3 thoughts on a season-changing win for Nebraska basketball over Oregon

Nebraska basketball might have saved its season with a win over Illinois earlier this week. The Huskers changed the trajectory of it with a road win over 16th-ranked Oregon on Sunday night.

After a six-game losing skid seemed to doom their hopes of making the NCAA tournament, Nebraska basketball is back in business after a second-straight top-20 win that also counted as a quad-1 — the fourth of the season.

There have been highs and lows this season for Nebraska, which has beaten six teams ranked in the top 75 of the NET rankings. They are 4-7 in the Big Ten but 14-8 overall. They have beaten Creighton and Oregon on the road. Nebraska also beat Oregon State at a neutral site.

Many left Nebraska for dead after a six-game losing streak but here are three thoughts after a season-defining 77-71 win over Oregon.

Nebraska basketball is back

I don’t know what happened during that six-game losing streak, but this is the team we thought could contend for a top-4 spot in the Big Ten after the win over UCLA.

Brice Williams and Juwan Gary were spectacular. However, the defense, which was terrible during the skid, was on point. Oregon shot just 5-of-20 from 3-point range (25 percent). That’s the second team in a row the Huskers have held below 30 percent.

Defenders were active with their hands and they closed out hard on contests. Fred Hoiberg went with a bigger lineup out of necessity and it worked.

It wasn’t perfect. Nebraska shot just 17 percent from 3-point range. But they got a massive road win and this team absolutely is alive for an NCAA tournament berth.

Juwan Gary was the difference

Brice Williams was spectacular. He scored 28 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out six assists. He’s back to playing like an All-Big Ten player.

However, this game was about Juwan Gary. He set the tone on defense. He was stellar helping and getting back to his man and he bothered the Ducks all night.

Gary was 6-of-10 from the field. He didn’t have any steals and had just two turnovers. He was 10-of-12 from the free-throw line and every time Oregon made a run, Gary attacked the basket.

Nebraska was 22-of-28 on 2-point attempts. The Huskers made 78 percent of their attempts and Oregon has one of the best shot blockers in the Big Ten.

I said before the game that Gary was going to have to be special, Williams, too and they were. The tandem combined for 52 of Nebraska’s 77 points and kept their NCAA tournament hopes afloat.

Fred Hoiberg deserves an apology

Many Nebraska basketball fans were frustrated with Hoiberg after the six-game losing streak. Some even thought he should be on the hot seat.

Let this serve as a reminder that Hoiberg is one of the best coaches in the Big Ten and he should be allowed to coach in Lincoln as long as he pleases.

A week ago, this looked like a sinking ship. But after beating two top-20 teams in four days, an NCAA tournament berth feels possible again.

Beat last-place Washington and suddenly, Nebraska is 5-7 in the Big Ten. A 5-3 finish from there should be enough to get this team into the big dance.

The Huskers tied a school record for the most top-25 wins in a season and that’s probably not something anyone expected to say a couple of weeks ago.

So give Fred Hoiberg his due. He’s got his team playing their best basketball precisely when it was needed.

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