

Nebraska basketball is ranked 57th via Kenpom. The Huskers struggled a little bit with Texas Rio Grande Valley but so did Creighton. You’d like to see the Huskers have a little more game control on Saturday and here are three keys and a prediction.

Limit the second chance opportunities

Nebraska basketball won the rebounding battle on Monday but allowed 15 second-chance points and 10 offensive rebounds. The Wildcats managed just five offensive rebounds in their first game of the season against Texas Tech, so it’s not like it should be tough.

The Huskers are playing a pretty big lineup with Berke Buyuktuncel and 7-footer Braxton Meah. Plus, when you have Juwan Gary as the starting three, you should be a good rebounding team. It’s just a matter of being focused on the defensive glass.

Take better care of the basketball

Texas Rio Grande Valley did a good job of “speeding up” Nebraska basketball according to Fred Hoiberg. They also forced the Huskers into nine first-half turnovers.

Ideally, Nebraska would have fewer than 10 turnovers. That should be the goal at least, especially against a non-major opponent.

Bethune-Cookman will make that a challenge though. They want to play up-tempo and last season, they forced 16.5 turnovers per game. Nebraska finished with 13 on Monday and the higher that number is on Saturday, the better chance Bethune-Cookman has of making things competitive.

Nebraska basketball has to attack the paint

It would be nice to see Nebraska basketball make more 3-pointers after they hit just six on Monday, but the Huskers shot 57 percent on 2-point attempts. They also earned 35 free-throw attempts.

31 percent from deep won’t cut it for Nebraska this season but the 3-point percentage often has to do with the quality of the look and if the Huskers are able to score inside and dominate in the paint — which it should be able to do with its size advantage, they should get good looks and probably will make more shots.

Yet, it all starts with working the ball inside but Meah attempted just two shots in the first game. Andrew Morgan had three and Buyuktuncel had four. Those three guys were 7-of-12 from the field and on Saturday, I’d like to see more attempts and field goals inside.

Prediction against the spread (Nebraska +25)

The Wildcats could be pesky for the Huskers but I feel like Nebraska basketball will clean up the turnovers, shoot the ball a little better, and do a better job on the glass. They will also cover the spread.

Nebraska 90, Bethune-Cookman 64 

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