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3 keys and a prediction for Nebraska Basketball vs Rutgers

Published

8 months ago

on

Nebraska basketball
Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Nebraska basketball is fresh off a big win over Wisconsin, can the Huskers pull off an upset on the road against Rutgers?

In what will likely be the most difficult game of this closing five-game stretch for Nebraska basketball, the Huskers will play in Piscataway on Tuesday night.

Rutgers is 8-6 in the Big Ten and part of a five-way tie for fourth place. The Scarlet Knights were recently ranked and are expected to be an NCAA tournament team next month.

The Huskers are listed as a 12.5-point underdog tonight (8 EST, Big Ten Network) and here are three keys, as well as a prediction for Nebraska basketball vs Rutgers.

Keep Keisei going

Keisei Tominaga has single-handily given Nebraska basketball fans a reason to stay engaged with this team. There’s more than just him, but he’s been incredible to watch and has averaged 25 points over the last three games.

Tominaga is scoring over 12 points per game and is shooting 40 percent from 3-point range. His development has been as promising as anything that’s happened this season for the Huskers. He looks like a professional basketball player and if he can do this again next year, the NBA honestly wouldn’t be out of the question.

I’m not saying he gets drafted but why wouldn’t a team take a chance on a kid that can score as Tominaga can? It makes you wonder what took him so long to get featured in the offense. He’s clearly an elite scorer and needs to be playing 30 minutes a night.

And if the Huskers are going to have any shot of upsetting the Scarlet Knights tonight, he needs to probably score at least 20 and hit four triples or so.

Nebraska basketball must value the ball

On the offensive end, Rutgers doesn’t do anything particularly well. The Scarlet Knights don’t shoot well. They are 11th in the Big Ten in field-goal percentage, 13th in 2-point field-goal percentage, and 10th in 3-point shooting.

However, Rutgers can do one thing really well and that’s play defense. The Scarlet Knights are second in the Big Ten in scoring defense with 63.1 points allowed per game. They also lead the Big Ten in steals and field-goal percentage defense, as well as 2nd in field-goal percentage.

Scoring is going to be tough. But one thing Nebraska can’t do is turn the ball over and allow Rutgers to get easy buckets. When Nebraska beat Penn State, it limited turnovers and fouls and that’s the key here.

Keep the turnovers under 10, as well as the fouls and the upset won’t be a pipe dream.

Be ready for the grind

Rutgers is ranked third in the country in points allowed per possession. They are going to make it really tough on Nebraska and if the Scarlet Knights force a bunch of turnovers, you could see them winning this game by holding the Huskers under 60 points.

Nebraska has to break through that and taking care of the ball is the key. But being mentally ready for this matchup is going to be important. The Huskers are going to have to make contested shots. Sam Griesel and Derrick Walker have to pound the ball inside and Tominaga needs to make some shots from deep.

You need some outlier performances to win as a double-digit underdog and this team needs to embrace the grind too as it plays its fourth game in 10 days. Rutgers doesn’t play a pretty brand of basketball either. It’s rough and it’s rugged and not many teams leave the RAC with a win because of it.

Nebraska vs Rutgers prediction

I think the spread is a little high honestly. That being said, it’s hard for me to see Nebraska winning this game. Rutgers needs a win and this is the kind of game where Juwan Gary and Emmanuel Bandoumel would really help if they hadn’t suffered a season-ending injury.

I do see the Huskers covering the spread, but I just am not bold enough to pick this upset.

Rutgers 64, Nebraska 56

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Nebraska Cornhuskers news: Jeff Sims still not 100 percent, a flip attempt, and more

Published

1 week ago

on

September 20, 2023

By

Nebraska football
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Nebraska football QB Jeff Sims still isn’t 100 percent, plus more Nebraska Cornhuskers news.

One thing we know for sure about the Nebraska football quarterback situation is that we won’t know anything until kickoff on Saturday against Louisiana Tech.

