FIRST HALF ANALYSIS:
If you like offensive explosions, the first half was not for you. If you like Big Ten defensive slugfests, well this was your cup of tea. Northwestern started the game with 3 turnovers before attempting a field goal, but Nebraska was a meager 2-7 from the floor in the first 4 minutes. The turnover bug then decided to infect Nebraska, as they committed 7 turnovers in a 6 minute timespan.
Northwestern went on an 18-4 run in that timeframe, opening up an 8 point lead. The Huskers immediately countered with an 8-0 run, keyed by offensive rebounds and more Wildcat turnovers. For two teams who take care of the basketball, both are already above their season average in the first half. Jamarques Lawrence picked up his second foul late in the half, hopefully not causing issues with foul trouble.
FIRST HALF STATS:
Northwestern shot 12-27 for 44% from the floor. They went 2-8 for 25% from deep and 1-1 from the free-throw line. The Wildcats collected 12 rebounds, 3 of which were offensive. Northwestern had 8 turnovers to 7 assists. They had 14 points in the paint and 12 points off turnovers.
The Wildcats were led by Angelo Ciaravino, Jordan Clayton and Tre Singleton, who had 5 points each. Leading scorer Nick Martinelli only had 2. Ciaravino and Clayton had 3 rebounds each.
Nebraska shot 10-29 for 35% from the floor. They went 5-15 for 33% from deep and 3-5 for 60% from the free-throw line. The Huskers collected 23 rebounds, 11 of which were offensive. Nebraska had 10 turnovers to 6 assists. They had 10 points in the paint.
The Huskers were led by Pryce Sandfort, who had 11 points. Rienk Mast had 6 rebounds and 4 assists to lead the way in both categories. Sam Hoiberg had 8 points.
SECOND HALF ANALYSIS:
Nebraska continued to turn the ball over to start the second half, which kept the Wildcats right in this game. Pryce Sandfort kept Nebraska in this for a while, keeping Nebraska’s slim lead. Once the Huskers stopped turning the ball over and got some shot up, the door eventually blew open. Halfway through, Nebraska would go on a big run, giving themselves a double-digit lead, as Pryce Sandfort and Cale Jacobsen would lead the charge.
Jacobsen would hit back-to-back 3’s to give the Huskers a comfortable lead, and Northwestern went on a field goal drought of over 5 minutes. Sandfort and Jacobsen both finished one bucket shy of hitting career highs, but the Huskers shot almost 60% from the floor in the second half, including 6-10 from deep to give Nebraska a comfortable win.
FINAL STATS AND THOUGHTS:
Northwestern shot 20-50 for 40% from the floor. They went 3-15 for 20% from deep and 6-11 for 55% from the free-throw line. The Wildcats collected 24 rebounds, 6 of which were offensive. Northwestern had 16 turnovers and 13 assists. They had 26 points in the paint and 27 points off turnovers.
The Wildcats were led by Nick Martinelli, who had 11 points. 9 of those points were in the second half. No other Wildcat was in double figures. Angelo Ciaravino led the way with 4 rebounds. Jake West had 4 assists for Northwestern.
Nebraska shot 24-53 for 45% from the floor. They went 11-25 for 44% from deep and 9-12 for 75% from the free-throw line. The Huskers collected 40 rebounds, 13 of which were offensive. Nebraska had 18 turnovers to 16 assists. They had 26 points in the paint and 18 bench points.
The Huskers were led by Pryce Sandfort, who had 29 points. Rienk Mast led the way with 9 rebounds. Mast and Berke Buyuktuncel each had 4 assists. Sam Hoiberg, the all-around guy, had 14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.
Nebraska got off to another really horrendous first half, which has been a recurring problem as of late. This time, it wasn’t bad shooting, it was a multitude of turnovers. Nebraska only averages 9 turnovers a game, but they were already past that in the opening 20 minutes. Once the Huskers got settled down finally, they showed why they were the number 7 team in the country. Good shooting, tough defense and diving all over the floor made sure this game ended rather comfortably.
Nebraska has a much harder schedule on the road than at home from here on out, so getting off to slow starts will mean bad things coming up. It’s one thing to do it at home, but an entirely different beast when you are on the road. Nebraska plays Iowa on Tuesday night. Tip-off from Carver-Hawkeye Arena is scheduled for 8:00 pm and can be seen on Big Ten Network.
