Fred Hoiberg explains starting Keisei Tominaga over C.J. Wilcher

Nebraska went into Wednesday night’s game against Ohio State having lost three of four games — all by 18 points or more — in Big Ten play. So head coach Fred Hoiberg threw a wrench into the starting lineup by giving Japanese spark plug Kesei Tominaga his first start of the season while demoting sophomore wing CJ Wilcher to the sixth man position. At least for one night, the move worked out well, as Wilcher and Tominaga both hit late free throws to help seal the deal in a close win over the Buckeyes.

The decision to swap roles between Tominaga and Wilcher was a hot topic in the postgame presser, where Coach Hoiberg explained that Wilcher was accepting of the move and thought it could give him a boost out of the massive slump he’s been in for the last month.

Fred Hoiberg on bringing Wilcher off the bench

“I just wanted to change it up. I went out to lunch with CJ the other day and just had a conversation. It was in his mind as well, just to change up his rhythm and change up his flow,” shared Hoiberg after the game.

“He took it great,” the head coach continued. “It’s a selfless act by CJ and I thought he got some really good looks. One thing I showed him before the new year last year, he was a 33% three-point shooter. After, he shot almost 50%. I’m confident that CJ is going to get it going in his new role and hopefully be consistent with it the rest of the year.” 

Hoiberg notes that Wilcher suffered a similar slump during the early portion of last year’s season but was able to break out of it as conference play progressed. So the choice to bring him off the bench is an attempt break the cold streak like he did a year ago. While Wilcher wasn’t particularly great in the Ohio State game, making that huge late free throw to give the Huskers their three-point lead could be the confidence riser he desperately needs.

Fred Hoiberg likely keeps this lineup going forward, which also means the insertion of Tominaga into the starting lineup. That’s arguably a bigger development than Wilcher, because the headband-wearing shooting guard has the type of scoring upside that belongs in the starting lineup. Hey, the Huskers are 1-0 with him as a starter, so why not keep it up?

We’ll see on Sarurday as Nebraska visits a pesky Penn State squad.