Walker powers Nebraska to 75-58 blowout over Florida State
Having lost two games in the previous three days, Nebraska desperately needed to end the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando on a high note.
Led by a dominant performance from Derrick Walker, the Huskers earned a 75-58 blowout victory over Florida State on Sunday night.
Walker racked up 20 points on 10-of-12 shooting, 13 rebounds, four assists, and one turnover in 32 minutes of work. NU had a season-high 22 assists, and five players scored in double-figures to improve to 4-3 on the year.
It was sloppy on both ends of the floor to start the game, as the teams combined for a whopping 25 turnovers in the first half. But Nebraska overcame 11 early giveaways with a 10-0 run and then a 12-2 rally to lead 33-26 at the break.
Keisei Tominaga (9), Walker (8), and C.J. Wilcher (8) combined for 25 of NU’s 33 points in the first half. The Huskers owned a 21-13 overall rebounding advantage and an 8-2 edge on the offensive glass. They also scored 10 points off of 14 FSU turnovers.
Nebraska took the game over in the second half. A significant reason why was it took much better care of the basketball.
The Huskers only had three turnovers in the second. As a result, they shot 54.5% and had 17 of their 22 assists after halftime.
Leading by five early in the second half, Sam Griesel scored seven points in two possessions to spark a 13-2 run. Nebraska went up 59-41 with just over nine minutes to play.
Florida State got back within 10 after an 8-0 rally, but the Huskers quickly regained control. They led by as many as 20 points before all was said and done.
Griesel had 13 points and nine assists, while Wilcher had 13 on 3-of-6 shooting from behind the arc. Tominaga finished with 13 points off the bench, while Juwan Gary chipped in 10.
Nebraska will return to action on Wednesday night for its ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup with Boston College at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tip-off is set for 8:15 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on ESPNU.
Walker’s return has been critical
Walker made his presence felt immediately when he returned from a five-game hiatus to make his season debut vs. Memphis on Friday night.
The sixth-year senior had 15 points and 12 rebounds in the loss to the Tigers, though he did commit nine turnovers.
Walker followed that up with arguably his best overall game as a Husker on Sunday.
He set career-highs in his second-straight double-double, but his impact on Nebraska’s offense has been undeniable beyond his scoring.
Walker crashed the boards and was a facilitator out of the high post. Most impressive was how he was even used at point-center for a good chunk of the game.
The 6-foot-9, 245-pound forward brought the ball up and was a critical press release option at the five. The Huskers simply could not simulate those things with the rest of their frontcourt in his absence.
Nebraska is a different team with Walker on the floor. His return to the lineup could not have come soon enough.
Nebraska dominated the paint
Despite being undersized against a tall and long Florida State frontcourt, Nebraska controlled the paint all night.
The Huskers were just 6-of-24 (25%) on 3-pointers. They made up for it by scoring 60 of their 75 points in the paint and shooting 64.2% on 2-pointers.
NU also scored 10 second-chance points off of 13 offensive rebounds, six coming from Walker.
The Seminoles have been awful this season. But they still presented Nebraska with size in the post it hadn’t seen all season. There was no better example than 7-foot-4 starting center Naheem McLeod.
But McLeod was essentially a non-factor. He had just two points, five rebounds, and two blocks while only playing 14 minutes.
It should be noted that Blaise Keita, who started the first five games with Walker out, only played two minutes. Wilhelm Breidenbach was the next big off the bench, scoring four points with four boards in 11 minutes.
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Sam Griesel bounces back
For a player as critical to Nebraska’s success as Griesel, he had been struggling mightily over the past few games.
The senior point guard averaged 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.5 turnovers in his first two games as a Husker. Over the previous four contests, though, he averaged 5.8 points while taking only 19 total shots.
He also averaged 4.0 turnovers over that four-game stretch, including a season-high eight in the loss at St. John’s.
But Griesel looked like his old self on Sunday night, accounting for a season-best nine of NU’s 22 assists. He was also much more aggressive as a scorer, going 4-for-9 from the field and 2-of-5 on threes.
Hoiberg told the Huskers Radio Network that he pushed Griesel to be more assertive going into the FSU game.
“I talked to him after the game the other day, and I said, ‘You’ve got to shoot the ball. You have to start looking and hunting your shots, if nothing else just to keep the defense honest and loosen them up,’” Hoiberg said. “So it was great to see Sam knock down those two huge threes in that run that we made.”
They said it
“Derrick, obviously, you see what he does for our pressure. They were trying to get out and deny, and you get the ball to Derrick and he can go make a play and get to the rim. I thought he made some brilliant passes on some backdoor cuts as well… Just can’t say enough about Derrick being the catalyst out there and how important he is when we face pressure, which we’re going to see all year long.”
Head coach Fred Hoiberg on the variety of ways Derrick Walker helps Nebraska.
