Nebraska Basketball: 3 keys for home matchup with Duquesne Dukes

The last four years for Nebraska Basketball have been frustrating, to say the least. Five seasons ago the Athletic Department decided to go a different direction with the basketball program, moved on from Tim Miles, and hired current head coach Fred Hoiberg. The hope was that coach Hoiberg would build the program into a Big Ten power and finally win the Huskers’ first NCAA tournament game. The first three years were a mess, as Nebraska was never able to fill the roster with enough talent to reasonably compete every night in the Big Ten.

Last season saw a change for Nebraska and coach Hoiberg. The type of player that he recruited changed and put more of a focus on defense and rebounding. That led to the Huskers finishing at .500 for the first time under coach Hoiberg and making a legitimate push for the NIT at the end of the season. Nebraska went 6-2 to close out the regular season and lost a close game in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament. The Huskers have opened the 2023-2024 season at 5-0 and have had a huge margin of victory so far. The Huskers have picked up where they left off last season and look like a team that should find themselves in a postseason tournament at the end of the season.

This brings Nebraska to the Feast Week activities and the Huskers are participating in their own Multi Team event called the Cornhusker Classic. That allowed Nebraska to play Rider and Stony Brook both at home. Those were relatively easy wins for the Huskers. The final game of the Cornhusker classic is going to be the biggest challenge to date for Nebraska. They are playing a Duquesne team that comes in as one of the favorites in the Atlantic 10 conference and they are a top 100 team by virtually all analytical ranking services. This is going to be a tough game for Nebraska but is a game they should still win. What can the Huskers do to make sure they head into the Thanksgiving holiday at 6-0?