Huskers Battle Omaha Thursday Night

Nebraska looks to improve to 2-0 on the season on Thursday night, as the Huskers host Omaha at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tipoff for the intrastate matchup between the Huskers and Mavericks is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be carried online on B1G Plus (subscription required) and across the state on the Huskers’ radio network. Tickets for Thursday’s game are available by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets, contacting the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED during business hours (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Mon.-Fri.) or at the Pinnacle Bank Arena Ticket Office beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.

The Huskers (1-0) are coming off a 79-66 win over Maine Monday night in the season opener. The Huskers placed three players in double figures, led by senior Sam Griesel’s 22 points and nine rebounds. Griesel, a transfer from North Dakota State, had 18 of his 22 in the second half in his Husker debut and came one rebound away from his fourth career double-double.

Juwan Gary added 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Keisei Tominaga had 19 points off the bench, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range, in the win. Nebraska never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 15 in the first half, but Maine got within one in the second half before the Huskers used a 14-1 surge to take control. Griesel and Tominaga combined for nine of the Huskers’ 14 points in the decisive run, while the Huskers held Maine without a field goal for nearly five minutes, as the Black Bears went 0-of-8 from the field in that stretch.

One of the points of emphasis for the Huskers is improved rebounding and that showed in the opener, as NU enjoyed a 44-27 advantage on the glass, including a 16-5 edge in offensive caroms. Gary, a transfer from Alabama, grabbed eight of his career-high 11 boards on the offensive end, while the Huskers’ backcourt of Griesel and Emmanuel Bandoumel combined for 17 rebounds. The +17 margin on the glass was the Huskers’ best effort against a Division I opponent since Feb. 25, 2018.

Omaha (0-1) opened the season with an 89-64 loss at defending national champion Kansas on Monday. Jaeden Marshall’s 13 points led four Mavs in double figures, as Omaha was within seven early in the second half before KU pulled away.

 

Numbers to Know

998 – Sam Griesel needs only two points on Thursday to reach 1,000 career points. Griesel averaged a career-best 14.3 points per game at North Dakota State in 2021-22.

20.2 – Sam Griesel’s scoring average over his last nine games dating back to last season at North Dakota State, including seven 20-point efforts. In his first 91 games of his college career, he averaged 9.0 ppg with seven games of at least 20 points.

.779 – Nebraska is 53-15 (.779) against non-conference opponents since moving into Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2013-14.

2019 – Monday’s win over Maine marked the first time since the first round of the 2019 Big Ten Tournment (68-61 vs. Rutgers) where the Huskers won a game while being out-shot by its opponent.

 

Last Time Out

Sam Griesel’s 22 points led three Huskers in double figures, as Nebraska used a decisive second-half run to put away Maine, 79-66, in the season opener at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Griesel scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half in his Husker debut, finishing with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting and nine rebounds. 

Juwan Gary pitched in a double-double with 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, including eight offensive boards, while Keisei Tominaga had 19 points off the bench, including 10 during a two-minute first half surge.

Nebraska, which built a 40-28 lead at the break, saw Maine pull to within 54-53 after a 3-pointer from Gedi Juozapaitis with 13:00 left. That would be as close as it got, as Emmanuel Bandoumel’s blocked shot on the defensive end and subsequent basket started a 14-1 Husker run.

Griesel and Tominaga combined for nine pointsin the spurt, as NU built a 68-54 lead with 8:35 left. The Huskers clamped down on the defensive end, as Maine missed eight straight shots and was 2-of-16 in a nearly 10-minute stretch after hitting 10 of its first 12 shots after halftime.

Juozapaitis led the Black Bears with 20 points, including 6-of-7 from 3-point range, while Kristians Feierbergs added 16 points and six rebounds in the loss.

 

Worth Noting

• Sam Griesel led NU with 22 points in his debut, his 42nd career double-figure effort and his 14th career 20-point game. His 22-point output was one of the highest-scoring debuts by a Husker in the last 50 years.  In fact, three of the the top four debuts have come in the last two seasons. 

20-Point Husker Debuts (Since 1972-73)

• Juwan Gary posted his third career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. His other two came at Alabama during the 2021-22 season. Gary’s 11 rebounds were a career-high, as his previous high was 10 on two occasions (vs. Louisiana Tech, vs. Drake, both in 2021-22).
  
   
• Gary had eight of the Huskers’ 16 offensive rebounds, which was the most by the Huskers since the 2020-21 season opener vs. McNeese State (17). His eight offensive rebounds were the second-highest total nationally on opening night (9 by Clemson’s Ian Schieffelin) and the most offensive boards by a Husker since Yvan Ouedraogo had 10 against Northwestern in 2020.

