The Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball team has officially had one of the strangest campaigns ofthe Fred Hoiberg era.
The good news is that the Huskers seem to have officially stopped their midseason swoon. Following a six-game losing streak that seemingly ended their hopes for the NCAA Tournament, Hoiberg’s Heroes have now ripped off three straight victories, including two wins against ranked teams.
The latest was a late Wednesday night win over the Washington Huskies that looked like it was going to be a crushing loss for the first 20 minutes of game time. Instead, the Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball team emerged with an 86-72 victory.
Truth: Washington might be the biggest statement game of the season
Yes, technically any of the four wins against Top 25 teams this season were bigger for the Huskers’ resume, but the way Nebraska won is a very big deal.
At the end of the first half, NU looked like it did in far too many games of the Hoiberg era. The Huskies led at the half 47-37 and started the game absolutely unconscious from beyond the 3-point line.
In the second half, Washington couldn’t hit a shot and NU outscored them 49-25 to take a game that was a nail biter and turn it into a laugher. It also happens to be the second straight road win for the Huskers. They didn’t get their second road win of the Big Ten season last year until March 10.
Truth: Perimeter defense is still a concern
It’s possible this is just going to be a thing during the Fred Hoiberg era in Lincoln no matter how long that is. And it might be one of those things Husker fans just learn to accept.
Washington came into the game averaging 6.6 made three point shots per game. They had 7 made threes less than eight minutes into last night’s contest. Yes, they went ice cold from deep, finishing just 3-for-18 down the stretch, but if there is a big weakness in this defense, it’s the ability to defend the outside shot. And that’s by design. If UW was a better shooting team from long range, things might have gone very, very differently.
Lie: Freduary is a myth
If Benjamin Franklin was still around, he’d likely officially add a third item to his assertion that death and taxes were the only certain things in life. That third thing would be the Nebraska Cornhuskers being nearly unstoppable once the calendar turned to February.
Technically, this year's turnaround started just ahead of Freduary, but NU is still 2-0 this year post-January. Last year, NU went 7-3 in February and March. The year before that, they went 6-2. In the last three seasons, the Nebraska Cornhuskers are 15-5 in the final two months of the regular season.