After winning three straight games in Hawaii over the Christmas holiday, The Nebraska Cornhuskers will bring the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic Championship back to Lincoln.
Senior guard Brice Williams took home the MVP of the tournament, averaging 22 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds in the three games the Huskers played.
The 10-2 Huskers return to Pinnacle Bank Arena to take on the 5-7 Southern Jaguars, which will be the last warmup game before Big Ten Conference play officially opens.
The Jaguars are led by second year head coach Kevin Johnson, who won 18 games in his first season, the most since 2016.
Johnson was also the only coach in the SWAC conference last season to beat a quadrant 1 team, defeating the #21 Mississippi State Bulldogs 60-59 on the road.
The story hasn’t been the same so far this season for the Jaguars.
After starting the season 1-4, the Jaguars rebounded to win their next four games, but are now currently on a three game losing streak.
Being a quadrant 1 team, the Huskers can’t afford to slip up in front of their home crowd, with a ranked UCLA team coming to PBA this weekend.
Players to Watch for Southern:
Michael Jacobs:
10.6 PTS 2.2 REB 2.8 AST
Michael Jacobs looks to be the key scoring option for the Jaguars.
It was a slow start for Jacobs, who failed to score in double figures in his first three games, but has reached double figures in six of his last nine games.
I’m not sure about his status for this game, after playing 32 minutes in the Jaguars loss to LMU, Jacobs played only two minutes in the teams blowout loss last game against USC.
Jordan Johnson:
10.4 PTS 1.9 REB 1.3 STL
The sophomore guard from West Palm Beach, Florida is the second leading scorer for the Jaguars, but has played inconsistent so far this season.
Johnson has reached double figures in scoring in half of the teams games this season, including two 20 point performances.
Johnson will have the green light to shoot from beyond the arc, averaging 6.7 attempts per game from three.
Players to Watch for Nebraska:
Juwan Gary:
11.9 PTS 4.0 REB 1.4 STL
Juwan Gary will be the key for the Huskers not only defensively, but on the boards Monday night.
Gary played amazing defense throughout the Hawaiian Airlines Classic, and with the Jaguars shooting just 44% from the field and 33% from three, it should provide a lot of rebound opportunities for Gary.
Conner Essegian:
11.8 PTS 2.4 REB 43.3% 3PT
After scoring a team high 15 points with 5 threes in the Huskers first round win against Murray State, Essegian scored 9 points combined in wins against Hawaii and Oregon State to close out the tournament.
Expect Essegian to get back into rhythm against the Jaguars, as he is averaging 15.5 points on 47.5% shooting from 3 while playing at PBA this season.
Prediction:
With big games coming up for the Huskers as they open up the larger portion of conference play, expect the team to be at full focus with lots of energy on Monday night.
With a Top 25 UCLA team coming into Lincoln on Saturday, The Huskers can’t afford to drop a game like this.
Monday, December 30th
8:00 PM CT BTN
Nebraska: 82 Southern: 57
