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The level of importance of Monday night's first real-world match against Clemson against the Nebraska NCAA Tournament could not be overstated, and the Huskers' stars have ensured that this opportunity does not escape them. not.
The elders James Palmer (20 points), Isaac Copeland (16) and Glynn Watson (12) combined to score 48 points on a 68-66 win at the ACC / Big Ten Challenge of the Littlejohn Coliseum.
The Huskers shot 53.6% of the field and got 4-on-8 from the 3-point distance in the second half and were led by no less than eight with only 2:29 left to play.
The Tigers bounced back with an 8-2 run to 66-64 just 57 seconds from the end, but two key free-throws from Watson and a solid defense in the far right allowed NU to keep a 6- 1 in the general classification. his best resume wins again.
"It was a very hot match tonight," said Palmer at Husker Sports Network's post-game show. "We just wanted to come and prove a point. We knew it was a quiz and we just wanted to take care of all the stuff. "
A questionable double technical call to Elijah Thomas, Clemson, and NU, Isaiah Roby the start of the match was weird, but things got better and the Tigers quickly took the lead 8-2.
A basket by sophomore wing Nana Akenten would give Nebraska its first lead at 12-11, and a dunk from Copeland gave the Huskers 24-23 another win with seven minutes left.
This would encourage the Huskers to run 9-2 to give them their biggest advantage so far at 29-25, but NU would go to the final at 5:14 without a placement and scored half-time at 31. -31.
Copeland collected 10 of its 16 points in opening. Nebraska fired 40.7 percent of the ground as a team. Clemson was even more effective on the offensive, recording 48.1 percent and registering aid on nine of his 13 baskets.
Leading with a point with just over seven minutes to play, a clutch with 3 pointers by sophomore Thomas Allen crowned an 11-4 run that gave Nebraska his biggest lead of the night at 64-56, with 2:29 to play.
A David Skara dunk finished the Tigers' 8-2 run, bringing the game back to 66-64 and putting the game in jeopardy. But Marcquise Reed was called 12 seconds from the end. Two free throws from Watson earned him a two-point advantage and sealed the deal with just 6.8 seconds.
When the final ring sounded, Nebraska led for the last 16:04 minutes of the match and remained in the back for a total of only 1:09 in the second period.
"I can not say enough about our children," said the head coach Tim Miles I said. "Difficult road environment; got a quality win. "
Palmer (nine), Copeland (six) and Watson (four) also combined to give 19 rebounds. Nebraska was able to limit Clemson's largest front zone to a rebound of 30 to 29 rebounds.
After playing four games in eight days, the Huskers will have a break this week before returning to Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday for their inaugural Big Ten Conference match against Illinois. This game is scheduled for 16h. tip and will be televised on BTN.
"People were obviously expecting a lot of us, but we worry about ourselves," Palmer said. "We will take care of our business with what we do as a team. To leave here tonight was definitely a beautiful victory. "
1. Elders responded to the call
During Clemson's last break in the final minutes of the match, Miles said Copeland was screaming against his teammates. "We do not lose this match!" Miles then stated that Palmer had returned with Palmer's perfect response: "Chill, my brother." Palmer thought that despite the important issue at that time, everyone in NU's entourage was on the same length and knew what needed to be done. This mentality prevailed all night, especially among the group of elderly Huskers. Whenever Nebraska needs a big game, one of the members of this senior trio answers the call to keep the game under control. It was something that was sorely missed by the Huskers against Texas Tech in Kansas City, but the way they got together on their first road test of the season showed that they were designed to withstand this kind of pressure .
2. The UN bench is imposed
After the Big Three, no other Husker has scored more than seven points in the win. But that does not mean that Nebraska has not gotten huge minutes off the bench. With Roby struggling with trouble all night, senior center Tanner Borchardt and played 16 minutes of quality on the bench, finishing with three points, two rebounds and providing NU with a desperately needed defensive post. Akenten played 13 minutes and added five points, two charts and one assist, and all his points were scored early when the Huskers still found their pace in attack. Even freshmen Brady Heiman (five minutes) and Amir Harris (four) provided much needed relief for starters, even if they did not think about the final score.
3. Nebraska won
Despite 22 wins and 13-5 wins in the Big Ten last season, the absence of first-place wins in Nebraska, far from Pinnacle Bank Arena, was a failure for the NCAA tournament. This is what made Monday night so important, especially after a neutral and disastrous site presented a few days ago against Texas Tech. The Huskers had to find a way to win a match like this one to fill that hole in their resume, and now that they've done it, it changes the complexion of the rest of the calendar a little bit. Creighton, another neutral match against Oklahoma State in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and two previous Big Ten matches against Illinois and Minnesota, the NU has the opportunity to build a strong NCAA tournament offer late December. Obviously, there is still a lot of season to play, but the victory over Clemson has changed the landscape of the path leading to Big Dance by Nebraska. "It will be a quality win in March, we know it," said Miles. "They can not take it from us. So we have that. "
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