A dud hasn’t happened for No. 9 Nebraska men’s basketball this season. The first 32 minutes of UCLA’s 72-52 win Tuesday in Los Angeles were more than that; they were a malfunctioning.
“Obviously didn’t come out of the gates very strong, and it lasted the whole 40 minutes,” Fred Hoiberg said on the Huskers Radio Network after the game. “We just did so many uncharacteristic things.”
The Huskers didn’t get off to a good start, something that has been a focus for Hoiberg this season.
They weren’t connected defensively, something they have been for a strong majority of the season. The Huskers allowed UCLA to win the turnover margin, 13-8. Nebraska didn’t make the extra pass on offense for most of the game; they didn’t set the tone and lost the physicality battle. UCLA is 14th in the Big Ten in rebounding and Nebraska lost that battle 36-34. The Bruins had 17 second-chance points to Nebraska’s seven.
“They beat us in every possible facet of the game,” Hoiberg said. “They beat us from a physicality standpoint, It got ugly out there.”
It was a shocking performance from the Huskers, they looked like a team that just wanted to get out of there and sleep in their own beds for the first time in four days.
For the first time all season, the Huskers didn’t respond well to adversity. Instead, they hung their heads and got deflated, something Hoiberg has harped on throughout the season.
They didn’t play a full 40 minute game and haven’t since the 90-60 win over Wisconsin in Lincoln on Dec. 10.
The Huskers shot an abysmal 5-of-24 from the 3-point line, and 19-of-49 (38.8%) from the field. The Huskers went just 9-of-18 from the free-throw line. UCLA had 17 assists to the Huskers 12. The Bruins had eight steals to Nebraska’s six.
Bad Start
“It’s obviously very important we get off to a better start,” Hoiberg said in his media availability before the game.
Mission failed. It wasn’t just a bad start for Nebraska, it was an awful one. UCLA’s defense was locked in and made Nebraska uncomfortable on the offensive end.
UCLA started the game with a 3-pointer from Skyy Clark and a 5-0 lead. Thanks to their hot shooting, 4-of-5 from the field, the Bruins raced out to a 14-5 lead just over five minutes into the game.
It also didn’t get much better in the final 14 minutes of the first half. The Huskers were just 2-of-16 from 3-point range at halftime while UCLA shot 5-of-14.
Response
In any of the previous four losses this season, the Huskers haven’t looked as bad as they did Tuesday night in Los Angeles. It was the worst loss of the season, a 20-point defeat while tying for the team’s season low in points, set previously at Iowa.
The Huskers still have plenty to play for. A win over Iowa, at home Sunday at 4 p.m., guarantees the Huskers a top-four seed and a triple bye in the Big Ten Tournament next week in Chicago.
“It’s all about the response now. How are we going to handle this one?” Hoiberg said. “We’ll see. We’ll see how they respond.”
The Huskers will fly home on Wednesday and have what you would think is a pretty hard film session, breaking down what went wrong Tuesday night in Pauley Pavilion.
They will have a day off on Thursday and practice on Friday and Saturday to prepare for the Hawkeyes, a team that will come into Pinnacle Bank Arena fighting for its NCAA Tournament life.
“We’ll bounce back,” Hoiberg said. “I’m confident in our guys.”
The maturity of this group will no doubt be tested after its worst performance of the season. Nebraska has taken things one game at a time and one day at a time this season. They have shown they are capable of moving on from adversity throughout the season and I’m confident in that.
