Pregame Glance: Nebraska – Part 2

Ohio State and Nebraska are set to face off again, this time in Lincoln, Nebraska. You may recall the first game was a 71-40 victory for the Buckeyesin Columbus. After taking a 4-2 lead on OSU, the Cornhuskers fell behind and were quickly dismantled by the Bucks. By time the smoke cleared, OSU had been running their deep bench for nearly half of the second stanza – the only reason Nebraska was able to keep the game as close as it finally ended.

But, for those of us who have been watching these Buckeyes play regularly this season, we know that this team performs much differently on the road than they do at home. That seems to be true for most Big Ten teams this year, but has been a striking change for the Bucks. It’s particularly worrisome considering the way Nebraska has handled business during the last few weeks since the Bucks met them.

Doc Sadler’s team is clearly starting to figure out the way the Big Ten conference plays basketball. After a rough stretch that saw them play four of the best teams in conference, and losing to all of them, the Huskers have gone 2-1 in conference with one impressive victory, and two tough, physical losses. It’s a much different tune after losing three straight games by 68 total points, to suddenly having a positive margin of victory in their last four games.

You may recall that the Cornhuskers put up a tough fight at home against the Michigan State Spartans before traveling to Columbus. That first game against Izzo’s team was the first sign of life from the team from Lincoln, and with a little bit of time they have started to put together a dangerous basketball team. Days after having to play in Columbus, the Cornhuskers found themselves in Urbana-Champaign for a battle with the Illinois Fighting Illini. The Illini, having functionally lost DJ Richardson for the game (he played 21 minutes, but scored only 2 points) due to injury, were unable to put away the Huskers until the final moments of the game. Illinois picked up the 59-24 victory days before welcoming the Buckeyes in for a loss by the same spread.

Nebraska finally picked up their first conference win at home against the bottom-feeding Penn State Nittany Lions. After last year’s great run to make the tournament, the Nits have struggled with their play, though have found themselves at .500 on the season at 10-10. After allowing the Nitts to jump out to an early lead, the Cornhuskers seized the momentum and never relinquished their hold on the game. Nebraska kept the game just out of Penn State’s reach the whole time, maintaining a double digit lead most of the way to a 70-58 victory.

Nebraska then had to travel to the friendly confines of Madison, Wisconsin*. Nebraska had already faced the Badgers in Lincoln and suffered a 24 point loss. The turnaround, particularly in the Big Ten where home and away seems to make the world of difference, Nebraska was thought to have no chance. But the Huskers fought tooth and nail, hanging within scant points of the Badgers the whole way, in a pace that favors Bo Ryan. Wisconsin escaped with a 5 point victory over their plucky guests. The Huskers, though, picked up a reasonable moral victory, demonstrating that they can play in some of the toughest Big Ten environments.

The most impressive game so far, though, has to be the most recent result. The ranked Indiana Hoosiers, coming off a devastating loss to the Buckeyes in Columbus, were looking to bounce back against the Cornhuskers in Lincoln. Nebraska, however, wasn’t having any of that. Despite falling behind by double digits in the middle of the second half, the Huskers surged back to a one point victory on the strength of a pair of Brandon Richardson free-throws – made possible by Hulls, an 89% free throw shooter, missing the front end of his one-and-one just moments before. That left Indiana at 2-29 on the road against the Big Ten in Tom Crean’s tenure.

It is perfect timing for Ohio State that Nebraska suddenly turned on the jets. If anything was going to make the Buckeyes sit up and pay attention to their opponent, a one point victory over Indiana was just the thing. Considering the Buckeyes predilection for coming out of the gate slow in away games this season, it’s hard to imagine that this game won’t be a close one – at least for a while. It would almost be better for OSU if the Huskers hang around, as getting complacent against them seems to be very dangerous.

Keep your eyes on Lenzelle Smith Jr. in this one. I suspect that Thad Matta may have given him the green light before the Indiana game, and may look to him again for more scoring in the future with William Buford struggling with consistency. I expect that Doc Sadler will glue a man to Smith all game, to prevent him from doing exactly what he did last week, but that may not stop Smith from at least exceeding his 6.4 points per game average. Considering the way he started the season, that would be a very good sign from the young shooting guard.

The Buckeyes and Cornhuskers will play in Lincoln, Nebraska on Saturday, January 21st at 8: 00 PM EST. You’ll be able to see that game on the Big Ten Network.

*Sarcasm, for those of you who aren’t aware of my personal basketball preferences.