Matt Rhule said that he won’t be making any announcements prior to the game, similar to last week, about the starting quarterback. Marcus Satterfield told reporters on Tuesday that Sims took “50-55 percent of the snaps” so he’s improving, but according to Rhule, he’s still not 100 percent.

Rhule indicated that Sims is throwing the ball well. The Nebraska Cornhuskers just want to see some more movement skills out of their starting quarterback. One of the starting quarterbacks I should say since Sims and Heinrich Haarberg were listed as co-starters this week on the depth chart.

We’ll see how it plays out. If Sims is healthy, I expect that he will get the start or at least play, but with how thin Nebraska football is at running back, both quarterbacks will probably be needed, especially with their prowess for pounding the rock.

Nebraska Cornhuskers aiming to flip Michigan State 4-star

Andrew Dennis is a 6-foot-5, 275-pound offensive lineman rated as a four-star prospect by the 247 Sports composite rankings. He’s out of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, and has been committed to Michigan State since April but Nebraska football is one of many programs to throw out a recent offer.

We don’t know if Dennis has any plans to visit Nebraska football. He’s been offered by Auburn, Stanford, Penn State, and Purdue just since Monday. I wouldn’t get too serious worrying about Dennis until he takes a visit to Nebraska, but if that happens, watch out.

It’s at least a name to keep on the radar and a decommitment definitely seems possible with the situation going on at Michigan State with Mel Tucker getting fired.

Nebraska Cornhuskers Big Ten basketball schedule released

We knew which teams Nebraska basketball would play in the 2023-24 Big Ten season but got the official schedule on Tuesday. The Huskers released it on their official Twitter account.

Nebraska basketball will open Big Ten on December 6th against Minnesota on the road. Fred Hoiberg’s first conference home game will be against Michigan State on December 10th.

The schedule is fairly balanced in terms of the home and road games. The Huskers have consecutive home games twice on the conference schedule. Nebraska has also back-to-back road games twice.

My first impressions though, are that Nebraska basketball is capable of a winning season in Big Ten play, which would definitely keep Fred Hoiberg in place and likely, would give the Huskers a realistic shot at making their first NCAA tournament since the 2014 season.

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Nebraska Cornhuskers news: Matt Rhule runs a tight ship, momentum with Caleb Benning, and more

Published

2 months ago

on

August 1, 2023

By

Nebraska Cornhuskers
Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

The Nebraska Cornhuskers opened fall camp on Monday and Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule runs a tight ship, plus a Caleb Benning update, and more.

You got the idea that Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule was going to take an old-school approach when he announced the Nebraska Cornhuskers would be spending the first two weeks of camp in the dorms.

But on Monday, the old-school approach continued.

Over the weekend, there were tons of rumors circulating among Nebraska football fans on Twitter about Myles Farmer and his status for the 2023 season. As it turns out, he was suspended by coach Rhule.

Rhule didn’t say why, just that Farmer didn’t live up to the standard. Rhule did say it was up to Farmer and his actions in regard to returning to the Nebraska Cornhuskers this season. Farmer started 11 games last season for Nebraska fotoball and was one of the team’s leading tacklers.

Another starting defensive back, Marques Buford is also missing the start of camp due to injury rehab.  Omar Brown and Corey Collier will have to step up, but the progress of Farmer will be something to watch.

Nebraska football making an impression on Caleb Benning

It’s clear that Nebraska football is trending up in the recruitment of in-state athlete Caleb Benning. The 5-foot-11, 183-pound defensive back/wide receiver, visited the Huskers again on Monday to take in practice.

All told it was the third unofficial visit of the past week for Benning. He visited early last week when the dead period ended and was also part of the “Cookout” on Sunday when more than 30 Nebraska football recruits were on campus.

In an interview with Steve Marik, Benning has even talked about a potential update to his timeline. He’s been saying that he will announce a commitment in December, but if he decides to commit sooner, I think that would be a great sign for Nebraska football.

I know the Huskers could land Amare Sanders and I hope they do. However, that shouldn’t impact Benning. Nebraska football is showing that he’s a priority and my prediction is that he’s N before it’s all said and done.

