Nebraska men’s basketball improved to 20-0 on the season and 9-0 in Big Ten play with a 76-57 win at Minnesota on Saturday.
There have been a lot of firsts and records so far this season for Nebraska. The obvious one is the winning streak to start a season.
There was another program first the Huskers accomplished on Saturday. The Huskers have now won 20 or more games for three straight seasons. It is also the 16th 20-win season in program history.
The Huskers continue to build on the best start to a season by a Big Ten team since Ohio State’s 24-0 start in 2010-11. The 9-0 start to Big Ten play is the best conference start for the Huskers since going 10-0 60 years ago.
The Huskers had to play without Braden Frager, who didn’t make the trip to Minneapolis after spraining his ankle against Washington, but Cale Jacobsen and others picked up the slack.
Halftime Adjustments
Nebraska once again, used a strong start to the second half and a kill shot, a 10-0 run or better, to come back and win a game.
The Huskers gave up nine 3-pointers (on 20 attempts, 45%) in the first half to a Minnesota team that came into the game shooting just 32.8%, good for 227th in the country.
Minnesota used forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson to pick and pop to the top of the key in the first half to great success. The Colorado State transfer shot 4-for-8 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes.
The Huskers adjusted in the second half, limiting him to zero points on 0-for-3 from three in the second.
“We saw they were 9-of-20 at half and we adjusted a little bit with Crocker-Johnson and pulling on him when he was popping,” Pryce Sandfort said after the game. “It all goes into it. The communication and just defensive energy as well, getting out to shooters, flying by them and making them take contested ones.”
They went under screens to contest the Gopher shots inside better and their hand activity, something Fred Hoiberg talks about often, increased.
Nebraska forced just four turnovers in the first half, including one steal. In the second half, the Huskers forced nine Gopher turnovers and had four steals.
“Our defensive energy was much higher, our hands were way more active, and that’s when we play our best,” Sam Hoiberg said. “We talk about deflections all the time. If we are getting deflections, our defense reflects that and we shut teams down. We were much more active in the second half.
“The coaches were saying at halftime, ‘They were playing harder than us, they were outworking us,’ and that’s one of our goals, for that to never happen, and they responded really well to that.”
The lack of shot-making from Minnesota led to more run-outs or fast-break opportunities for the Huskers in the second half. Officially, the Huskers didn’t record a fast break point, but the pace picked up in the last 20 minutes.
“Our team defense being in the right spots, being there when those guys were coming to the rim,” Pryce Sandfort said. “We were solid defensively in the second half. It was elite defense there.”
The Huskers’ leading scorer, Sandfort, had just two points on a pair of free throws in the first 20 minutes. Minnesota’s best defender, Langston Reynolds, used his length and athleticism to slow Sandfort down.
It’s hard to keep a great player down for long, though. Sandfort exploded for 20 in the second half. His 22 points were a game high, and so were his 10 rebounds. He also set a new career high with four blocks.
“I give all credit to my teammates and coaches,” he said. “Coach Hoiberg was trying to get me going in the second half there. He was drawing up plays for me, telling our guys to find me in transition.”
With the defensive energy picked up as well as the pace of play, the Huskers found an offensive rhythm that was missing in the first half, and Jamarques Lawrence, the lead guard, made it a point to find Sandfort.
“He wasn’t hitting, but we were going to keep going to him,” Lawrence said. “We keep believing in him. We knew he was going to get going in the second half, no surprise.”
Saturday was the fourth straight game Sandfort has scored 20 or more, and he is the first Husker with four 20-point games since Brice Williams had six straight from Jan. 30 to Feb. 16 last year.
Up Next
Nebraska travels to Michigan on Tuesday in what could be a top-five matchup and one of the biggest college basketball games of the season to date.
The Wolverines (18-1) had a half-day head start on preparing for the Huskers after their 74-62 win in Ann Arbor Friday night over rival Ohio State.
