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Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
A look at the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who Iowa plays on January 5
After a 22-point loss to Purdue to start Big Ten play, Iowa basketball bounced back nicely with an important 86-83 overtime win over Michigan at home earlier this week. It brought Iowa back to .500 in conference play and 9-6 overall.
The Hawkeyes will have their second road game of conference play on Thursday night when they travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, to take on the 8-6 Nebraska Cornhuskers. Iowa and Nebraska are around the same tier, which makes this an important game for Iowa to win if they want to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
Despite a sub-par 6-6 non-conference record, Nebraska enters the game on a hot streak. They’ve won their last three games and are 2-0 to start conference play, which includes impressive wins over Indiana and Maryland on the road.
The Cornhuskers are clearly playing their best basketball of the season, but they’re also the same team that lost to Gardner-Webb 70-62 at home. Obviously Nebraska is a very beatable team at home, but Iowa has to take away their confidence early.
That said, Nebraska has been battle-tested this year. They’ve faced four ranked opponents and Virginia Tech who broke into the top 25 this week.
The Cornhuskers lost by double-digits to four of those five teams, though. Therefore, it could end up being a blowout win for Iowa or a close game if Nebraska comes out with confidence.
Nebraska’s tough non-conference schedule had them prepared for the grueling grind of Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes don’t have the same reputation as Indiana or Maryland, so this might be a trap game for Nebraska with Northwestern next on their schedule.
Iowa and Nebraska will tipoff at 8:00 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.
Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
Tim Miles
After leading Colorado State to a 20 win season and a NCAA Tournament berth in 2011-12, Tim Miles has gone 71-73 at Nebraska in four-plus seasons. That said, Nebraska is historically one of the worst Power Five basketball programs, so he’s still at the beginning of building a basketball culture there.
Nonetheless, he already won 19 games in 2013-14, which resulted in their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1997-98. Nebraska lost to Baylor in the first round, though, so the Cornhuskers are still searching for their first NCAA Tournament win.
Still, in 2014-15, Nebraska ranked inside the top 25 to start the season for the first time since 1992-93. It seemed like Miles had successfully brought Nebraska into the national spotlight, but the Cornhuskers only went 13-18 that year and faded back to the bottom of the Big Ten.
The Cornhuskers bounced back to win 15 games a season ago before going 8-6 to start this season. They might not crack the top 25 like a couple of years ago, but they’re showing that they’re at least a competitive team in conference play.
Defense has been the staple for Miles’ teams. Nebraska has owned a top 100 scoring defense in three of his first four seasons, with last year Nebraska ranking 101st in the nation. They simply haven’t had the offense to complement their defensive play.
Tim Miles has his work cut out for him at Nebraska, but so far he’s made Nebraska at least somewhat competitive every year. Playing a tough non-conference schedule like Nebraska had this year will also help with recruiting and the development of players.
Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
Players To Watch
Tai Webster: 17.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.4 SPG, 46.6 FG%
After averaging 10.1 points per game a season ago, Tai Webster has thrived as Nebraska’s go-to offensive player. He’s fifth in the Big Ten in scoring at 17.4 per game, while shooting 46.6 percent from the field. Iowa will need to play great team defense to stop Webster, as he does most of his scoring inside the three-point line but can also get hot from deep.
Webster is a solid rebounder and playmaker, as well as a defender who could end Jordan Bohannon‘s two game turnover-less streak, but Iowa’s biggest worry should be his scoring. As previously mentioned, he’s fifth in scoring, and he also had six games with at least 20 points and 10 games with at least 15 points.
In fact, Webster’s production increases against better teams. He averages 20.5 points per game on 48.5 percent shooting against ranked teams this season. Iowa has had defensive issues this season and Webster can expose them if they’re slow on rotations and help defense.
Ed Morrow: 10.4 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 1.4 BPG, 54.5 FG%
Ed Morrow isn’t a big-time scorer like Webster, but he’s been a problem on the glass for many teams. His 8.4 rebounds per game ranks sixth in the Big Ten this year, as he has three double-doubles and five games with at least 10 rebounds compared to seven games with at least 10 points.
With the return of Tyler Cook, Iowa is still trying to figure out how their frontcourt rotation will look between Cook, Cordell Pemsl and Ahmad Wagner. No matter the combination, Iowa still lacks an elite rebounder.
Considering Morrow grabbed 18 rebounds against Gardner-Webb and 13 rebounds against Creighton, he could be in store for a huge game considering Iowa’s rebounding issues at times. They have to limit Nebraska’s opportunities and keeping Morrow off the glass is how they’ll do that.
Tyler Cook will also have his hands full on offense, as Morrow ranks eighth with 1.4 blocks per game. He has already recorded nine blocks in two Big Ten games this season, too. Cook is one of the best finishers in the conference, but he’s still working his way back from injury and this is a big test for him.
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