Hoops Gameday: Nebraska at Wisconsin
Who, What, Where, When
Nebraska Cornhuskers (13-11, 5-6) vs. Wisconsin Badgers (14-9, 6-4)
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016 - 6 p.m.
Kohl Center
TV: BTN
Radio: Husker Sports Network
Internet: BTN2Go
| NAME | HT/WT | YEAR | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Benny Parker |
5-9/175 |
Sr. |
Scored just 3 points but had three assists vs. Rutgers |
|
Glynn Watson |
6-0/160 |
Fr. |
Had career-high 9 assists in win over Rutgers |
|
Andrew White |
6-7/216 |
Jr. |
Had game-highs with 21 points and 8 rebounds vs. RU |
|
Jack McVeigh |
6-8/210 |
Fr. |
Making first career start in place of Shavon Shields |
|
Michael Jacobson |
6-8/225 |
Fr. |
Scored career-high 13 points in win over Rutgers |
| NAME | HT/WT | YEAR | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Zak Showalter |
6-2/185 |
Jr. |
Shooting 46% from the field, 89% from the free throw line, and 35% from 3-point range |
|
Bronson Koenig |
6-4/190 |
Jr. |
Scoring 13.4 ppg and averaging 2.2 apg |
|
Ethan Happ |
6-9/230 |
Fr. |
Averaging 12.3 ppg and team-high 8.1 rpg |
|
Nigel Hayes |
6-8/235 |
Jr. |
Leads team with 17.1 ppg along with 6.0 rpg and 3.5 apg |
|
Vitto Brown |
6-8/237 |
Jr. |
Averaging 8.6 ppg and 5.0 rpg |
Three keys to victory
1. Stop Nigel Hayes
Wisconsin lost a ton of star power from last season's national title game team, but one player as emerged as the new face of the program in 2015-16. Junior forward Nigel Hayes has been doing a little bit of everything, and he's currently playing arguably the best basketball of his career over the past few weeks. In his past five games, Hayes is averaging 21.8 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 45% from the field. He's also gotten to free throw line a whopping 57 times during that span. For Nebraska to keep the Badgers in check tonight, it's going to start with locking down Hayes from the opening tip.
2. Shut down the paint
One of the biggest keys to Wisconsin's current five-game winning streak has been a change in approach offensively to stop settling for perimeter jump shots and attack the basket and get to the free throw line. Hayes has benefitted from the adjustment as much as anyone, but the Badgers as a whole have all picked up their aggressiveness and become much more physical with the basketball. That's why it's so important for Nebraska to keep UW out of the paint. Wisconsin ranks 10th in the Big Ten in both field goal percentage (43.1) and 3-point percentage (34.4), so the more shots it has to take away from the basket, the better it will be for the Huskers.
3. Fill Shields' shoes
Nebraska will be without not only its best all-around player in terms of production tonight with Shavon Shields out while recovering from a concussion, it will also not have its biggest team leader on the court. Shields ranks either first or second on the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals, but just as important is the role he serves as the Huskers' rock when things get tough, especially in hostile environments on the road. Other players - such as fellow senior Benny Parker and junior Andrew White - are going to have to step up and take charge to fill Shields' void.
Quotable
"Oh really scary, just because I think most basketball players go through a fall like that, it’s just a matter of how serious it is when you land. You can hit a back, you can hit a shoulder, head, neck, so it’s very serious just because that’s a player, he was doing his job, that’s just kind of the risk of it, but yeah a very scary moment."
-Junior guard Andrew White, on watching Shields suffer his concussion.
Prediction
Wisconsin 68, Nebraska 63
Robin's season record: 19-5