hhcmatt Posted 3 hours ago Report Posted 3 hours ago Nebraska Cornhuskers (14-8) at Washington Huskies (11-10) Date: Wednesday Feb 5th, 2025 Time: 9:30 pm CST Arena: Alaska Airlines Arena Broadcast: BTN (Aaron Goldsmith and Bruce Weber) Washington Info Head Coach: Danny Sprinkle (15th season) Location: Seattle, Washington Conference: B1G University Alias: "U-Dub" Nickname: Huskies Human Mascot: Harry the Husky Animal Mascot: Dubs II, an Alaskan Malamute Last time out: Won at Minnesota 71-68 Line: Nebraska by 2 Typical Rotation Depth: 8+ KenPom rank: 92 Nota bene: Washington leads the all-time series 6-3 though Nebraska has won the last 3 dating back to 1976, including two home NIT wins by Danny Nee Former Husker Wilhelm Breidenbach players for the Huskies while Braxton Meah formerly played for the Huskies Last season Tyree Ihenacho scored 22 points off the bench for North Dakota at Nebraska, including 5-9 from 3. This season he's 4-23 from 3. Danny Sprinkle spent his first 4 years coaching at Montana St followed by 1 year at Utah St before landing at Washington. Star player Great Osabar has followed him Montana St to Utah St to Washington Utah St has been a coaching incubator over the last few years. Previous coaches: Sprinkle-> Washington, Ryan Odom -> VCU, Craig Smith -> Utah St. The 5 years Larry Eustachy coached there earned him the Iowa St job in 1999. Nebraska nabbed current AD Troy Dannen from U-Dub Player to watch: Great Osabar Osabar made waves this off-season following his coach to Washington for a reported 2 million dollar NIL package. Living up to his name, Osabar previous was voted as the top reserve of the Big Sky while at Montana St and Mountain West Player of the year during his year at Utah St. While he has somewhat an outside shot, the length of the B1G has limited his effectiveness inside where he's finishing at 54% as opposed to 64% at previous stops. Osobor leads the Big 10 in FT attempts though only hits at 61.3%. He's one of the best passing big men in the conference, able to find other bigs for easy baskets when double-teamed. He leads the team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. Osabar hails from England. Player to watch: Vazoumana "Zoom" Diallo The highly regarded true freshman combo guard is second on the team in assists and 3rd in scoring average, supplementing his lack of outside range with the ability to draw contact driving to the lane. Player to watch: Tyler Harris The stretch 4 transfer from Portland has emerged as Washington's most reliable 3pt threat, shooting 46.7% from 3 on the year and 40.7% in conference. Washington 's Roster Player # Class Pos Height Weight Summary Great Osobor 1 SR F 6-8 245 15.5 Pts 8.7 Reb 3.1 Ast Tyler Harris 8 SO G 6-8 190 12.0 Pts 5.0 Reb 0.3 Ast Zoom Diallo 9 FR G 6-4 180 10.9 Pts 3.1 Reb 2.9 Ast Mekhi Mason 0 JR G 6-5 195 7.9 Pts 2.1 Reb 1.2 Ast DJ Davis 4 SR G 6-1 170 8.2 Pts 1.3 Reb 1.0 Ast Wilhelm Breidenbach 32 SR F 6-10 227 4.6 Pts 2.5 Reb 0.3 Ast Luis Kortright 12 SR G 6-3 180 4.9 Pts 1.9 Reb 1.8 Ast Tyree Ihenacho 6 SR G 6-4 192 4.1 Pts 2.8 Reb 2.0 Ast Christian King 7 SO F 6-7 215 3.0 Pts 1.7 Reb 0.1 Ast Jase Butler 13 FR G 6-4 180 2.6 Pts 1.8 Reb 0.9 Ast Franck Kepnang 11 SR C 6-11 225 5.3 Pts 5.5 Reb 0.0 Ast KC Ibekwe 24 JR C 6-10 287 1.7 Pts 1.2 Reb 0.0 Ast Other Players Briedenbach is shooting better at 3 than he was at Nebraska but we're talking 34% vs 23% on low volumes. DJ Davis has been Washington's most prolific 3pt shooter but is shooting under 30% for the season. Tyree Ihenacho, a player who last season torched Nebraska on 5-9 3pt shooting for North Dakota, functions as the Huskies starting PG. He's not much of a 3pt shooter and is turnover prone. Rice transfer Mekhi Mason is one of Washington's more reliable bucket makers and contributes all over the stat sheet. Oft injured center Franck Kepnang is currently healthy and is a shot blocking-rebounding menace. Oregon St transfer center KC Ibekwe has a similar but lesser skillset so he's out of the rotation. Rhode Island transfer Luis Kortright is a poor shooter who didn't play last game vs Minnesota due to an ankle injury. Guard Jase Butler and Forward Christian King are currently out of the rotation. UNL Game Notes Roster/infirmary report Possible starters for Nebraska 3 Guard Brice Williams 6-7 214 lbs Senior 1 Guard Sam Hoiberg 6-0 185 lbs Junior 4 Forward Juwan Gary 6-6 226 lbs Senior 9 Forward Berke Büyüktuncel 6-10 244 lbs 23 Forward Andrew Morgan 6-10 242 lbs Senior Bench 34 Center Braxton Meah 7-1 264 lbs Senior 0 Guard Connor Essegian 6-4 190 lbs Junior 2 Guard Ahron Ulis 6-3 190 lbs Senior 24 Guard Rollie Worster 6-5 210 lbs Senior 31 Guard Cale Jacobsen 6-4 195 lbs Sophomore 12 Guard Gavin Griffiths 6-7 193 lbs Sophomore 5 Forward Braden Frager 6-7 220 lbs Freshman 8 Guard Jeffrey Grace III 6-3 200 lbs Junior 20 Forward Justin Bolis 6-8 225 lbs Sophomore 25 Guard Nick Janowski 6-4 208 lbs Freshman 35 Forward Henry Burt 6-7 222 lbs Sophomore Out for year 51 Forward Rienk Mast 6-10 260 lbs Senior The Skinny: Nebraska is on the 2nd leg of their Pacific Northwest trip where the general sentiment was 'split these games' but the context was 'lose at Oregon, win at Washington'. Nebraska was able to upset the ranked Ducks and find themselves as road favorites vs a Huskie squad that is currently in the cellar of the B1G. The Huskers will likely once again need to bring their own energy to yet another dead former Pac-12 environment. Washington has an offense predicated around working the ball into the post and a below average 3pt attack, something Nebraska is naturally geared towards defending. Despite the size of their interior players, the Huskies tend to get back defensively to limit transition. However, both of Washington's victories in conference have seen the Huskies pull down a higher level of offensive boards. Don't expect the same sort of fast break offense you saw vs Oregon. Defensively, Washington is geared towards taking away the 3 and their guards generate steals from opponents attempting to split a double on their way to the hoop. If Nebraska can hold onto the ball while working into the paint they should be able to generate trips to the FT in addition to good looks. This looks like a winnable game against an opponent that isn't built to beat Nebraska. That doesn't mean they won't. Prediction: Nebraska 76 - Washington 68 View full article Red Rum, Vinny, millerhusker and 1 other 3 1 Quote
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