Pregame Glance: Nebraska

The Bucks return to Columbus to take on the fiesty Nebraska Cornhuskers. Here’s the skinny:

The Huskers have already played their first two games of the Big Ten season, and lets just say that the early schedule has not been kind. They started out at Wisconsin with a 24 point butt-kicking, only to travel home and take a 13 point loss to Michigan State. On the positive side, though, Nebraska did put up a decent fight with MSU through the first half, but were simply unable to hold on in the second. The next two for the Huskers are both on the road, at Ohio State and at Illinois. Someone in the conference office did these guys no favors.

That’s especially true when you consider that the Buckeyes are going to be incredibly angry after Saturday night’s loss at Bloomington. There’s no question that the players in the scarlet and gray are going to be looking to make an example of someone, and Nebraska is the unlucky next target.

Don’t count the Huskers out just yet, though. They have managed to play some excellent basketball this year at times, including that gritty stretch against the improved Spartans. There’s no question that some smart preparation could put Nebraska in a good position late in this game.

The guy Nebraska will be looking to for a huge game is senior guard Bo Spencer (6-2, 193). Spencer has been a starter all year long but was relegated to the bench for the Michigan State game. This may be an attempt by Doc Sadler to try to inject some effort and passion into his team by having a high-powered sixth man coming off the bench. There’s no one better for that job than Spencer, who is scoring a team-leading average of 15 points per game this season. Spencer is by far and away the teams leading shooter as well, but is simply not very efficient with the basketball.

The most consistent shooter is senior guard Tony McCray (6-6, 210). While McCray’s scoring average isn’t quite as impressive as Spencer’s, McCray is more likely to drop an open look. He is easily the team’s best shooter, hitting 53.6% of his baskets, including 43.3% from beyond the arc. His size may give the Buckeyes trouble at times, much like Diebler used to do when facing a smaller guard. It will be up to the Buckeyes to find ways to keep McCray from finding too many good looks at the hoop.

The Bucks need to be very careful entering this game. They absolutely have to come out with some fire and energy to set the tone early. Allowing Nebraska to get a little early confidence could make life difficult in the long run. Ultimately, though, the Buckeyes simply have too much talent for Nebraska to keep up for long in Columbus. That may have been a different story in Lincoln, but we’ll have to wait a couple weeks to see that unfold.

The Buckeyes will face off with the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Value City Arena on Tuesday, January 3rd at 6:30 PM EST. You’ll be able to see that game on the Big Ten Network.