Huskers news: Latest on Elijah Robinson and a huge basketball game

We will find out a lot about the Nebraska basketball team on Saturday. The 23rd-ranked Huskers destroyed Wisconsin earlier this week, handing Greg Gard his biggest loss as Wisconsin’s head coach.

The Badgers were a top-30 team in the KenPom rankings before Nebraska basketball dismantled them. Now, the Huskers are a top-30 team in the KenPom rankings, plus a top-20 team in the NET.

Nebraska is for real. But how for real? Is this an NCAA tournament team? A team that can be a top-4 team in the Big Ten? We will start to get those answers on Saturday (tip-off 3 PM CST, Peacock) against Illinois. The Huskers will put their 14-game winning streak on the line against one of the most dynamic offensive teams in college basketball.

Illinois has six different players who average at least 1.3 3-point field goals per game. The 3-point defense has been exceptional for Nebraska. Wisconsin shot below 30 percent. The Badgers also made just 47 percent of their 2-point attempts, while Nebraska made 71, and shot well from deep.

Illinois will test that. The Fighting Illini have the 39th-best 2-point percentage in college basketball (59.4), plus the 60th-best 2-point defense (46.1). Illinois is 64th in 3-point field goals, but unlike other Illinois teams, it doesn’t force turnovers. The Illini are great at taking care of the ball, but not taking it away.

Kylan Boswell is a skill point guard and playmaker. He’s their leading scorer but hasn’t shot well from deep. Andrej Stojakovic is the second-leading scorer and is also under 30 percent from three. David Mirkovic and Keaton Wagner are each scoring over 14 per game as freshmen, and 7-foot-2 center Zvonimir Ivisic, is also averaging 2.4 blocks in just 18 minutes. He’s an elite rim protector when he’s on the floor.

It will be a “huge challenge,” as Fred Hoiberg said. He also said we’ll find out a lot about the Huskers on Saturday and he’s not wrong.

The latest on Elijah Robinson

There hasn’t been much in the way of news about Elijah Robinson, the former defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator at Syracuse.

It was reported that he was going to join Lane Kiffin’s staff at LSU. However, it was later reported that it wasn’t a “done deal.” Jaxson Calloway, a Texas A&M insider for On3 wrote this on Friday:

“And for those wondering, we do not expect Texas A&M to land Elijah Robinson if Sean Spencer ends up heading to Virginia Tech. While he appears unlikely to land at LSU, we believe he would be off the market before that position were to open. There’s also uncertainty about whether there would be mutual interest from the Aggies’ side. We won’t completely rule it out, but none of the sources we spoke with expect a reunion.”

If Robinson is “unlikely” to land at LSU, it seems notable for Nebraska football. Robinson would be a home-run hire by Matt Rhule. He is an elite recruiter. Robinson can also develop players.

Hopefully, Rhule can get it done, but it feels like it’s trending in that direction, unless there is another school involved that we don’t know about, which could surely be the case.

Huskers roll in volleyball’s Sweet 16

The Huskers wasted no time against Kansas in asserting their domination. Andi Jackson had four blocks in the first set, and that was pretty much a wrap. The Jayhawks didn’t score over 15 points in a single set. Here are our takeaways. 

Texas A&M pulled off a reverse sweep against Louisville. The Aggies will be the opponent on Sunday in the regional final. The first serve is set for 2 PM CST (ABC).