Michigan vs Nebraska: 2020-21 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
Michigan looks to remain unbeaten on Christmas Day on the road at the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
TV schedule: Friday, December 25th, 6:00 pm ET. Big Ten Network
Arena: Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska
After the non-conference action for the Big Ten programs has been all but completed, there are just teams in the league left unbeaten. Along with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, the other is the Michigan Wolverines, currently 6-0 on the season.
That includes their Big Ten opening win over the Penn State Nittany Lions. The final score was 62-58, led by a game-high 20 points from freshman big man Hunter Dickinson. He’s been arguably the Wolverines best player through six games, leading the team with 15.7 ppg and 7.3 and reaching double figures in scoring in all of them.
With Isaiah Livers (15.2 ppg) and Chaundee Brown (10.0 ppg) providing scoring and senior leadership, Michigan is in a good position to once again compete for an NCAA Tournament selection. But first, they’ll have to start landing some signature victories for their respective resumes. Their next opponent won’t provide that in Nebraska, but any road games in the Big Ten should be respected.
In fact, the Cornhuskers (4-4) gave Wisconsin a fight on Tuesday night on their own floor. The Badgers scored just two points in the first nine minutes of the game and only led by one point at the break. Unfortunately for the underdogs, their own offensive woes in the second half did them in, with Nebraska falling, 67-53. Guard Dalono Banton led the team with 15 points and eight rebounds, with Teddy Allen and Trey McGowens also reaching double figures.
While the Cornhuskers do look improved overall compared to last season, they still have yet to get a meaningful win. And with Michigan being the second and four straight games against ranked opponents on the schedule, things could get ugly got the projected bottom team of the Big Ten. But that also puts pressure on the Wolverines to avoid what would be a disastrous loss for their Bracketology resume.
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With the game being on Christmas and Michigan having not played in nearly two weeks, this could set up to be an upset alert for the home Cornhuskers. Look for this game to be closer than expected for 30 minutes, before Michigan pulling away towards the end for a double-digit victory.
Prediction: Michigan 77 – Nebraska 65