Nebraska Basketball Game Day: Michigan

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Published Dec 7, 2021

Nebraska Basketball Game Day: Michigan

Robin Washut • InsideNebraska

Senior Writer

@RobinWashut

Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-4, 0-1) vs Michigan Wolverines (5-3, 0-0)

Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021 - 6 p.m. CT

Pinnacle Bank Arena

TV: ESPN2

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Internet: WatchESPN App

Nebraska projected starters

NAME	HT/WT	YEAR	NOTES

Alonzo Verge Jr.	6-3/164	Sr.	Scored in double figures for the 8th time in 9 games with a team-high 15 points at Indiana. Also led NU with 3 assists and 6 turnovers.
Bryce McGowens	6-7/179	Fr.	Had 8 points and 5 rebounds but shot just 3-for-14 from the field with 3 turnovers at Indiana.
Keisei Tominaga	6-2/178	So.	Made his first start as a Huskers at Indiana, posting 5 points on 2-of-7 shooting (1-5 on 3-pointers) along with 3 rebounds and a steal in 22 minutes.
Lat Mayen	6-9/217	Jr.	Played just 14 minutes with 2 points on 1-of-4 shooting, two rebounds, and an assist at Indiana.
Derrick Walker	6-9/239	Jr.	Hit 4-of-5 shots from the floor for 8 points at Indiana and has now shot 34-of-40 over the six games.

Michigan projected starters

NAME	HT/WT	YEAR	NOTES

Eli Brooks	6-1/185	Sr.	Scoring 14.4 points per game while shooting 40.5% from 3-point range. Averages 2.9 assists and a team-high 1.5 steals per game.
DeVante Jones	6-1/200	Sr.	Graduate transfer from Coastal Carolina who's scoring 6.5 ppg and leads with 3.5 apg and is second with 6.5 rpg.
Caleb Houstan	6-8/205	Fr.	Former 5-star recruit who ranked No. 8 nationally in the 2021 class. Averages 9.8 ppg while shooting 35.0% on a team-high 40 3-point attempts.
Moussa Diabate	6-11/210	Fr.	Former 5-star recruit who ranked No. 22 nationally in the 2021 class. Averages 7.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, and is second on the team with 1.0 bpg.
Hunter Dickinson	7-1/260	So.	First-team All-Big Ten, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and second-team All-American last season. Leads team with 14.5 ppg, 8.4 rpg, and 1.1 bpg.

1. The threes have to fall

Nebraska built its offense around transition, layups, and 3-pointers. So far, one of those elements has been glaringly lacking this season.

Despite upgrading its perimeter shooting to the best head coach Fred Hoiberg has had yet, the Huskers have been cold across the board from behind the arc.

Nebraska now ranks 325th nationally in 3-point percentage on the season at 27.1% after going 5-of-22 from three on Saturday at Indiana. It had a stretch where it missed 14 straight attempts in the loss, and three of NU's five makes came in the final 4:36 of garbage time.

The Huskers currently have just three players shooting better than 30 percent on 3-pointers in Kobe Webster (8-20, 40%), Keisei Tominaga (15-41, 36.6%), and C.J. Wilcher (13-40, 32.5%).

That trio has combined to make 9-of-32 threes (26.4%) over the past two games.

NU lives and dies by the 3-pointer, and its shooting must drastically improve if it's going to beat anyone this season.

2. Slow down Hunter Dickinson

Michigan's roster boasts plenty of firepower, but almost everything it does offensive goes through All-American center Hunter Dickinson.

The 7-foot-1, 260-pound sophomore will literally be one of the biggest challenges Nebraska will face this season. It's not just a matter of how NU's undersized frontcourt will match up with him physically, either.

Dickinson is a force in the paint, but he also averages 2.0 assists per game as a facilitator out of the post. Even more, he just went 3-of-3 from 3-point range in the Wolverines' win over San Diego State last time out.

Dickinson racked up 13 points, 15 rebounds, and two blocks in his lone meeting with the Huskers last season. He also turned the ball over a team-high five times due to Nebraska swarming him every time he touched the ball.

He will get his points and boards, but NU has to make life as difficult on Dickinson as possible tonight.

3. Learn and move on

As poorly as Nebraska played offensively last time out at Indiana, it was still just a six-point game with six minutes left to play.

That means that while the Huskers clearly have some issues to resolve in a hurry, they're also playing well enough to win in other key areas.

NU must come out with the same effort tonight against a Michigan team that presents many of the same challenges as the Hoosiers, both defensively and on the glass.

If Nebraska can do that and then finally knock down a few 3-pointers, there's no reason why this couldn't be an opportunity for a potential upset. Learn from your mistakes and build upon your successes.

QUOTABLE

"I did the whole psychological - got up on the ladder and put two balls through the hoop. Sometimes that thing looks like a little thimble, which it does right now. But I put two balls and they both fit in the rim. That's a big ass hoop, and our guys need to understand that."

Head coach Fred Hoiberg on tricks he's used to break the Huskers out of their recent 3-point shooting slump.

PREDICTION

Michigan (-7) 70, Nebraska 62

Robin's season record: 7-2

vs. the spread: 6-3

FUTURECAST

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