Michigan State concluded their non-conference schedule with Monday’s 114-97 win over Cornell so it’s conference play from now until the NCAA tournament for the Spartans, starting tomorrow with a trip to Nebraska.
The Spartans enter this matchup at 12-1 and 2-0 in the Big Ten while the Cornhuskers are also 2-0 in the league but 13-0 overall.
Nebraska returned from their holiday break to defeat New Hampshire on Tuesday. Like the Spartans, the Huskers were a little slow to wake up in their return and
led just 41-38 at halftime before a big second half eventually led to an 86-55 win, preserving Nebraska’s perfect start to the season.
Nebraska’s wins, however, haven’t come all against mid-majors. They’ve won against Oklahoma (105-99) and Kansas State (86-85) as well as teams who made the NCAA tournament last year in New Mexico (84-72) and Creighton (71-50).
The Huskers opened Big Ten play on December 10 by destroying Wisconsin 90-60 at home. Their most impressive win of the season, however, was probably an 83-80 victory at #13 Illinois on December 13.
Nebraska Rotation
Nebraska goes about eight players deep in an experienced rotation but relies heavily on their starting five, which consists of:
- #9, F – Berke Buyuktuncel, 6-10, 244, JR – TRANSFER from UCLA, second year at NE
- #51, F – Rienk Mast, 6-10, 250, SR – TRANSFER from Bradley, second year at NE
- #21, F – Pryce Sandfort, 6-7, 215, JR – TRANSFER from Iowa, first year at NE
- #10, G – Jamarques Lawrence, 6-3, 183, SR – TRANSFER from Rhode Island, third year at NE*
- #1, G – Sam Hoiberg, 6-0, 185, SR
* Lawrence spent his first two years at Nebraska, transferred to Rhode Island for the ‘24-25 season and then returned to Nebraska.
Mast and Sandfort both average 16.5 points in about 30 minutes per game for Nebraska and both are good shooters, hitting around 50% overall, 38% on three-pointers, and 80% from the line. Mast is the team’s leading rebounder at 7 per game.
Nebraska’s backcourt of Lawrence and Hoiberg also have similar stats with each playing 25-30 minutes per game while contributing around 9 points and 4 assists. Interestingly, the Husker guards are not great free throw shooters with Lawrence hitting 67% and Hoiberg only slightly better at 71%. Neither one gets to the line a lot, with the duo having only attempted 45 charity shots combined so far.
The Huskers’ key bench players are:
- #5, F – Braden Frager, 6-7, 220, FR
- #15, F – Jared Garcia, 6-8, 245, SR – TRANSFER from Charlotte & Tulsa, first year at NE
- #31, G – Cale Jacobsen, 6-4, 195, JR
Frager is actually third for Nebraska at 11.6 points per game coming off the bench in 22 minutes per game. He’s a reliable shooter at 52% overall while making 34% of his threes. Frager is also Nebraska’s best free throw shooter at 85%.
Nebraska Coaching
Fred Hoiberg is in his seventh year leading Nebraska. His son Sam is a starting guard on this year’s team. Spartan fans will remember his other son, Jack, who played at Michigan State before finishing his career at UT Arlington.
Fred played at Iowa State before spending a 10 year career in the NBA. Hoiberg coached at his alma mater and led the Chicago Bulls before taking over at Nebraska, where he developed some momentum over the last two-plus years.
Nebraska is coming off a 21-14 (7-13 in the B1G) 2024-2025 season but Hoiberg did lead the Huskers to a post season tournament championship last year. Nebraska captured the College Basketball Crown title in Las Vegas with wins against Arizona State, Georgetown, Boise State, and Central Florida.
This followed Hoiberg’s best season at Nebraska, when they went 23-11 overall and 12-8 in the conference. Nebraska tied for third place in the Big Ten regular season and fell in the conference tournament semifinals to Illinois. The Huskers followed that with an NCAA tournament selection but fell to Texas A&M in the first round. The 23 wins were the second most in program history and the NCAA tournament appearance was Nebraska’s first since 2014.
Nebraska on Offense
Unlike MSU with Jeremy Fears, the Huskers don’t appear to have a designated point guard, with Hoiberg and Lawrence both sharing the ball-handling duties. The offense really revolves around Mast who can facilitate ball movement from the high post and also shoot the three. It’s not just Mast from deep, however. Nebraska has good shooters at all five positions.
Nebraska on Defense
The Huskers are a solid team defensively, currently ranking 16th in field goal percentage defense at 38%. The Spartans, at 38.7%, aren’t far behind though. Nebraska also closes out on opponents’ three-point attempts pretty well with opposing teams only hitting about 30% against the Huskers from deep.
Nebraska has primarily played man defense this year but it will be interesting to see if they decide to deploy a zone against the Spartans as some other teams have. The Huskers’ defense emphasizes disrupting the passing lanes, keeping the ball out of the paint, but doubling the post if the ball does reach that area. Additionally, for interior defense, Buyuktuncel and Mast are about the same size and can effectively switch on screens to make it tougher on the opposing team’s big men.
Keys to the game for MSU
REBOUNDING. Offensive rebounding against Nebraska’s stingy defense, and owning the glass in general, will be the biggest keys for the Spartans. MSU is third nationally in rebound margin while Nebraska is 178th. If the shots aren’t falling, Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper need to create putback opportunities to keep them in the game.
PHYSICALITY WITH MAST. Kohler, Cooper, and possibly Cam Ward need to be physical with Mast and make it tough for Nebraska to run their offense through him.
DEFEND THE THREE. Nebraska likes to shoot the three and is good at defending it on the other end. Michigan State has quietly improved their three-point shooting this year and continues to defend the three-point line well. MSU is just behind Nebraska in allowing teams to only shoot 30.5% from deep. The Spartans can’t get caught helping deep in the paint or Nebraska could light it up.
Additionally, constant goals for MSU like taking care of the ball and running good offensive sets will be key against Nebraska, as they are all the time for the Spartans.
Conclusion
This looks like a really tough road game for the Spartans. In their only other true road game of the season, they barely squeaked by against Penn State. However, there are things in this matchup that could favor MSU – specifically the Spartan staples of physicality and rebounding.
If the Spartans allow Nebraska to come out of the gate like Cornell did, it could be a long evening in Lincoln. But if they can control the pace and the boards, MSU could get out of there with a huge early-season road win.
