Nebraska Basketball: 3 keys to beating Texas A&M in 2024 NCAA Tournament
By Bryan Mauro
Stay Tough
Earlier this season, after getting blown out at Maryland, coach Hoiberg questioned his team’s toughness and their want to. They were consistently getting beat on the glass, and were not playing very good defense, and were turning the ball over a lot when things started to get tough Nebraska was crumbling. The Maryland game flipped a switch and Nebraska started to play tougher and the Huskers, like so many other teams in the NCAA Tournament, are playing their best basketball right now.
There is a direct correlation for Nebraska between winning and losing when it rebounds and holds onto the ball vs when it doesn’t. If Nebraska stays competitive on the glass and holds onto the ball, they are a good team and the team who can light up the scoreboard. Nebraska is also not a good team when they are not competitive on the glass and turn the ball over. The Huskers have also been playing fantastic defense and have made teams uncomfortable on the offensive end. They have had moments in all their games but over the last two months of the season the Huskers were one of the best defensive teams in the country. That needs to continue if Nebraska wants to advance.
It has been talked about already that the Aggies are one of the best rebounding teams in the country. They are the best offensive rebounding team in the country and the Huskers have been very susceptible to bad offensive teams getting a ton of offensive rebounds for easy putbacks. The Huskers need to find a body and move them out of the lane and secure the rebounds. Texas A&M is not a very efficient offensive team and shoot at one of the lowest percentages in the tournament, but they got to where they are from offensive rebounds and putbacks. The glass is the most important factor in this game and Nebraska needs to manage that aspect of the game and keep it competitive or it will be another long evening.
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The Huskers have a great opportunity to win this game, but they are going to have to take advantage of their ability to shoot the ball from deep and stay competitive on the glass if they want a chance.