Nebraska Basketball: James Palmer, defense dominate Seton Hall

James Palmer was special Wednesday night for Nebraska basketball and that along with a stellar defensive effort, helped NU dominate Seton Hall.

After missing out on the NCAA tournament last season, the Nebraska basketball team had a point to prove coming into this season and Wednesday night against Seton Hall.

The Pirates were a top-40 team coming into the game, according to Kenpom, and after not having enough quality wins a season ago, Nebraska basketball was desperate for one Wednesday and played like it. The Huskers were stellar defensively and James Palmer scored 29 points as Nebraska cruised to an 80-57 victory.

Playing at the Vault, Nebraska faced its first challenge of the season and the Huskers passed the test with flying colors. Myles Powell of Seton Hall had a really good night, scoring 24 points, yet only one other Seton Hall player reached double figures.

While the Huskers didn’t necessarily shoot the lights out, especially in the first half, they did score 80 points on 41-percent shooting. Nebraska basketball also knocked down eight 3-pointers compared to two for Seton Hall, which shot just 36 percent from the field.

Early on, both teams struggled to score but in the second half, the Huskers just wore down Seton Hall. Missed shots and transition killed the Pirates, as did Palmer, who earned 18 free-throw attempts, making 13 of them. He did make just 7-of-20 shot attempts overall and 2-of-8 from three, yet after making his first triple, he surged to 29 points.

Nebraska also got big nights from Isaac Copeland, who drained two treys on his way to scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Glynn Watson Jr. also added 14 points, three boards and eight assists. Thomas Allen and Isiah Roby both added seven points.

The Huskers also forced 13 turnovers in the win, while giving the ball away just eight times themselves. Another big edge came in assists. Thanks to Watson, Nebraska had 15. Seton Hall had just three, which says a lot about the way the Huskers defended.

The most important thing about the win Wednesday night was what it will mean for the Huskers resume. Last season, they were left out because of a lack of quality wins, especially outside of Big Ten play and in their first attempt, the Huskers didn’t just win, they dominated.

Beating some other teams like Clemson or Oklahoma State would help. But getting such an impressive win in the Gavit Games, against a Big East team, a conference Nebraska has struggled with, was huge.

We will see what the win means in March, but for now, it means that Nebraska basketball is every bit as good as advertised.