Nebraska @ Georgia Tech preview

Nebraska got the bounce-back victory it needed to leave the Cayman Islands Classic with two wins in three games, giving the Cornhuskers a boost heading into Wednesday’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge contest at Georgia Tech. Following a subpar performance in a 19-point loss to George Mason in the second of a three-games-in-three-days stretch at the Cayman Islands, Nebraska got a career-high 26 points from senior guard Haanif Cheatham to down South Florida 74-67.

“I think we had a lot of fire and I think we had it for 40 minutes,” Cheatham told reporters postgame, citing a morning meeting in which the Cornhuskers addressed the lack of execution and energy in the 85-66 loss the day before. The Yellow Jackets won their first two games of the season, including an impressive victory in overtime at North Carolina State, but followed up with two losses by a combined five points to Georgia and Arkansas. Georgia Tech found itself tied with Bethune-Cookman late Sunday, but Michael Devoe’s three-point play capped a 27-point performance and allowed the Yellow Jackets to escape with a 68-65 victory. “He’s a really good basketball player,” Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner told the media afterward. “He made some tough shots (Sunday), tough layups.”

TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT NEBRASKA (4-3): Cheatham has averaged 16 points on 67 percent shooting from the field in his past five games, including four double-figure scoring outputs, and finished 8-for-11 from the field against South Florida. Junior guard Dachon Burke Jr. leads the Cornhuskers in scoring (13.6) after recording 21 against USF and draining 3-for-5 shots from 3-point range. Nebraska has shot 44.6 percent from 3-point range in its past four games, after hitting 23.1 percent of its long-range attempts in the opening three contests.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH (3-2): Devoe continues helping offset the loss of point guard Jose Alvarado to a right ankle sprain, leading the ACC and ranking seventh in the country in scoring at 23.4 points on 53.9 percent shooting from the field. Senior forward/center James Banks III is tops in the country in blocked shots per game (5.2), and is averaging 13.4 points and 9.6 rebounds (second in the ACC). The Yellow Jackets have limited opponents to 35 percent shooting from the field, ranking seventh nationally through Monday, and are sixth in the country in defensive rebounding (32.8).

TIP-INS

1. Excluding a 23-point victory over Elon, Georgia Tech’s other four games have been decided by a total of nine points.

2. Nebraska sophomore G Cam Mack entered Tuesday ranked tied for 25th in the nation in assists per game (6.0).

3. Georgia Tech is shooting 62.2 percent from the free-throw line while Nebraska is near the bottom of the nation at 57.6.

PREDICTION: Nebraska 68, Georgia Tech 62