2 truths and a lie after the Nebraska Cornhuskers go Osprey hunting

The Nebraska Cornhuskers didn't suffer any sort of Creighton let down as they beat North Florida by 31 points.

Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

There wasn’t much to love about the Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball team’s blowout victory over the North Florida Ospreys. In the final tuneup before Fred Hoiberg’s squad opens Big Ten play against two of the conference’s best teams, NU looked like they too, could be one of the better programs in the B1G this season.

Logging a 103-72 win, it was the first time Nebrasketball scored more than 100 points for the first time since 2021. And that 103 point effort follows a 96-point effort against South Dakota.

And while the scoring was certainly nice to see. It was the defensive effort that should have Nebraska basketball fans plenty excited. Against North Florida, the Huskers nabbed 12 steals and forced 16 total turnovers. This while Hoiberg’s squad turned it over just six times.

Truth: Connor Essegian is turning into a top weapon for the Nebraska Cornhuskers

When the season started, there were real questions about who might complement Brice Williams as a scorer in place of Keisei Tominaga. Connor Essegian looks like he might be that guy. 

After scoring a career-high 29 points against South Dakota, he scored 22 against North Florida, hitting 8-of-10 shots and 6-of-8 three-pointers. But he’s becoming a real weapon because he’s not just a scorer. On Sunday evening, the former Wisconsin Badger also had 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. It will undoubtedly be interesting to see if he can keep doing that in the Big Ten.

Truth: Juwan Gary being back should scare the Big Ten

Against Big Ten teams, Gary might not be a guy who scores 20 every night, but he’s turned into a very complete player. He missed all but two minutes of the game against South Dakota but was back and better than ever on Sunday, scoring 18 points while getting 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. It’s his defense that should worry Michigan State next.

Lie: North Florida is just another buy game

Yes, obviously the Ospreys are not a school quite on the level of the Big Ten, but this team is no slouch. They opened the season with a 74-71 win over South Carolina. They showed that was no opening night fluke with a 105-93 win over Georgia Tech.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers can mark this down as a solid victory over a very good mid-major program. 

Schedule

Schedule