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Nebraska Basketball Game Day: St. John's

Robin Washut profile picby:Robin Washut•11/17/22•

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(Photo: Nebraska Athletics)

Here is what you need to know going into Nebraska’s first road game of the season tonight at St. John’s…

Who, What, Where, When

Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-0) at St. John’s Red Storm (3-0)

Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022 – 5:30 p.m. CT

Carnesecca Arena (5,602)

TV: FS1

Radio: Huskers Radio Network

Internet: FOX Sports App

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Nebraska projected starters

Sam GrieselGSr.6-7/216Leads team with 20.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, and 3.0 apg
Emmanuel BandoumelGSr.6-4/187Had 18 points, six boards, and three assists vs. Omaha.
C.J. WilcherGSo.6-5/208Scored a career-high 21 points with four made 3-points vs. UNO.
Juwan GaryFJr.6-6/215Had a double-double vs. Maine but was scoreless vs. Omaha.
Blaise KeitaCSo.6-11/241Posted 9 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 12 boards against Omaha.

St. John’s projected starters

Andre CurbeloGJr.6-1/175Illinois transfer averaging 9.7 points and 6.0 assists per game. 
Posh AlexanderGJr.6-0/200All-Big East pick last season. Averaging 10.7 ppg, 5.7 apg, and 2.7 spg.
Montez MathisFSr.6-4/210Rutgers transfer averaging 11.3 points per game.
David JonesFJr.6-6/210DePaul transfer averaging 18.7 ppg on 49% shooting and 8.0 rpg.
Joel SorianoCSr.6-11/260Leads team with 8.7 rpg while averaging 11.3 points on 70% shooting.

Fastbreak: Nebraska gearing up for ‘relentless’ St. John’s press

3 keys to victory

Handle the pressure

There won’t be a more critical factor for Nebraska tonight than its ability to handle St. John’s “40 minutes of relentless pressure,” as Fred Hoiberg called it. Head coach Mike Anderson’s full-court press has wreaked havoc on opposing backcourts for years. The Red Storm thrive on baiting teams into turnovers and then converting those into points the other way. The Huskers have faced some pressure this season, but mainly in the half-court and nothing like the length and athleticism of St. John’s. Primary ball handlers like Sam Griesel and Emmanuel Bandoumel must remain calm and smart, and NU’s press break needs to be on point from start to finish.

Win the boards

It’s only been two games, but Nebraska has shown to be a significantly better rebounding team than any we’ve seen under Hoiberg. The Huskers enter the week ranked fifth in the Big Ten in rebounding margin at +8.5 per game. They were dead last in the league at -7.0 a year ago. That said, St. John’s will test NU on the boards on both ends of the floor. The Red Storm are especially aggressive on the offensive glass, ranking 46th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage (37.0%). Conversely, Nebraska has been a good defensive rebounding squad, holding opponents to just 20.3% (39th). That must continue to keep SJU from getting extra possessions and stealing momentum.

Make your free throws

Free throws have seemingly been a thorn in Nebraska’s side for decades. This season is already no exception. The Huskers are shooting just 63.8% at the line through two games, including going 18-for-31 (58.1%) against Omaha. Several of those misses were on the front ends of one-and-ones. Had NU even shot a manageable 70% from the stripe in that game, a 14-point win would’ve been significantly more comfortable. Nebraska comes into tonight’s game ranked 270th nationally in free-throw percentage. With its level of competition set to pick up significantly, NU cannot afford to leave that many points off the scoreboard, especially on the road.

Huskers power past Omaha for 75-61 victory

Quotable

“Winning on the road is the hardest thing to do in college basketball. Just to go through that experience (at Colorado), now we know the routine and what it’s going to look like. I think it’s good for our guys that we had that feeling of defeat, if you will, against Colorado. We don’t want to feel that again. Going through that experience together, I think we came out stronger and learned a lot about ourselves. I think we’re very prepared and that helped us a lot.”

Senior point guard Sam Griesel on how the charity exhibition at Colorado prepared Nebraska for its first road game of the season tonight at St. John’s.

Nebraska at St. John’s prediction

St. John’s 80, Nebraska (+9.5) 69

Robin’s overall season record: 2-0

Robin’s record vs. the spread: 2-0

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