Nebraska Basketball: Glynn Watson Jr. huge in victory over Gophers

After a major slump, Nebraska Basketball got a huge boost from Watson.

There are many good things to take away from Nebraska’s big win over Minnesota on Wednesday night. Doing so by a 62-61 margin, the game may have swung in Minnesota’s favor if not for a particular Nebraska basketball player. Glynn Watson Junior played well on Wednesday, something he hadn’t done past couple of games.

Watson didn’t put together the perfect effort on Wednesday night. As a matter of fact, he shot an airball in the first quarter. Nevertheless, he persisted and continued to battle throughout the course of the game. He shot the basketball whenever he had a look, something that he has not done over the past couple of games. One of the reasons he has struggled over the past few contests was his tentativeness. He did not show that on Wednesday, and that was great to see. When Watson is at his best is when he is shooting without hesitation.

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He was doing exactly that, shooting three-pointers, driving to the rim, and just being aggressive with the basketball. This is one of the more complete games that I have seen from him in about a month or so. He went 8-of-16 from the field and 2-of-5 from the three-point line, scoring 19 points in all. Are those the most efficient numbers? No, there is certainly room for improvement. However, he was not afraid to shoot and that is important for Nebraska basketball. If they want to have a successful season from here on out, they need Watson to put together several games like this.

Maybe this is the start of something bigger. The loss of Issac Copeland is a big one for Nebraska basketball. They need someone that can replace the scoring load in Copeland’s absence. Nobody has done that yet. Watson was thought to be one of those guys as soon as the injury occurred. With his struggles, I personally thought that maybe I should’ve tempered my expectations for him. With how he played tonight, I am giving him those same expectations again.

If Nebraska basketball wants to go deep into postseason play, they need Watson to come up big. Tonight, he showed exactly what he is capable of. In doing so, he was a big part of ending Nebraska’s seven-game losing streak. James Palmer scored the most points with 24 on the evening. However, Watson may have played the biggest role by adding secondary scoring and in the process getting himself out of a slump. This is exactly the type of game Nebraska basketball needed from him, and hopefully he can use this as a springboard for the rest of the season.

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