3 takeaways from Nebraska basketball’s blowout win over Boise State

Nebraska basketball came out firing against Boise State, and it just never stopped.

There was some back-and-forth between the two teams in the first half. Nebraska jumped out to a 20-10 lead. Boise State cut it down to 34-28. However, every time the Broncos got close, Nebraska answered with a barrage of offense, usually led in some way by Braden Frager, who had 26 points, seven rebounds and three assists. He also connected on three 3-pointers.

A strong finish to close the first half had the Huskers up 18 before they ran away with a 27-point victory at the Sanford Pentagon. Pryce Sandfort added 17 points. Sam Orme finished with 15, making three shots from beyond the arc.

Here are three takeaways from the 102-75 win.

Braden Frager finally hit from 3

Frager was 3-for-19 in the first two games from beyond the arc. That’s not the kind of shooting you wanted to see from Frager, but it didn’t feel like a long-term thing. It felt like it was only a matter of time before he got going. Sam Orme sort of did the same thing, making three shots from beyond the arc in his own right.

That was his best game as a Husker. That was a good sign. Nebraska is going to be hard to beat when it knocks down 12 3-pointers (50%), and in the second half, the Broncos didn’t stand a chance.

Nebraska blows out another quality team

Boise State is ranked 63rd in the KenPom rankings right now. The Broncos would need to be in the top 50 of the NET rankings later for it to count as a Quadrant 1 win, but that doesn’t change the way Nebraska controlled the game. The Huskers scored more than 50 points in both halves.

Three different players hit at least three 3-pointers. The Huskers didn’t just shoot a quality percentage from beyond the arc; they shot 50% (12 of 24) compared to 38% for Boise State.

Whether it was Providence or Boise State, two teams in the top 65 of the KenPom rankings, neither was any contest for Nebraska basketball.

Transfers shined

The bigs, Boden Kapke and Damon Wilkinson, continue to be effective in the low post. They made 9 of 14 shots from the field and combined for 20 points and eight rebounds. Orme finished with 15 off the bench. Taj DeGourville had eight assists off the bench as the Huskers assisted on 26 of 38 field goals.

Nebraska basketball allowed 13 3-pointers. The Huskers made 12, but needed only 24 attempts to make that many. Their efficiency from deep is impressive. Fred Hoiberg has everything working for a Nebraska basketball team that hasn’t skipped a beat since last season after reaching the Sweet 16.

And what’s scary is that it hasn’t come close to playing its best basketball.