Today Nebraska (16-8 overall, 6-7 in Big Ten) returns to the friendly confines of Pinnacle Bank Arena, a building where the Huskers are undefeated in conference play this season at 6-0.
The opponent is Juwan Howard’s Michigan (8-15, 3-9), which is having a bad year — it has two separate five-game losing streaks on its résumé — but will come to Lincoln with a bit of positive momentum after knocking off No. 11 Wisconsin on Wednesday in Ann Arbor 72-68.
Nebraska, which is 1-3 in its last four, sits at No. 57 in the latest NET rankings while Michigan comes in at No. 103, making today’s matchup a Quad 3 affair for the Huskers.
Today’s game is sold-out, with over 15,000 fans expected inside PBA. This is the first of two matchups between Nebraska and Michigan. The two programs will tangle again in Ann Arbor on March 10 in the regular-season finale.
Michigan will be without 5-foot-11 point guard Dug McDaniel, the team’s leading scorer (16.3) who was suspended by Howard on Jan. 10 from playing in the team’s next six away games due to academic issues. McDaniel scored 16 points against Wisconsin.
Expect Princeton transfer Jaelin Llewellyn to get the start at the one for the Wolverines. The 6-2 guard is averaging 5.3 points per game and shooting 53.6% from 3-point range (15-of-28). Against Michigan State on the road Jan. 30, Llewellyn scored 18 points and went 4-of-6 from 3.
Tip is slated for 5:30 p.m. The game will be on BTN with Kevin Kugler and Bruce Weber on the call.
As always, winning the rebounding battle and limiting turnovers will be a goal for Nebraska. The Huskers accomplished neither in their loss at Northwestern, getting out-rebounded 36-29 overall and 13-3 on the offensive glass. The Huskers also committed 17 turnovers, which the Wildcats used to score a whopping 26 points.
With rebounding and turnovers always being keys, what else should Husker fans watch for?
>> Get Rienk Mast going: For Nebraska to achieve its goal of making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013-14, Mast needs to be one of the Huskers’ best players. At times, Mast has come up big in clutch moments when his team needed him. But he’s also been inconsistent during Big Ten play, limited to single-digit scoring in seven of the 13 conference games he’s played. He’s coming off an 8-point performance at Northwestern. It should be noted Mast had surgery on his knee in December, so the Bradley transfer is playing through whatever effects that has created.
>> Tighten the perimeter defense: Michigan is shooting the 3-ball at a 36.9% clip this season, which ranks 40th in the country and third in the Big Ten. The Wolverines are averaging 8.6 made 3s per game, which is only behind the Huskers’ 9.5 among conference teams. Nebraska will look to defend the paint first and foremost, but if the Wolverines start hitting from behind the arc early, more aggressive close-outs will be needed. Last Wednesday’s Northwestern game likely showed the Wolverines they could get open looks from deep — the Wildcats shot 44% from 3 and made 11 treys.
>> Know where Will Tschetter is: Tschetter is a key bench piece for Michigan. The 6-8, 245-pounder scored 11 points for the Wolverines in their win over Wisconsin. Tschetter has size and the valuable skill set of stretching a defense and pulling bigs away from the basket as he’s shooting 56.4% on 1.7 3-point attempts per game. Against the Badgers, he shot 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3. Against Indiana in December, Tschetter rattled off a career-high 17 points on an efficient 6-of-7 outing from the floor (1-of-2 from 3).
As part of the Huskers’ Black History Month recognition, several initiatives will take place during today’s game against Michigan.
>> The Huskers will wear their special-edition adidas cream jersey which feature multi-color pastels along the sides representing the tearing down of obstacles to create something beautiful, while the goldenrods on the lettering show gratitude and appreciation for the contributions of Black individuals within the program over the years. The goldenrod is the state flower of Nebraska.
>> Nebraska will honor Ivan Gilreath during the game and highlight his accomplishments in the Lincoln and Omaha communities following his Husker playing career.
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