After falling 83-75 to No. 25 Maryland, Nebraska basketball’s NCAA tournament odds drop from 80 to 70 percent. Although the Huskers are still sitting well, a win would’ve added some insurance for the remainder of the season.
“It can’t deflate us,” head coach Fred Hoiberg said postgame. “We’ve got to get back to work tomorrow (and) got a big game coming up on Sunday.”
The Terrapins out-rebounded Nebraska 34 to 22. The Huskers have struggled to get boards in all of its nine losses this season. Improvement in attacking the glass is paramount if they want to have a legitimate shot of getting to March Madness.
Getting sophomore forward Berke Buyuktuncel back soon will help. He was out due to a high ankle sprain suffered against Ohio State this past Sunday. The 6-foot-10 forward averages 5.9 rebounds per game. His athletic ability being absent was noticed on the defensive end.
“We missed Berke [Buyuktuncel] out there,” Hoiberg said postgame. “I thought our guys battled but that size, length and skillset he has, that’s hard to battle when you’re down one of your 6-(foot)-10 guys.”
Maryland shot lights out. Its 58.5 percent field goal percentage was too much for the Big Red to contain. The seven 3-pointers and freshman center Derik Queen’s 24 points only made it tougher.
The flu-like symptoms that senior forward Brice Williams and junior guard Connor Essegian were battling didn’t help. Williams did finish with his average of 20 points per game, but Essegian was non-existent. He shot 0-4 from three. Essegian is solely out there to score. When he doesn’t, he’s a liability on the defensive end.
“Two guys did not participate in our morning film session or our walkthrough, with Connor [Essegian] and Brice [Williams] those guys are not feeling well,” Hoiberg said postgame. “I’m proud of Brice. He battled his ass off. Connor had some good looks but he was struggling.”
The bottom line is that Nebraska still controls its fate but they will have to find a way to keep opponents under 75 points. In eight of its nine losses, NU has allowed more than that point total. The only exception was when they traveled to Maryland and lost 69-66 in January. The Huskers don’t have enough offensive consistency to pair with Williams and senior forward Juwan Gary.
Nebraska will now head to Evanston for a date with Northwestern on Sunday, as they enter a two-game road trip.
“We’ve got six left,” Hoiberg said postgame. “We’re going to have to play well in all these and hopefully give ourselves in a good position.”