Connect with us

BASKETBALL

3 keys and a prediction for Nebraska Basketball vs Michigan

Published

on

Nebraska basketball

Nebraska basketball got some positive momentum on Sunday but will it continue against Michigan on Wednesday?

The Nebraska basketball team got a huge win on Sunday over Penn State but it was just the second win in the last eight games for the Huskers.

They are 4-8 on the season and 11-13 overall. Hopes of making the postseason, beyond the Big Ten tournament, are fading and a loss on Wednesday wouldn’t help.

Michigan is an 11.5-point favorite but the Wolverines aren’t unbeatable. Michigan is 13-10 on the season as well as 7-5 in the Big Ten. They have also lost to Central Michigan at home and went to overtime against Ohio and Jackson State.

Michigan tends to overlook teams. Down two starters, that could be ideal for a Nebraska team that needs to pull off a surprise or two down the stretch to get back to .500.

At any rate, here’s a look at three keys and a prediciton for Nebraska basketball vs Michigan.

Contain Hunter Dickinson

Hunter Dickinson is an All-American for a reason and he’s one of the best centers in the country, let alone the Big Ten. He scored 26 points on Sunday for the Wolverines against Ohio State and has nine games with at least 20 points this season. Michigan is 6-3 in those games.

Derrick Walker has been a solid defender in the post when he can avoid foul trouble. He’s giving up a few inches to Dickinson who is 7-foot-1 but he did a pretty job solid on Zach Edey the first time around. Nebraska doubled down plenty and should throw in some zone looks too.

But if the Huskers can find a way to hold Dickinson under 20, their chances of winning improve by quite a bit since Michigan is 7-7 this season when that happens.

Keep Keisei hot

Nebraska is going to need some outliers to win this game and one of those can come from Keisei Tominaga. Another five 3-pointers would be great, but Michigan is a team that can fall asleep at times defensively, particularly against off-ball movements like cuts, where Tominaga is really effective.

If he gets going from deep, I could easily see him scoring 20 against a Michigan team that has been inconsistent at best on defense (7th in the Big Ten in scoring defense). CJ Wilcher also needs to make some triples and the Huskers need to win the 3-point battle to have a shot.

Get extra possessions

Michigan has Dickinson but the Wolverines aren’t a great rebounding team. They rank 9th in the Big Ten in allowing offensive rebounds. Michigan is also 11th in turnovers. Nebraska hasn’t rebounded the ball as well with Juwan Gary out but Sam Griesel should be able to take advantage and if the Huskers can win the battle of the boards (especially offensive) and force double-digit turnovers, they will have a shot.

A key thing against Penn State was the fact that Nebraska had just seven turnovers and six fouls — in the entire game. If Nebraska does that again tonight, it will have a legit shot to pull an upset.

Nebraska basketball vs Michigan prediction

I don’t see Nebraska winning this game outright. The talent gap is too large and Michigan has been playing much better in the last two games. I do see the Huskers covering the spread though and keeping the game close and competitive.

Michigan 71, Nebraska 61

For More Nebraska content, follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook Page, and Subscribe to the Husker Big Red YouTube Channel. 

 

 

 

 

BASKETBALL

Nebraska Basketball: Guard Denim Dawson enters transfer portal

Published

on

Nebraska basketball redshirt freshman Denim Dawson entered the transfer portal on Wednesday, as more moves continue to be made within the basketball team. This was first reported by 247Sports’ Travis Branham.

Dawson had his moments for Nebraska basketball this season. He made his first start against Purdue back in December. He had three rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes of play. He then was able to continue his strong play in the second half of the season when he had seven points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes. Dawson was active on the glass against Penn State when he recorded nine rebounds.

It could be said that Dawson never had a fair chance to crack the rotation due to the players in front of him. Nevertheless, Dawson had raw athletic ability, and it was easy to see why he was recruited to the program.

Dawson was a three-star recruit and was the 32nd overall player in the state of California for the 2022 class.

What does this move mean for Nebraska basketball?

This move makes sense for Dawson, as Nebraska basketball has several guards on the roster already. Jamarques Lawrence is one of them, and he was able to take on a big role for the program. This is a case of there being too many mouths to feed on the roster. The emergence of Lawrence also probably played a bit of a role as the latter looks to be a staple for the program.

