Cale Jacobsen and Nebraska appear to be saving some of their best basketball for last.
The Cornhuskers (18-14) will try to keep rolling when they tip off against Georgetown (18-15) in the quarterfinal round of the inaugural College Basketball Crown tournament Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
The winner of Wednesday’s game advances to the final four, where it will face either Butler or Boise State.
Jacobsen, a walk-on sophomore, would love to help keep Nebraska’s season alive. He earned his coach’s praise after playing a season-high 23 minutes in the Cornhuskers’ victory over Arizona State on Monday in the tournament’s first round.
The high-effort player finished with five assists and three steals to go along with two points. The Cornhuskers were plus-10 when he was on the court.
“Cale knows every spot on the floor, 1 through 5, offensively and defensively,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said. “I thought he was the player of the game. I give him a lot of credit. He’s the next guy up a lot. He’s had an unbelievable couple weeks of practice, and I had to get him out there, and it paid off for us.”
Hoiberg said Jacobsen’s value extended beyond a single-game performance, as well.
“Works, never complains,” Hoiberg said. “Knows not only our plays but the other team’s plays. He calls them from the bench. Kid’s going to be a (heck) of a coach one year.”
Georgetown coach Ed Cooley also is feeling good about his players heading into the quarterfinal matchup.
Cooley called attention to sophomore guard Malik Mack after the Hoyas knocked off Washington State on Monday. Several Hoyas missed the game because of illness. Mack initially was expected to sit out, but he opted to take the court.
Despite being sick, Mack finished with a career-high 37 points — 11 more than any other game this season — and made a career-high eight 3-pointers.
“Malik’s not feeling well,” Cooley said after the game. “When you show that type of fight, … anything’s possible. I’m really proud of him.”
Mack is one of four players scoring in double digits for Georgetown, though Thomas Sorber (14.5 ppg) is out for the season.
Micah Peavy leads the Hoyas with 17.2 points per game, followed by Jayden Epps (12.8 ppg) and Mack (12.5 ppg).
Nebraska is led by first-team all-Big Ten guard Brice Williams, who averages 20.3 points. Juwan Gary (14.1) and Connor Essegian (10.6) also are averaging in double digits.
Williams scored 30 points in Monday’s win against Arizona State. It marked his fourth game with at least 30 points this season.
The performance gave Williams 650 points this season, which moved him past Eric Piatkowski (646, 1993-94) for fourth place in single-season scoring in school history. The top three single-season scorers for Nebraska are James Palmer Jr. (708, 2018-19), Dave Hoppen (704, 1984-85) and Tyronn Lue (678, 1997-98).
–Field Level Media
