Nebraska did not get the comfortable preseason tune-up it might have wanted, and that is probably the point. Saint Louis walked into Pinnacle Bank Arena on Friday night, rallied from a halftime deficit, and left with a 79-74 win that exposed exactly the kind of edge Fred Hoiberg said his group would need to handle this season.
This was not a regular-season verdict, and it should not be treated like one. But exhibition games are supposed to teach you something, and this one taught Nebraska plenty. More than 14,000 saw the Huskers take a 39-37 halftime lead when Jacob Lanier buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer, only for Saint Louis to answer with an eight-point run in the second half and never trail again after going up 47-44.
A useful warning, not a disaster
Hoiberg made it clear afterward that the result was not the main point. Nebraska planned to use different lineups and give younger players opportunities, and he said the game would help the Huskers learn just as they had from the BYU exhibition a year ago. He also admitted the obvious: Saint Louis out-toughed Nebraska. That is not a flattering line, but it is the honest one.
There were positives. Jacob Lanier led Nebraska with 15 points, and the 6-foot-6 guard did it efficiently enough with 4-of-9 shooting. Cale Jacobsen added 11 points, while Amari McCottry posted 10 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes. Kellen Thames chipped in nine points, going 4-of-4 from the field. Nebraska, though, shot just 39 percent overall and 12-of-35 from 3-point range, and that is where the concern starts. When the shot-making dries up, the margin for softness disappears quickly.
The part Nebraska cannot ignore
The Huskers used 13 players, which is exactly what you expect in an exhibition opener built around evaluation. But evaluation cuts both ways. Nebraska wanted a live test, and it got one. Saint Louis was sharper in the second half, steadier when the game tightened, and good enough to turn a one-possession contest into a result that never really came back within Nebraska's control.
Hoiberg called it the perfect game because Nebraska will see this kind of pressure all season. He is right. The lessons were obvious: the Huskers have depth to sort out, young players to accelerate, and a clear need to toughen up when possessions get messy. Next Friday brings another exhibition chance at BYU at 8 p.m. CT, and that should tell Nebraska even more about where this roster actually stands.
