Game Day Essentials: Game #4 vs Southern

Southern

Head Coach: Eric Henderson
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Conference: SWAC
Nickname: Jaguars

Shirt not to wear: Yellow, blue
Defensive Style: Generate steals

Offensive Style: Points off turnovers

Previous history: Nebraska 2-0 vs the Jags with both games coming during the Miles era. 2016 was the 'Jeriah Horne game' which possibly saved Miles from being fired that year.

Line:  Nebraska by 18.5
 

Players to watch: Jayden Saddler

The 6'0" sophomore PG is the only key returning player from last year and the offense should run through him though he's seen limited time on the court this season due to foul trouble.  Most of Saddler's shots come inside the arc and he will definitely take mid-range shots if you let him. Last year he was turnover prone so Nebraska should be able to generate points off his miscues.

Hoiberg Presser

Green Presser

Pretty informative from Green. Didn't really lift weights at Juco and after getting pushed around in the first game is taking the weight room more serious. (There is the D-1 adjustment for you.)  Also notes that they reviewed game film about their pace and they're not yet where they need to be.  

Hoiberg talks about the guys hitting their shots in practice, noting that Kavas has hit well.  He expects it to happen soon in a game. When asked about analytics he brought up shot charts for both his offense and defense. Hoiberg values shot selection as much as anything in basketball.

The Skinny: Former Kentucky Wildcats standout Sean Woods was a coach on the rise after building up Miss Valley St in the SWAC and Morehead St into winners until he was basically forced to resign due to allegations of assaulting two of his players. Woods was an assistant in 2017 for Stenson before being hired back into the SWAC by Southern. The roster has undergone a complete transformation as the Jaguars rank 343rd in KenPom minutes continuity. (The Huskers clock in at #352). Much like Nebraska, it's doubtful the Jags have figured things out just yet.

Southern has a couple of guys over 6'9" but realistically it's a shorter team and Nebraska shouldn't be plagued by rebounding issues.  The thing this Jaguar team will do is try and pressure the ball for steals to feed their anemic offense.  The Huskers have protected the ball well the first 3 games though we'll see what happens in what should be their first game against a non-passive defense. 

Nebraska would need to lay an UC Riverside-esque turd to lose this game and frankly this team doesn't seem to possess the type of traits I think will give this Nebraksa team trouble (size, experience, slow pace).  I think that Southern wants to play fast so expect another high scoring game.  Is this the one where the Huskers finally start hitting 3s?

Prediction: Nebraska 94 - Southern  75 with a 99 % chance of Runzas