Most Offensive Boards (Big Ten Era)

• Nebraska enjoyed a +17 rebounding advantage against Maine, the Huskers’ best against a Division I opponent since the 2017-18 season. NU, which was last in the Big Ten in rebounding margin in 2021-22, was without its top returning rebounder (Derrick Walker, 6.0 rpg) against Maine.
• Keisei Tominaga reached double figures for the eighth time in his career with 19 points, including 13 in the first half. It was his highest-scoring output since scoring a career-high 23 against South Dakota last season.
• Wilhelm Breidenbach tied a career high in points (nine) and grabbed a career-best seven rebounds, as Nebraska enjoyed a 28-10 advantage in bench scoring.
• Nebraska improved to 86-41 all-time in season openers and has won 20 of the past 22 openers.

Scouting Omaha
Under the direction of first-year coach Chris Crutchfield, Omaha comes to Lincoln looking for its first win of the season. Crutchfield, who played both basketball and football at Omaha, returns to his alma mater after spending the 2021-22 season as an assistant at Oregon. Crutchfield was the head coach at East Central University in Ada, Okla., in 2020-21 where he guided the school to a 10-9 record. He spent eight years at Oklahoma, serving as an associate head coach under Lon Krueger and also served on the staffs at Arkansas, Oral Roberts, TCU and New Mexico State during his career.

The Mavericks, who were picked ninth in the preseason Summit League poll, returned six players from a year ago. Sophomore Frankie Fidler is their top returnee and was a preseason All-Summit League pick. Fidler averaged 12.9 points per game and had 19 double-figure efforts last year, including a pair of 30-point nights. Fidler had 11 points in Monday’s loss to Kansas. Junior forward Dylan Broughman started 22 contests and averaged 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game last season, while junior forward Akol Arop, who spent two seasons at Nebraska (2019-21), started 18 games last year and averaged 5.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.  Former Husker graduate assistant Keenan Holdman is also on the Omaha staff, as Assistant Director of Player Personnel.

Nebraska is 4-0 all-time against Omaha, including 2-0 since the Mavericks moved to Division I. The teams have not met since an 80-67 Husker win on Nov. 25, 2014. NU is 82-12 all-time against current Summit League teams.

 

Trio of Transfers Added in 2022-23

Nebraska added three Division I transfers in the offseason in Sam Griesel (North Dakota State), Emmanuel Bandoumel (SMU) and Juwan Gary (Alabama). The trio has combined for nearly 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in their college careers before enrolling at NU.

The trio made big impacts in their Husker debuts, combining for 52 points, 28 rebounds and six assists in the win over Maine. Griesel had a game-high 22 points, nine rebounds and three steals, while Gary posted a double-double with 14 and 11 boards. Bandoumel, who had six points, eight boards and three steals, provided the biggest play of the night with Maine threatening to take its first lead. Bandoumel blocked the shot at one end and got the basket at the other end to start a 14-1 spurt that pushed the lead back to 14.

If history is any indication, it will be likely that one of these three will pace NU in scoring, as a newcomer has topped the Husker scoring chart in each of the three seasons under Fred Hoiberg. Of the eight players who have averaged double figures under Hoiberg, all eight have been in their first year of competition at Nebraska.

Of the nine players who saw action against Maine, six players (Griesel, Bandoumel, Gary, Denim Dawson, Blaise Keita and Oleg Kojenets) were making their Husker debuts.

 

Adding Experience (Entering 2022-23)

 
Welcome Back Wilhelm
Sophomore Wilhelm Breidenbach made a big impact in his first regular-season game since suffering a season-ending knee injury last December. The 6-foot-10 forward tied or set career highs in points (nine), rebounds (seven) and assists (three) in 17 minutes off the bench. Breidenbach’s efforts were a big reason NU enjoyed a 28-10 advantage in bench scoring.
 
Tominaga Stars on Japanese Team
Keisei Tominaga spent most of the summer playing with the Japanese Senior National Team for the first time. The 6-foot-2 guard made his debut in the FIBA World Cup Asia qualifier in early July and then starred for Japan in the 2022 Asia Cup. In seven games with the Senior National Team, Tominaga averaged 15.9 points per game while shooting 39.3 percent from the 3-point line. His best performance came against Australia in the Asia Cup quarterfinals, when he poured in 33 points on 12-of-20 shooting, including 8-of-15 from 3-point range. His performance helped Japan to its best Asia Cup finish since 2015.

