Halftime Report
Saint Mary’s is on the road but looking no worse for wear. They have jumped out to a quick 48-43 lead against Nebraska.
Saint Mary’s entered the matchup having won three straight and they’re just one half away from another. Will they make it four, or will Nebraska step up and spoil it? We’ll know soon.
Who’s Playing
Saint Mary’s Gaels @ Nebraska Cornhuskers
Current Records: Saint Mary’s 3-0, Nebraska 3-0
How To Watch
What to Know
Nebraska has played every game this season on their home court, but they’ll have to hit the road on Sunday. They will face off against the Saint Mary’s Gaels at 1:00 p.m. ET at Sanford Pentagon. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Nebraska is headed into the contest following a big win against FDU on Wednesday, something the oddsmakers some coming from a mile away. Nebraska blew past FDU, posting an 86-60 victory. The match was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 45-25.
Juwan Gary was the offensive standout of the game as he went 5 for 9 en route to 19 points plus five assists and two steals. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Berke Buyuktuncel, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds.
Nebraska was working as a unit and finished the game with 20 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as FDU only posted 12.
Meanwhile, Saint Mary’s entered their tilt with Akron on Tuesday with two consecutive wins but they’ll enter their next game with three. They put the hurt on the Zips with a sharp 87-68 win.
Saint Mary’s got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Paulius Murauskas out in front who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 15 rebounds. Murauskas is crushing it when it comes to rebounds: he’s pulled down at least 11 every time he’s taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Augustas Marciulionis, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 11 assists.
Nebraska’s win was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-0. As for Saint Mary’s, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 3-0.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Nebraska hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 78.7 points per game. However, it’s not like Saint Mary’s struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 83. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Nebraska is hoping to beat the odds on Sunday, as the experts think they’re headed for a loss. This will be their first time playing as the underdogs this season.
Odds
Saint Mary’s is a 3.5-point favorite against Nebraska, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Gaels as a 2.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 138.5 points.
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