The Terps have played one of the toughest schedules in the country and they finally get a chance to play the worst team in the Big Ten, the 5-12 Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Terps will play Nebraska on Tuesday and Wednesday with both games serving as must-wins if the Terps want to remain in contention for the NCAA Tournament. To learn more about the Cornhuskers, we got in touch with Jason Han of The Daily Nebraskan.
Our conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
What are the key reasons behind Nebraska’s underwhelming 5-12 start this season?
The big reason is probably roster turnover. After all, only two valuable starting pieces from last year have been playing at all this season. It’s largely a roster that just doesn’t know each other and you can see that in how, at times, basic and sloppy the play can be.
Teddy Allen has been the star but who else on Nebraska should Terps fans look out for on Wednesday?
While not having the highest production necessarily, sophomore guard Dalano Banton is probably Nebraska’s most intriguing player. He’s a 6-foot-9 point guard and head coach Fred Hoiberg has definitely employed him in that role. He possesses an eclectic set of skills that Nebraska has really tried to build around in the offense, and while the Huskers are not great offensively, it’s still fun to watch.
The Cornhuskers finally got a Big 10 win on Sunday. What was the biggest takeaway from that performance?
What the win at Penn State really seemed to indicate was that defense is one of the Huskers’ strongest attributes. The Huskers only won because of a stout defensive performance, having only scored two points for the entire last 10 minutes of the game. In particular, its 3-point defense appears to be driving this–Nebraska’s opponent 3-point field goal completion percentage is 69th lowest in the nation.
