Hoops Game Day: Nebraska at Minnesota

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Published Feb 8, 2021

Hoops Game Day: Nebraska at Minnesota

Robin Washut • InsideNebraska

Senior Writer

@RobinWashut

Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-9, 0-6) at Minnesota Golden Gophers (11-7, 4-7)

Monday, Feb. 8, 2021 - 7 p.m. CT

Williams Arena

TV: BTN

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Internet: FOX Sports App

Nebraska projected starters

NAME	HT/WT	YEAR	NOTES

Dalano Banton	6-9/204	So.	Had 6 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 turnovers before fouling out in the loss at Michigan State.
Trey McGowens	6-4/191	Jr.	Had team highs with 13 points, three assists, three steals and 32 minutes against Michigan State.
Teddy Allen	6-6/223	Jr.	Held to a season-low 3 points vs. MSU, the first time in 14 games dating back to his freshman year at West Virginia that he did not reach double figures.
Lat Mayen	6-9/205	Jr.	Scored 10 points on 2-of-7 shooting from 3-point range in the loss to Michigan State.
Derrick Walker	6-8/232	So.	Made second start vs. MSU, finished with 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and an assist.

Minnesota projected starters

NAME	HT/WT	YEAR	NOTES

Marcus Carr	6-2/195	Jr.	Ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 19.9 points and second with 5.3 assists per game.
Gabe Kalscheur	6-4/200	Jr.	Averaging 8.9 ppg but is only shooting 31.0% from the field and 23.3% from 3-point range.
Tre' Williams	6-5/195	So.	Averaging 3.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game and only shooting 30.8% from the FT line.
Brandon Johnson	6-8/220	Sr.	Scoring 6.3 points and ranks second on the team with 6.1 rebounds per game.
Liam Robbins	7-0/235	Jr.	Averages 13.6 ppg and a team-high 7.1 rpg. Also leads the Big Ten with 2.7 blocks per game.

3 KEYS TO VICTORY

1. Bring the same energy

Nebraska struggled offensively from start to finish in its first game back at Michigan State on Saturday. But if nothing else, the Huskers competed.

For a team that hadn't played a game in nearly a month, the effort and intensity were there from the jump, especially on defense in helping to force 22 Spartan turnovers.

Even after falling behind by 16 early in the second half, NU kept battling and got as close as seven points.

The key tonight will be finding a way to replicate that energy less than 48 hours after a hard-fought loss at MSU.

Nebraska will have a chance if it plays as it did on Saturday for a full 40 minutes, but how much gas will still be in the tank?

2. Make your free throws

Shooting was an issue for Nebraska all night at Michigan State, but by far, the most frustrating part was how poorly it fared at the free-throw line.

The Huskers haven't been a good free-throw shooting team all year, but Saturday was especially bad given the number of opportunities they had to cash in at the charity stripe.

In all, NU finished 11-of-24 at the line in a 10-point loss. Two of those misses came on the front end of one-and-one situations.

Had Nebraska even shot its season average of 66 percent, it would have added five more points and made it a two-possession game in the final minutes.

Minnesota is one of the league's best free-throw shooting teams at 75.5%, and it's gotten to the line for a whopping 433 attempts. Only Ohio State has more at 439.

The Huskers have such little room for error to begin with, and they can't keep failing to cash in on scoring opportunities like that.

3. Don't let Robbins control the paint

Minnesota added one of the most impactful transfers of the offseason by landing 7-foot Drake center Liam Robbins.

An all-conference player for the Bulldogs, the junior from Davenport, Iowa, is averaging 13.6 points and leads the Gophers with 7.1 rebounds per game.

He's also provided Minnesota with one of the best rim protectors in the Big Ten, as he leads the league and ranks 15th nationally with 2.7 blocks per game.

His presence could be a big problem for Nebraska, which ranks 279th in offensive block percentage (10.4) and just had seven shots blocked last time out at Michigan State.

The Huskers need to account for Robbins defensively every time he touches the ball, and they also can't let him take away their interior offense.

QUOTABLE

"Honestly the layoff, it kind of messed a lot of us up team-wise. This whole week was draining because we had to get in shape in about four or five days. So that was kind of tough."

Junior guard Trey McGowens on how difficult it was to restart the season after a 28-day layoff.

PREDICTION

Minnesota 75, Nebraska 61

Robin's season record: 11-2

vs. the spread: 8-5

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