3 thoughts on Nebraska basketball loss to Maryland

Nebraska basketball missed another golden opportunity for a quad-1 victory on Sunday, falling 69-66 to Maryland on the road.

The Huskers are now 0-4 in the Big Ten on the road. They are 2-5 in the league and 13-6 overall. Frankly, Nebraska basketball hasn’t been the same since blowing a 15-point lead in the second half against Iowa.

They showed some fight on Sunday, but the defense allowed Maryland to make 10 3-pointers and shoot 40 percent from beyond the arc. Nebraska was outrebounded. It also lost the turnover battle and had eight shots blocked.

Still, the score was tied with a minute to go. Maryland scored, Nebraska basketball turned the ball over and that was essentially it.  The Huskers did get a chance to attempt a game-tying 3-pointer, but Connor Essegian missed a difficult shot and Maryland hung on.

Here are three thoughts.

The bench provided a spark

Andrew Morgan scored 12 of the first 24 points for Nebraska basketball. He was 7-of-12 from the field and grabbed five rebounds. When nothing was working offensively, Morgan was able to get consistent buckets.

Aaron Ulis also played well off the bench. He struggled from the field (1-of-6) and scored just three points. Yet, he dished out 10 assists and grabbed four rebounds. The former Iowa guard also notched two steals and helped stem some early turnovers.

It was the first time this season that Fred Hoiberg has used Ulis, Rollie Worster, and Sam Hoiberg at the same time but it was effective.

Maryland’s defense did the job

Juwan Gary and Brice Williams, Nebraska’s top two players managed just 20 points (combined) and connected on just 9-of-23 field goals. They played well defensively but the tandem earned just two free throw attempts. They were 0-for-5 from beyond the arc and to win a quad-1 game, the Huskers needed more from their best players.

Nebraska basketball is on the brink

Nebraska is on the brink of missing the Big Ten tournament. There are 13 games to go, but they are right on the cut line (tied 16th) after a 2-5 start. The next three games are at home against USC, on the road against Wisconsin, and at home against Illinois.

The Huskers need to win at least two of those three games. After those three games come back-to-back on the road against Washington and Oregon. Even if they beat Illinois and USC at home, Nebraska is looking at 4-8 if they can’t figure out how to win on the road in conference play.

Iowa and Maryland both provided a golden opportunity to do that. The Huskers couldn’t close the deal and it has their season in a precarious position.

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