[Husker] Nebraska 70, Houston 57

[nustlnorris at aol.com]

For those who may have missed it, Nebraska played a good second half last night in Hawaii to capture third place in the Rainbow Classic.  After NU's game, Hawaii beat Creighton by 16 in the championship game after beating NU by 9 the previous night.  Let's just say Hawaii's tough to beat at their place.
 
NU was down by five at the half to Houston, who shot lights out from the floor and especially from behind-the-arc.  But NU's perimeter defense was good and the Cougars scored just five points in the first 15 minutes of the second game as NU went on a 22-5 run to begin the second half.  Houston was one of the leading offensive teams in the country coming in, averaging around 85 per game.  
 
I thought junior center Aleks Maric struggled in the first half, but was much better in the second -- finishing with 21 points and 15 rebounds.  The injury he sustained early in the second half of the Hawaii game was from getting kicked in the shin, according to one of the papers.  It didn't seem to restrict him too much last night.  Freshman left-handed guard Sek Henry had perhaps the best game of his short career by contributing 20 points including NU's first seven of the game.  
 
I thought NU's play was sloppy in the first half as they racked up 12 turnovers.  The second half was much better.  The Cornhuskers are 8 and 3 on the year as they prepare for the final three pre-conference games.  Next up is Miami in Miami on the 30th, then two at home (that they should win) prior to Big XII play.
 
NU has a realistic chance to go 10 and 4, maybe even 11 and 3 in non-conference play.  I watch this team play and you see three true freshmen being counted on heavily -- and they're producing.  Jay-R Strowbridge had a big game against Wyoming, Ryan Anderson has been as steady as anyone (and he had 29 in a losing effort vs. Hawaii) and Henry had a big night last night.  I also see that we have absolutely no one to back up, support, or enhance our front line.  Ledsome and Marks appear to be bit players at this point.  NU had five guards in the game last night at one point.  A long-term injury or consistent foul trouble to Maric will be a constant concern.  NU's a thin, fragile team ... but they're producing as much right now as I think could be realistically expected.  If they catch some breaks, they could continue to surprise some people.  A couple of bad breaks could really influence the overall won-loss record.  It's a precarious postion when you depend on a player as much as NU does Maric, but what are you going to do?  Help is on the way, but it won't be here until next year, as Doc's recruited some good, highly-thought-of front court players that signed this fall.
 
Dave Norris
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