Nebraska (6-2) opened hot and grinded out a 71-62 win over Boston College (5-3). Here's three takeaways from the evening.
Triples on triples!
Everything you thought you knew about Nebraska basketball is a lie.
The Huskers came into the game shooting 34.3 percent from three on the young season, good for No. 202 nationally. That Nebraska team didn’t show up to The Vault Wednesday night, a different team wearing Nebraska’s jerseys did. The Huskers average six made threes per game and they hit that number at halftime, shooting 8-of-13 before the midway point.
The shooting came back down to earth a little in the second half, but still, 47 percent? My goodness. Five different players hit a three and the offense flowed smoothly, with a solid amount of drive-and-kick and catch-and-shoot jumpers generated.
And it’s not like the Eagles give up triples willy-nilly; they’ve allowed almost eight a game this season, but at a 31-percent clip. Nebraska shot it above 50 percent for almost the entire game. If the shooting can continue, it will only mean good things moving forward.
Bad things happened inside the arc
Boston College was not good beyond the arc (18 percent) but boy oh boy was it an adventure when the ball went inside that 3-point line on defense, and not a good adventure.
The Huskers gave up 24 points in the paint, allowed 71 percent shooting on 2-point shots and surrendered 14 offensive rebounds. The percentage in the paint wasn’t pretty (39 percent) but the point is Boston College attacked, relentlessly, and won more battles than not.
It’s what opened up a few mid-range jumpers off the high pick-and-roll late in the game when the defense dropped down. It’s what kept Boston College in the game, frankly.
Nebraska is averaging 6.6 blocks per outing this season and rim protection wasn’t really an issue Wednesday evening – they had three blocked shots in the game – but the focus moving forward should be more on just cleaning up the defense in general when the ball moves closer to the cup. It would do the Huskers wise as they embark on this upcoming stretch of games. Which leads nicely into our final point.
A good start to a tough stretch
Sure it was closer down the stretch than it looked like it would be when the game began and the Huskers looked like they would just burn the building down, but a win is a win, and Nebraska secured a good win against a quality ACC team.
With a road matchup against No. 3 Michigan State on Sunday, a home tilt with No. 12 Minnesota on Dec. 5, a “road” game against No. 25 Creighton on Dec. 9 and a home showdown with No. 2 Kansas on Dec. 16 all on the way, wins will be at a major premium over the next few weeks for the now 6-2 Huskers.
This is a stretch that has the potential to be season-defining and a win Wednesday night was a huge step in the right direction, if nothing else but it adds a little bit of confidence moving forward.
Derek is a newbie on the Hail Varsity staff covering Husker athletics. In college, he was best known as ‘that guy from Twitter.’ He has covered a Sugar Bowl, a tennis national championship and almost everything in between (except an NCAA men’s basketball tournament game… *tears*). In his spare time, he can be found arguing with literally anyone about sports.
