How to Watch Nebraska Men’s Basketball vs. No. 12 Michigan: Preview, Breakdown, TV Channel

The roller coaster season for the Nebraska men’s basketball team took another bad turn in what could be one of the most disappointing losses of the season.

Despite a schedule that had four games in 11 days – with the latter of the two on the road – the Huskers looked prime to add another tally in the win column with a matchup against Big Ten basement dweller Penn State. But just like the Northwestern game a few days earlier, NU got out to a horrid start that they couldn’t recover from.

The Nittany Lions outscored Nebraska 50-27 in the first half thanks to a 18-for-27 showing from the field as PSU finished the game with a 60.7 field goal percentage with six players reaching double figures.

The Huskers ended up shooting over 50%, but they dug themselves too much of a hole to get out of. Connor Essegian came off the bench to lead all NU players with 20 points including four three pointers. Center Andrew Morgan added 18 points off a perfect eight-for-eight shooting while Brice Williams compiled 17 points.

Nebraska returns home and will have the friendly confines of Pinnacle Bank Arena for three of its final four games of the regular season, but this stretch begins with a top-15 opponent coming off an emotional conference clash with Michigan State for Big Ten supremacy.

Here’s all you need to know as the Huskers take on Michigan Monday night in Lincoln.

How to Follow Along

Matchup: Nebraska (17-10, 7-9 B1G) vs. No. 12 Michigan (20-6, 12-3 B1G)
When: Monday, February 23, 2025
Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Neb.
Time: 7 p.m. CST
Watch: FS1
Listen: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

Michigan men's basketball head coach Dusty May — Feb 21, 2025; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Dusty May looks on during the first half against the Michigan State Spartans at Crisler Center. | Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images

Michigan Scout

Head Coach: Dusty May | 1st Season at Michigan; 7th as HC | 20-6 (.769) at Michigan; 146-75 (.661) Career HC Record | 2x NCAA Tournament Appearances, 1x Final Four | 1x C-USA Regular season and Tournament titles | 1x C-USA Coach OTY (2023) | Previous head coach at Florida Atlantic | Previous assistant at Florida, Louisiana Tech, UAB, Murray State, Eastern Michigan.

2023-2024 Record: 8-24 (3-17 B1G, 14th) | Did not qualify for the postseason.

All-Time Series: Michigan leads 22-5 (March 10, 2024 last matchup, 85-70 NU).

Key Returners: Nimari Burnett, G, Gr. | Will Tschetter, F, R-Jr.

Outlook: After a disastrous 2023-2024 season that saw Michigan only win eight games, the Wolverine brass said goodbye to storied alum Juwan Howard and brought in one of the coaching carousel’s darlings in Dusty May. May was one of the hottest coaching candidates in college basketball leading Florida Atlantic to a pair of NCAA Tournaments including a Cinderella run to the Final Four in the 2022-2023 season.

After an offseason that saw 11 newcomers join the program, May has the Wolverines positioned for a deep run in the postseason, resulting in a multi-year contract extension amid rumors that Indiana would come calling to its former player to run its historical program.

A pair of elite big men run the show for UM in centers Vladislav and Danny Wolf, who both stand at seven feet or higher. Vladislav followed May from Florida Atlantic where he was part of the Final Four run. He’s one of five double-figure scorers on the roster with a team-high 15.9 PPG and 6.1 RPG. Wolf comes from Yale where he was named All-Ivy League first team in 2024. He’s nearly averaging a double-double in his first season in Ann Arbor with 12.8 PPG and a Big Ten-leading 9.9 rebounds per contest.

Michigan center Vladislav Goldin (50) celebrates a play against Purdue during the second half at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

May also grabbed a pair guard from other Power Four schools in Tre Donaldson and Roddy Gayle Jr. Donaldson played in 67 career games for the Tigers and has poured in 12.3 PPG in his first season with Michigan. He’s been a hit by shooting 40% from beyond the arc while leading the team with 3.9 assists per game. Gayle Jr. transferred from heated rival Ohio State where he participated in 71 career games, bringing plenty of experience to the Wolverines. He adds 10.6 points and nearly four rebounds per game. Rounding out the double-digit scorers is returning guard Nimari Burnett who’s chipping in over 10 points per game as a graduate student.

The scoring drops off beyond the starting lineup, but fellow returner Will Tschetter puts in 6.8 PPG off the bench as a 6-foot-8 forward. Sam Walters is another bench option with five points per game. He joined the Wolverines as a sophomore after his freshman season at Alabama.

Michigan stands in either the top three or top half in every statistical category, but the Wolverines only weakness appears to be turnovers where they lead the conference with 14.5 per game. They don’t come up with many steals either with only 5.8 per game which is fourth-fewest in the Big Ten.

So much has gone right for Michigan this season that it’s hard to see them losing to Nebraska on Monday night, but UM’s circumstance may put things in the Huskers’ favor. Michigan comes off an emotional 75-62 home loss to rival Michigan State in a game that determined the Big Ten leader going into the final few games. Having to travel and play in an intimidating road atmosphere right after a loss like that sets up well for a Wolverine letdown.

However, I’m not sure the matchup suits Nebraska, especially with the Wolverines playing through its two seven foot centers. Give me Michigan, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Nebraska pushes things to the wire.

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