January 5, 2022
Daily Briefing — Jan. 5, 2022: Husker see, Hüsker Dü
By Em Adler
Embrace the qualifying chaos
Happy hump day, and welcome to The Next’s Daily Briefing, featuring the W Roundup, daily Watch List, and Yesterday’s Recap! Day 56 of college basketball is here, featuring further procedural WNBA free-agency moves and a landmark Husker win. Despite the Huskers being unranked and Michigan sitting in the top-10, Bovada and Her Hoop Stats both had Nebraska favored by a couple of possessions. So perhaps the lesson here is we should eschew the humans and just automate the polls. Some food for thought.
Continue reading with a subscription to The Next
Get unlimited access to women’s basketball coverage and help support our hardworking staff of writers, editors, and photographers by subscribing today.
Already a member?
Login
Oh, and watch Oklahoma-Iowa State tonight. They might combine for 190 points.
W Roundup
Connecticut: Center Beatrice Mompremier signed her qualifying offer. As a reserved player, it was either that or, uh, basically retire.
Las Vegas: Our Alex Simon took a deep look into how head coach Becky Hammon fits within the Aces’ forward-thinking organizational philosophy and overall basketball plans.
Los Angeles: Big Lauren Cox signed her qualifying offer.
Minnesota: Wing Bridget Carleton signed her qualifying offer.
Seattle: Extended qualifying offers to center Mercedes Russell, wing Stephanie Talbot, and point guard Jordin Canada. Our Storm reporter, ~me~, offered some quick analysis. Mid-season signee off-ball guard Karlie Samuelson was not extended an offer (though 10 days remain for the team to do so).
(All times in Eastern)
Watch List, Wednesday, Jan. 5
Must-watch
#12 Iowa State @ #23 Oklahoma, 7 p.m., Bally Sports Oklahoma
Good games
None
Also watchable
None
Sickos games
Charleston Southern @ Gardner-Webb, 7:00 p.m., ESPN 3
Tuesday, Jan. 4 recap
#8 Michigan, RV* Nebraska: The Huskers beat the Wolverines 79-58, opening with a 19-8 first quarter and never looking back, en route to their first top-10 win since Dec. 2014 over No. 9 Duke. Nebraska shot 51.7% from the field and 40.0% from three while holding Michigan to 36.7% and 8.3%, respectively; the Huskers committed 21 turnovers, and the teams each had 18 fouls. Nebraska center Alexis Markowski — the No. 103 freshman in the country, per ASGR — scored a “career”-high 20 points on 7-for-10 FG (1-1 3pt., 5-8 FT) with seven rebounds (three offensive) and a career-high two steals; combo guard Jaz Shlley had a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double on 5-for-9 from the field (2-5 3pt.), plus three assists, two steals, and two blocks against a career-high six turnovers and three fouls; combo forward Isabella Bourne fouled out in 23 minutes, finishing with 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting, four rebounds, three assists, and three turnovers. Wolverine wing Leigha Brown had 10 points on 3-for-13 from the field (0-2 3pt.), five rebounds, four assists, and four steals against six turnovers; center Emily Kiser fouled out in 29 minutes, finishing with a team-high 13 points on 5-for-11 FG and six rebounds (three offensive); big Naz Hillmon notched 10 points on 4-for-14 shooting, seven rebounds, and three assists against six turnovers; point guard Amy Dilk played her first minutes since suffering an injured left knee in Michigan’s season-opener, scoring three points in 16 minutes on 1-for-3 FG (0-1 3pt.).
Dayton: 90-43 win over St. Bonaventure. Won the first quarter 27-6. Shot 50.0% from the field, 56.5% from three, and 88.2% from the line; held the Bonnies to 28.0% shooting with 30.8% from deep. St. Bonaventure’s most efficient shooter was 3-for-7 from the field with six turnovers.
Cancellations
- Seton Hall vs. Towson
- High Point vs. Radford
- Campbell vs. N.C. A&T
- Elon vs. William & Mary
- George Mason vs. La Salle
- North Colorado vs. Southern Utah
- Long Beach State vs. CSU Fullerton
*Receiving Votes
Written by Em Adler
Em Adler (she/her) covers the WNBA at large and college basketball for The Next, with a focus on player development and the game behind the game.