3 thoughts on Nebraska basketball’s season-opening win

There were a few scary moments in the season-opening win for Nebraska basketball over Texas Rio-Grande Valley, a team ranked outside the top 300 in the Kenpom rankings.

But the Huskers closed on an 18-2 run, giving them an 87-67 win. Brice Williams finished with 27 points but needed 18 shots to get there. Rollie Worster scored 18 points on seven shots and also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out three assists.

The defense left something to be desired but let’s get down to it with three thoughts on the Huskers’ season-opening win.

Huskers have a point guard

Rollie Worster was a little sloppy with the ball in his Nebraska basketball debut, turning the ball over three times, but his impact went beyond the box score.

Worster is a true point guard. The Utah transfer only had three assists but he can truly run the point, as well as defend the position which was a major problem.

Even though he’s a pass-first point guard, Worster looked for his shot when needed and was extremely efficient. He led the team in assists, and rebounds, and was second in points. Worster played 29 minutes and you can pencil him in for 30 plus on most nights.

3-point defense is still an issue

Texas Rio Grande Valley was able to hang around in this game for one reason: poor 3-point defense. It’s kind of maddening because it was an issue last season, including in the NCAA tournament loss.

The fact that Nebraska allowed 11 assists — the same number it dished out, against a team ranked outside the top 300 isn’t great.

It’s the first game though. The defense was also better in the second half but it was kind of shocking to see the Huskers outscored by 21 points from beyond the arc.

Depth pays off

One of the best things about this team is the depth. We saw that on display on Monday night as Connor Essegian came off the bench to score 13 points (3 triples). Nebraska basketball made six 3-pointers total and three were from the former Wisconsin Badger.

Andrew Morgan also added 10 points and five rebounds in the win. It wasn’t super flashy but Morgan is the closest thing the Huskers have to Rienk Mast and they will need him.

The Huskers are going to need to hit more than six 3-pointers consistently, but if you are shooting 35 free throws — 26 more than your opponent, it doesn’t matter so much.

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