3 thoughts on Nebraska basketball’s win over North Dakota

Nebraska basketball found itself trailing at the half against North Dakota on Sunday night, a team that the Huskers were favored to beat by 29.5 points.

The Huskers didn’t quite cover. They were actually trailing at the half, 26-24, after a cold-shooting first half. Nebraska basketball couldn’t buy a bucket in the first half, especially from deep.

Defense kept Nebraska in the game. Sam Hoiberg helped turn the tide in the second half, and Berke Buyuktuncel finished with just the fourth triple-double in Nebraska history with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Nebraska basketball improved to 12-0. The Huskers will play one more buy game before re-starting Big Ten play on Jan. 2 against Michigan State in a massive game. Here are three thoughts on the 78-55 win.

Sam Hoiberg helped save the day

There were a few nervous moments in the first half. Mostly, you figured it was a matter of time before shots started falling. The Huskers needed a spark and Sam Hoiberg delivered. He had 11 points and two assists in the second half. He finished the game with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists, a steal and zero turnovers. Hoiberg has 48 assists compared to just eight turnovers this season.

Jamarques Lawrence has been stellar, but the elite play of Sam Hoiberg is one of the main reasons Nebraska basketball is one of six undefeated teams left in men’s college basketball.

Berke is playing his best basketball

Berke Buyuktuncel scored 14 points on five field-goal attempts against Wisconsin. He only scored a few points against Illinois, but this game was a reminder that he doesn’t need to shoot a lot to impact the game.

Berke only attempted seven shots but scored 12 points. He made two a triple late in the game, along with another jumper to get the last five points. His defense doesn’t get talked about enough.

Regardless, Berke has been the perfect complement to Rienk Mast. Like Hoiberg, Berke deserves more credit, and after notching the fourth triple-double in Nebraska basketball history, he should get more.

Everything but shoot well

Nebraska basketball did everything well but make shots, at least for most of the first half. The Huskers had 28 field goals, and assisted on 22 of them.

That tells you Nebraska was getting into the paint, and that the ball movement was solid. The issue was that Nebraska basketball shot just 22 percent from 3-point range (6-of-27). If the Huskers made a few more, this game would have been a blowout much earlier.

The defense limited North Dakota to 33 percent from the field. They did make 10 3-pointers were just 9-of-28 (32 percent) on 2-pointers. Good luck to any team trying to win shooting 34 percent from three and 32 from two.

Nebraska basketball also had just six turnovers. This team is playing extremely well and it’s ready to re-enter Big Ten play, although there is one tune-up left to go.

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