Nebraska Basketball Game Day: Michigan

Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-15, 0-10) at Michigan Wolverines (10-8, 4-4)

Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022 – 8 p.m. CT

Crisler Center

TV: BTN

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Internet: FOX Sports App

1. Will Verge be ready to return?

A lot has been made about Alonzo Verge Jr.’s inconsistent play as Nebraska’s starting point guard this season, and at times, it’s been deservingly so.

But when the senior was scratched from the lineup just before NU’s game against Rutgers on Saturday, it highlighted the drop-off the Huskers have at that position behind him.

Senior Kobe Webster made his first start of the year in Verge’s absence and went 0-for-10 from the field with one assist and two turnovers.

Nebraska ended up with just nine assists on 17 made field goals in the loss to the Scarlet Knights.

Head coach Fred Hoiberg said that Verge would travel Michigan and be available to play, but did not confirm that Verge would be back in the starting lineup tonight.

Verge is coming off an awful performance against Wisconsin, where he only played 20 minutes and was 5-of-12 from the field and posted a team-low plus/minus rating of -14.

However, he’s also the same guy who put up 31 points, eight rebouds, four assists and drew six fouls in the first meeting vs. Michigan.

2. Slow down Hunter Dickinson

Michigan’s roster boasts plenty of firepower, but almost everything it does offensive goes through All-American center Hunter Dickinson.

The 7-foot-1, 260-pound sophomore will literally be one of the biggest challenges Nebraska will face this season. It’s not just a matter of how NU’s undersized frontcourt will match up with him physically, either.

Dickinson is a force in the paint, but he also averages 2.0 assists per game as a facilitator out of the post. Even more, he’s shooting 36.0% from 3-point range on the season.

Dickinson racked up 15 points and 13 rebounds in the last meeting with the Huskers in December, but he needed 14 shots to get there. He’s also turned the ball over seven times in his two games against Nebraska,

He will get his points and boards, but NU has to make life as difficult on Dickinson as possible tonight.

3. Don’t neglect the perimeter

While Nebraska needs to make Dickinson a top priority on defense, it also can’t give Michigan countless wide-open looks from 3-point range like it did in the first meeting.

The Huskers kept Dickinson relatively in check, but the Wolverines countered by knocking down a whopping 15 3-pointers to blow the game open right out of the gate.

Michigan has some shooters, but it will look like the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors if NU doesn’t close out on the perimeter and at least try to contest shots.

Former five-star freshman Caleb Houstan led the way with four 3-pointers, but Nebraska also let Terrance Williams go off for a career-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting and a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc.

Williams is currently averaging 5.0 points per game and has only scored in double figures two other times all season.

Guys like Williams are the type of players that the Huskers cannot allow to take over the game like that.

Michigan (-14.5) 83, Nebraska 70

Robin’s season record: 17-4

vs. the spread: 13-8