Two of the worst teams in the Big Ten will face each other on Tuesday night when Nebraska hosts Penn State. The Nittany Lions have lost their last four games and are in twelfth place in the conference standings. Nebraska is sitting in dead last and has only picked up one Big Ten win all season—a 62-61 victory over Penn State on Valentines Day.
Nittany Lions eyeing revenge
Penn State has dropped its last four games since going on a stretch where it won four out of six games. The Nittany Lions lost games to Michigan State and Nebraska by a combined three points before losing to No. 4 Ohio State by 10 points. They nearly pulled off an upset at No. 11 Iowa on Sunday, but they came up just short in a 74-68 final. Penn State has games against Purdue, Minnesota and Maryland left on the schedule. The offense is listed at No. 33 nationally in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency ratings. The shooting has not been great, but it has avoided turnovers and given itself a lot of second chances on the offensive glass.Highlights and moments from our battle in Iowa City. 🎥 pic.twitter.com/cMTUZqlSId
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) February 22, 2021
Nebraska’s defense is the strength of its team, listed at No. 45 in adjusted efficiency. Junior guard Myreon Jones leads Penn State with 14.9 points per game. He scored 18 points and had four rebounds in the loss to Nebraska a week ago. Jones is only shooting 39.5 percent from the floor, but he is knocking down 39.3 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. Junior guard Izaiah Brockington is scoring 13.5 points and is grabbing 4.6 rebounds. He had 11 points and three boards in the first meeting with the Cornhuskers. Sophomore forward Seth Lundy is also in double figures, averaging 10.5 points per game.
Cornhuskers continue to struggle
Nebraska has not been very competitive in the Big Ten. The Cornhuskers lost their first three games by double digits, which set the ton for their season. They have only picked up one win all year in conference play—a 62-61 victory at Penn State on Feb. 14. They were unable to build on that in the following three games, losing to Maryland twice and Purdue once. Nebraska had lost 25 consecutive conference games dating back to last season prior to beating Penn State. Its offense has been among the worst in the country, listed at No. 310 in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency ratings.A trio of games to close out February. #GBR
— Nebraska Basketball (@HuskerHoops) February 22, 2021
They will be facing a Penn State defense that has allowed teams to shoot well from the floor, but it also forces a decent number of turnovers. Junior guard Teddy Allen leads Nebraska with 16.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. He scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds in the win at Penn State. Allen was held to just six points in 19 minutes of action against Purdue. Sophomore guard Dalano Banton is the only other player averaging double figures, scoring 10.4 points. He is also grabbing 6.5 rebounds and dishing out 4.5 assists. Banton had just two points against Purdue on Saturday.
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Nebraska is:
- 1-4 ATS in its last five Tuesday home games
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