In college basketball, exhibitions are similar to NFL preseason games. You want to get a number of players involved, experience success, and come out healthy.
Sunday afternoon, Nebraska men’s basketball accomplished all three.
“I was really pleased with our overall effort,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said.
The Huskers pulled away to beat Chadron State 87-60 in front of a sparse Pinnacle Bank Arena crowd. Closer than some would like for a game with such a wide talent gap, but Nebraska wasn’t going deep into the playbook to create scoring chances.
“We kept it about as basic as you possibly can,” Hoiberg said. “We ran one play on the perimeter and then we had one post up play. We’ll open up the playbook as we get closer the regular season.”
This was the first look for Nebraska fans to see several Huskers in a game atmosphere, including Lincoln native Sam Griesel. The Lincoln East grad scored 14 points while adding a game-high seven assists.
Leading the way in multiple phases of the game was transfer junior Juwan Gary. The former Alabama player came off the bench to score 23 points and grab nine rebounds.
“Juwan was all over the place,” Hoiberg said. “I’m proud of him for what his overall mentality of coming in the game being a difference maker.”
A total of 13 Huskers scored as 16 different players got in the game.
An issue for the past several seasons has been rebounding. That’s a focus for this team with several players standing 6’9″ or taller. Against the Eagles, NU won the rebounding battle 48-33.
Nebraska turned defense into offense with 15 points off of 18 turnovers.
A couple places need improvement are the three-point shooting and limiting runs.
The Huskers shot just 23 percent from beyond the arc. Part of that is certainly with the lack of offensive play calling and creativity, but if you shoot 26, like they did in this game, then you need to be making double-digit triples for that shot to hold its worth.
After falling behind 5-0 to start the game, which isn’t too awful considering the overall outcome of the day, Chadron State put together a pair of second half runs that spanned 10-1 and 7-0. Both such stretches saw the Huskers struggle to make baskets, while the first made the difference just six points.
“I thought the guys stayed together through that adversity, which you have to have,” Hoiberg said.
But at the end of the day, the rust came off for a team that had only been playing against itself for months. Even though it will be another exhibition Oct. 30, we’ll know more about this squad when they face Colorado.