Nebraska's Glynn Watson It’s Senior Day in Lincoln on Sunday, as Nebraska wraps up its regular season schedule against Iowa. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network, and tips at 1 p.m. How to Watch/Listen Nebraska vs. Iowa Tip: 1 p.m. CT TV: Big Ten Network Radio: Huskers.com; Husker Sports Network Stream: BTN2Go, Fox Sports Go Projected Starters Nebraska Glynn Watson Jr. (6-0, 180): 12.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG James Palmer Jr. (6-6, 207): 18.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG Amir Harris (6-6, 205): 1.9 PPG, 2.1 RPG Tanner Borchardt (6-8, 250): 2.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG Isaiah Roby (6-8, 230): 11.1 PPG, 7.0 RPG Iowa Jordan Bohannon (6-1, 185): 10.4 PPG, 2.4 RPG Isaiah Moss (6-5, 205): 8.9 PPG, 2.2 RPG Joe Wieskamp (6-6, 205): 11.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG Luka Garza (6-9, 250): 12.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG Tyler Cook (6-9, 250): 17.4 PPG, 8.4 RPG The Matchup What a difference two matchups can make. When these teams met in Iowa City back near the start of Big Ten play on Jan. 6, Nebraska was ranked and 11-3 on the season. Nebraska comes into Sunday’s senior day with a 15-15 record and 5-14 mark in the Big Ten Conference, and are already locked in to the No. 13 seed in the Big Ten Tournament next week. The Huskers will play either Rutgers, Illinois or Penn State at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon in Chicago. Nebraska will be even more short-handed against Iowa on Sunday. Nebraska head coach Tim Miles said Friday that Thomas Allen is a gametime decision, but doubtful for the matchup because of an ankle injury. Sophomore guard Nana Akenten has been suspended indefinitely because of a violation of team rules, which means Nebraska will have to get creative with its minutes off the bench in the backcourt. Look for freshman Amir Harris to get the start alongside Glynn Watson Jr, but who comes in off the bench to relieve the starters is very much a big question. Sunday is Senior Day, and five Huskers will be honored before the game. Tanner Borchardt, Isaac Copeland Jr., James Palmer Jr., Johnny Trueblood and Glynn Watson Jr. have combined for nearly 3,400 points along with more than 1,150 rebounds and 625 assists during their time as Huskers. Junior forward Isaiah Roby will wear Copeland's number to honor the injured forward on Sunday during Senior Day. Iowa will come limping into Pinnacle Bank Arena at an interesting point in its season. Head coach Fran McCaffery will be returning from suspension for Sunday’s game, and the Hawkeyes have lost their last three games. Iowa is coming off a 65-45 loss to No. 21 Wisconsin on Thursday evening. The Hawkeyes were held to 30 percent shooting, including 5-of-22 from 3-point range in the loss to the Badgers. Nebraska is struggling, but the computers and experts still see a narrow game on Sunday. ESPN’s Basketball Power Index gives Nebraska a 65.4 percent chance of winning the game, with an expected 4-point margin of victory. Some oddsmakers had Nebraska favored by a point on Saturday night.<doc-sep>Scouting: Jordan Bohannon hit five three-pointers and scored 25 points when the teams first met in Iowa City back in January, hitting four threes, going 10-for-10 at the free-throw line and scoring 22 points in the second half. The junior guard has had his share of heroics this season, and the ball will likely be in his hands if Sunday's game comes down to the final moments.<doc-sep>The Iowa Hawkeyes choked away a 16-point lead in the second half to head into the Big Ten Tournament ass-first following a 93-91 overtime loss to Nebraska. The game had weird written all over it. Isaiah Moss hit a three pointer in the opening minute to remind everyone that he is not in fact dead. Nebraska and Iowa traded blows throughout the first, but the Hawkeyes eventually pulled away to go on a 9-0 scoring run before the half closed out at 37-31 Iowa. Iowa’s defense appeared to shore up once again and everyone was contributing on offense. Basketball was fun again for 17 minutes in the second half. Iowa cruised to a 47-31 lead with 17:05 left to go following another Moss 3. Jordan Bohannon made a three to start the half, Joe Wieskamp followed that up with an easy layup and Luka Garza was hitting 15-footers. All of Iowa’s starters were