What Nebraska Sees in Vanderbilt's Film

OKLAHOMA CITY — Vanderbilt has the full attention of its Round of 32 opponent, No. 4 seed Nebraska.

The Commodores and Cornhuskers square off in a second round matchup in which both teams are getting ready for a quick turnaround from Thursday’s action. With a little over 24 hours until gametime, there is still film to be watched and more preparation to be done. However, Nebraska has already noticed one big thing about Vanderbilt in its earlier film session: the Commodores’ backcourt.

Tyler Tanner and Duke Miles were the first thing that jumped out on film to Nebraska. The dynamic duo has led the way for Vanderbilt the whole season as its offense runs through the two’s shotmaking and passing abilities.

“He’s a really, really good player. He’s one of the best guards in the country. He’s going to cause a lot of issues for our defense. With the way we guard him on ball screens, we’re going to have to be on point in our coverages,” Nebraska point guard Sam Hoiberg said of Tanner. “You have to take care of the ball. I know he and Miles are both top 30 in the country in steal rate percentage, so you know they’re going to try and take the ball from you.”

Nebraska knows it is going to have to take care of the basketball against Vanderbilt. The Commodores ball pressure has led to transition offense all season and has been a big part of their success this season.

Perhaps a vulnerability that Vanderbilt could take advantage of is Hoiberg’s ball handling. Though he has improved over the course of career, Hoiberg has had an issue with ball handling earlier in his career. What Vanderbilt can hope for is that its backcourt is able to apply a different kind of pressure than what Nebraska has seen this year.

However, Hoiberg is hoping that the improvement he has made through his training and work he has put in over the years will be enough to best Vanderbilt’s defensive tendencies.

“That was the thing I struggled with coming out of high school and early on in college. That was a big emphasis of mine to get better at ball security. So, I tap into kind of what I did to work on it, and that’s different offseason workouts, ball handling,” Hoiberg said on how he prepares for defensive guards like Vanderbilt’s. “But we have good outs to that. Setting ball screens in the back of the court, it’s tough to guard if you’re pressuring full court. And just using my speed to get by guys. I think it’s tough to stay attached to a guy that’s really fast.”

Similar to how Vanderbilt is making sure to pay attention to Nebraska sharpshooter Peyton Sandfort, Nebraska is making sure it will be honed in on Vanderbilt’s top three-point shooter Tyler Nickel.

After going through a slump to finish the regular season, Nickel found himself during the SEC Tournament in Nashville and he carried his newfound hot streak to the first round of the NCAA Tournament with three made three-pointers.

Additionally, Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg is making sure that his defense is locked in for Vanderbilt’s efficient, high-scoring offense. The Commodores have been one of the best offensive teams in the SEC this season as they finished as the runners-up in the SEC Tournament.

“Nickel is just a flat-out laser, and their bigs all play their roles to perfection with their ability to pop and knock down shots and play with great physicality as well,” Hoiberg said. “Played another top-10 offensive team and a very disciplined defensive team as well. So Mark [Byington] has done a terrific job with his group. Both of us got off to pretty similar starts. I think they were 16-0 before their first loss, and it's a team that is playing with great rhythm right now.”

There will likely be more film sessions that both teams will go through leading up to tipoff Saturday 7:45 p.m. CT, but both squads are preparing for what could be a battle of ball handling and shotmaking.

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