On the heels of one of the worst losses of the season, the Nebraska Cornhuskers are set to host a Top 25 Michigan Wolverines team, in an effort to bolster their NCAA Tournament resume.
The Huskers were dominated by the Penn State Nittany Lions last Wednesday 89-72, dropping a pivotal Quad 2 road game to one of the Big Tens last placed teams.
Michigan is not Penn State, record wise, matchup wise or coaching wise, which makes Monday nights game against the Wolverines one of the biggest games remaining for the Huskers to finish out the regular season.
For Michigan, they’re coming off a 75-62 home loss to their in-state rivals, the Michigan State Spartans, in a game where the two teams were battling for the top spot atop the Big Ten Conference.
With a record of 20-6, Michigan is projected by almost every bracket source as a lock to make the NCAA Tournament as either a 3 or 4 seed.
Former FAU head coach Dusty May has put together a very solid and experienced team with height and athleticism in his first year at Michigan, led by 7′ 1” center Vladislav Goldin, who transferred to Michigan after May was hired.
Goldin leads the Wolverines in scoring averaging 15.9 PTS, but what is most impressive is Michigan’s entire starting five is averaging over 10 PPG.
The Wolverines are going to be a matchup nightmare for the Huskers, alongside Goldin stands another 7 footer in Yale transfer Danny Wolf.
Wolf transferred to Michigan after spending two seasons at Yale and upsetting 4 seeded Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last March.
Players to Watch for Michigan:
Vladislav Goldin:
15.9 PTS 6.1 REB 1.5 BLK 63.9% FG
I’m not sure if there is a player on the Huskers roster that can defend Vladislav Goldin, he can rebound, score, defend and can even shoot the three if the Wolverines offense needs a spark (42.9% 3PT).
Goldin has scored 20 or more points in two straight games, so don’t be surprised if the Wolverines feed Goldin in the post until the Huskers find someone to stop it.
Expect Braxton Meah to spend a lot of time defending Goldin on Monday night.
Danny Wolf:
12.8 PTS 9.9 REB 3.8 AST
Danny Wolf is the closest thing to Nikola Jokic in college basketball.
Whether it is the behind the back passes, point guard vision or his ability to make shots from everywhere on the court, Wolf is another player that I’m not sure anyone on the Huskers can slow down.
If Berke Buyuktuncel is able to make his return to the court, it will help in slowing down Wolf and Goldin.
Players to Watch for Nebraska:
Brice Williams:
19.4 PTS 4 REB 3 AST
Despite scoring 17 points against Penn State, Brice Williams was shut down all game and struggled to get it going when the Huskers needed him.
Williams needs to be ready to potentially play a full 40 minutes on Monday night.
If the Huskers can get stops early defensively, it will allow Williams and the rest of this offense to work at their own pace, limiting costly turnover and bad shot attempts.
Berke Buyuktuncel:
7.2 PTS 5.9 REB 1.3 AST
Now this is a big “IF” since Buyuktuncel is still listed as questionable for this game, but if the sophomore forward returns to action Monday night, that will help the Huskers out tremendously.
The Huskers need another big body in the starting lineup, especially against Michigan.
We saw how big of a struggle it has been without Buyuktuncel, teams tend to take advantage and control the game in the post, like Penn State.
Buyuktuncel will also give the Huskers another element of excitement offensively, he was playing good basketball before the injury, and it would take pressure off the shoulders of Brice Williams.
Prediction:
The Huskers need this win more than any, and given that this game is being played inside Pinnacle Bank Arena, its very realistic to say that Nebraska can and will pull of this upset.
Unfortunately, the height that Michigan has mixed with a struggling Nebraska team that still may be undermanned, makes it very hard to predict a win for the Huskers on Monday night.
Monday, February 24th, 2025
7:00 PM CT FS1
Nebraska: 71 Michigan: 79