contributing, Fran was back, and all was right in Iowa basketball land. Then James Palmer Jr., Isaiah Roby, and Glynn Watson happened. Those three combined for 73 points on a day when Nebraska had just seven scholarship players available. Roby was especially problematic down the stretch. It seemed like Iowa had this one all wrapped up while up 70-61 with 150 seconds to go following a made three pointer from Bohannon. Roby took it to the hoop a few possessions later to make it 70-63. A Johnny Trueblood steal after a sloppy inbound from Bohannon dished it back to Roby to turn a 9 point lead with 2 1⁄ 2 minutes to play to a 5 point lead with 90 seconds to play. Watson hit a three-pointer with 23 seconds to put Nebraska within one, and Palmer Jr. made a layup to knot it at 81 at the buzzer. Palmer Jr. was the hero in overtime for Nebraska, scoring 5 points for the Huskers and assisting on a Watson 3. Iowa had all the chances in the world to put it away, but missed free throws, Tyler Cook fouling out and other usual shit accounted for this loss. Iowa did have another chance at a miraculous buzzer-beater: after Amir Harris weaved past Nicholas Baer to give Nebraska the 93-91 go-ahead, Iowa got the ball with 10.5 seconds on the clock. Connor McCaffery completely bungled whatever play was designed, and thankfully a Nebraska player kicked the ball out of bounds with 3 seconds to go. Iowa ran an absolutely beautiful backdoor play to give Bohannon an open look, and he did get it as time expired, but Thorir Thorbjarnson (what a friggin’ name) blocked the shot clean at the release. And that was that. Iowa relinquished a 16-point lead to a team that had lost 11 of its last 13 games. Iowa, meanwhile, has lost five of its last six. This. Is. March. Other notes:<doc-sep>
LINCOLN, NE - DECEMBER 8: Glynn Watson Jr. #5 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers and James Palmer Jr. #0 and Isaac Copeland Jr. #14 and Isaiah Roby #15 celebrate late in the game against the Creighton Bluejays at Pinnacle Bank Arena on December 8, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) For more than one reason, the Nebraska basketball team is in desperate need of a win over Iowa Sunday in the final home game of the season. Obviously, things have not gone as planned down the stretch for the Nebraska basketball team and heading into the Big Ten regular-season finale, the Huskers are not in the position they thought they would be in. Just back in January, Nebraska basketball seemed like a solid bet for the NCAA tournament and now, the only way that will happen is if the Huskers get on a roll in Chicago at the Big Ten tournament and win five straight games as the 13 or 14 seed. It would be a great story but it’s not going to happen. Not without some sort of miracle. But, there still are some reasonable goals left to achieve if the Huskers can find a way to beat Iowa. At this point, Nebraska has no hopes of earning an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament, however, a spot in the NIT might still be possible if the Huskers knock off their rival, Iowa. A win over the Hawkeyes would guarantee a .500 record which has always kind of been a requirement for the NIT. However, with teams from non-power conferences getting automatic berths for regular season titles, getting selected into the 32-team field isn’t so easy. So, the Huskers might need to win a game or two at the Big Ten tourney into order to lock down a bid. On the first day, Nebraska could be playing Penn State, Illinois, Rutgers or possibly Indiana because the last three teams are all tied at 7-12. If Nebraska won one game in the Big Ten tournament, plus a win over Iowa, would equal finishing one game over .500 at least. And with eight top-100 wins already according to the NET, that should be enough. Beyond that, Nebraska basketball needs a win Sunday because it’s the final home game for this senior class and guys like James Palmer, Glynn Watson and Isaiah Roby, who could declare for the draft, deserve to go out on a high note at the Vault. The same goes for Tim Miles if he ends up getting fired. A win over Iowa could maybe help him save his job because most won’t really be expecting it at this point. More than anything, after so many disappointing losses lately, it would be nice to see the Huskers finally win a game and give their fans something to be happy about.