Published Dec 29, 2019
Hoops Game Day: Nebraska vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
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Robin Washut  •  InsideNebraska
Senior Writer
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@RobinWashut

WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN

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Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-7, 1-1) vs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders (4-8, 0-2)

Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019 - 1 p.m. CT

Pinnacle Bank Arena

TV: BTN

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Internet: Fox Sports App

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Nebraska projected starters
NAMEHT/WTYEARNOTES

Cam Mack

6-2/175

So.

Scored a team-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting along with seven rebounds and seven assists vs. North Dakota.

Dachon Burke

6-4/180

Jr.

Had 10 points on just 5-of-12 shooting to go along with three steals vs, North Dakota.

Thorir Thorbjarnarson

6-3/210

Jr.

Started his fourth straight game but ended with just two points on 1-of-5 shooting in only 22 minutes vs. UND.

Haanif Cheatham

6-5/195

Sr.

Scored 10 points vs. North Dakota, making him one of four Huskers to reach double figures in the loss.

Yvan Ouedraogo

6-9/260

Fr.

Finished with nine points and nine rebounds, the third time this season he's had nine or more boards.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi projected starters
NAMEHT/WTYEARNOTES

Jashawn Talton-Thomas

6-5/210

Sr.

Averaging 12.7 points and leads the team with 7.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

Myles Smith

6-0/190

Jr.

Leads the team with 16.7 points per game. Scored 31 in the loss to Central Arkansas.

Jordan Hairston

6-0/160

Fr.

Averages 9.5 points per game and is shooting 52.2 percent from 3-point range. Scored 25 points in the loss to Texas A&M.

Nolan Bertain

6-4/185

Sr.

Scoring 7.7 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. Had 18 points in a loss to UTSA.

Tony Lewis

6-10/265

Sr.

Averaging 3.6 points and 2.4 rebounds while only playing 9.9 minutes per game.

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3 KEYS TO VICTORY

1. Who wants to play?

Sophomore point guard Cam Mack laid it all on the table following Nebraska's immensely disappointing loss to North Dakota last week. “I feel like everybody needs to look themselves in the mirror and ask if they want to play, period," Mack said. "Are you going to play or not? We can’t take games off. We’re going to start Big Ten play; you think teams are going to play (around) with us? No. We’ve just got to come to play.” This past week needed to be an important time of introspection for every player on the roster, and for Fred Hoiberg and his staff, too. Who is going to set up and emerge the core guys that NU can build around for the future? Today is the last chance for the Huskers to figure themselves out before a daunting 18-game Big Ten schedule hits. There is no more time left for tip-toeing around problems that need to be fixed.

2. Defend the 3-point line

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi doesn't do many things extremely well offensively, but the one area where the Islanders can bite you is from behind the arc. TAMCC ranks 45th nationally in 3-point percentage at 36.8, and 41 percent of its scoring this season has come off of threes, the 14th-highest percentage in the country. The Islanders make an average of 8.3 3-pointers per game and have three players hitting 41 percent or better from downtown. Nebraska just gave up 11 made threes to North Dakota, which was a bit of an outlier considering NU currently ranks 36th nationally in defensive 3-point percentage (29.0). The Huskers need to clamp down on the perimeter and not give up so many open 3-point looks like they did the last time out.

3. Figure out what to do with Jervay Green

The situation regarding junior guard Jervay Green has become a real issue, and it's something that Hoiberg is going to have to address one way or another going forward. Green returned from his two-game suspension against North Dakota and played just 15 minutes off the bench, including just five minutes in the second half and sitting for the final 8:17. Green's plus/minus rating was -6, the lowest on the team, and Nebraska ended up outscoring UND 21-14 over the final 8:17 that he was out. He was also seen on the bench having an emotional outburst after being subbed out. Pair all of that with the Huskers playing their two best games of the season during Green's suspension, there's obviously a lot of dots that are pretty easy to connect right now. If Green is going to remain a regular part of NU's rotation, he and Hoiberg need to figure out a balance to keep him happy while also doing what's best for the team.

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QUOTABLE

“You can’t only want it during the good times. You have to want it during the tough times. You have to battle through the adversity, and that’s what the good teams do. Right now, we’re too inconsistent with that. There’s a very fine line, especially with a for a team like ours with all the new faces, and we’re on the wrong side of that line a lot of times because we don’t fight through that adversity well enough. So absolutely, we’ve all got to look at ourselves. I promise you I’m going to do it. I’m going to go look at it and watch this film and see what I can do better to put our guys in a better position to be successful. Sometimes you’ve got to go out there and dig in and grind it out when things aren’t going your way."
Head coach Fred Hoiberg on the Huskers needing to play with more fight, energy, and resolve going forward.
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PREDICTION

Nebraska 70, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 62

Robin's 2019-20 record: 6-6

vs. the spread: 3-9