The Boise State Broncos and the Nebraska Cornhuskers meet Saturday in college basketball action in the College Basketball Crown tournament from T-Mobile Arena. Here’s a Boise State vs Nebraska Prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Nebraska vs Boise State pick.
Boise State Broncos Betting Preview
Boise State has been a pretty consistent team so far this year—outside of a rough run in January, that is. After an 11-3 start, the Broncos lost to San Diego State, Utah State, New Mexico and Colorado State over the next six games. Wins over Nevada, Fresno State, UNLV, San Jose State, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah State, Fresno State, and Air Force came during the remainder of the year. Then wins over San Diego State and New Mexico in the conference tournament before a loss to Colorado State on March 1. 15. Since then it’s been a pair of College Basketball Crown wins over George Washington and Butler. That gives Boise State a 26-10 overall run through 36 games so far this year.
In the Butler matchup back on Wednesday, the Broncos jumped out to a 48-38 halftime lead. Boise State was outscored 55-52 from there but held on well enough for the win 100-93. Leading the team in scoring was Javan Buchanan with 27 points, three boards and three steals off the bench. Tyson Degenhart added 21 points with seven rebounds and five assists, while Alvaro Cardenas had 19 points with four assists in the victory effort.
Nebraska Cornhuskers Betting Preview
Over on the Cornhuskers’ side, they posted a couple of pretty hefty losing streaks this year amid a tough Big Ten slate. Still, Nebraska only lost two of their first 14 games versus Saint Mary’s and Michigan State. After that came a six-game losing streak versus Iowa, Purdue, Rutgers, Maryland, USC and Wisconsin. The Cornhuskers would go 5-1 over the next six games, falling to only Maryland during that time. The next five games were losses unfortunately, as Nebraska hit the skids versus Penn State, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State and Iowa during that time. In the College Basketball Crown games so far though, the Cornhuskers have taken out Arizona State and Georgetown. In total Nebraska has a 19-14 overal record in 33 games this year.
Matched up against Georgetown in the Wednesday game, the Cornhuskers held a 10-point edge in the locker room. Nebraska hit a 47-45 run the rest of the way and took the eventual win 81-69. Tops in scoring was Brice Williams with 28 points, three boards and three assists. Juwan Gary managed to double up on 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Andrew Morgan had 12 points with nine rebounds in 20 minutes of work off the bench.
Why the Boise State Broncos will win
- Boise State has won each of its last four games against non-Conference opponents.
- Nebraska has lost the first half in 10 of its last 11 games.
Why the Nebraska Cornhuskers will win
- Nebraska has won each of its last nine games against non-Conference opponents.
- Nebraska has won the first half in eight of its last nine games against non-Conference opponents.
Total Points Facts
- Each of Nebraska’s last eight day games against non-AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 151 or fewer points.
- Ten of Boise State’s last 11 day games have produced a total of 148 or fewer points.
Matchup/League Facts
- Boise State ranks 2nd among Division 1 teams for opponent rebounds per game this season (28.5).
- Boise State ranks 8th among Division 1 teams for rebound percentage this season (56.0%).
- Nebraska ranks 357th among Division 1 teams for opponent three-point field goal attempts per game this season (27.9).
- Nebraska ranks T47th among Division 1 teams for opponent free throws made per game this season (11.5).
Boise State vs Nebraska Prediction
I’m going to go with Boise State. This should be a pretty good matchup if both teams play to their capabilities, though. The Broncos notched a nice offensive effort versus Butler in their latest win, hitting a stellar 60.3 percent from the field with a 29-25 rebounding edge and just seven turnovers. Boise State did give up 57.6 percent on the other side, but the 17 points off 10 Bulldogs turnovers helped quite a bit. The Broncos have scored a combined 189 points in two College Basketball Crown games so far, which is a pleasant total after posting fewer than 63 in two of the previous three.
As for Nebraska, they shot quite well themselves (47.5 percent) in the Georgetown game. The Cornhuskers owned the boards 40-31 and hit 16-of-18 (88.9 percent) from the line. Nebraska held the Hoyas to just 39 percent shooting on the other side and controlled the game most of the way. The Huskers have scored a combined 167 points in their two College Basketball Crown games so far, so this matchup could contain a lot of fireworks. I like a competitive outing and a high total, with Boise State eking it out in the end. It’ll be a good one.