A week in Vegas usually seems a little much. Like you probably met Mike Tyson’s tiger at some point.
For Husker basketball, though, the time of stay is matching up to the best laid plans. Nebraska is now one win from holding the crown after defeating Boise State 79-69 win on Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the College Basketball Crown.
It was a balanced attack with some ruthless efficiency behind the arc.
Juwan Gary going 4-for-4 on his way to a team-high 21 points perhaps deserves first mention. Brice Williams added 14, Sam Hoiberg had 10 and four other players had at least six. Ahron Ulis hit a couple 3-pointers. Same with Cale Jacbosen. Braxton Meah had a reverse dunk.
“I tell you, we had contributions up and down this lineup this morning into the early afternoon,” NU assistant Ernie Zeigler said on the Huskers Radio Network postgame show.
A touch of humor there as the game tipped off at 10:30 a.m. Las Vegas time.
Brunch ball fit Nebraska well as the Huskers hit 12-of-19 shots from behind the arc. Four guys hit multiple three-pointers.
That puts the Huskers at 20 wins for the season and gives the seniors like Williams and Gary that one final game in a Husker uniform. Williams could set the Husker single-season scoring record if he puts up 17 or more in the title game.
Nebraska (20-14) will play either UCF or Villanova at 4:30 CT on Sunday for the tournament championship. Already with $100,000 netted for the program’s NIL collective with Saturday’s win, the Huskers could push it to $300,000 by finishing on top Sunday.
Saturday’s win was by far NU’s best at this tournament considering Boise State (26-11) had a full roster and was a team many thought could’ve been included on the NCAA Tournament brackets. The Broncos were 2.5-point favorites going into the game. They had won one game in this tournament by 30 and scored 100 in another.
And Boise State did lead early. Then the Huskers rallied from a 24-17 deficit, after a nearly seven-minute field goal drought, going on a 17-3 run and build a 39-33 halftime lead.
Nebraska never trailed in the second half, pushing it to 46-35 just a couple minutes into the second half when Sam Hoiberg hit his second three-pointer. The lead ballooned to as much as 15 with 4:48 to go. The closest the Broncos came was within seven. It was 76-69 with 1:04 left. Boise State couldn’t score again.
NU held an advantage in field goal percentage, 46 to 40, and rebounds, 38 to 31. Nebraska also hit three more from behind the arc despite Boise State (9 of 27) having eight more attempts.
“It’s the true essence of a team,” Zeigler said on the radio postgame. “Even though the season’s been long and there’s been some ups and downs throughout the season for us, but here we are getting the chance to play for a championship and cutting down the nets here tomorrow afternoon in Vegas.”
