Nebraska Cornhuskers (15-11, 5-10) vs Penn State Nittany Lions (9-16, 2-12)

Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019 - 6 p.m. CT

Bruce Jordan Center

TV: FS1

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Internet: FOX Sports Go

1. Bring your own energy

For whatever reason, Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center has been one of the most difficult places for Nebraska to play since joining the Big Ten. In fact, the Huskers have lost five of their six trips to State College, Penn., since joining the conference in 2011. What's crazy is it's had nothing to do with it being a difficult road environment, as PSU ranks 12th in the conference in average home attendance at just over 9,000 fans per game. It's actually the opposite effect, as the Huskers seem to let their intensity correlate with the energy level of where they're playing, and more often than not it's a library at Bryce Jordan. This will be Nebraska's best remaining chance for a victory over the final five contests, so the effort and attention to detail need to be higher than ever regardless of how many people are in the stands.

2. Start fast

A big reason for Nebraska's road struggles at Penn State has been its tendency to fall into significant early deficits and having to try and dig itself out late in games. The Huskers trailed by as many as 15 points last year at PSU before falling in overtime, and they fell behind by 18 before losing 56-55 the last time they were out there two seasons earlier in 2016. Given NU's offensive struggles of late, it cannot afford to spot the Nittany Lions with another large lead tonight. One way to prevent that would be to capitalize on the perimeter. Penn State is the worst 3-point shooting team in the Big Ten at just 31.2 percent on the year, and it's also allowing opponents to shoot a league-high 37.4 percent from behind the arc. Nebraska is by no means a great 3-point shooting team (33.2 percent), but knocking down some early shots could be exactly what it needs to keep the game in control.

3. Keep Stevens contained

Penn State comes in as the Big Ten's third-lowest scoring team on the season at 68.2 points per game, but the Nittany Lions do possess one of the most consistent and productive offensive threats in the league in Lamar Stevens. The senior forward leads his team and ranks second in the conference at 19.2 ppg, and he's scored in double figures in 23 of PSU's 24 games this year (including 12 20-point outings). Nebraska did a very good job on Stevens in the first meeting back in January, holding him to a manageable 13 points on just 6-of-20 shooting. If the Huskers can limit him to a similar output tonight they should be in pretty good shape.

Nebraska 66, Penn State 64

Robin's season record: 17-9

vs. the spread: 13-13