Nebraska Basketball Game Day: Rutgers
WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN
Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-9, 0-4) at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (8-5, 2-1)
Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022 - 1 p.m.
Jersey Mike's Arena
TV: BTN
Radio: Husker Sports Network
Internet: FOX Sports App
NAME | HT/WT | YEAR | NOTES |
---|---|---|---|
Alonzo Verge Jr. |
6-3/164 |
Sr. |
Ranks 2nd in the Big Ten in assists and 4th in steals. Held to 5 points, 5 assists and 4 boards at No. 10 MSU. |
Bryce McGowens |
6-7/179 |
Fr. |
Leads Big Ten freshmen in scoring and is 2nd in rebounding. Had 13 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists at Michigan State. |
Keisei Tominaga |
6-2/178 |
So. |
Is 13-of-45 (28.8%) from 3-point range over the past seven games. Had 3 points while going 1-for-4 from deep at MSU. |
Lat Mayen |
6-9/217 |
Jr. |
Has started every game but is only shooting 31.9% from the field and 22.4% on 3-pointers in 19.7 minutes per contest this season. |
Derrick Walker |
6-9/239 |
Jr. |
Averaging 14.0 points on 75% shooting. 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals over the last three games. |
NAME | HT/WT | YEAR | NOTES |
---|---|---|---|
Geo Baker |
6-4/185 |
Sr. |
Averaging 12.7 points and 4.2 assists per game while shooting almost 40% from 3-point range. |
Paul Mulcahy |
6-6/213 |
Jr. |
Scoring 6.6 points with 2.8 rebounds and leads the team with 4.6 assists per game. |
Caleb McConnell |
6-7/200 |
Sr. |
Averaging 7.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and a team-high 2.2 steals per game. |
Ron Harper Jr. |
6-6/245 |
Sr. |
Leads team with 15.3 ppg and ranks second with 7.3 rpg to go along with 1.6 steals per game. |
Clifford Omoruyi |
6-11/240 |
So. |
Averages 11.8 points on 58.9% shooting and a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game. |
3-POINT PLAY
1. Manufacture the offense
Rutgers is a team that makes everything difficult. The Scarlet Knights might not be the most athletically dynamic out there, but they are as physical as they come on the defensive end.
Steve Pikell's squad comes into today's game ranked in the top 100 nationally in defensive adjusted efficiency (68th, 96.3), defensive effective field goal percentage (84th, 47.1), 2-point field goal defense (49th, 45.3), and defensive steal percentage (89th, 10.7).
With aggressive guards on the perimeter and a formidable rim protector in the conference middle in Cliff Omoruyi, RU is going to make the Huskers earn everything they get offensively today.
Making 3-pointers will obviously be critical, but NU also must have excellent ball movement to create high-percentage looks and get to the foul line early and often.
2. Try some different lineups
Head coach Fred Hoiberg has been tinkering with his bench rotation and lineup combinations more than ever over the past few games.
As a result, there should be a good enough sample size to see what's worked well together and what hasn't. One stat, courtesy of Pivot Analysis, that jumped off the page was how poorly the tandem of Alonzo Verge Jr. and Bryce McGowens has played so far.
Prior to the Michigan State game, Nebraska had averaged 101.8 points per 100 possessions in the minutes that Verge and McGowens were on the court together. When Kobe Webster replaced Verge, NU averaged 115.4 points per 100 possessions when he played with McGowens.
One of the Huskers' most productive players this season, Verge has averaged just 5.5 points on 18.8% shooting over the past two games and has 36 assists to 34 turnovers over the last seven contests.
Verge will still start and play substantial minutes, but Hoiberg might be well served to try and balance how often Verge and McGowens are on the floor together based on recent performances.
3. Keep running the offense through Walker
A big reason why Nebraska has been significantly more competitive the past couple games compared to where it was a few weeks ago has been due to a revamped approach on offense.
That approach has largely entailed running the offense through Derrick Walker as much as possible.
Similarly to what NU did toward the end of last season, when it was playing arguably its best ball of the year, the Huskers have incorporated Walker as a primary facilitator out of the high post when operating their half court offense.
Not only has that improved their overall ball movement, but it’s also created more opportunities for Walker to be featured as a top scoring option.
He’s capitalized on those opportunities to the tune of averaging 14.0 points on 75% shooting, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.3 steals over the last three games.
Walker has been Nebraska’s most consistently productive player all season, and he makes everyone else around him better when he’s a focal point on offense. That must continue.
Quotable
Prediction
Rutgers (-7.5) 75, Nebraska 68
Robin's season record: 12-3
vs. the spread: 10-5