3 takeaways from Nebraska’s gritty road win at Ohio State

Nebraska basketball passed another stern test on Monday night and earned a quad-1 win in the process, thanks to a 72-69 win over Ohio State.

After a 12-3 run by the Buckeyes in the second half, Nebraska saw the lead it held for most of the game slip away. It felt like the undefeated season was slipping away.

That’s when Rienk Mast answered with a 3-pointer, and then a 3-point play. Braden Frager added a 3-point play on his own, the first of two key buckets late off the bench for Nebraska’s leading scorer.

After scoring nine points on all three 3-pointers against Michgan State, Frager didn’t make a three against Ohio State, but made six 2-point field goals on his way to a team-high 15 points. Mast struggled but scored when it was required, and when the defense needed stops, it delivered.

The Huskers are 15-0. More importantly, they are 4-0 in the Big Ten. They have college basketball’s longest win streak at 19 games, and here are three takeaways from a second road win in Big Ten play.

A stellar NCAA resume

Nebraska has been really good away from home — the sign of a good team. The win over Ohio State was the fourth quad-1 win for the Huskers, who also beat Oklahoma on a neutral floor, as well as Illinois and Creighton on the road.

The Huskers are aiming much higher than making the tournament. With 5-6 more wins, that will be achieved, but Nebraska has given itself a legit shot at being a top-four seed in whatever region they fall in. That means playing closer to home and potentially two games against lower-seeded teams to reach the Sweet 16.

Nebraska is also tied with Michigan atop the Big Ten. They have beaten two top-tier teams and a much-improved Ohio State squad.

It will be nearly impossible, but don’t write this team off yet.

Frager is the Big Ten’s best sixth man

Not that I have compared the resume of every contender, but it’s hard to imagine anyone playing better off the bench than Frager as a redshirt freshman. The 6-foot-7 wing is scoring 11.4 points per game. He’s also grabbing 4.1 rebounds and shooting 36.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Nebraska’s defensive rating with him on the floor is 97.2 or .0.97 points-per-possession. The hometown product has made a major impact and deserves to at least be in the conversation for Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year.

Another gritty win

The last two wins have been the definition of gritty. Nebraska shot 28 percent from 3-point range on Monday. Fred Hoiberg teams don’t usually win when they shoot like that.

Against Michigan State, Hoiberg got his first win as Nebraska head coach when his team was held under 60 points. In the end, Nebraska got more rebounds and limited Ohio State to 55 percent on 2-point attempts, well below their 66 percent season average.

Ohio State rebounded 10 percent of its misses. Nebraska rebounded 25. That was the difference in the game, along with a 14-of-17 showing at the line by the Huskers.

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