Nebraska Cornhuskers with a royal win over the Duquesne Dukes
The Nebraska Cornhuskers had their toughest test of the season so far and came out the other end with the only 6-0 start in Fred Hoiberg’s NU career.
After one half of play, Nebraska basketball fans could be excused if they were a little nervous. The Nebraska Cornhuskers have made it a habit to lay eggs against teams they have no business losing to.
Maybe things really are different if the second half on Wednesday night is any indication. Despite being tested mightily by the Duquesne Dukes, the Huskers won the game 89-79.
The Atlantic-10 team that won 20 games a year ago held a 39-37 lead after the first half, went on a scoring drought to start the second period that eventually meant their undoing as the Huskers went up by 17 at one point.
The Dukes were able to fight back and shrink the lead to seven points, but Nebraska wasn’t about to fold up shop the way past NU teams have done in the past. Some clutch shots and Duquesne losing its composure to the tune of two technical fouls were too much to overcome.
Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball Player of the Game
It would be easy to pick Keisei Tominga as the best player on the floor on Wednesday, but it was actually Juwan Gary who looked like the leader of the Huskers tonight. He scored his Nebraska Cornhuskers career-high with 20 points thanks to 7-for-10 shooting and hitting 2-of-4 shots from beyond the arc.
He also hauled down four rebounds. Gary has looked like he’s ready to take his game to another level so far this year. After missing the first three games this year, he scored 19 against Stony Brook, had a double-double against Oregon State with 12 points and 10 boards and then tonight’s performance.
By the numbers
After looking a bit shaky in the first half, the Nebraska Cornhuskers came out on an absolute roll as they scored on their first 17 possessions of the second half.
Keisei Tominaga had the quietest 20-point game of his career as he led the Huskers in scoring with 23 points. He was only 6-of-12 (and 2-of-7 from 3) from the field but hit 9 of 10 free throws. It was his first 20-point game of the season.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers as a whole were 28-of-31 from the free-throw lane. Despite lots of flopping from the Dukes, they only had 17 free-throw attempts.
Next up for the Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Huskers have a very good opportunity to get off to a 7-0 start before they clash with the Creighton Bluejays. NU will next play Cal State Fullerton on Sunday afternoon at 1pm.