Huskers get outworked in 71-56 blowout loss to Kansas State in KC

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – A week ago, Nebraska upset rival Creighton, lost at then-No. 14 Indiana, and suffered an overtime defeat to now-top-ranked Purdue.

Despite a few days to regroup, the Huskers were overwhelmed in a 71-56 loss to Kansas State on Saturday night.

In front of an estimated 70/30 split between KSU and NU fans at T-Mobile Center, Keyontae Johnson scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting. The Wildcats made 10 3-pointers as a team.

On the other side, Nebraska went 32.1% from the field, including 4-of-21 from 3-point range. The Huskers had just nine assists to 18 turnovers.

Wilhelm Breidenbach scored a career-high 13 points off the bench, but it wasn’t nearly enough in a game that saw NU’s deficit reach as many as 19.

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While Nebraska shot just 32.1% from the field, it stayed within reach with strong defense, forcing three early KSU turnovers. But the Huskers’ shooting was cold from the jump. They didn’t make a field goal for the final six minutes of the half.

Johnson scored 11 of his points in the opening half. That helped the Wildcats take a 39-26 lead into the break.

The Huskers were barely hanging around down 12 midway through the second period. But a 7-1 K-State run pushed the margin to its widest of the night at 59-40 with 8:56 to play. 

Just when it looked like KSU would run away with the win, Nebraska came storming back with a 10-0 run. A 3-pointer from Jamarques Lawrence and a contested layup by Emmanuel Bandoumel made it 59-50 with 3:43 left to play. 

A corner three by Lawrence helped Nebraska pull within 62-55 with 1:19 remaining. That was the closest score since the 4:20 mark in the first half.

The comeback would fizzle out from there, as the Huskers scored just one more point the rest of the way.

Lawrence set career-highs with nine points and 18 minutes of work. He was also the only NU player to register a positive plus/minus rating at +2. Juwan Gary chipped in eight points and set career bests with 11 rebounds and four steals.

Nebraska wraps up its non-conference schedule on Tuesday night against Queen’s University. That game is part of the Battle in the Vault event at Pinnacle Bank Arena. That game is not part of NU’s 2022-23 season-ticket package.

Offense remains a struggle for Nebraska

It’s no secret that one of the biggest concerns facing Nebraska going into the season was its scoring and perimeter shooting. 

Those weaknesses were as glaring as ever on Saturday night. The Huskers shot just 32.1% from the field and 19% from behind the arc. That included nearly 24 minutes without a made jump shot over the first and second halves.

Even worse was how badly NU’s top scoring options struggled. Derrick Walker (7 points), Sam Griesel (4), Bandoumel (7), C.J. Wilcher (3), and Keisei Tominaga (5) combined to go just 6-for-30 (20%) for a total of 26 points.

Nebraska has now shot under 30% as a team in five of its last six halves.

The defense didn’t travel

Given Nebraska’s obvious offensive limitations, it must play relentless defense from start to finish to have a chance.

The Huskers bothered Kansas State’s offense early. But their closeouts on 3-pointers, hustle on loose balls and offensive rebounds, and effort in transition defense quickly waned. 

As a result, the Wildcats pounced on NU’s frustration on both ends of the floor. Their 10 made threes were their third most of the season. They dominated in both offensive boards (13 for 13 second-chance points) and points off turnovers (19).

“The thing I was surprised with was our effort,” NU head coach Fred Hoiberg said. “I thought it really affected us on the other end. We talked about the importance of taking care of the basketball and that being the single most important part of this game to be able to stick in it. 

“That gets them out in transition, and we turned it over time and time again and got sloppy. We talked about offensive rebounds, and I thought they exposed us there. Fifty-fifty balls, they got every one of them in the first half…

“It can’t happen. We’re not talented enough; we’re not good enough to get outworked. For those first 20 minutes (the Wildcats) were definitely the aggressors.”

Wilhelm Breidenbach stepped up

There wasn’t much for Nebraska to feel good about from its loss to Kansas State. But Breidenbach’s bounce-back performance was one of the few bright spots.

The 6-foot-10, 231-pound sophomore scored 15 points on 7-of-23 shooting (28%) over the previous seven games.

On Saturday night, Breidenbach was arguably the Huskers’ most consistent offensive weapon. Beyond his 13 points, the forward also had five boards, a steal, and an assist in a career-best 22 minutes. 

“Wilhelm was big time,” Walker said. “He played super hard. That’s the Wilhelm I know. That Wilhelm right there, that’s a guy that’s going to cause some trouble for some folks later on this season. If Wil can stay consistent with his play like that, he’ll be really, really good for us.

“I thought that Wil was free tonight. I felt like he was back to himself a little bit. So I’m extremely happy for Wil and how he played tonight.”

They said it

“We came out flat. They wanted it more than us. They rebounded harder than us. They played harder than us… We got punked. We got punked. I don’t know what else to say about it. We just got flat-out punked in the first half. We pride ourselves on being the hardest-working team and not allowing people to outwork us. They definitely outworked us tonight.”

Senior forward Derrick Walker on Nebraska’s effort against Kansas State.

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