The Creighton vs. Nebraska rivalry has quite a rich history, as the two teams have squared off against each other every year since 1977 after a 45 year break that went back to 1932. While Nebraska enjoyed some early success when the series resumed, Creighton has been dominant in the series recently, winning 13 of the past 16 regular season matchups including a current four game winning streak against the Huskers.
Nebraska has a different look this season with several players that have transferred, graduated, or bolted for the professional ranks. Since many Creighton fans don’t necessarily follow the Huskers regularly, we reached out to our friend Brian Rosenthal, who covers the Nebraska beat for the Lincoln Journal Star.
Here is what he had to say on this year’s matchup.
White & Blue Review: Heading into this season, after seemingly total opposite types of seasons the past two, what kind of expectations are there for Nebraska? Are they where they need to be at this point in the season?
Brian Rosenthal: The team and coaches had high expectations, but always do, at least outwardly. The fan base’s expectations were greatly tempered, partly because of last year’s setback, and partly because of so many young, new and unknown players. That, and overall lack of height. I think Nebraska is beyond where most thought it would be, performances-wise, at this point. The 6-3 record isn’t necessarily a surprise, given the losses came to ranked teams, but the way Nebraska competed against Cincinnati and Miami (and for about 14 minutes against Villanova) gave people a strong enough impression to believe this won’t be a throw-away season, at worst, and could be a postseason season, at best.
WBR: How different personnel-wise is this team compared to last season? Are they more athletic or fit better in to Tim Miles’ style of play?
BR: The biggest difference I see is a team concept and a willingness to share the ball. Everybody points to the bad shooting percentages last season. I said then and still say now that last season’s shooting woes stemmed greatly from Nebraska being a bad passing team. Ball sharing was at a minimum, movement was non-existent and the assist totals were miniscule. That’s on Tim Miles for not recognizing that problem earlier in the season and preventing it from fostering into what happened – a selfish team. To answer your question, yes, this team is more of a better fit for Tim’s style, but much of that has to do with attitude, and not athletic ability. However, the freshmen class is the most talented Nebraska has had in ages. Lots of young promise.
WBR: Nebraska really seemed to struggle on Saturday against Abilene Christian. Were they suffering a hangover from last Tuesday’s OT loss against Miami, looking forward to the game against Creighton on Wednesday, or were they just not ready to play but somehow found a way to win?
BR: I’d say all of the above. Tim tweaked with the lineup and rotations (he played 11 guys in the first half alone) for reasons unbeknownst to me. That (needless) lack of continuity contributed to the problem, but Nebraska was sluggish in general, regardless. That happens to all teams at different points in the season, and it probably didn’t stun me given this game was sandwiched between Miami and Creighton. The promising part for Nebraska is that it’s generally taken care of business against these lesser teams, something last year’s team never did.
WBR: Creighton has had a lot of problems closing out close games, losing their last two by missing free throws and open shots at the end of the game as well as struggling to find a go-to guy. How is Nebraska in late/close games so far and who is their go-to person so far in those games?
BR: Nebraska didn’t score a field goal in overtime against Miami, and lost by four to Cincinnati, so it’s not exactly established itself in close games. But freshman Glynn Watson is emerging as a gamer. He hit a three-pointer toward the end of regulation (18 seconds left) to force overtime against Miami. Andrew White has hit shot-clock shots and is a true three-point threat. Shavon Shields willed the team late against Miami despite injury, although some would argue he tried to do too much. But those would be your top three go-to guys, in no particular order.
WBR: Which Husker has been the biggest surprise so far this season that people may not know about yet?
BR: The good news for Nebraska is that you could give several different answers to this question. (I’ll leave Andrew White out of this discussion, since he was in the program last year and can hardly be considered a surprise, although he’s clearly the top newcomer). Freshman point guard Glynn Watson has probably been the most consistent and poised of the freshmen. He’s averaging 20 minutes-plus, and went through a four-game stretch of no turnovers. He has 25 assists to 8 turnovers for the season. Forward Ed Morrow would be at Michigan State or some other blueblood (in my opinion) if he was 6-9. But he’s only 6-7. Still, he’s athletic, fights underneath and can be tough on the boards. Jack McVeigh is a basketball-savvy player who can stretch defenses from his 4 spot by shooting threes. He can be a defensive liability, though. Junior Tai Webster is averaging in double figures over his last four games. He’d averaged less than 4 points for his career. The light may finally be coming on for him.
WBR: What kind of weaknesses does Nebraska have that Creighton could exploit?
BR: I honestly haven’t seen Creighton play yet this season, so I’ll answer this as a general answer for most opponents. Nebraska lacks size, and although 6-10 sophomore Jake Hammond has performed better than expected this season, Nebraska has still been hurt inside. Abilene Christian had a 6-8 dude averaging 7 points who scored 17 points by faking out freshmen defending him inside. That didn’t look good. Of course, Nebraska wasn’t doubling the post, either. Also, taller, longer teams have made it more difficult for Tai Webster, Shavon Shields and others to get to the rim. Nebraska loves to penetrate. Villanova had excellent rim protectors that prevented that. Of course, Miami did, too, and Shields still scored 28. Nebraska can also be turnover prone against pressure.
WBR: When it comes to this game every year, is there really a rivalry between the players and coaches or is this just with the two fanbases? Should this game be on a weekend day instead of the middle of the week or even somewhere during a break during conference season?
BR: Tim Miles has embraced this as much as a rivalry as the fans have, and it’s rubbed off on his players. I think a Nebraska win, especially on the road, would help spice things up. I think December is still a good time for the game, but yes, a Saturday afternoon or night game would be much better. My guess is TV has the biggest say in that, but who knows.
WBR: What is your final prediction? What will Nebraska need to do in order to leave the CenturyLink Center with a win?
BR: I think Nebraska has the athleticism, shooters and style of play that can defeat Creighton. Of course, I thought that last season. The problem for Nebraska now is all between the ears. Creighton has become a mental hurdle for this team. Do the plethora of newcomers who don’t know any better help change that? Or do they melt, too, when Creighton hits its first six shots of the game, which always seems to be the case? That’s where this game hinges for me. Between the ears. Creighton 71, Nebraska 66.