Hoops Game Day: Nebraska at Minnesota

Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-9, 0-6) at Minnesota Golden Gophers (11-7, 4-7)

Monday, Feb. 8, 2021 – 7 p.m. CT

Williams Arena

TV: BTN

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Internet: FOX Sports App

1. Bring the same energy

Nebraska struggled offensively from start to finish in its first game back at Michigan State on Saturday. But if nothing else, the Huskers competed.

For a team that hadn’t played a game in nearly a month, the effort and intensity were there from the jump, especially on defense in helping to force 22 Spartan turnovers.

Even after falling behind by 16 early in the second half, NU kept battling and got as close as seven points.

The key tonight will be finding a way to replicate that energy less than 48 hours after a hard-fought loss at MSU.

Nebraska will have a chance if it plays as it did on Saturday for a full 40 minutes, but how much gas will still be in the tank?

2. Make your free throws

Shooting was an issue for Nebraska all night at Michigan State, but by far, the most frustrating part was how poorly it fared at the free-throw line.

The Huskers haven’t been a good free-throw shooting team all year, but Saturday was especially bad given the number of opportunities they had to cash in at the charity stripe.

In all, NU finished 11-of-24 at the line in a 10-point loss. Two of those misses came on the front end of one-and-one situations.

Had Nebraska even shot its season average of 66 percent, it would have added five more points and made it a two-possession game in the final minutes.

Minnesota is one of the league’s best free-throw shooting teams at 75.5%, and it’s gotten to the line for a whopping 433 attempts. Only Ohio State has more at 439.

The Huskers have such little room for error to begin with, and they can’t keep failing to cash in on scoring opportunities like that.

3. Don’t let Robbins control the paint

Minnesota added one of the most impactful transfers of the offseason by landing 7-foot Drake center Liam Robbins.

An all-conference player for the Bulldogs, the junior from Davenport, Iowa, is averaging 13.6 points and leads the Gophers with 7.1 rebounds per game.

He’s also provided Minnesota with one of the best rim protectors in the Big Ten, as he leads the league and ranks 15th nationally with 2.7 blocks per game.

His presence could be a big problem for Nebraska, which ranks 279th in offensive block percentage (10.4) and just had seven shots blocked last time out at Michigan State.

The Huskers need to account for Robbins defensively every time he touches the ball, and they also can’t let him take away their interior offense.

Minnesota 75, Nebraska 61

Robin’s season record: 11-2

vs. the spread: 8-5