More Nebraska Cornhuskers news

  • The Nebraska basketball team made its debut on the trip to Spain and won its first game in overtime. Nebraska only had six scholarship players available, so you can only take away so much, but Brice Williams was spectacular with 28 points, five rebounds, and four assists in the 89-84 win over the Madrid All-Stars. CJ Wilcher had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Jamarques Lawrence pitched in with 14. Rienk Mast was playing with the Netherlands in international play and also had a stellar showing, scoring 26 points and making 6-of-10 3-pointers. So far, so good for the Nebraska Cornhuskers in terms of the portal.
  • While plenty of highlights and photos surfaced from day one of Nebraska football camp, maybe the highlight that stood out the most was Tristan Alvano’s 50-yard field goal in practice. The freshman is battling for the starting kicking job and my money is on him to win it.

Final Nebraska Football 2023 game-by-game predictions

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3 thoughts on commitment of Matar Diop to Nebraska basketball

Published

2 months ago

on

July 23, 2023

By

Nebraska basketball
Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Fred Hoiberg landed another player for the 2023 Nebraska basketball roster on Sunday with the commitment of Matar Diop and here are three thoughts for the Huskers.

It was fair to wonder if Nebraska basketball was going to add another scholarship player for the 2023-24 season, but we got the answer on Sunday with the commitment of Matar Diop.

Diop is a 6-foot-9 power forward. He’s not ranked according to the 247 Sports composite rankings and doesn’t even have a 247 Sports profile that I could find.

However, Diop is from Senegal and recently spent time with the NBA Africa Program. Here are some highlights from his time there.

Nebraska basketball needed a big man and has a lot to offer Diop, so this makes sense for both sides — here are three thoughts on his commitment.

An upside addition for the Huskers

Diop is eligible to play in 2023 for Nebraska baskeball which was the first question most Husker fans had. However, I wouldn’t expect to see Diop on the floor a ton this season if at all.

Blaise Keita is going to have a role off the bench as a 4/5 man. If he gets injured or if there is another injury in the frontcourt, Diop could see some minutes.

Yet, this feels a lot like the Eli Rice commitment except Diop will spend his extra year as a redshirt. Rice took an extra year and went to the IMG Academy.

Some recruiting sites had Diop listed as a 2024 recruit, so he could have had that plan too. But Seton Hall, Ole Miss, Arizona State, Saint Joseph’s, and Charlotte all offered. Those are some high-major offers and this is a really good get this late in the recruiting cycle.

You can see from Diop’s highlights that he’s an exceptional athlete. He also looks like a plus defender but he gets above the rim with ease and will be one of the most athletic players on the Nebraska basketball roster.

Diop is also really raw. I doubt he’s quite ready for Big Ten basketball. Yet, after a redshirt season, he could be ready to be a rotational piece in 2024-25.

Nebraska basketball is a great place for Diop to develop

Ernie Ziegler, a current Nebraska basketball assistant spent time as a coach with NBA Africa Program via Husker Online, which could be why the Huskers knew about Diop.

But that’s another good reason why the program will be a good fit. Diop has raw talent and the Huskers will know how to develop him. Even though most of Diop’s points happen around the basket, he does show the ability to make 3-pointers.

Diop’s shot will need work and few will be better to aid him than Fred Hoiberg. The former NBA player and head coach will help develop the fundamentals needed to have a future in pro basketball.

All the raw tools are there — it’s just going to take time which Nebraska has especially if Diop redshirts.

What about the final roster spot?

I’m wondering if Nebraska basketball will leave it open (Huskers have one scholarship available). I wouldn’t hate if Fred Hoiberg gave it to his son because he earned based on his play last season.

At the same time, Nebraska could hold it in case another transfer comes available. Hoiberg probably doesn’t need the scholarship to pay for college. It would be a sign of respect more than anything.

I believe that Fred will probably go into next season with one open scholarship. You never know when a player could be available and as of right now, Nebraska has a pretty solid roster going into the 2023-24 season.

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