By Stephen Vilardo, SuperWest Sports
Last week, I predicted the Boise State-Butler game would be a race to 80. Turns out, it was a race to 100.
In their 100-93 win over Butler, the Broncos earned a trip to the semifinals of the College Basketball Crown and a date with Nebraska.
It marks just the second time Boise State has reached the century mark in a postseason game. The prior instance was in the 2008 WAC tournament against New Mexico State.
I preview the Broncos-Cornhuskers game below.
Boise State vs Nebraska
Saturday, April 5
10:30 am PT, FOX
T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
The Boise State offense has been on fire in the Crown so far, averaging 94.5 points per game while shooting 53.1% from the floor.
In their last three halves of basketball, the Broncos are connecting at a clip of 60.4% on field goals.
Boise State is 15-0 this season when scoring 80+ in a game.
Their semifinal opponent, Nebraska has held opponents to under 70 points on 15 occasions, with the Huskers owning a 12-3 mark in games the defense clamps down.
Needless to say, the hot shooting will be harder to maintain against a Nebraska outfit that has allowed opponents to connect on just 43% of their shot attempts this season.
The Big Ten squad also knocked off a Big East opponent in the quarters with an 81-69 triumph over Georgetown.
While the Huskers will pose a stiffer defensive test, they can also cause a lot of problems when they have the basketball.
On that side of the ball, it all starts with Brice Williams who has averaged 29 points in his two games in Las Vegas so far.
This season, Williams has topped 20 points in 19 games, and he enters today’s contest as the nation’s ninth-leading scorer, averaging 20.5 per outing.
Neither of these teams scores a lot of points off of two-point FGs. The Broncos are getting just 47.8% of their scoring on two-pointers while Nebraska is only slightly better at 50.4%.
Neither team does a particularly good job of blocking shots, either.
One spot inside that could be a difference maker is on the glass. Boise State is ninth in the nation with a total rebound rate of 55.4%, while the Huskers are in the middle of the pack with a total rebound rate of 50%.
The similarities continue.
The Huskers will get to the foul line. Over 20% of their scoring this season has come at the charity stripe, and they are +3.9 points per game from the stripe. Boise State is +4.8 in made FTs per game.
The big difference in this one is the Broncos have more scoring options, and Nebraska’s offense can get bogged down at times.
This would become particularly clear if BSU can keep Brice Williams in check and not allow Connor Essegian to heat up from distance.
The sharpshooter is hitting on over 37% for the season but struggled to get his shot falling from deep against the Hoyas in the quarters.
The Broncos’ edge on the glass should be enough to propel them to the finals, but they need to take care of the basketball against an opportunistic Husker defense.
writes about various topics for SuperWest sports, including stats and records, college sports, and motorsports. He also founded and runs the Sports and Entertainment Research Center (SERC).
