3 takeaways from a ho-hum Nebraska win at Northwestern

It feels like we say it almost every game, but Nebraska basketball is now 18-0. We keep pinching ourselves and realizing that we are indeed awake.

This is happening. The most impressive thing about Nebraska’s win (77-58) on Saturday is that it felt like Northwestern never really had a chance.

The game was competitive in the first half. Nebraska basketball led by five at the half. Early in the second stanza, Northwestern cut the lead down to two.

All Nebraska did was respond with a 12-2 run. That pushed the lead to 10. Pryce Sandfort, who scored 22 points, hit two 3-pointers as the Huskers pulled away, making five total.

Braden Frager, the Sixth Man of the Year in the Big Ten, added 20 points off the bench, with two triples of his own. Sam Hoiberg was also in double figures with 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and a steal. He didn’t have a turnover again.

Hoiberg has 24 assists compared to just four turnovers over the past six games, and here are three takeaways from a 77-58 road win.

Defense, defense, defense

Nebraska’s defense held Nick Martinelli to 22 points (on 20 field-goal attempts). He shot 45 percent, 12 percentage points below his season average. Only one player on the Northwestern roster shot above 50 percent, which was a 3-for-5 effort for six points.

Northwestern shot 43 percent from the field overall. However, the Wildcats made just 45 percent of their 2-point attempts. The Wildcats made 36 percent of their 3-pointers — they just didn’t attempt many. The Wildcats shot just 14 3-pointers. They had 10 turnovers, and Martinelli, a highly efficient scorer, struggled to score efficiently.

That was the entire game. You aren’t going to beat Nebraska scoring 57 points.

3-point offense is unstoppable

Northwestern was allowing teams to shoot just 29 percent from 3-point range. They were one of the best 3-point defenses in college basketball, but Nebraska’s offense is so smooth, and there are so many good passers and shooters, it doesn’t matter.

Sandfort and Frager, after combining for 14 triples against Oregon, made seven on Saturday. Nebraska had seven players shoot better than 50 percent from the field, and five different Huskers made shots from beyond the arc, in a gym that isn’t easy to shoot in.

All in all, it was exactly the kind of effort you’d expect from a team competing to win a Big Ten championship. The Huskers are now 7-0, by the way, still tied for first place with Purdue.

Flawless offensively

Beyond the 3-point shooting, it’s hard to complain about anything Nebraska did offensively. The Huskers shot 51 percent overall, 42 percent from 3-point range, and 80 percent from the free-throw line. Nebraska only had five turnovers. It also made 59 percent of its 2-point attempts. There weren’t a ton of offensive rebounds, but that’s not really Nebraska’s game.

They are a much better defensive rebounding team. Northwestern is 0-7 in the Big Ten after Saturday’s result, but that shouldn’t take away from another really solid performance.

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