Coming off their second home loss of the season to in-state rival Kansas, the Wildcats catch their next action at Nebraska. After jumping to a 12-3 record in non-conference play, the Nebraska Cornhuskers have struggled immensely in the Big 12. They lost their first five Big 12 conference games before defeating Oklahoma on Saturday. It doesn’t get any easier for the Cornhuskers as they face a tough challenge at home against Kansas State on Tuesday. However, the Wildcats haven’t beaten the Huskers at home since the 2005-06 season.
Nebraska has not been a very good rebounding team and that is great news for the Wildcats as they are very strong on the boards, averaging 40.3 rebounds per game. Statistically, this is a game that the Wildcats should be able to run away with, but no conference game is a given. The Wildcats have not lost multiple games in a row this season and the common thought is that the Wildcats won’t be losing to Nebraska. On paper, this game is a definite mismatch, but the favored team in the Big 12 hasn’t always won this season—just ask the Oklahoma Sooners, who were dismantled by the Huskers on Saturday by a score of 63-46.
The Wildcats were able to establish both their guard-play and their frontcourt right in time for the biggest game of the year. Though they played a great game against Kansas, they came up short. Look for the Wildcats to be hungry for a win against a desperate Nebraska team. The Wildcats are currently 4-3 in conference play, two and a half games back from the conference-leading Jayhawks.
Like the Huskers, the Wildcats have had their share of troubles in Big 12 play. They are surrendering an average of 72.9 points to opposing teams. Also, they shoot a mere 66 percent from the free-throw line, and boast a 0.76 assist-to-turnover ratio.
However, the upside to the Wildcats this season has been their defense. The Wildcats love to pressure the basketball. They switch things up and keep offenses guessing. As a team, the Wildcats force 17.3 turnovers a game; second in the Big 12 behind only Missouri.
Keys to Beating Nebraska
The Wildcats need to pressure the Cornhuskers into turnovers. Nebraska takes care of the ball very well, averaging just 11.7 turnovers per game.
The Wildcats need to be very aggressive with the Cornhuskers. They can’t give them anything easy. Nebraska is a very dangerous team when they are hot from the floor. Coming off a game where they shot 45 percent from beyond the arc, the Huskers look to bring that same intensity to their home fans against the Wildcats. The Wildcats must disrupt the Huskers’ offensive sets and make them play 5-on-5. The Cornhuskers only have one pure scorer in Brandon Richardson. If the Wildcats can prevent him from getting hot, Nebraska should be fairly well contained offensively.
Kansas State should be able to come in to Lincoln and take this one fairly easily, barring a major meltdown. For that to happen, the Wildcats need production on the boards, preventing Nebraska from getting second-chance points from rebounds. The Wildcats should come out firing with the intent of pulling away early. The bench players should get involved early and often and the Wildcats should move the ball around and must convert on easy shots. Look for the Wildcats to bounce back after the tough conference loss at home to Kansas.
