The Nebraska basketball team didn't plany anywhere near a perfect game against Maryland on Wednesday night. However, the Huskers played well enough against the Terapins that head coach Buzz Williams believes Fred Hoiberg's squad is a legitimate Final Four contender.
Speaking to the media after his team's 74-61 loss to NU, Williams compared NU to previous versions of contending teams he's faced off against. "This team is better," Williams said. "Sneaky Final Four good."
Williams explained that one of the things that makes Nebraska so good is that it's very disciplined on both offense and defense.
Maryland's Buzz Williams believes Nebraska is one of the best in the country
"Because the volume of threes that they make. and the percentage of those threes that they shoot that they make. And then they're so committed to keeping the ball out of the paint. And so, you know, like when you look at their analytics, it's easy to see what they're trying to do offensively, but it's also really easy to see what they're trying to do defensively. And so... It's almost a contrast in styles in what they do, and that's hard to accomplish."
"I think the connectivity of their team is obvious from just watching them on film ... I think their ability to execute what Coach Hoiberg has changed and adjusted on both sides of the ball. Yes, sir. Really good."
Williams' own team is in a rebuilding year after spending most of its early era in the Big Ten being one of the best programs around. Nebraska may be doing its part to get the baton passed to the Huskers. Now sitting at 13-4 in conference this season, the chance that NU will earn a triple bye in the conference tournament is very, very good. That will be a good first step towards making noise in the tournament.