3 thoughts on a huge win for Nebraska basketball over Creighton

For the second straight time, Nebraska basketball beat Creighton in Omaha and the Huskers did it with defense in a 74-63 win over the 14th-ranked Bluejays.

Just days ago, Nebraska basketball fans were lamenting the missed opportunity against St. Mary’s. The defense struggled, but it was strong on Friday. Creighton made 14 3-pointers, yet they made just three shots inside the arc all game long.

Nebraska, on the other hand, made just four triples. Brice Williams and Juwan Gary had 16 points each though and Nebraska basketball forced 16 turnovers in a wire-to-wire win. Here are three thoughts.

Nebraska basketball was the tougher team

Just like the game two years ago, the Huskers won this with defense and toughness. They did a great job of getting to the free throw line too, making 23-of-30 attempts compared to 17-of-23 for the Bluejays. The Huskers did win the rebounding battle (37-34) and tied on the offensive boards (7-7).

That was important but so was the fact that the Nebraska forced 16 turnovers. The Huskers had seven of their own and more than anything, that’s where the Huskers won the game. They took care of the ball and played better defense. Simple as that.

Juwan Gary set the tone

Let’s be clear: Nebraska basketball doesn’t win this game without Juwan Gary. Not only did he have 16 points, Gary just had an attitude on both ends of the floor.

There was the huge slam dunk and both of his monster 3-pointers. The dude just made a big play every time that Nebraska needed him to make one.

Gary should have been on the All-Big Ten Defensive Team last season. But if he keeps putting together performances like that, he’s going to wind up on the All-Big Ten team like Rienk Mast and Keisei Tominaga in 2023-24.

Gary is that good and when he has that edge, he’s Nebraska’s best player.

Huge for the resume

Following the loss against St. Mary’s, you wondered if Nebraska would get another shot at a quad-1 win in non-conference play. Yes, Creighton was on the schedule but they have also dominated the serious outside of the game in 2022.

The Huskers struggled in some of their other non-conference games and you wondered if this team was going to take a step back from making the NCAA tournament.

There is still a long way to go. It’s just one game, but Nebraska basketball fans have to feel much better about their team’s tournament hopes after Friday. Not only is that a really good win that will look good on the NCAA tournament resume, it shows what this team is capable of.

It was also a reminder that Fred Hoiberg is a damn good coach — one of the best in the Big Ten, with another team that’s good enough to do dancing once again in March.

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