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Most eyes will be focused on football this weekend, but the Big Ten will have one game on the basketball court as well. That team is Nebraska and the Huskers will be in action at home after traveling to Kansas City earlier this week.
Let’s take a look at today’s only Big Ten game.
Game of the Day
-Western Illinois Leathernecks at Nebraska Cornhuskers
- Time/TV: 2:00PM ET (BTN+)
- KenPom Spread: Nebraska (-19)
Nebraska entered this week at 3-0 overall and was coming off a blowout victory of Seton Hall at home as part of the 2018 Gavitt Games. Fans were flying high and many were starting to dream about what the Huskers could accomplish this year.
But as fans so often are reminded, hiccups do happen.
The Huskers traveled to Kansas City for games on Monday and Wednesday and underwhelmed throughout the two matchups. Nebraska couldn’t pull away from a mediocre Missouri State team on Monday and then fell by 18 points to Texas Tech on Wednesday night for the team’s only loss of the season.
It was a tough blow, but Nebraska will hope to turn the page on its first loss and get things rolling again with a winnable game against Wester Illinois on Saturday at home. Should the Huskers grab a win, it would be the team’s best start through six games since 2014.
Western Illinois enters this game at 2-3 and a significant underdog. The team is young, inexperienced, and only 230th on KenPom nationally. Isaac Johnson and Kobe Webster are the team’s best options.
Nebraska should be able to cruise to a win on Saturday night, but we’ve seen the program struggle after stumbles in the past. This could be a great opportunity to start moving forward.
- Pick Against the Spread: Nebraska
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Season Record vs KenPom’s Spread: 8-5-0