Tip: 7 PM Central (Fox Sports Net) I catch a flight for Nebraska in about three hours, so here is a quick pre-game look at the Cornhuskers. Led by new coach Doc Sadler, Big Red looks to be an up-and-coming team in the Big 12. Fortunately for Texas, that process should take a few years. The team that takes the court tonight at the Devaney Sports Center is not exceptionally talented and will likely be a middle-of-the-pack conference team when all is said and done. The biggest threat comes from center Aleks Maric, a beast of a man with a shaved dome and a propensity to dominate on the defensive glass. He is also the true focal point of the offense, taking shots in nearly one out of every three possessions he is on the floor. With the exception of the Iowa State game, all four teams that have defeated the Cornhuskers were able to hold Maric to six rebounds or less. I highly doubt that a Texas team lacking an inside presence will keep the 6’11” center from getting his boards, so it is important to try to at least keep those rebounds from becoming easy offensive putbacks. The only player that gives more than 30 minutes a game for Coach Sadler is senior guard Charles Richardson, Jr. The seasoned floor general is a pass-first player, logging over five assists a game while only scoring about eight. He is also active on the defensive end, swiping more than two balls per game, good enough for a top 100 individual ranking when adjusted to reflect possessions played. Although nearly half of the offense is from two-point field goals, Nebraska is still no slouch when it comes to three-point shooting. Senior Marcus Perry is only taking five a game, but is hitting them over 45% of the time. Ryan Anderson, Jay-R Strowbridge, and Paul Velander are also shooting above 40% from behind the arc, but only combine to take 2.5 trey attempts per game. While it’s going to be incredibly important to stop the inside game of Nebraska, the Horns can’t afford to forget about the outside threat too often. While I don’t like how we match up with Nebraska on defense, they are going to have the exact same problem when we have the ball. Their matchup problem is obviously phenom Kevin Durant. While Maric is a great shot blocker down low, there isn’t a player on Big Red that should be able to shut down KD. Nebraska may learn from Villanova and work in some double teams to deny Durant the drive to the basket, but that will open up our other players around the court. KD should easily get his points against this team, but the key for the Horns is to see a return of the offense. In Philadelphia, the team stood around, refused to get themselves open, and relied on D.J. Augustin to penetrate and go to the rack. That needs to change tonight if Texas wants a comfortable victory. Without a doubt, Damion James will be important tonight for the Horns. Texas lacks anything resembling an inside presence, and a lot of the pressure will fall on Damion’s shoulders as they take on the giant Maric. Damion needs to keep himself out of foul trouble and stay competitive on the glass, while Connor Atchley will have to provide a few serviceable minutes in relief. If James does happen to get into foul trouble and Atchley is needed for more significant minutes, I fear a huge, huge game from Maric. The subplot that everyone is probably tired of hearing about by this point is the homecoming of freshman Matt Hill. He was named Mr. Basketball in his final season at Southeast High School in Lincoln and will be playing in front of his hometown family and friends for the first time since last spring. I’m not sure that Matt is going to see much playing time after his rough outing on Saturday, and I’m not really sure that he’d want his family to see him match up with Nebraska’s inside play. Regardless, it’s a nice story and it’s going to be good for the kid to see his old stomping grounds in the middle of a tough road stretch. Game is televised on FSN in Nebraska and Texas, although it is a market-by-market thing here in the Lone Star State. Check out TV clearance info from TexasSports.com to find out if it’s on in your area. For now, I’m off to ABIA and the land of the frozen corn. |