2008 Nebraska Basketball Predictions & Season Preview
Written October 10, 2008 by Jack Jones
Doc Sadler has proven himself as capable of leading this Nebraska basketball program to the next level, but this is going to be a trying year. After putting together a 37-27 record in his first two seasons he’s going to struggle in 2008-09 without much help from his big men. Aleks Maric is gone and so are his 15.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. The guys who set the NCAA basketball odds think the Huskers are going to struggle too. BetUS has Nebraska listed at 15-to-1 to win the Big 12 Conference title.
Sadler thought he brought in a potential replacement for Maric this year when Christopher Niemann came over from Germany. The problem is that questions arose to his involvement over a German club team and the NCAA recently ruled him ineligible. That’s a big hit for a team that only has one interior guy with any experience, and that’s Chris Balham. Balham played under eight minutes a game last year due to chronic knee problems and had off-season surgery. You will probably see a lot of small lineups out of Nebraska as the other two men down low both redshirted last season. Alex Chapman is 6′9″ so he at least has some size. Alonzo Edwards seems to fit the mold of a standard power forward.
The backcourt will have experience and that is why we think you’ll see quite a few smaller lineups this year. Cookie Miller will run the point and is coming off a freshman campaign in which he scored 6.1 points and had 2.6 assists per contest, but needs to improve on his dismal shooting. Ryan Anderson, Ade Dagunduro, and Steve Harley all averaged just under 10 points per game last year and will be counted on to help fill the scoring void left by Maric. A pair of redshirt freshman in Brandon Richardson and Toney McCray are being counted on to contribute right away and help extend the floor with their shooting.
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Final Analysis - 9th in our Big 12 Basketball Predictions
Last year was a big step up for the program when Sadler led them to a 20-13 record and a win in the NIT tournament. However, without adding anyone significant to the mix and losing Maric we just don’t see the team having the same kind of success in 2008-09. They won’t have as much talent as most of their conference foes, which means Sadler is goign to have to get his guys to out-hustle and out-execute everyone they play. The odds on Nebraska winning the national title in basketball are 150-to-1.
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