WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN
Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-8, 1-2) vs Iowa Hawkeyes (10-4, 1-2)
Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020 - 8 p.m. CT
Pinnacle Bank Arena
TV: BTN
Radio: Husker Sports Network
Internet: Fox Sports App
3 KEYS TO VICTORY
1. Try to slow down Garza
I say "try" to slow down Luka Garza because no team has been able to effectively take him out of a game entirely this season. Opposing big men have had their way with Nebraska all year, and if the Huskers don't come out ready to make life as difficult as possible on the 6-foot-11, 260-pound junior every time he touches the basketball, it could be a career night for the All-American candidate. Look for NU to swarm Garza with multiple defenders every time he gets the ball in an effort to make any other Iowa player have to win the game. Garza's still going to get his - you don't average 20 and 10 by accident - but Nebraska cannot allow it to be a 30 and 20 night (or worse) if it's going to have any chance tonight.
2. Limit the second chances
As if accounting for Garza wasn't difficult enough, Iowa will make life even harder on Nebraska tonight by complimenting its center with one of the best perimeter offenses in the Big Ten. This game is a pick-your-poison scenario for NU, and the hope is that the Hawkeyes have a cold night shooting from behind the arc. But we're talking about a UI team that ranks second in the conference with 81.1 points per game while shooting 36.7 percent from downtown and making 8.4 3-pointers a contest. In other words, Iowa doesn't miss often, so when it does, Nebraska absolutely has to rebound. Keeping Garza off the glass will be a challenge in itself, so the Huskers need a full team effort on the defensive boards to avoid giving the Hawkeyes multiple shots per possession.
3. Make shots early
Nebraska has been and will likely continue to be a front-runner team that thrives when things go well early and struggles to recover when they don't. That means getting off to a fast start offensively will be imperative tonight for numerous reasons. The Huskers' offense has been a mess recently, shooting a combined 33.3 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from behind the arc over the past two games. Coming out and knocking down some shots out of the gates would do wonders for NU's confidence and also get the home crowd involved early. Nebraska needs a lot to go right in order to pull out the upset tonight, but first and foremost, it has to be able to keep pace with the high-scoring Hawkeyes.
QUOTABLE
PREDICTION
Iowa 85, Nebraska 73
Robin's 2019-20 record: 8-6
vs. the spread: 5-9
