Hoops Game Day: Nebraska at Maryland, Pt. 1

Published Feb 16, 2021

Robin Washut • InsideNebraska

Senior Writer

@RobinWashut

Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-12, 1-9) vs Maryland Terrapins (11-10, 5-9)

Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021 - 6 p.m. CT

XFINITY Center

TV: BTN

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Internet: FOX Sports App

Nebraska projected starters

NAME	HT/WT	YEAR	NOTES

Dalano Banton	6-9/204	So.	Scoring 10.8 points per game, ranks 4th in Big Ten with 4.7 assists, and averaging 6.6 rebounds per game.
Trey McGowens	6-4/191	Jr.	Had 10 points, three assists and three steals at Penn State. Ranks 5th in the Big Ten with 1.5 spg.
Teddy Allen	6-6/223	Jr.	Ranks sixth in the Big Ten in scoring at 16.6 ppg. Scored game-winner with 8.3 seconds left at Penn State.
Lat Mayen	6-9/205	Jr.	Had scored in double figures in five straight games before being held to 5 points at Penn State.
Derrick Walker	6-8/232	Jr.	Averaging 5.3 points on 57% shooting along with 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.2 steals per game.

Maryland projected starters

NAME	HT/WT	YEAR	NOTES

Darryl Morsell	6-5/200	Sr.	Averaging 8.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and leads the team with 2.9 assists on the season.
Aaron Wiggins	6-6/200	Jr.	Scoring 12.7 ppg with 5.3 rpg and 2.8 apg. Has scored at least 17 points in four of the past five games.
Eric Ayala	6-5/195	Jr.	Leads team with 14.3 ppg while shooting 45.5% from the field and 36.4% from 3-point range.
Hakim Hart	6-6/200	So.	Averaging 8.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg, and 1.5 apg while shooting 47.5% from the field.
Donta Scott	6-7/225	So.	Scoring 12.2 ppg on 52.4% shooting and hitting 46% from behind the arc along with a team-high 6.6 rpg.

3 KEYS TO VICTORY

1. Keep the flow going

Ever since head coach Fred Hoiberg put his foot down and took a tighter hold on the reins of Nebraska's offense, the ball movement has been the best it's looked all season.

Hoiberg would prefer letting his players get out and run as much as possible and to trust them to make the right plays with high pace.

But the Huskers struggled so much with their decision making in transition that the second-year coach put up the "stop sign" and began calling set plays on almost every possession.

As a result, NU racked up 19 assists on 27 made baskets in its win over Penn State on Sunday, which tied for the team's second-highest total of the season. It also marked Nebraska's second-most assists under Hoiberg.

Hoiberg has a playbook as big as any coach in the country, and it would serve the Huskers well to continue to utilize it as much as possible.

2. Lock in on defense

One of the main reasons Nebraska has been able to remain competitive after its 28-day COVID-19 layoff has been its exceptional defense effort over the past five games.

The Huskers have dropped their opponent scoring average by 12.2 points per game during that stretch, holding teams to 38 percent shooting from the field and 27 percent from 3-point range.

That includes holding Michigan State, Minnesota, and Wisconsin all under 40 percent shooting, the first time NU has held three straight Big Ten foes under 40 percent since 2017-18.

Nebraska now boasts the best 3-point defense in the Big Ten at 30.9 percent from the season, and that must continue against a Maryland team that hits 35.4 percent from behind the arc as a team.

3. Eliminate the devastating scoring droughts

It's one thing for a team's shooting to go cold for a few minutes throughout a 40-minute game. It's an entirely different situation when 5-10 scoring droughts are a regular occurrence.

For the first 31 minutes against Penn State, Nebraska's offense was as good as it had been all season. Then, almost like clockwork, all of the things the Huskers were doing so well flew out the window.

That led to an 8:31 scoring drought that sparked a 12-0 PSU run and erased an 11-point lead.

Nebraska was finally able to overcome one of those extended cold streaks and get a win. Still, that type of offensive feast or famine is not sustainable, even against the Big Ten's lowest-scoring team in Maryland (69.6 ppg).

QUOTABLE

“I told them, ‘You guys have been knocking on the door; let's go kick that — word I can't use — down. And they went out and continued to fight. That’s the thing I’m so proud of this group, is how they continue to go out there and battle. For me, yeah, probably a big sense of relief. And like I’ve said, it’s going to take getting one of these to understand you can do it, to know you can do it and find a way to use it as a stepping stone as the program.”

Head coach Fred Hoiberg on his message to his team following the win at Penn State.