Fastbreak: Keon Edwards will likely start with Trey McGowens out

Nebraska Men’s Basketball Head Coach Fred Hoiberg spoke to the media on Thursday ahead of the Huskers 6:00 p.m. tip-off against Idaho State on Friday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Here is a full recap of what he had to say:

*** Hoiberg said Trey McGowens’s surgery on his right foot on Wednesday went well and as expected. He will be back in six to eight weeks. McGowens, who was injured during Nebraska’s loss to Creighton, was at practice on Thursday and will lead with a voice while on the sideline.

“It’s an important thing for Trey, as a senior, to continue to stay engaged, which he 100% will,” Hoiberg said. “He was phenomenal today and this is less than 24 hours of surgery. He’ll be out there cheering our guys on as much as anybody starting tomorrow night.”

*** Hoiberg said with Trey McGowens out, who is their best on-ball defender, Keon Edwards will likely start against Idaho State on Friday. Edwards has played a total of 13 minutes in Nebraska’s three games this season.

Hoiberg said Edwards has good size at 6-foot-7 and 204 pounds and is a good rebounder.

“We’re not going to get everything Trey gives us from one person, it’s going to have to be collective,” Hoiberg said. “But Keon is will be a big part of that, and he will most likely start tomorrow.”

*** Hoiberg said Edwards gave Nebraska a good lift against Creighton when he was in the game but because of the flow of the game, he couldn’t get Edwards back on the court even though he wanted to.

*** Nebraska’s rebounding will be tested again against Idaho State. Hoiberg said they crash all five players to the glass and the Huskers need to take advantage of that.

“We’re gonna have to make first contact again,” Hoiberg said. “To me, it’s a bigger, more physical type team than Sam Houston was, and obviously they give us issues on the glass, especially early in the game. So (Idaho State) they’re big, they’re strong, they’re old. They have got great experience.”

*** Hoiberg said an emphasis for this team is the move the ball better. He said they did a good job of that in practice on Thursday but need to carry it over to game day.

“That’s been the strength of our team in the preseason, and then we have not carried that over in the game action,” he said.

*** Hoiberg said it was hard to dig out of a 19-point hole against Creighton on Tuesday. He said his team expended a lot of energy during the comeback.

“We just never could quite get over the hump, we were right there, we had a couple of really good possessions,” he said. “We just didn’t knock down whether it was a shot at the rim or a wide-open three-point shot. It takes a lot of energy, takes your legs away when you have to dig out of the hole.”

*** Hoiberg said Idaho State has 99 percent of their scoring from last season back and added a good transfer.

“I’ve been really impressed with how these guys play and the pace that they play with,” Hoiberg said. “The physicality more than anything. And that’s always going to be a concern with our group is how do we handle that?”

*** Hoiberg said they need to do a better job of getting the ball into freshman guard Bryce McGowens’s hands in play-making opportunities.

“He needs more touches, he can’t go five or six possessions in a row where he doesn’t touch the ball. He’s too gifted and too talented for that to happen,” Hoiberg said.

*** Kobe Webster provided a huge spark off the bench for Nebraska against Creighton.

“I’m really happy for Kobe, he stayed professional, he stayed positive, especially that game where he didn’t get an opportunity to get in there,” Hoiberg said. “He was a great voice in the sidelines, especially for younger players and then to go out there and impact a game of that caliber the way he did, tells you everything you need to know about Kobe.”

Hoiberg said Webster will have a lot of opportunities going forward and that the guard has a lot of confidence after scoring 20 points against the Bluejays.