Nebraska’s NCAA Tournament hopes were dim after a six-game skid in January.
Since then, Brice Williams has taken over to help propel the Cornhuskers back into contention.
The fifth-year guard will try to lead Nebraska to a fifth straight win Thursday night when No. 25 Maryland visits Lincoln, Neb.
Williams has been at his best since scoring just 11 points in a blowout loss at then-No. 18 Wisconsin on Jan. 26. He’s matched a career high with four straight 20-point games, including a 24-point effort in Sunday’s 79-71 home win over Ohio State.
Before that, he posted 27 and 28 points in a pair of ranked wins over Illinois and Oregon — which netted him AP National Player of the Week honors — and followed up with 23 in a victory at Washington last Wednesday.
“He’s just making the right plays,” Cornhuskers coach Fred Hoiberg said. “He’s playing arguably as well as anybody. He got the award for the best player in the country last week. He’s doing it without being selfish. He’s just making winning plays.”
Williams’ surge has vaulted Nebraska (16-8, 6-7 Big Ten) back into the NCAA Tournament picture, at least for now. The Cornhuskers held one of the “Last Four Byes” as a No. 10 seed in ESPN’s bracket projection on Tuesday.
Picking up a sixth Quad 1 win, though, will require Nebraska to avenge its 69-66 road loss to Maryland back on Jan. 19.
The Terrapins (18-6, 8-5) have won four of five since that victory, part of a 7-2 stretch that has pushed them to a No. 6 seed in ESPN’s latest mock bracket. Coach Kevin Willard’s team narrowly stayed in the AP rankings this week by recovering from a three-point loss at Ohio State to beat visiting Rutgers 90-81 on Sunday.
Derik Queen powered Maryland against the Scarlet Knights with a career-high 29 points to go along with 15 rebounds and five assists. The touted freshman tallies 15.5 points per game to lead five Terrapin scorers averaging double figures.
Queen isn’t Maryland’s only key newcomer, though. Ja’Kobi Gillespie (14.3 ppg), Rodney Rice (13.2 ppg) and Selton Miguel (11.5 ppg) also have energized the Terrapins’ starting rotation as veteran transfers who are new to the Big Ten.
“I think they’re starting to respect the conference,” Willard said of his new contributors. “They’re learning and they’re understanding. And you know, you could say, well, you’re 12 games in or 13 games in — they’re all freshmen from the standpoint of learning the Big Ten.”
Julian Reese, who is averaging 13.7 points and a team-leading 9.0 rebounds per game, rounds out Maryland’s double-digit scorers. The senior forward had just four points and two rebounds Sunday but had flourished over the Terrapins’ previous four games, averaging 19.8 points and 12 boards.
“He’s been the best player in the Big Ten for the last month, hands down,” Willard said.
Reese posted eight points, 10 rebounds, four blocks, and two steals in Maryland’s first meeting with Nebraska. Gillespie led the Terrapins with 22 points, five assists, and four steals.
For the Cornhuskers, Andrew Morgan scored a season-high 17 off the bench. Williams had 14 points.
Nebraska’s offense is a bit less diverse than Maryland’s, with Williams (19.4 ppg), Juwan Gary (13.1 ppg) and Connor Essegian (11 ppg) the only three players averaging at least eight points per game.
–Field Level Media
