Nebraska basketball seeks to handle pressure, cut down on turnovers against UCLA

LINCOLN Careless turnovers bug Fred Hoiberg the most.

The senseless, unforced errors that have been a little too frequent for Nebraska basketball 13 games into the season.

We stepped on the sideline twice the other game, the coach said.

That just eats away your insides.

Even during a successful first leg of the season, the Huskers (11-2, 1-1) have averaged 12.1 turnovers per game.

They had 15, 12 and 12, respectively, in three wins at the Diamond Head Classic last week.

The margin for error becomes slimmer in Big Ten play, and a major test enters Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday.

No.

15 UCLA forces a Division I-leading 18.2 turnovers per game, aided by its athleticism and tenacity on the perimeter.

If we just accept their pressure and dont match their pressure, then were going to get run out the gym because they hang their hats on defense and pressure, guard Brice Williams said.

But if we handle their pressure early, like any other team, theyll ratchet it down.

And then the game will go how we want it to go.

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21, 2024 When Nebraska struggled against pressure defenses early in the season, Hoiberg sought more cuts to the basket, more possessions in which the Huskers used opponents aggressiveness against them.

NU has a solid passer out of the high post in UCLA transfer Berke Buyuktuncel and the Bruins (11-2, 2-0) defend past the perimeter, which could set up lanes to the hoop if Nebraska takes advantage.

Those past lessons and the work of the Husker scout team are NUs reference point for preparation, though its impossible to fully simulate UCLAs defense.

Its that athleticism that will pressure point guard Rollie Worster in the full court, trying to make him and Nebraskas other ball-handlers sped up and uncomfortable.

Backup point guard Ahron Ulis will be a game-time decision after missing the past four with an ankle injury.

Williams will run the offense more often if Ulis cant play.

For whoever has the ball, patience and maturity will be crucial, the discipline to avoid swinging for the fences and panicking against an imposing front line.

Bruin Skyy Clark harasses opposing guards in the backcourt and well beyond the perimeter while Eric Dailey gets his hands on errant passes to help UCLA get out in transition.

We cant play in a crowd, Hoiberg said.

Thats going to be as important as anything in this game.

If you do, theyre gonna take it from you, and theres nothing you can do about it.

Were not gonna be the first team, all of a sudden, that can get by their first line of defense.

We have to make simple plays all gamelong.

Nebraska got away with its occasional turnover issues in nonconference play.

The lazy passes picked off and taken the other direction by teams like Texas-Rio Grande Valley and Southern werent enough to change the outcome.

The Huskers don't have the cushion against UCLA.

Saturday, their options are to take care of the ball or watch the afternoon unravel into an ugly, discouraging restart of Big Ten play.

Its always a point of emphasis, but some games we just loose with it, Williams said.

Some practices were just loose with it.

Some games we just have our moments, which have to be limited, have to be kept at a minimum.

"But we just have to be ready for their pressure, ready for their physicality and everything else will handle itself.

It took time for Buyuktuncel to work his way into shape after a groin injury in late November.

But as the forward's conditioning has improved, and Hoiberg has seen his confidence grow with it the past month.

Buyuktuncel is stepping into 3-pointers with more assurance, shooting 3 for 4 from deep against Oregon State in Hawaii.

His game on the low block is refined, and Nebraska's analytics consistently rate him as one of the team's better defenders.

Up next for Buyuktuncel: his former school.

He spent his freshman season and first year in the U.S.

at UCLA, averaging 4.5 points per game before entering the transfer portal at the end of last season.

"I know that these are big games for these guys when you face your former program," Hoiberg said.

"They want to go out and play well, but at the same time, you dont want to put too much pressure on yourself.

Just go out there and play, play with instincts, which is when Berke is at his best, and hopefully play well.

UCLA flew to Lincoln on Thursday, giving the Bruins two days to acclimate and adjust their internal body clocks to the central time zone.

This will be UCLA's first Big Ten game away from the West Coast.

Its two in December were at home against Washington and at Oregon.

Nebraska went the entire 2024 calendar year without losing at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

The Huskers last home loss was to Creighton on Dec.

3, 2023.

In the 13 months since, NU's 19-game home winning streak survived challenges from then-No.

1 Purdue and No.

6 Wisconsin.

Only Wisconsin, Michigan State, Northwestern and Bethune-Cookman have been within single digits of the Huskers at PBA.

A win over UCLA would tie a program record with 20 straight at home.

Nebraska has done it twice before, most recently from Dec.

20, 2017, to Jan.

10, 2019.

"It's important in this league.

You gotta do the best you can to protect your home court," Hoiberg said.

"We did obviously a great job of that last year, and if you don't, something happens, you gotta find a way to regroup.

And we got two tough road games after this one, but our sole focus is on Saturday afternoon and what we can do to give ourselves the best chance to compete." UCLA forward and Bellevue West graduate William Kyle won't play against his home-state team Saturday.

Kyle, who transferred from South Dakota State over the offseason, announced Monday on social media that his unspecified surgery was successful.

UCLA coach Mick Cronin told media the hope is for Kyle to return to action when the Bruins play Michigan on Tuesday.

When: 1 p.m.

Saturday Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena TV: Fox | Radio: 590/1400 Projected starters Nebraska (11-2, 1-1 Big Ten) G - Rollie Worster 6-5 Sr.

8.2 G - Brice Williams 6-7 Jr.

19.0 F - Juwan Gary 6-6 Jr.

11.7 F - Berke Buyuktuncel 6-10 So.

7.9 C - Braxton Meah 7-1 Sr.

3.4 UCLA (11-2, 2-0) G - Skyy Clark 6-3 Jr.

6.7 G - Dylan Andrews 6-2 Jr.

8.1 G - Kobe Johnson 6-6 Sr.

7.5 F - Eric Dailey Jr.

6-8 So.

11.4 F - Tyler Bilodeau 6-9 Jr.

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