Nebraska Basketball Game Day: Southern

Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-2) vs Southern Jaguars (1-3)

Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021 – 3 p.m. CT

Pinnacle Bank Arena

TV: ESPNU

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Internet: WatchESPN

1. Keep the ball moving

Nebraska didn’t do anything flashy in its win over Idaho State on Friday night. All the Huskers did was play the way they were supposed to on offense.

It’s no coincidence that, after sputtering to start the year, NU made it a point to pass the ball around and ended up with a season-high 18 assists on 31 made baskets.

Nebraska shot 54.4 percent from the field as a team and had nine different players score in the victory. The Huskers have averaged 16.5 assists per game in the last two outings after averaging just 8.0 in the first two games.

The ball must continue to move like that for the Huskers to be the type of offensive team they’re capable of this season.

2. Limit the turnovers

Maybe the one area that Southern could cause Nebraska problems is with its aggressive on-ball defense and ability to force turnovers.

The Jaguars rank 40th nationally in defensive turnover percentage (24.5) and 51st in defensive steal percentage (12.7).

The good news for NU has markedly improved its ball security so far this season. The Huskers currently rank fourth in the Big Ten at 9.8 turnovers per game after ranking last in the conference last year at 14.1.

They’ve gone from 205th to 13th nationally in turnover percentage (13.2) this season.

3. Give Kobe his minutes

Since finally making his season debut midway through the first half against Creighton, Nebraska played some of its best offense when Kobe Webster was on the floor.

In fact, the Huskers are a whopping +33 in his 52 total minutes played this year.

Over his last eight games dating back to the end of last season, Webster has averaged 13.0 points on 46-percent shooting with 2.5 assists per game.

In his two outings this season, he is averaging 13.5 ppg with seven assists and zero turnovers.

Even if he’s not going to start, Nebraska needs to get Webster in the game early and often and let him continue to quarterback the offense.

Nebraska (-17) 81, Southern 60

Robin’s season record: 2-2

vs. the spread: 3-1