MANHATTAN, Kan. — Nebraska men’s basketball had its most impressive performance of the season on Sunday.
The Huskers improved their record to 9-2 with a 62-46 road win at Kansas State. The win gives Nebraska its best start since the 2018-19 season. It also snapped a seven-game losing streak to Kansas State and was the Huskers’ first win in Manhattan since Jan. 11, 2006.
Defensive Domination
Kansas State came into the game averaging 80.9 points per game. You wouldn’t have thought that if you watched the game Sunday.
Trailing 34-31 at the half, Nebraska went on to hold Kansas State to 26.7% shooting, including 4-of-30 from 3-point range. In the second half, the Huskers held the Wildcats to 4-of-25 shooting, including 0-of-12 from 3-point range, while out-rebounding the Wildcats 34-17.
“I thought the defensive pressure that we had in the second and really sticking to our principles and following the game plan were really important when you are guarding really good guards like Kansas State has,” Coach Fred Hoiberg said after the win.
The Huskers help-side defense in the post rarely missed against the much longer and more athletic Wildcats. That resulted in Nebraska winning the points in the paint battle 28-22.
The 46 points allowed by Nebraska was the lowest in Hoiberg’s five seasons as head coach. It is also the Huskers’ best defensive output since holding Southwest Minnesota State to 38 points on Dec. 29, 2018. It was Nebraska’s lowest total allowed to a Division I program since holding Southeastern Louisiana to 36 points on Nov. 11, 2018.
“When you defend like that at that high of a level when your shots aren’t falling, that is a great sign,” Hoiberg said.
The Huskers held Kansas State to just 12 second-half points and only four made field goals out of their twenty-five attempts.
Rebounding Edge
Hoiberg said Juwan Gary has “such great instincts on the glass.” If you ask the Wildcats, they would likely tell you that same thing. The 6-foot-6 forward had a career-high 11 offensive rebounds, eight of which came in the second half.
“The second half I really thought the difference was going out in those first couple possessions and really establishing the offensive glass,” Hoiberg said.
It was Gary’s second start of the season and his second double-double of the season, the fifth of his career with 13 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.
His 11 offensive rebounds are tied for the most by a Husker in the Big Ten era. The last time a Husker had 11 offensive rebounds was Tanner Borchardt at Illinois on Feb. 2, 2019.
Gary’s 18 rebounds is the most by any Husker since the 2019-20 season when Yvan Ouedraogo had 19 versus Northwestern.
The Huskers outrebounded Kansas State 57-40 and 22-13 on the offensive glass.
Double Double-Double
Sunday was the second time this season (Oregon State) the Huskers had two players with a double-double. Rienk Mast had his fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Brice Williams nearly gave the Huskers a third with 10 pionts and nine rebounds.
Mast and Gary combined to shoot 14-of-31 (45%) from the field while helping hold the Wildcats’ second leading scorer, former Creighton forward Arthur Kaluma, to just 2-of-10 from the field and eight points.
