3 thoughts on Nebraska’s next NCAA opponent: Vanderbilt

As glorious as it was to watch the Nebraska basketball team knock off Troy for the first NCAA tournament win in program history, it’s time to turn the page to Vanderbilt.

Fred Hoiberg was probably doing that as soon as the game ended. The former Iowa State head coach knows what it takes to keep winning in the NCAA tournament.

The Huskers have won a program record 27 games. They have advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time, but as the No. 4 seed, there is no reason for Nebraska basketball to be happy with one win.

A fellow 27-win team, Vanderbilt,  a squad with four wins over ranked teams, and nine wins over teams in the tournament, awaits on Saturday night (7:45 CST, TNT).

The Commodores reached the SEC tournament championship game and also beat Florida, the defending national champions and a No. 1 seed, in the SEC semis.

Vanderbilt is ranked 11th by Kenpom, one spot ahead of Nebraska basketball. It’s going to be a huge test, and here are three initial thoughts on this NCAA Tournament matchup.

Nebraska has two take advantage of Vanderbilt’s weaknesses

There are a lot of things that Vanderbilt does well. It has weaknesses, though, just like every team does. What’s odd is that two areas to target are things that Nebraska doesn’t exactly excel at: Offensive rebounding and getting to the free-throw line.

Vanderbilt allows 11.4 offensive rebounds per game. That’s 282nd in college basketball. Nebraska brings down just 8.8 per game (331st). However, the Huskers had 11 against Troy, although that’s a smaller conference opponent.

Vanderbilt isn’t a big team, though. They only have two rotation players taller than 6-foot-7. And while Nebraska might not offensive rebound well at the time, they also haven’t played 33 games against Vanderbilt.

The Commodores also give up 24 free-throw attempts per game (335th). They make teams work for shots and like to challenge them. For Nebraska, that will mean more attacking the basket, sort of like against Troy.

However, the Huskers ranked 351st in college basketball with 16 free-throw attempts per game. It’s not a huge part of what they do. So that will be something to watch.

Defense will be critical

Vanderbilt is an elite offensive team. They are 8th in the Kenpom offensively. They rank in the top 100 overall in field-goal percentage, 2-point percentage, 3-point percentage, free-throw attempts, free-throw makes, free-throw percentage, and assists. Offensive rebounds are the only thing this team doesn’t do well.

Tyler Tanner (6-foot) is a dynamic scoring guard who averages 19 points per game. He dishes out 5.3 assists per game and shoots 56 percent on twos, as well as 37 percent on threes. This isn’t a guy you can play under against on ball screens.

Duke Miles is a 6-foot-2 guard who is scoring over 16 points per game. The former Oklahoma guard leads the SEC in steals (2.7) and free-throw percentage (89.8). He also shoots 44 percent overall, 36 percent from three, and gets to the line 5.4 times per game.

Tyler Nickel is also dangerous. The 6-foot-7 forward is a former North Carolina transfer. He averages three treys per game, shooting 40 percent. The top four shooters on the Vandy roster, in terms of volume, all shoot 36 percent or higher from three.

So defense will be paramount for Nebraska.

Feed off the energy

One edge Nebraska will have that no other team in the NCAA Tournament will have is a rabid fan base. Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington acknowledged that it was going to be a “road” game.

It certainly helped the Huskers against Troy. Nebraska needs to feed off that energy, keep the crowd in the game early, and ride the Big Red wave all the way to the Sweet 16.

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