Huskers Humble Creighton in 71-50 Rout, Credit Defense for 9-0 Start

Creighton had nowhere to turn Sunday in a 40-minute masterclass put on by Nebraska and its stifling defensive effort.

The vibes were nothing but good for Nebraska in a 71-50 Husker drubbing of in-state rival Creighton Sunday in Lincoln. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

For the second time this season, the Nebraska men’s basketball team held an opponent to just 50 points, and it’s the third time this year if you count the team’s exhibition game against Midland University.

Understandably, the second time it happened was against an overmatched Maryland-Eastern Shore, but no one would have predicted the third team would be in-state rival and perennial NCAA Tournament team Creighton in a 71-50 Husker drubbing of the Bluejays Sunday.

“That’s what we talked about – whoever the tougher team was, was going to win this game,” Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg said during his postgame press conference Sunday night. “I’ll have to go back and look at it to see if that rang true. I think our guys went out there and played with tremendous energy and toughness for the entire 40 minutes. We’ve shown stretches, we’ve shown flashes, but (Sunday) I really thought we were on point with our defensive intensity for the entire 40-minute game.”

Creighton coach Doug McDermott was left speechless as his team could only muster up 50 points against a Nebraska defense that never let up. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Creighton couldn’t get anything started against the Huskers Sunday, shooting 16-of-52 (31%) from the field and 8-of-33 (24%) from three-point range. Nebraska, which improved to 9-0 on the season with the win, shot out to a 33-19 halftime lead and followed up that effort by also winning the second half 38-31.

The 21-point victory for the Huskers not only helped cement further a team identity for NU this season, but it also added some validity to Nebraska’s undefeated start to the year. Last week, senior guard Sam Hoiberg told the media that the “season started now.”

Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg ends his Husker career with a winning record against in-state rival Creighton thanks to NU's 71-50 win Sunday. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

It’s a statement his dad refuted, but a simple litmus test of how the team played Sunday shows that the younger Hoiberg may have been right.

“It feels great to end with a good record against them, and we got punked two of those first three years, so being on the other end of that feels really nice, and we’re going to look to continue it,” Sam Hoiberg said. “We expected to win (Sunday), and we’re going to keep protecting home court.”

Sam’s dad didn’t go as far as to say his son was right last week when making the statement he did, but he, along with his players, knew Sunday was a turning point for the season. However, it doesn’t mean anything if NU comes out and lays an egg their next time out.

After seeing his team get off to slow starts at home, NU coach Fred Hoiberg had plenty of reasons to cheer as his team shot out to a 33-19 lead at the half against Creighton. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

“We knew this was an important game for us,” Fred Hoiberg said. “It doesn’t matter anymore. We’ve got to move on and focus on Wisconsin now. This one’s over. We’re going to put it behind us quickly. I’ve been pleased with how our group has come out and prepared. We’re going to have to have two great days of prep to give ourselves a chance against Wisconsin.”

The full non-conference slate isn’t over just yet for Nebraska, as they have home games against North Dakota and New Hampshire on each side of the Christmas holiday, but up next is NU’s first dose of Big Ten Conference play this season.

Up first will be a Wednesday night home game against Wisconsin, which sits at 7-2 on the year. The Badgers are fresh off a 20-point win of their own over the weekend, beating Marquette 96-76 on Saturday.

Wisconsin will be entering Lincoln with plenty of fight Wednesday, following their 20-point win over Marquette Saturday. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Wisconsin’s two losses came at the hands of then-No. 9 BYU and a neutral-site showdown against TCU. Wednesday also won’t be UW’s first dose of conference play, as they already are 1-0 in league play thanks to an 85-73 win over Northwestern back on Dec. 3.

For NU, they know they’ll need to bring it like they did against Creighton if they hope to hold serve against a Wisconsin team that will be looking to put the Huskers in their place. It’s that physical play that the team’s star players say has been a focus over the past week.

“We did a lot of just toughness drills, a lot of rebounding drills,” senior forward Rienk Mast said after NU’s 71-50 win over Creighton. “I think that translated to the game. We had a great week pf prep going into this game, and if you have that long off, you had to come out sluggers, you come out ready to go. I thought we came out great. Those drills that we did this week were great.”

Senior forward Rienk Mast led NU with a team-high 20 points in a 71-50 Husker win over Creighton Sunday. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Unlike last week, Nebraska now has just two days to get ready for Wisconsin. The quick turnaround also means both the players and coaches in Lincoln are operating on short memories.

“Honestly, if you win or lose, you’ve just got to move on to the next one,” Mast said. “It’s great that we won, but we’ve got to keep this rolling.”

“We can’t go out and celebrate,” Fred Hoiberg said of his team’s win. “I wish we had a week. We’ve got to bounce back and when you have two days like this after a big, emotional one, (Monday) is going to be mostly a mental preparation day. We’ll have stations, we’ll get up and down a little bit on Tuesday in preparation.”

Pinnacle Bank Arena has been a house of horrors for opponents in years past, and the Husker men's basketball team is calling on the NU fan base for another dose of it Wednesday night vs. Wisconsin. | Nebraska Athletics

Fortunately for NU, they’ll be able to host their first conference game of the season, as the Badgers will have to come to Lincoln and try to escape “The Vault” with a win. Heading into the Creighton game, both players and coaches lamented about Nebraska’s slow starts in their own home building.

They fell victim to it against USC-Upstate, falling down by double figures to the lesser opponent before pulling out an 11-point win late. Considering NU just upended Creighton by 21 in the same building a week later, it appears the messaging from coach Hoiberg hit home.

Both he and his players also took time in their postgame press conference to tip their caps to the home crowd in Pinnacle Bank Arena. They all agreed it’s pretty easy to upend your in-state rival when the entire home base is as ferocious as it was Sunday evening in Lincoln.

Nebraska forward Pryce Sandfort just experienced his first I-80 rivalry game with Creighton. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

“It’s an amazing rivalry, and I’ve got to give a big shoutout to our fans,” junior forward Pryce Sandfort said. “It was an absolutely unbelievable environment. Super fun to play with, and I think people realize how big that is for us to get that energy behind us. It’s a great rivalry and hope to keep this rolling.”

NU’s head coach admitted Sunday was the golden standard when it came to fan engagement and enthusiasm, and he’s challenging the Husker faithful to do it again when the Badgers roll into town.

“It’s what we need on Wednesday,” Fred Hoiberg said. “Our students were unbelievable. This is a huge game for us. We have to do better this year protecting our home court in league play, and it starts on Wednesday. We’re going to need a great crowd, great environment, great energy. You’ve got to find a way to put this one behind us and come out and have our best 40 minutes of the season. That’s what it’s going to take to beat Wisconsin.”

The Badgers and Huskers tip off Wednesday at 8 p.m. CST in Lincoln, and the game will be televised nationally on the Big Ten Network.

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