The junior started the 2022-23 season off with a flourish, scoring 19 points off the bench in the Huskers’ win over Maine. Tominaga hit 7-of-12 shots from the field, including a trio of 3-pointers, and added two rebounds and a blocked shot in 20 minutes. Tominaga’s 19 points marked his second-highest total of his NU career (23 vs. South Dakota last season).

 

Revamped Husker Coaching Staff

In addition to nine new faces on the Husker roster (six scholarship and three walkons), the Husker staff also has several new faces this season.

• Assistant Coach Adam Howard comes to Nebraska after spending the last four seasons at South Alabama, helping the program to 75 wins in that span after the program had seven straight losing seasons. Last year, South Alabama won 21 games, the school’s highest total since 2008. Howard also coached at Troy, Tennessee, Southern Miss and Morehead State after playing collegiately at Western Kentucky.
• Assistant Coach Ernie Zeigler comes to Lincoln after spending six years on Ben Howland’s staff at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs had four postseason appearances between 2018-22. Zeiger spent six seasons as the head coach at Central Michigan (2007-12) and previously served stints at UCLA, Pittsburgh, Kansas State, Detroit and Bowling Green.
• mmanuel Tommy joined the staff as Director of Player Development. He was an assistant coach at Alabama A&M last season and had worked on the administrative side at both McNeese State and South Alabama.
• Two familiar faces in new positions are graduate managers Michael Bania and Payden Borders, both of whom worked as managers in the Husker program. Both graduated from Nebraska last May. 

Homegrown Huskers
The 2022-23 roster features four in-state products in Sam Griesel (Lincoln), Sam Hoiberg (Lincoln), Henry Burt (Omaha) and Cale Jacobsen (Ashland). Griesel is the Huskers’ first scholarship recruit since Jake Muhleisen in the early 2000s. Before joining NU, Griesel made two other appearances in PBA in his college career.  While at North Dakota State, he started both games for the Bison in the 2020 Golden Window event at PBA, averaging 9.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. He had nine points and 12 rebounds in a 79-57 loss to the Huskers. No current Husker played against Griesel in that contest.
 
Pushing The Pace
One trait of a Fred Hoiberg coached team is to play at a fast pace. The Huskers have led the Big Ten in pace in each of the last three seasons according to KenPom, including top-20 rankings in 2019-20 (16th) and 2021-22 (19th). NU has been the only Big Ten team to rank in the top-50 in any of the past three seasons.

• In his eight seasons as a college head coach, Hoiberg’s teams have ranked in the top-50 in tempo six times, including four times in the top-20.
• Prior to Hoiberg’s arrival, the last time a Husker team was in the top-100 nationally in tempo according to KenPom was in 1999-2000 under Danny Nee.

 Playing with Pace (Adjusted Tempo per KenPom)

 
 Walker Looks to Continue Efficient Shooting
Nebraska returns one of the most efficient big men in college basketball in Derrick Walker. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 9.6 points per game on 68.3 percent shooting from the field in 2021-22. He broke NU’s single-season field-goal percentage that was held by Larry Cox since the 1975-76 season. Walker was the only Big Ten player and one of just 14 players in Division I to shoot at least 65 percent and average at least eight points per game last season.
 
Walker’s Busy Summer
Sixth-year senior Derrick Walker has taken advantage of his final year of college, immersing in a number of different activities since the end of last season.

• In July, Walker was one of a select group of Big Ten student-athletes, coaches, administrators, conference staff, and other key stakeholders to participate in the Big Life Series: Selma to Montgomery. The trip was a journey to Selma and Montgomery, Ala., for an immersive and educational experience at a key center of the civil rights movement. The group participated in a variety of activities including marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, site of the 1965 Bloody Sunday attack.
• He organized the inaugural Hoops with the Huskers Special Olympics camp, which allowed members of the Husker basketball program to work with more than 40 Special Olympians on shooting, basketball drills and one-on-one competitions.
• Walker also started “Tall Boy Trucking” in the offseason, after he purchased a semi-truck last year. Walker hired a driver and the company makes deliveries from coast to coast.

Husker Roster has International Flavor
Nebraska’s 2022-23 roster will once again have an international flavor, as it will feature a quartet of international players in Emmanuel Bandoumel (Canada), Blaise Keita (Mali), Keisei Tominaga (Japan) and Oleg Kojenets (Lithuania). During Fred Hoiberg‘s four seasons at Nebraska, the Huskers have had players from nine countries (Australia, Canada, England, France, Iceland, Japan, Lithuania, Mali and Slovenia).
 
Three Huskers on Opening-Night Rosters
Nebraska is well represented on NBA Opening Night rosters with Isaiah Roby (San Antonio), Dalano Banton (Toronto) and Bryce McGowens (Charlotte). The group is joined by Tyronn Lue, who begins his third season as head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers.

