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Where
Williams arena
When
6:00 PM
How
ESPN
| Pos. | Minnesota Golden Gophers | Pnt/Gm | Pnt/Gm | Nebraska Cornhuskers | Pos. | |
| PG | Nate Mason | 15.1 | 17.8 | Tai Webster | PG | |
| G | Akeem Springs | 10.1 | 13.4 | Glynn Watson Jr. | G | |
| F | Amir Coffey | 12.2 | 5.0 | Evan Taylor | G | |
| F | Jordan Murphy | 11.0 | 6.0 | Michael Jacobson | F | |
| C | Reggie Lynch | 8.1 | 4.8 | Jordy Tshimanga | C | |
| Bench | Eric Curry | 5.8 | 9.3 | Ed Morrow | Bench | |
| Bench | Dupree McBrayer | 10.9 | 7.9 | Jack McVeigh | Bench | |
| Bench | Bakary Konate | 1.8 | 4.2 | Jeriah Horne | Bench |
Keys to a Gopher Win
Slow Webster - This guy is the key to the Husker offense. Nate Mason on defense is going to be a key...and I have complete confidence that he's up to the task and maybe solidifies his place on the All-B1G Defensive team. Webster is the league's third leading scorer, he's going to get points. But let's make him earn it, wear him out and see his shots start hitting the front of the rim in the last several minutes.
Work the Offense - Bear in mind that I haven't watched Nebraska play basketball all year (sorry), but they rank almost dead last in all of D1 basketball in 3pnt FG% allowed. To me, this means that teams that run and offense will eventually break down the Husker defense, resulting in open threes. So work the offense, be patient and watch how we get open threes for Mason, Springs, McBrayer and Coffey. Note to Jordan Murphy: please stop shooting threes.
Be Present in THIS Game - I am a little concerned that this is a trap game. Wisconsin looms this weekend and behind us we have the momentum of 7-consecutive Big Ten wins. There is a lot of reason to be very confident that the outcome of this game will be a win. But Nebraska won't go away just because we are a lock for the NCAA Tournament and shooting for a double-bye.
Prediction
This is about the most confident I have been in a game in quite some time. I've stated my fears of this being a trap game. But no sleep-walking tonight...take care of business and win by 13.