It will be interesting to see where Dawson ends up. He is certainly a talented player, but Nebraska basketball was not the right fit for him at this time.

Continue Reading

BASKETBALL

Podcast: What’s next for Nebraska Basketball after missing NIT?

Published

on

Nebraska basketball
Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Our latest podcast discusses whether Nebraska Basketball should have missed the NIT, look at what’s next, and more.

It’s the start of another week, Husker fans, and in terms of the Nebraska basketball team, we got some disappointing news on Sunday night.

Nebraska was on the NIT bubble even before its loss to Minnesota last week in the Big Ten tournament. While some NIT projections had the Huskers barely making it in the field, Nebraska basketball was left on the outside looking in.

Chris Peterson and Danny Jaillet are each on the show in their usual spot and offer up their thoughts on whether Nebraska basketball was treated fairly. The loss to Minnesota was bad, but Nebraska also beat Maryland, Penn State, Creighton, and Iowa (twice) — all teams that made the NCAA tournament.

The Huskers also beat Wisconsin and Rutgers, two teams that made the NIT. The loss to Minnesota was bad but the Huskers had a quality resume. However, their 16-16 record wasn’t all that impressive and again, that’s where the loss to Minnesota hurt.

What’s next for Nebraska basketball?

Now that the season is officially over for the Huskers, we can look toward the future. The biggest question is what will Keisei Tominaga do? Will he return for another season, or go to Japan?

There is hope the Huskers can do some things with NIL, although Keisei is limited to earning “passive income” such as money from jersey sales. He can’t actively promote products. It’s always possible things could change with those NIL rules, but at the end of the day, if money is the driving factor, Japan is probably the best bet.

Tominaga has become a star over there. He’s also a star to Nebraska basketball fans and could have as big a following next season as any Husker — ever.

I’m not saying he would be the best player by any means, but social media didn’t exist when Tyronn Lue was around for instance. It would be fun regardless. Nebraska basketball also needs to add some transfers.

We talk about all that and more. We also touch on Nebraska football recruiting, so check out the full episode of the Husker Big Red Podcast below:

For More Nebraska content, follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook Page, and Subscribe to the Husker Big Red YouTube Channel. You can also find out podcast on Apple or Spotify

 

Continue Reading

BASKETBALL

Nebraska Basketball season ends with defensive thud vs. Gophers

Published

on

Nebraska basketball lost to the Minnesota Golden Gophers by a 78-75 margin on Wednesday night. There were several crucial plays towards the end of the game. The basketball bouncing off of Sam Griesel while Nebraska tried to score was a difficult break. Two illegal screens in a row also did not help matters. Nevertheless, there was one major theme. The defense struggled throughout the evening.

It wasn’t as if Nebraska had answers for Minnesota either. Minnesota shot 51.9% from the field and 41.7% from beyond the arc.

One of the biggest problems for Nebraska on Wednesday night was being able to stop scores from the inside. Minnesota was able to have their way inside in several aspects. Minnesota freshman Pharrel Payne had six points and four rebounds on the evening. On the other end of the floor, he played solid defensively, shutting down Nebraska big man Derrick Walker.

Jaden Henley and Dawson Garcia had their way inside as well. They finished with 14 and 18 points respectively. They were able to pick apart the Nebraska basketball defense with quick passes and their ability to muscle inside. To be frank, Nebraska basketball had no answer for the inside game, and it became clear that this was going to be a major problem throughout the course of the game.

The defense inside the paint was not the only problem. Nebraska basketball struggled all night in terms of rotations and not getting to the shooter quick enough. They were unable to close out on a player such as Garcia, and he made them pay, going seven-of-13 from the field. He gave Minnesota the lead on a three-ball with 8:35 left in the first half, and the Gophers never looked back.

The aggressive rotations and aggressiveness overall that Nebraska displayed all season defensively was missing. They did not have the defensive energy to match Minnesota and it was noticeable early on. Minnesota was able to play however they wanted offensively, and they were able to establish their dominance inside, opening up space for perimeter shooters. It looked like a cat playing with a mouse.

It was a defensive thud to end the season for Nebraska basketball. Now the offseason begins and questions remain unanswered.

Continue Reading

Trending