The Nebraska basketball season officially tips off next Monday, but before it does, Fred Hoiberg and company will play an exhibition tuneup against the Colorado Buffaloes.
While these exhibition games can never really be leaned on to tell someone just how a season is going to go, this game could go a long way towards getting the new-new look Nebrasketball squad to prepare for what could be a tough 2022-2023 schedule.
The Huskers played their first exhibition game last Sunday against Chadron, and while they ended up winning 87-60, they went through long stretches where the offense was in short supply. That was a game against a team the Cornhuskers should have been able to beat by 30 points and almost did.
Sunday’s 5 pm CT contest is against a team that, by all accounts, will be more on par with what the Nebraska basketball team is going to be seeing not long into the regular season.
In fact, it’s safe to say that Colorado will be one of the toughest opponents they’ll face, even if the Buffaloes are expected to take a bit of a step back this season. While CU’s football team continues to be inexplicably moribund, the basketball team is coming off four straight 20 win seasons and an NCAA Tournament berth last year.
They’re led by sophomore point guard KJ Simpson who averaged 7.4 points and 2.7 assists a game. He’ll team up with Nique Clifford at shooting guard. Clifford came on strong down the stretch last season, and while he only averaged 6.7 points per game, he shot 40 percent from beyond the arc.
Those two will be leaned on heavily because the Nebraska basketball and Colorado basketball teams have something in common in 2022-23. They’re both trying to rebuild their starting lineup after quite a bit of roster shakeup. The Buffaloes lost their top three scorers from a year ago.
The Huskers are looking for their own scorers this season, and at least against Chadron, newcomer Juwan Gary answered the call. The Alabama transfer led the team in shots, points and rebounds as he scored 23 and hauled down nine boards.
He did all of that coming off the bench and will be interesting to see if he can repeat that kind of performance against the higher level of competition on Sunday.
The Nebraska basketball team will tip off against Colorado at 5pm CT. While it won’t be televised, fans can watch it for free through Pac-12.com and on BTN+ for free.