3 takeaways from Nebraska basketball win over South Dakota

You knew at some point that the lid was going come off the hoop for the Nebraska basketball team from 3-point range and that night was Wednesday night at the Vault.

In a 96-79 win over South Dakota, Nebraska basketball made 13 3-pointers and shot 41 percent from beyond the arc in the win.

Connor Essegian was spectacular. The Wisconsin transfer made six 3-pointers, was 10-of-22 from the field, and scored a game-high 29 points. His five first-half treys helped set the tone.

Brice Williams also had 21 points (15 in the first half). Williams made four triples (on six attempts) and was 7-of-11 from the field. Rollie Worster had six points, eight rebounds, and six assists. As a team, Nebraksa assisted on 24 of 33 field goal attempts while limiting South Dakota to just nine assists.

South Dakota was ranked No. 251 in the Kenpom rankings coming in so this won’t help the resume but it was a momentum builder and here are three takeaways.

The 3-pointers had to fall eventually

Nebraska basketball wasn’t going to shoot 29 percent from 3-point range all season. I’ve been saying that about Fred Hoiberg’s crew.

There are good shooters on this roster. These players are just finding their roles but Essegian is turning into an assassin off the bench. Not only did he score 29 points, he dished out five assists.

Williams got hot from deep and it was sort of contagious. The entire team has been sluggish from deep, but with Fred Hoiberg coaching, it was only a matter of time before the Huskers got hot.

Not overly concerned about the defense

It’s not great to allow 79 points but sometimes it’s more a matter of tempo than anything. South Dakota made eight 3-pointers but shot just 29 percent. The thing that worried me a little bit more was the fact that they shot 52 percent on their 2-point attempts.

Nebraska gave away too many points at the foul line. But they also came up with 10 steals. They were probably a little over-aggressive. However, 18 of their 26 field goals were unassisted. That’s a pretty high number which is exactly what you want from your defense.

The Huskers just need to do a better job of not fouling.

No Creighton hangover

You’re always concerned after a big win how the team is going to respond afterward. The defense could have been a little sharper, but the Huskers played as well on offense as they have all season.

Nebraska didn’t have any letdown and did what it needed to against a team that will have a much lower NET ranking. Winning those games will help your rating but only if you do it convincingly.

We have seen the Huskers struggle in a buy game this season so it was good to see them control things. The lead was double digits for most of the way. South Dakota made a run here or there, but the Huskers responded each time and they feel ready for the start of Big Ten play, which comes sooner than you think.

The first two-game series of conference games is Dec. 7 for Nebraska against Michigan State.

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