Big Ten Women's Basketball Preview: No. 7 Nebraska
The best bet for a breakout team in the conference
This is the sixth of the ongoing series of previews for all 14 teams in the Big Ten heading into the 2021-22 season. This is the fourth full preview of one team, and focuses on my projected No. 7 team in the conference.
Here is last week’s preview of No. 8 Michigan State
We are now into the top half of the Big Ten, and today I will be talking about a team that I am very excited to watch. The rest of the six that remain were in the top half last year, and while I have Nebraska up just two spots, I think the Cornhuskers could surprise a lot of people and make a leap into the Big Ten’s top tier.
Nebraska
Last year’s record: 9-10 Big Ten | 13-13 Overall
Nebraska was one of the most interesting .500 teams that you will ever see. Usually, being average means that a team is a gatekeeper to the top of the conference: they can beat up a bad team, but more often than not lose to the good ones.
The Cornhuskers play basketball like they are putting values into a number generator. They had two wins over Northwestern, one over Rutgers, one over Ohio State and pushed Maryland to the brink of death before falling just short in the Big Ten tournament. But Nebraska also lost to teams like Creighton, who went 10-12, Minnesota twice, Penn State and Purdue.
This team was perfectly balanced in a lot of ways. Nebraska shot the three ball very well (35.1 percent, No. 44 in the country) and yet had an offense that went at the pace of Kate Cain, a 6-5 center who did not shoot a deep ball all season. Cain’s 72 blocks last season paced a Cornhuskers team that finished atop the Big Ten and 17th nationally with 5.3 blocks per game, but that was canceled out by Nebraska finishing dead last in the conference and sixth worst in the country with just 4.6 steals a game.
Nebraska was a funny team that had severe highs and lows and always ended up somewhere in the middle because of it. But I think that head coach Amy Williams has a roster that is ready to truly compete heading into this season.
Unless you count Makenzie Helms’ departure in the middle of last season, Nebraska did not have a single player leave through the transfer portal going into this year. That is huge.
Yes, Cain’s absence will be noticed. She was a strong scorer around the basket, but was most importantly a tremendous shot blocker who could change games with her defense. But I also think her absence comes with a silver lining.
As mentioned, Cain was not a player who worked the ball on the perimeter. She was also pretty slow in transition, and excelled only when parked or defending the ball at the hoop. With her moving to play in Europe, Nebraska can become more reliant on the three-point ball, where the numbers have already been impressive.
Maybe I was biased from the games I watched Ohio State take on Nebraska in my time covering the Buckeyes, but the Cornhuskers always seemed like a slow, defense-first team that dragged you into their slop. The numbers say differently, and the offense should only grow from here with everyone but Cain returning.
This is a deep Nebraska team, but Sam Haiby is the clear star. Haiby had a breakout third season with the Cornhuskers (Nebraska still lists her as a junior, assumedly because of the free eligibility), becoming a second-team All-Big Ten member with career highs across the board. She also shot an impressive 37.4 percent from deep on 107 attempts.
Haiby stood out all year, but her efforts in the near defeat of Maryland were astounding. She finished with 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and had a three-point make that stands among my favorite plays of last season.
But unlike Michigan State’s situation with Nia Clouden and some players that will need to step up around her, Nebraska already has those players. Isabelle Bourne was a sophomore last season, and Ashley Scoggin was a freshman. Both chipped in some major contributions and make for a tremendous trio of players to run the offense.
There is still plenty of depth after that. Trinity Brady was set for a starter role last season and did so for the first two games, averaging 8.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest while shooting 60 percent from three (3 of 5). But she then suffered a season-ending ankle injury and now returns ready to make a big contribution.
With no Cain, it seems likely that Bella Cravens, the former Eastern Washington transfer, steps up after a pretty strong first season with Nebraska (6.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.1 blocks per game).
And if returning almost everyone wasn’t enough, Nebraska has decided to add a top 25 recruiting class into the fold.
Four commitments and a transfer, all of which will add to a team that is ready to compete now. Jaz Shelley was a role player for a very good Oregon team and could see an expanded role on the Huskers. If she can get back to her freshman shooting form (42.0 percent from three) vs. her sophomore slump (30.4 percent), she will fit in perfectly with what Nebraska seemingly wants to do offensively.
Allison Weidner is a big-time get for Williams’ roster and, along with Alexis Markowski, shows that Nebraska can keep the strong high school talent within the state. Weidner finished third in Nebraska history in scoring and averaged more than six steals per game as a senior, so she should be able to help the Huskers out of their woes in that category.
If Nebraska wants to try to have another player like Cain, Tatiana Popa is the prospect to look for. She has the size required and Williams has talked about her defensive ability this offseason, so at the very least, she will be one to look out for in the future.
And finally, Kendall Moriarty is another big-name get that may not see as much time this year because of pure numbers. But I wouldn’t count her out thanks to her strong three-point shooting (43.1 percent in high school) and her ability to add more steals to the mix as someone who led her team in that category.
All of this adds up to a Nebraska team that could surprise a whole lot of people this season. It’s a shame for the Cornhuskers that the Big Ten looks so ridiculously stacked, because in most years this seems like a roster that should finish in the top five at worst.
While that is still a possibility, I see Nebraska instead as a NCAA Tournament team that will give anyone it plays against a true battle, except this year it should be with much more consistency than we had seen in the past.
Next week, we will look at the No. 6 ranked team for the Big Ten preview. Before that, I will have a new post on a random topic for you this Thursday.
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