Nebraska is just 11-12 and 2-8 in the Big Ten conference this season. Still, if there’s one sentence that I’ve said in about every article since New Year’s, it’s that “winning on the road in the Big Ten isn’t easy”. The Buckeyes nearly fell into that trap with cold shooting and a lazy closeout as the Huskers got as close as five with just under three minutes remaining, but Lenzelle Smith Jr’s surprise 21 points proved to be enough to survive a 39% shooting clip in a 63-56 win in Lincoln.
The biggest knock against Nebraska is that lack of a takeover, star power player that demands the ball and overwhelming defensive attention, and that came in to play late. But, they’re a scrappy bunch, one that has hung with other good Big Ten teams. In a stretch of four straight games, they lost to Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, and Wisconsin by only a combined 40 points. They too held those opponents into the mid-sixties in points (except Wisconsin, who scored just 47, probably by their own doing more than Nebraska’s). [Read more...]
In what is shaping up to be an absolute gauntlet of a Big Ten conference slate for the Ohio State Buckeyes this season, game one was not much of a test. The Buckeyes struggled a little on offense early against the Nebraska 2-3 zone, but their defense, athleticism, and superior talent eventually fueled a 70-44 blowout in Value City Arena. The Buckeyes were led by Deshaun Thomas’s 22 points as Deshaun outscored the entire Cornhusker team in the first half 18-17.
