12/19/2021 basketball Edit

Nebraska Basketball Game Day: Kansas State

Robin Washut • InsideNebraska

Senior Writer

Robin has been with HuskerOnline since July of 2008, focusing on Nebraska football team coverage as well as being the No. 1 Husker men's basketball team and recruiting writer.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-6) vs Kansas State Wildcats (6-3)

Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021 - 5 p.m. CT

Pinnacle Bank Arena

TV: BTN

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Internet: FOX Sports App

Nebraska projected starters

NAME	HT/WT	YEAR	NOTES
Alonzo Verge Jr.	6-3/164	Sr.	Ranks second in Big Ten with 5.5 assists per game and 12th with 16.0 points per game.
Bryce McGowens	6-4/196	Fr.	Finished with 14 points and was 6-of-7 from the free-throw line in the loss to Auburn.
Keisei Tominaga	6-2/178	So.	Scored just three points in 24 minutes vs. Auburn but also had a career-high three steals.
Lat Mayen	6-9/217	Jr.	Finished with six points and a season-high seven boards against Auburn.
Derrick Walker	6-9/239	Jr.	Had 10 points and 10 rebounds vs. Auburn for NU's sixth double-double in the first 11 games this season. NU had just 2 in 27 games last year.

Kansas State projected starters

NAME	HT/WT	YEAR	NOTES
Markquis Nowell	5-8/160	Jr.	Arkansas Little Rock transfer averaging 13.2 points per game along with a team-high 4.6 assists per game.
Selton Miguel	6-4/210	So.	Averages 8.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Mark Smith	6-4/225	Sr.	Former Arkansas transfer who averages 10.0 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game.
Ismael Massoud	6-9/210	So.	Averages 8.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
Kaosi Ezeagu	6-10/255	Jr.	Scoring 7.4 points per game on a whopping 75.8% shooting from the field.

3 KEYS TO VICTORY

1. Find an identity on offense

After a drama-filled past two weeks, how Nebraska responds tonight could very well define the remainder of its season.

While there were plenty of issues and distractions to deal with off the court, the Huskers also had plenty of work to do to get things figured out coming off the first back-to-back 30-point losses in program history.

NU finally had a whole week to get healthy, hold full practices, and work on themselves rather than rush to prepare for one opponent after another around required off-days.

Head coach Fred Hoiberg made it clear that he planned to make some notable schematic changes this week, especially on the offensive end of the floor. His system is predicated on tempo, transition, and giving his players the keys to the car to make the right plays.

That strategy has clearly not worked for this group through the first 11 games. Hoiberg hinted that he would slow down the pace with the ball and call out far more designed sets from the bench, similar to what he did at times while with the Chicago Bulls.

If nothing else, that would at least force the Huskers to use better movement, both with and without the ball, and create more quality shots per possession.

2. Get some shots to fall

Nebraska's shooting woes have been a constant issue against every team it's faced this season, and now it is trying to solve them against one of the best perimeter defensive teams in the country.

The Huskers come into tonight having hit just 25.9-percent of their 3-pointers this year, which ranks 346th out of 558 Division-I teams. Kansas State currently boasts the No. 2 3-point defense in the nation, holding opponents to shoot a mere 24.5% from behind the arc.

Overall, the Wildcats limit teams to only 59.7 points per game on 38.4% shooting from the field.

Nebraska needs to start fast and see shots go in early, but that will be especially critical tonight against a KSU squad that makes everything difficult with the basketball.

3. Make hay at the line

With a team that has struggled to shoot all year going against one of the best defenses in college basketball, Nebraska is going to have to find ways to manufacture points and scoring opportunities.

Neither team turns it over much, so the Huskers' best bet to create points might be at the free-throw line.

This year, NU has averaged just under 17 points per game at the stripe at a solid 74.1% clip. More than 20% of their scoring on the season has come via free throws.

Freshman Bryce McGowens will need to be at the forefront of that strategy, as he has been by far the Huskers' most productive player in terms of drawing fouls and getting to the line.

McGowens ranks 95th nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes at 5.8 and is 136th in free-throw rate at 50.7. Not only does he get to the line, but he also is shooting 84.1% on the year once he's there.

QUOTABLE

"I'll say this, if anybody was having fun last week, we probably don't want them. I do talk about that with our guys. This is a game that you've got to enjoy being out there, but the way I think you enjoy it is by going out there and flying around and giving great effort and playing together. That's when it's fun. When you pull apart, when you quit competing, it's miserable. Part of it is just getting back to trying. In the preseason, the swagger we were playing with and the energy we were playing with, those things we going great for us. But you hate to be labeled a group of frontrunners. When things are going well, that can't be the only time where you have that communication and that contagious energy is out there. You have to have that when things aren't going well. This is a game of runs, and when those runs are going the wrong way, you've got to find a way to continue to go out there and communicate. It's more important when things aren't going well. There's been a lot of conversations about that. When you play your best, you're having fun and you're confident. Right now, those have been two things that we've struggled with. The energy, when you have it, it's contagious and runs through the entire team. We've got to do a better job of that top to bottom."

— Head coach Fred Hoiberg on Nebraska needing to regain its confidence and have more fun on the court.

PREDICTION

Nebraska (+1) 71, Kansas State 69

Robin's season record: 9-2

vs. the spread: 8-3