One word can describe the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ game against the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday afternoon: embarrassing. NU was outrebounded, outhustled, and flat out outplayed as the Terps walked away with a 73-51 home victory.
The Husker’s issues on the road once again reared their ugly head as they lost their 5th straight Big Ten road contest, moving to 15-6 on the season and 5-5 in the Big Ten.
We’ve saw common themes in NU’s road losses this season reoccur against Maryland. NU turned the ball over 17 times, allowing 18 points off their mistakes. The Huskers also were horrendously outrebounded 43-to-25 and gave up a shocking 17 offensive rebounds, accounting for 18 Maryland points. While the two sides had similar shooting numbers, the Big Reds’ consistent mistakes allowed the Terrapins to take 21 more shots than them.
The most interesting aspect of the afternoon is that Nebraska was not necessarily dominated from tip to Buzzer. The Big Red got off to a great start and took a 12-2 lead five minutes into the contest. Then, it went all downhill from there. Maryland’s full court press put Nebraska’s offense out of sync, putting pressure on the Huskers and forcing multiple turnovers. Maryland’s offense began to click as well. The Terrapins moved the ball well, got to the hole whenever they wanted, dominated the offensive glass, and outscored Nebraska 42-15 after NU’s fiery start.
The Second half was non-competitive. Maryland came sprinting out of the gates on a 13-5 run, extending their lead to 25 with 14 minutes to play. NU never came within 18 points of Maryland the rest of the way.
Nebrasketball will have to lick their wounds and get back on the saddle quickly, as their next game is against the current Big Ten leaders, Wisconsin. Fortunately for NU, that game will be at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Thursday, Feb. 1st, at 7:30 p.m CST.