The last three years, Nebraska’a gameplan for the Bluejays was the same: make sure Ryan Kalkbrenner didn’t beat them at the rim, and roll the dice that Creighton couldn’t hit enough threes to make up for it. He scored four points a year ago, 13 in the game in Lincoln two years ago, and 10 three years ago. Meanwhile, CU attempted 40 three-pointers in 2022 and 2023, and a program-record 42 last year. And in two of the three games, it worked — the Jays were 10-of-40 and 12-of-42 from deep in their two losses.
The flip side is that when it didn’t work, it blew up in Nebraska’s face spectacularly, with the Jays making 10-of-24 in the first half of their 2024 win in building a 52-37 halftime lead (and winning by 29, 89-60).