Nebraska Hoops Game Day: at Maryland

On By Littum

Nebraska desperately needs to get its season back on track today at Maryland as it rides a three-game losing streak and sees its 20-game home winning streak snapped.

Here’s what you need to know heading 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, January 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 Finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and five
helps finish with a team-best +/- of 14 in 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 loss to Rutgers. He is averaging 18.9 ppg on the season while shooting a career-high 48.5% from the field and 40 percent on 3-pointers.
Juan Gary F Sr. 6-6/226 Finished with 20 points in the loss to Rutgers, two shy of matching his career high. It marked his 11th double-figure scoring effort of the year and second game with 20 points.
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 one blocked shot over 17 minutes of work in the loss to Rutgers.

Maryland expected starters

Ja’Kobi Gillespie G Jr. 6-1/186 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 So. 6-4/198 He scores 12.4 points per game. game, while he is second on the team with 2.4 assists per game. match this season.
Selton Miguel G Sr. 6-4/217 He is 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 Sr. 6-9/252 All-Big Ten selection, 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. 6-10/246 A true freshman who leads Maryland in scoring with 15.8 ppg on 56 percent shooting while grabbing 8.1 rebounds per game.

3 keys to victory

Defense 3

It really doesn’t matter who Nebraska plays – the Huskers’ 3-point defense has become a critical concern during their three-game losing streak. Iowa (17), Purdue (19) and Rutgers (12) combined to hit 48 threes. That’s 16.0 made 3-pointers per match. 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 completions, rotations and contests from start to finish. Maryland ranks fifth in the Big Ten, shooting at a 35.9% clip from behind the arc. Again, the opponent will care if NU cannot make life more difficult for teams from deep. The Huskers currently rank 358th out of 364 Division I teams, with 49.8% of their opponents’ scoring coming from 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) and is outscoring opponents by more than five rebounds per game. match. Big men Julian Reese (fifth, 8.7 rpg) and Derik Queen (seventh, 8.1) are among the Big Ten’s top rebounders, with Reese leading the league with 3.2 offensive boards per game. The Huskers gave up just 17 offensive rebounds for 19 second-chance points against Rutgers. If they can’t finish defensive possessions with strong rebounds, it could be another long day on the defensive end.

How much do you want it?

Ace Bailey’s voice even better echoes through the head of every Nebraska player today in Maryland. The Scarlet Knights’ standout freshman called out the Huskers 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 in the mirror for a third straight Big Ten loss. For NU to get its season back on track, it needs to play like the team that wants it more. In two of their last three losses (Iowa and Rutgers), they have 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 in Maryland will speak volumes for the chances of getting this train back on track.

Citable

“That’s all I kept hearing Ace Bailey say tonight. ‘We want it more.’ It 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 Thursday night.

Forecast

Maryland (-9.5) 81, Nebraska 71

Robin’s season record: 14-2

vs. the spread: 8-8

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