After upsetting the #15 ranked UCLA Bruins to push their home win streak to 20 games, the Huskers will play their next two games on the road, starting with the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday night.
The win against the Bruins wasn’t quite enough to get the Huskers ranked, but they did receive 62 total votes, which puts them right around #28 in the country.
The Huskers are now 12-2 and 2-1 in the Big Ten Conference, which makes this upcoming road trip very important for the Huskers, given the teams struggles on the road in the Big Ten.
The Hawkeyes come in with a 10-4 record, but gave up 116 points in a poor showing on the road against Wisconsin.
Besides that bad loss to the Badgers, all four other losses have come by less than 10 points and all have come against “Quad 1” teams.
Players to Watch for Iowa:
Owen Freeman:
16.8 PTS 6.2 REB 65.2% FG 1.9 BLK
Since his freshman season with the Hawkeyes, Owen Freeman has looked like one of the more impressive big men in the Big Ten, and he isn’t slowing down.
Freeman is extremely gifted in the paint, his footwork is incredible and he is a very good shot blocker.
Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg will have to have a good gameplan for Braxton Meah against Freeman, if the Husker big gets in foul trouble early, all advantage to the Hawkeyes.
Payton Sandfort:
15.5 PTS 5.8 REB 3.3 AST
Despite a poor showing against the Badgers, where Sandfort scored 2 points on 1-9 shooting from the field, the senior forward has been a consistent 15-20 point scorer every night.
The Hawkeyes love to get Sandfort plenty of looks from behind the three point line, which has haunted the Huskers many times in the past especially on the road.
Back when these two teams met last season, Sandfort connected on 5-12 attempts from three, so expect the Hawkeyes to have a gameplan ready for Sandfort to get open looks from three.
Players to Watch for Nebraska:
Connor Essegian:
11.6 PTS 2.7 REB 41.2% 3PT
During the Huskers win against the Bruins, Essegian struggled from three, going 0-6, while many of his looks were open looks.
When the Huskers last played a road conference game, Essegian only saw one attempt from behind the arc all game, which can’t happen if the Huskers want to keep in it with the Hawkeyes.
Juwan Gary:
11.6 PTS 3.9 REB 1.3 STL
Some could call the MVP of the UCLA game, Juwan Gary has been terrifying Big Ten opponents with his defensive intensity ever since he entered the conference, and that intensity could take the Huskers a long way on Tuesday night.
Prediction:
If Nebraska struggles to score against the Hawkeyes, it could be a long night.
Coming off such a big win, the Huskers should be locked in defensively to play a full 40 minutes.
Defend the three and rebound? Then the Huskers will win this game.
Tuesday, January 7th
7:00 PM CT Peacock
Nebraska: 68 Iowa: 67
