Nebraska basketball vs Penn State: Huskers let winnable game get away
The Nebraska basketball team entered Friday’s game as a team on the rise, then they fell to earth.
The game on Friday night is exactly the kind of game the Nebraska basketball has to win if it wants to be on the NCAA bubble. Despite entering an eight-point dog, the Huskers knew they had the talent to take the Nittany Lions down.
Unfortunately, the team played one of it’s worst games of the season and lost in overtime. How bad was bad? When the Huskers took a three-point lead late in the game, it was the first time in 30 minutes of game time.
How bad was it? They immediately coughed up the lead.
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Despite trailing by as many as 13 for most of the second half, the Huskers had a chance to win. With 19 seconds left and the game tied, the Cornhuskers put the game in Glynn Watson‘s hands.
He proceeded to stand still, well outside the three-point line for 16 of those seconds, then chucked up an off-balance shot. This was out of a timeout mind you.
In overtime, the Huskers kept punching back and the Nittany Lions kept counter punching. Late in the extra period, Watson again had the ball with a chance for a potential dagger.
Once again, Watson stood well behind the three-point line for 16 seconds and chucked up an off-balance “3”. In other news, it might be time for the Huskers to start looking to someone else to come up with the big shot at the end of the game.
Watson, after starting out 5 for his first 6, went 2 for 14 the rest of the way. That’s a follow up from when he went 0 for 6 against Wisconsin, which was a follow up to 2 for 10 against Purdue and 5-14 against Northwestern.
Considering how frustrated Miles was after the WIN against Wisconsin ... I wish I was a fly on the wall in that locker room right now.
— Husker Corner (@theHuskerCorner) January 13, 2018
It’s a credit that the Huskers have managed to go 2-2 in their last four, considering their “go-to” player has had a pretty rough season. When Watson is on, he’s among the best. He hasn’t been on very much this year.
He was definitely off at the end of the game against Penn State. So were the rest of the Huskers who also reverted to past seasons, when standing around and waiting for someone to “do something” was far too prevalent.
If it wasn’t for Isaac Copeland and his 21 points, Nebraska would have blown out. James Palmer was also a complete non-factor, hitting just one of nine shots.
It was a performance the Huskers could not afford. Not only does it drop them to 12-7 and 3-3 in the league, but it erases a chance to get some daylight in the middle of the pack.
The Nebraska basketball team still has a legit chance at going to the NCAA Tournament. In order to take advantage of that opportunity, they’re going to need to win some of these close games down the stretch.
They’ll try again against an Illinois team that is reeling after blowing a big lead to Iowa Thursday night. That’s the kind of situation that should be a “get right” game for Nebraska basketball, but after Friday’s performance, Husker fans are likely a bit nervous.