Brice Williams started off the game like he was still in Hawaii, as he scored the opening 7 Husker points. Southern went immediately into a 4:10 scoring drought, while Nebraska opened up a big lead with a 9-0 run. Nebraska immediately jumped to a 16-point lead as Southern then followed up with another 6-minute scoring drought, as awful shooting from the Jaguars was a huge theme in the first half. Nebraska shared the basketball really well, as they finished with 12 assists on 12 made field goals in the half. Connor Essegian came off the bench with some hot shooting, as he had 11 of the Huskers 17 bench points.