Game Notes: Michigan State 72, Nebraska 61

Cracking open the notebook and sharing our game notes from Nebraska’s 72-61 loss to the Michigan State Spartans.

First Half

1. Jordy Tshimanga got off to a great start with a lefty jump hook, a powerful slam in the pick-and-roll, a rebound and a couple of good defensive possessions. Most importantly, he played the first five minutes without committing a foul.
2. The teams were shooting 60 percent combined from the field at the U-12 timeout in a well-played game by both sides.
3. Jordy Tshimanga is learning how to use his body to create angles for his jump hook, and he’s been scoring much more efficiently as a result. Great second-chance bucket around the 10-minute mark doing so for the freshman.
4. Nebraska has decided to leave Michael Jacobson on Bridges while Isaiah Roby guards the 250-pound Nick Ward inside with double-team help from Jack McVeigh. Resulted in a Nebraska steal on one possession.
5. Tshimanga is playing the best basketball of his life, racking up 10 points and 5 rebounds (game-highs at that point) before a tough double-foul call sends him to the bench with 2 fouls at the 3:47 mark.
6. Michael Jacobson picked up his third foul at the 2:38 mark after Tshimanga had already picked up two. Tim Miles turned to Nick Fuller to play the five.
7. Foul trouble has resulted in a one-guard, four-forward lineup here to end the first half for Nebraska: Tai Webster, Isaiah Roby, Jeriah Horne, Jack McVeigh and Nick Fuller.
8. The first half featured 21 fouls called, but only six of them led to free throws. Jacobson had three fouls and Watson and Tshimanga had two each for Nebraska.

Second Half

1. At the first media timeout of the second half, Tshimanga, Webster and Watson had combined for 34 of Nebraska’s 37 points.
2. A three-point play by Jack McVeigh followed by a 3-pointer keeps Nebraska afloat, but the Spartans led 53-44 at the U-12 timeout after shooting 5-of-7 from 3 to start the half.
3. Michael Jacobson drew a foul chasing an offensive rebound to put Nebraska in the bonus at the 11:30 mark. Foul count was 7-1 at that point.
4. Michigan State knocked down eight of its 11 3s in the second half to pull away from the Huskers. Wide open or contested, it didn’t matter.
5. One positive? Tshimanga had a career-high 15 points and nine rebounds.

Jacob Padilla

Jacob is in his third year with Hail Varsity covering Husker athletics. He has also written extensively for SB Nation’s Bright Side of the Sun and The Creightonian. His love of basketball can best be described as an obsession and if you need to find him, he’s probably in a gym somewhere watching, coaching or playing hoops.