NU closes non-con slate with 79-38 blowout over Mustangs
In a game against a Division-II opponent that wouldn’t even count towards its NCAA Tournament resume, Nebraska just needed to take care of business against Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday.
Though there were some uninspired stretches early on, the Huskers did what they needed to do and rolled to a 79-38 victory in their final non-conference tune-up of the season.
Seniors James Palmer Jr. and Glynn Watson combined for 32 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists, and all 10 of NU’s available players scored in the win.
Nebraska improved to 11-2 on the year and finished with its best non-con record since 2003-04 at 10-1. It also marked just the fourth time since World War II that it only lost one game outside of league play.
“I was proud of our guys,” head coach Tim Miles said. “They played with alertness on defense; we were very good on the ball… I thought our guys were very sharp, our attention to detail was good, and then fairly crisp on offense even though we didn’t make shots the first half. We gradually got better as the game went on and shook the rust off, so to speak.”
Nebraska took control from the very beginning, as Watson and senior Isaac Copeland both scored five points out of the gates to help NU take an early 12-0 lead. The Huskers’ energy, effort, and execution dropped a bit as the half wore on, though, and Southwest Minnesota State twice pulled within six points.
At one point both teams went more than four minutes without scoring a point before a 3-pointer by Watson got Nebraska back up 24-10 with six minutes left in the half.
That would turn into an 18-3 run that helped send NU into halftime with a commanding 37-18 lead. The Huskers only shot 36.1 percent from the field in the first half but made up for it by going 7-of-13 from 3-point range.
It also helped that SMSU shot just 29.2 percent and committed nine turnovers that directly led to 13 Nebraska points.
“We just needed to share the ball,” Watson said. “I think we started playing one-on-one, and just needed to share it, move the ball, and take better shots… It was nothing that we couldn’t handle.”
Nebraska opened the second half with an 11-0 run, sparked by five-straight points from sophomore Thomas Allen, that pushed its lead up to 28.
Another 10-2 spurt would give the Huskers their biggest lead yet at 66-31, and the starters would soon give way to the bench to finish out the final minutes. Nebraska ended up shooting 53.3 percent from the field in the second half while holding SMSU to 31 percent.
Copeland finished with 12 points while senior Tanner Borchardt posted four points and nine rebounds in his first career start in place of injured junior Isaiah Roby.
“We just came in and took care of business,” Palmer said. “It was a great win coming off of our break.”
Nebraska will begin its remaining 18-game conference slate on Wednesday when it travels to take on Maryland for a 5:30 p.m. CT tip on Big Ten Network.
3-POINT PLAY
1. Roby held out with injury
Roby was held out of the lineup on Saturday for precautionary reasons as he deals with a lingering injury. Miles had hinted before the game that some players had been nursing some various ailments, and he confirmed that Roby was nursing a groin injury. Roby probably could have toughed it out and played had Nebraska been facing a Big Ten opponent, but Miles said he was definitely concerned about getting the standout junior forward back to full speed in time for the return of Big Ten play next week.
2. Borchardt shines in first start
In Roby’s absence, Borchardt got the call to make the first start of his career. The former walk-on took full advantage of his opportunity, playing a season-high 17 minutes and falling one rebound shy of tying his career-best mark for rebounds. Borchardt said he didn’t learn he would be in the starting lineup until after the pre-game shoot-around this morning, but he was ready when his name was called. “I’m in the lineup, and I’ve been preparing for this moment all season, so I was ready to go,” Borchardt said. “I feel like I played great. I just did my role: got rebounds, rolled to the rim.”
3. Nebraska got what it needed
Southwest Minnesota State received a $30,000 check for Saturday’s game, and while it may have been the least-attractive matchup on Nebraska’s schedule, it accomplished about everything it was supposed to. The Huskers’ bench played a combined 79 minutes – with top reserves Borchardt, Brady Heiman, Nana Akenten and Thorir Thorbjarnarson all playing 17 or more – giving them one last taste of valuable game action before the start of the Big Ten grind. Most importantly, NU had its starters out of the game with eight minutes left and came out healthy. Some might question why Nebraska would bother with a D-II opponent, but considering the December buy-game disasters in previous years, Miles and Co. were smart to take advantage of the NCAA’s allowance of one consequence-free contest.