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Hoops Gameday: Nebraska vs. North Dakota

WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN

Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-1) vs. North Dakota Fighting Hawks (2-1)

Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017 - 1:00 p.m.

Pinnacle Bank Arena

TV: BTN

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Internet: BTN2Go

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Nebraska projected starters
NAME HT/WT YEAR NOTES

Glynn Watson

6-0/174

Jr.

Was just 1-of-9 shooting for 5 points and had zero assists, two turnovers, and four fouls vs. St. John's

Evan Taylor

6-5/206

Sr.

Had nine points, five rebounds and two assists vs. St. John's but also committed four turnovers.

James Palmer

6-6/210

Jr.

Led NU with 13 points and three assists vs. the Red Storm but did so on just 4-of-10 shooting with three turnovers.

Isaac Copeland

6-9/221

Jr.

Had team-highs in rebounds (7), blocks (2) and steals (2) but scored just five points before fouling out vs. St. John's.

Jordy Tshimanga

6-11/268

So.

Played just 11 minutes and had four points, three rebounds and two turnovers vs. the Red Storm.

North Dakota projected starters
NAME HT/WT YEAR NOTES

Geno Crandall

6-4/180

Jr.

HA 20 points, seven rebounds and five steals and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line in win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Marlon Stewart

6-3/200

So.

Scored just three points vs. APBU but led team with six assists and four steals.

Cortez Seales

6-4/190

Jr.

Scored team-high 22 points with six rebounds and was 12-of-15 from the free throw line in win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Conner Avants

6-7/230

Jr.

Had nine points and a team-high eight rebounds last time out vs. APBU.

Dale Jones

6-8/225

Sr.

Scored 16 points with seven rebounds and was 4-of-8 from 3-point range vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

3 KEYS TO VICTORY

1. Make a shot

Of all the things that went wrong for Nebraska during its 79-56 embarrassment at St. John's on Thursday night, the fact that the Huskers couldn't even make the most basic shots all night was at the top of the list. Nebraska struggled offensively from start to finish, shooting a dismal 28.1 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from 3-point range. Key players James Palmer, Glynn Watson, Isaac Copeland, Evan Taylor and Anton Gill went a combined 12-for-47 from the field. It doesn't matter who you play, you're not beating anyone shooting like that.

2. Find an interior offense

Nebraska has been so reliant on its backcourt to create offense this season because it's gotten little-to-nothing offensively from its bigs so far. Over the first three games center Jordy Tshimanga has a total of eight points on 2-of-7 shooting. Copeland, a former five-star prospect, is averaging just 7.0 points per game on 7-of-22 shooting and is 0-for-8 on 3-point attempts. Senior center Duby Okeke wasn't expected to provide much scoring, but he only has four total points in three games and has taken a combined four shots.

3. Be ready to fight

In the wake of its first loss of the season, Nebraska had less than three days to figure things out before taking on a dangerous North Dakota team this afternoon. The Fighting Hawks (2-1) won the Big Sky Conference and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament last season, and they flustered Iowa so much in an 84-73 loss that Hawkeye head coach Fran McCaffery refused to have his team shake hands after the game. Nebraska lacked toughness and fire on Thursday night, and it better hope it found a way to regain both of those traits again today.

QUOTABLE

"It’s early in the year, we’ve got a lot of improvement ahead of us, and I look forward to getting to it as soon as we can."
— Head coach Tim Miles on Nebraska bouncing back from its loss at St. John's

PREDICTION

Nebraska 76-69

Robin's season record: 3-0

vs. the spread: 1-2

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