The ingredients for Nebraska’s struggles have become a familiar recipe over the first 17 games of the season.
When the Huskers’ defense isn’t at its very best, particularly in defending the perimeter, and they’re not getting to the free-throw line at a steady rate, their chances of winning decrease dramatically.
That’s especially held true in NU’s back-to-back losses to Northwestern and Michigan after a 3-0 start to Big Ten play.
In those defeats, Nebraska (9-8 overall, 3-2 Big Ten) allowed its opponents to shoot a combined 22-of-46 from 3-point range and 39-of-44 from the charity stripe. The Huskers, on the other hand, went just 15-of-34 from behind the arc and 14-of-18 at the line.
For head coach Tim Miles, the worst part about those numbers is that his team knew full well that containing the Wildcats and Wolverines on the perimeter would be vital to winning. Instead, NU let both teams shoot from 3-point range as well as they had all season.
"One of the things is, both of the teams we've played, their M.O. are threes, but we didn't hold them to less than their average,” Miles said on his post-game radio show on the Husker Sports Network.
“For instance, (the Wolverines) make about 9.5 per game. They get 11… If you're going to win, you've got to hold them below their average. The same thing with Northwestern, that’s their M.O. So, not being able to take away a strength usually is a bad sign. We’ve just got to keep looking at film.”
Northwestern came into the game last Sunday shooting 36-percent from downtown, but ended up hitting 11-of-24 3-pointers (45.8 percent) to set a season high for made threes by an NU opponent.
Michigan matched those 11 made threes on Saturday and did so at a 50-percent clip, the highest 3-point percentage against the Huskers this season.
The Wolverines’ 91 points also set Nebraska opponent high, and their 54-percent shooting from the field was the second-highest total by a Husker foe this year.
“They did a lot of things right offensively,” Miles said. “They put us in some tough spots... Their starting four man and starting five man go 7-of-9 from three. That’s unusual. I don’t care wherever you go.”
Nebraska will have a good opportunity to get its defense back on track when it returns to action on Wednesday night at home against Ohio State.
The Buckeyes (10-7, 0-4) come in ranked 13th in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage (32.6) and have made just 102 threes on the season, ahead of only Rutgers (80).
Ohio State has also struggled to convert at the free-throw line, ranking 11th in the league at 67.8 percent.
“They know what they’re doing, and we can’t let them right the ship on us,” Miles said. “We’re going to need a great crowd going crazy and helping us out. I remember last time when we went to the NCAA Tournament, I thought the win over Ohio State was really a springboard.”
