Following the 37-point blowout loss at Michigan State on Saturday, Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg told Huskers Radio Network he didn’t like how his team prepared leading up to the game against Tom Izzo’s team.
“That’s the thing that pisses me off about this game, we did not prepare going into this one like we needed to,” Hoiberg said during the conversation with Kent Pavelka and Jake Muhleisen.
On Wednesday during a press conference inside Pinnacle Bank Arena, Hoiberg tried detailing what he thought was the problem, though he had a hard time pinning it down to one or two points.
When it comes down to it, Hoiberg doesn’t think the week off following the North Florida win did his team any favors in East Lansing.
“It may have been as simple as exhaling, taking your foot off the gas and then having a day off and then coming back in,” Hoiberg said of what sparked the embarrassing Michigan State loss. “And the energy just wasn’t the same, of what it had been for the entire season with this team. Really, last week was hopefully the outlier for this season, for that game.”
What’s the response from the team been like? Hoiberg said it’s been good, about what he expected. The coaching staff has been putting the players through more physical practices and telling them the physicality Michigan State played with is coming again Friday when the Indiana Hoosiers (8-2) come to town for a 7 p.m. tip inside PBA.
Nebraska beat Indiana three times last season and handed it an embarrassing 93-66 loss in the Big Ten Tournament. One would think the Hoosiers have this game circled on the schedule.
“They’re big, they’re strong, they’re playing really good basketball right now, they’re healthy,” Hoiberg said. “It’s a team that will pose a lot of the same problems Michigan State did, and if we don’t respond to a run, to adversity, the same thing is gonna happen that happened Saturday afternoon for the entire season. That’s how this league is, that’s how it goes.”
Indiana, which beat a struggling Minnesota team 82-67 on Monday, is averaging 80.4 points per game (9th in Big Ten) while holding opponents to 69.1 (12th). Considering how badly the Huskers struggled on the glass against the Spartans, the rebounding and toughness battle will be crucial Friday night.
The Spartans won the rebound fight vs. Nebraska, 48-19, and hauled down 12 offensive rebounds. MSU held a big edge in second-chance points: 17-3. The Hoosiers are averaging 38.1 rebounds per game (4th).
“We just got punked. We just got little-brothered, for real,” Nebraska guard Brice Williams said Wednesday. “There’s really not anything else to it.”
Said senior forward Juwan Gary: “Definitely we harped on rebounding. Last week was kind of embarrassing just on the glass in general. So just this week, get back to the basics, get back to Nebraska basketball. Don’t go out there and do something that we haven’t been working on all summer.”
One play from the Michigan State game stands out to Hoiberg. There was a loose ball and two Huskers had a chance to grab it. But there was a missed blockout. No one dove on the court. The Spartans recovered and kicked it out to an open Jaden Akins, who drilled a 3.
“They just steamrolled us and we did not respond well,” Hoiberg said. “We watched every one of those clips and we had a very tough film session, we’ve had tough practices. The challenge now is, are we going to respond when that thing goes up in the air at 7 o’clock on Friday night.”
The Hoosier players to keep an eye on include the big three of Malik Reneau (15.5 points, 6.4 rebounds), Mackenzie Mgbako (15.1, 5.1) and star Arizona transfer Oumar Ballo (13.2, 9.1), a 7-footer from the country of Mali in Africa.
“The physicality, the toughness, there are going to be a lot of the same things that stressed us going into the Michigan State game, starting in transition with their bigs — they do as good a job as anybody of throwing the ball over top to Reneau, into Ballo, in transition,” Hoiberg said.
The Huskers will need to be selective with their shot attempts when Ballo is in the area, Hoiberg said. The center has a 7-6 wingspan and is using it — he’s averaging two blocks per game, and those plays can be energy creators for the Hoosiers.
“Offensively, he carves out space as well as anybody that certainly I’ve seen in this league and across the country,” Hoiberg said of Ballo. “Very good offensive rebounder. He has such unbelievable length and I think he’s a good passer in their high-low game, with he and Reneau.”
Hoiberg also said Kanaan Carlyle being healthy is a big boost for Indiana. Carlyle, a 6-3 guard and transfer from Stanford, has missed three games but has since returned. Against Minnesota, he scored 14 points, was a 3-point threat (3-of-6 from deep) and dished out five assists.
“I thought he was great in their game the other night,” Hoiberg said of Carlyle. “He adds an on-ball pressure element to that team.”
Hoiberg also noted guard Trey Galloway and his ability to get downhill with his right hand. In his last four games, Galloway has gone 3-of-4 from 3-point range twice, against Providence and Miami (OH).
Berke Büyüktuncel is still dealing with the lingering effects of the groin injury he suffered against South Dakota.
After missing the North Florida game, Büyüktuncel returned to play 13 minutes off the bench at Michigan State. He added three points, two steals and one rebound.
“He’s still not quite 100 percent, and I think you could see that a little bit in the game the other day,” Hoiberg said. “He’s getting more comfortable out there. It’s hard when you basically have a week off and then have to go back in and get right back to one of the most physical games we’re going to play all season.”
Hoiberg said Büyüktuncel was on a minutes restriction at Michigan State and will likely be on one again for Indiana.
