3 thoughts on Nebraska’s huge win over Oklahoma

It’s always great to see Nebraska beat Oklahoma.

The old Big 8 rivals met in Sioux Falls inside the Sanford Pentagon for what turned into an electrifying non-conference matchup that Nebraska basketball won 105-99.

It felt like an old Big-8 matchup. It was more of a high-scoring game than you normally see in the Big Ten, but scoring is up across college basketball.

At one point early in the second half, Nebraska trailed by about double digits. It felt like the Sooners might pull away, leading by as much as 16 points in the first half.

But the Huskers started to get some stops. Most importantly, they caught fire. Rienk Mast and Pryce Sandfort combined for 54 points. Jamarques Lawrence buried three 3-pointers in the second half. Five guys were in double figures, and even though it’s not a quadrant-1 win, it was an important.

Here are three thoughts on Nebraska’s win over Oklahoma.

3-point shooting was deadly

One of the things Fred Hoiberg wanted to fix this offseason was the 3-point shooting. Nebraska just didn’t have enough of it.

Adding former Iowa sharpshooter Pryce Sandfort has been exactly what the doctor ordered. He connected on four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 28 points. He used his size to score inside, and when Nebraska plays with him in a smaller lineup, it causes problems.

Lawrence made four jumpers in the second half. Five different players hit 3-pointers. That forced Oklahoma to guard the 3-point line, which opened up the lane. Nebraska turned that into 28 free throws.

The defense could have been better. Oklahoma made 14 3-pointers. Yet, Nebraska made 15. They pushed the pace, they ran their offense, and most importantly, they made shots, especially in the second half.

Ball security was huge for Nebraska basketball

Nebraska basketball only turned the ball over five times. The Sooners turned that into eight points. Nebraska forced 10 turnovers and turned that into 17 points, 1.7 points per turnover forced.

That was the difference in the game. Nebraska took care of the ball, got good shots, and eventually, they started falling. Lawrence had three turnovers. He wasn’t perfect, but between Jamarques and Sam Hoiberg, coach Fred Hoiberg found a solution for the point guard position.

It seems that way at least. It was just one game against an Oklahoma team ranked 64th in the KenPom rankings, but if you only turn it over five times and make 15 treys, you should always come out on top.

Defense was a liability

I wouldn’t expect this to change. Nebraska basketball isn’t going to be a top-25 defensive team this season, although there could always be a surprise.

The Huskers played fast. They wanted to make it a high-scoring game, and it worked. That’s going to be the best way to beat people. They were successful at forcing turnovers and were even on the boards.

Yet, the Hukers gave up 14 3-pointers and allowed Oklahoma to shoot 70 percent on 2-point attempts. That’s going to be an issue going forward. This team doesn’t have a lot of rim protectors, and some of the guys are better shooters than defenders.

That will make for some interesting games, and if Saturday was any clue, expect a lot of points for both teams.