Nebraska men’s basketball finishes its two-game home stand Saturday when the Huskers face Minnesota.
The Huskers (17-11, 7-10 Big Ten) will tip off at 1 p.m. CT with the Golden Gophers (14-14, 6-11 Big Ten) on the Big Ten Network with Kevin Kugler and Shon Morris on the call. The game will also be carried on the Huskers Radio Network with Kent Pavelka and Jake Muhleisen.
Both teams are fighting for their postseason lives. Nebraska enters the game 11th in the Big Ten standings and is looking to stay on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. Minnesota wants to stay out of the bottom three and avoid missing the Big Ten Tournament altogether. The Golden Gophers are tied for 14th in the league and only the top 15 teams will make the tournament.
“We’re treating it like any other game,” Coach Fred Hoiberg said. “Obviously, everybody knows what’s at stake. You can’t look too far ahead, or you are going to get burned.”
Nebraska is coming off of a home loss to Michigan in what can be classified as a defensive battle. Playing a complete game is still something the Huskers are striving for this season.
“The importance of us coming out and playing a complete game — obviously we played one of our best defensive games that has ever been played here, gave up 49 points, and couldn’t find a way to win,” Hoiberg said. “We’ve got to play complete basketball, consistent on both ends of the floor. If we do that, we’re going to be fine.”
Numbers to Know
The Huskers have climbed back into the top 30 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency. The Huskers are ranked 29th according to KenPom.
Minnesota is averaging a league-worst 68.8 points per game in league play and is ninth at 75.7 points per game allowed during Big Ten play.
Nebraska is averaging 74.6 points per game this season, which is on pace to be the program’s second-highest scoring average since joining the Big Ten in 2011-12. The Huskers have scored 70 or more points 18 times, including nine games with at least 80 points.
In Big Ten play, the Huskers are 17th with a 71.6 points-per-game average and tied for 13th in points per game allowed at 76.7.
It is a good matchup for one of Nebraska’s season-long defensive deficiencies as the Gophers shoot 32% from 3-point range, good for just 267th in the nation, and score just 28.7% of their points from the perimeter (258th).
Scouting Minnesota
The Golden Gophers come to Lincoln winners of four of their last five road games. Their lone loss on the road in that stretch was at Big Ten leader Michigan State.
“This is a Minnesota team that has played really good basketball on the road. They’ve won three in a row on the road,” Hoiberg said. “They’ve won three in a row; they swept the LA teams, UCLA and USC.”
The Gophers have played all of their road games this season in league play and are 4-4 in those games.
Senior Dawson Garcia is one of the league’s most versatile and productive players.
Garcia was a second-team All-Big Ten pick in 2024 and is averaging a career-best 19.6 points and 7.6 rebounds. He leads the Big Ten in 20-point games with 16 this season.
“Dawson Garcia is so talented, and they run a lot of good stuff for him,” Hoiberg said. “They let him handle the ball, they’ll run small-on-big ball screens, they iso him a lot — which, rightfully so with his talent level — especially around the elbows and in the short post, and he can shoot 3s. He is a problem out there.”
Charlotte transfer Lu’Cye Patterson averages 11.5 points and 3.4 assists per game, while Mike Mitchell Jr. is at 9.5 points per game with a team-high 46 3-pointers.
Key Factors
The Huskers will need to get off to a good start, not just in the first segment of the game but the first segment of the second half as well. That has been a focus for this team all season.
Nebraska will need a hot start to knock out a team that is still playing for a berth in the Big Ten Tournament.
“Teams are playing and they are fighting and clawing and scratching,” Hoiberg said. “If you can get in a conference tournament, anything can happen in that setting.”
Not letting other players beat you will be key. Outside of Garcia, Nebraska can’t afford to let Patterson or Mitchell get going and score five or more points above their average. Garcia is likely going to get his because he is the focal point of the Gophers’ offense, but keeping others contained will be important.
Minnesota tends to have careless turnovers, just like Nebraska. The Gophers rank 248th in the country in non-steal turnover percentage (8.0), while Nebraska is 275th in the same category at 8.3%.
In conference games, Nebraska is tied for the seventh-highest turnover average with 11.6 per game, and Minnesota is tied for the 10th-highest with 11.1
Which team can force more turnovers or limit careless mistakes could be a key factor.
