Nebraska
Nebraska Hoops Game Day: at Maryland
Riding a three-game losing skid and seeing its 20-game home winning streak snapped, Nebraska desperately needs to get its season back on track today at Maryland.
Here is what you need to know going into another daunting road test for the Huskers this afternoon in College Park…
Who, What, Where, When
Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-5, 2-4 Big Ten) at Maryland Terrapins (13-5, 3-4 Big Ten)
Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025 – 11:00 a.m. CT
Xfinity Center (17,950)
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: Huskers Radio Network
Internet/Streaming: Fox Sports App
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Nebraska projected starters
| Rollie Worster | G | Sr. | 6-5/210 | Ended up with 10 points, seven rebounds, and five assists to finish with a team-best +/- of 14 in the loss to Rutgers. He also shot 8-10 at the free-throw line. |
| Brice Williams | G | Sr. | 6-7/214 | Scored a team-high 21 points in the loss to Rutgers. He’s averaging 18.9 ppg on the season while shooting a career-high 48.5% from the field and 40 percent on 3-pointers. |
| Juwan Gary | F | Sr. | 6-6/226 | Finished with 20 points in the loss to Rutgers, two shy of matching his career high. That marked his 11th double-figure scoring effort of the year and second 20-point game. |
| Berke Buyuktuncel | F | So. | 6-10/224 | Held scoreless on 0-4 shooting with two assists, two turnovers, and four fouls over his 21 minutes of work against Rutgers. His +/- of 10 still ranked second on the team. |
| Braxton Meah | F | Sr. | 7-1/264 | He made all three of his shot attempts to finish with six points, six rebounds, and a blocked shot over 17 minutes of work in the loss to Rutgers. |
Maryland projected starters
| Ja’Kobi Gillespie | G | Fr. | 6-6/215 | Belmont transfer who is averaging 13.9 ppg on 47 percent shooting, including 41 percent from 3-point range. He also leads UMD with 4.3 apg) and 1.7 spg. |
| Rodney Rice | G | Sr. | 6-4/210 | He’s scoring 12.4 points per game while ranking second on the team with 2.4 assists per game this season. |
| Selton Miguel | G | Fr. | 6-10/200 | He’s averaging 11.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game while starting all 18 contests for Maryland this season. |
| Julian Reese | F | Fr. | 6-7/205 | All-Big Ten selection who is averaging 13.2 ppg on 58 percent shooting and leads Maryland in rebounding (8.7 rpg) and blocked shots (1.3 bpg). |
| Derik Queen | C | Fr. | 6-10/275 | A true freshman who leads Maryland in scoring with 15.8 ppg on 56 percent shooting while hauling in 8.1 rebounds per game. |
3 keys to victory
Defend the 3
It really doesn’t matter who Nebraska is playing – the Huskers’ 3-point defense has become a critical concern over its three-game losing streak. Iowa (17), Purdue (19), and Rutgers (12) combined to hit a whopping 48 threes. That’s 16.0 made 3-pointers per game. Head coach Fred Hoiberg said after the Rutgers loss that it wasn’t a schematic issue but that his team needed to defend the perimeter with better effort and consistency. To prevent today from becoming a repeat performance, Nebraska better be locked in with its close-outs, rotations, and contests from start to finish. Maryland comes in ranked fifth in the Big Ten, shooting at a 35.9% clip from behind the arc. Again, the opponent won’t matter if NU cannot make life more difficult on teams from deep. The Huskers currently rank 358th out of 364 Division I teams, with 49.8% of their opponent scoring coming off 3-pointers.
Battle on the boards
One area that has made Maryland such a tough matchup this season is how effective the Terrapins have been on the glass this season. UMD ranks fifth in the Big Ten in rebounding (37.3 rpg) out-rebounds its opponents by more than five rebounds per game. Big men Julian Reese (fifth, 8.7 rpg) and Derik Queen (seventh, 8.1) rank among the Big Ten’s top rebounders, with Reese tied for first in the league with 3.2 offensive boards per game. The Huskers just gave up 17 offensive rebounds for 19 second-chance points against Rutgers. If they can’t finish defensive possessions with strong rebounding, it could be another long day on the defensive end.
How much do you want it?
Ace Bailey’s voice better still echo through the heads of every Nebraska player today at Maryland. The Scarlet Knights’ stellar freshman called the Huskers out repeatedly during Thursday night’s game, yelling, “We want it more than them!” Juwan Gary said that added salt to the Huskers’ wounds. It also forced them to look into the mirror after a third consecutive Big Ten defeat. For NU to get its season back on track, it must play like the team that wants it more. In two of their past three losses (Iowa and Rutgers), they’ve left feeling like they were the better team. They just didn’t finish the job. Today’s game will measure what this team is all about. Their effort and intensity at Maryland will say plenty about the chances of getting this train back on the tracks.
Quotable
“That’s all I kept hearing Ace Bailey say tonight. ‘We want it more.’ That hurt as a player. I know no team wants it more than my guys, for sure. But they proved it today.”
Senior forward Juwan Gary on Rutgers’ star Ace Bailey’s comments during Nebraska’s loss on Thursday night.
Prediction
Maryland (-9.5) 81, Nebraska 71
Robin’s season record: 14-2
Vs. the spread: 8-8
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