The Nebraska basketball team is fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament right now, and they have a golden opportunity for a resume-building win on Monday. The Cornhuskers hosted #15 Michigan, and it was an ugly one that came right down to the wire. Nebraska gave up only 49 points in the game, but that was enough for the Wolverines to get the win. Michigan escaped Lincoln with a 49-46 win, but Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg is still proud of his team.
Nothing was going well for the Nebraska basketball team offensively on Monday night, but the effort was there all night long. Fred Hoiberg is proud of how his team fought, and he knows that good things will come if they continue to play with that kind of effort.
“I’ll say this, I’m proud of the team,” Hoiberg said after the game, according to a post from Matt Sottile. “I’m proud of the guys for going out there and giving it… giving themselves a chance when you had about as poor an offensive night as you could possibly have. It’s not easy to continue to go out there and have a spirit defensively. But our guys fought like hell all game long to keep us in the game, and to give ourselves a chance where we get a great look on a possession where there’s under 20 seconds. So, you know, I’m proud of the guys for the way they went out there and fought and battled, and if we play like that with that type of energy, we’re gonna be fine.”
Nebraska certainly did enough on the defensive end to get a win, but it just wasn’t there offensively. It wasn’t there for Michigan either, but they did just enough to finish on top.
Neither team averaged more than .75 points per possession in this game, and according to Jared Berson, that is the first time that has happened this season.
“Michigan: 0.71 points per possession
Nebraska: 0.67 points per possession
The first Division I game all season in which both teams scored under 0.75 points per possession,” Berson said.
Michigan and Nebraska combined to shoot 28% from the floor during Monday night’s game and 20% deep. It was an all-around ugly performance from both teams offensively, and that makes the loss even more painful for the Nebraska basketball team.
With the loss, the Cornhuskers are now 17-11 overall and 7-10 in Big Ten play with just three games remaining. Nebraska is firmly on the bubble right now, and they finish the regular season with games against Minnesota at home, Ohio State on the road, and Iowa at home. The Cornhuskers need some wins.
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