Nebraska men’s basketball dominated North Florida Sunday afternoon in Lincoln. The Huskers scored a season-high 103 points, holding North Florida to 72.
The Ospreys came into the game attempting the most 3-pointers in the nation and making the second-most in the nation at 13.4 per game. They hit 14 of them on Sunday, but it took them 43 attempts for a sub-par 32.6% clip.
‘I like the direction we are moving in,” Coach Fred Hoiberg said in the post-game press conference. “We are getting better every game … Another game where everybody that stepped on the floor contributed and that is what it is all about.”
Here are three thougts from the game.
The Huskers played a Complete Game Offensively
Nebraska started fast, using a 10-0 run and shooting 5-of-9 overall and 3-of-3 from 3-point range to take a 13-4 lead at the under-16 timeout. That 10-0 run ballooned to an 18-1 run in just over a four-minute stretch.
“The thing I was most happy with today was the start,” Hoiberg said. “You are talking about these early games and how important it is to throw the first punch.”
It is safe to say the lid has officially come off the basket for Nebraska. In the game, the Huskers shot 58% from the field and made 11 of their 24 attempts from 3-point range (45.8%).
Connor Essegian led Nebraska offensively for the second game in a row. After scoring a career-high 29 points Wednesday night, Essegian scored a game-high 22, making six of his eight 3-point attempts. In the last two games, Essegian has gone 12-of-23 from behind the arc.
“I thought we did a really nice job of finding Connor; he obviously had it going again for the second straight game, and guys did a good job of finding him,” Hoiberg said.
He is the first Husker in the Big Ten era to make at least six 3-pointers in consecutive games, and the first in at least 20 seasons. Essegian is the first Husker with multiple games with at least six 3-pointers in a season since Kobe Webster in 2020-21.
The ball movement was impressive. The Huskers didn’t settle for good shots, they got great shots, assisting on 22 of their 40-made baskets. They continue to make strides in the right direction in the assist-to-turnover ratio, turning it over just six times against the Ospreys.
The bigs took advantage of their clear mismatch and dominated the game. Braxton Meah and Andrew Morgan combined to score 18 points and grab 13 rebounds. As a team, Nebraska scored 58 points in the paint to just 22 for North Florida, and the bench outscored North Florida’s 37 to 15.
Clean Enough Defensively
Nebraska, for the most part, did a great job defensively.
“These guys put a lot of stress on you because of their ability to shoot the ball, averaging 13.5 3s a game,” Hoiberg said. “They made 14 today, but we did a great job of shutting off the paint … Pleased with our hand activity. To get a deflection and turn those into points, you need to have [defensive] possessions like that.”
The Huskers did a nice job of closing out on the 3-point shooters and didn’t allow long misses from 3 to turn into second-chance points. They held North Florida to just 11 points after offensive rebounds. In the first half, North Florida only rebounds four of their 20 missed shots.
“I thought our activity was good,” Hoiberg said. “I thought we got our hands on some balls, which got us out in transition.”
Next Up
It’s two comfortable wins in a row for Nebraska. Next up is their biggest challenge to date, opening conference play on the road at Michigan State on Saturday.
“You’ve got to be on point if you want to have a chance to win on the road in our league,” Hoiberg said. “We just need to have a really good week of prep heading into one of the toughest environments of all of college basketball.”
The Huskers won’t take the court again until that trip to East Lansing on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. CT.