• Nebraska’s three active NBA players is the most since the 2007-07 season (Eric Piatkowski, Mikki Moore and Lue)
• McGowens became the 15th former Husker to make his NBA debut on Oct. 19, as he saw action in Charlotte’s win over San Antonio.
• Five members of the 2021-22 team are playing professionally, including Bryce McGowens (NBA), Trey McGowens (G League), Lat Mayen (Australia), Alonzo Verge Jr. (Poland) and Kobe Webster (Netherlands).
• In all, 25 former Huskers are playing professionally around the world, including 10 players from Hoiberg’s three Husker teams.

Huskers to be Tested in 2022-23
Nebraska will have a challenging schedule this upcoming season. The Huskers will play a minimum of 25 power conference teams during the season, including five (St. John’s, Creighton, Boston College, Kansas State and Oklahoma) in non-conference action. Depending on the results of the ESPN Events Invitational, NU could see as many as seven power conference teams during non-conference action, including six away from home.

• Nebraska will play at least 13 games in the regular season against ranked teams or teams receiving votes in the AP or Coaches Preseason poll. The Huskers will face No. 9/9 Creighton, No. 13/14 Indiana, No. 22/22 Michigan and No. 23/23 Illinois while six other teams (Purdue, Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa, Rutgers, Wisconsin) received votes. NU could also face Memphis during the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando.
• Nebraska has 16 regular-season games against teams that reached postseason play in 2021-22. The Big Ten had nine NCAA teams in 2021-22, and Nebraska will face that group a combined 13 times (Illinois-2, Iowa-2, Michigan State-2, Purdue-2, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, Rutgers and Wisconsin). In non-conference action, NU will face Creighton in Omaha and will face Oklahoma in the ESPN Events Invitational opener. The Huskers will also square off against either Seton Hall or Memphis the following day.

McGowens Becomes Highest Drafted Husker since 1998
Bryce McGowens became the second Husker drafted in as many years, as he was the No. 40 pick of the Charlotte Hornets in the 2022 NBA Draft last June. He was the highest Husker drafted since Tyronn Lue went No. 23 overall in 1998. McGowens averaged 16.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in 2021-22, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and media.

• McGowens’ 16.8 points per game ranked third nationally among true freshmen in 2021-22. The top two true freshmen in scoring were Paolo Banchero (Duke) and Jabari Smith (Auburn) and those two were picked first and third, respectively, in the 2022 NBA Draft.
• With Dalano Banton (No. 46 in 2021) and McGowens, Nebraska has players selected in consecutive NBA Drafts for the first time since 1998 and 1999.
• McGowens was one of nine Big Ten players selected in the 2022 NBA Draft. The nine picks were the most of any conference and the highest total since 10 Big Ten players were selected in the 1990 NBA Draft.

Huskers Annually Rank Among NCAA Attendance Leaders
Since moving into Pinnacle Bank Arena, the Huskers have been among the national leaders in attendance. The Huskers have ranked in the top 15 in attendance every year since 2013-14, ranking in the top 10 on three occasions, most recently 2021-22. 
•  Nebraska is one of eight schools in the country to average 15,000+ fans per contest in each of the last seven seasons (2014-20, 2022), joining Kentucky, Syracuse, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas and Creighton. The NCAA did not count attendance figures during the 2020-21 season because of Covid-19.
 
Huskers Add Top-30 Recruiting Class
For the second straight season, Nebraska pulled in a top-30 national recruiting class, as the 2022 class was rated No. 28 by Rivals. The class included incoming freshmen Ramel Lloyd Jr. and Jamarques Lawrence, as well as junior college transfer Blaise Keita. It also included Denim Dawson, who signed with Nebraska in November and enrolled for the start of the spring 2022 semester.
Lloyd was ranked No. 88 nationally by ESPN and was a top-100 recruit in the 247Sports Composite rankings, while Lawrence was ranked among the top 150 players by Rivals at the end of his senior season. Keita was ranked as the No. 1 overall JUCO player by 247Sports and No. 4 by JUCORecruiting.com.  The Huskers’ 2021 freshmen class was ranked as high as 13th nationally by ESPN and also earned top-25 recognition by 247Sports and Rivals.
 
Ramel Lloyd Jr.  to Redshirt
Fred Hoiberg announced following the Maine game that freshmen Ramel Lloyd Jr. would likely redshirt the 2022-23 season. Lloyd averaged 11.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game at Sierra Canyon (Calif.) High School last season. He was one of five 2022 Sierra Canyon seniors who are in the Division I ranks this season.
 
All in the Family
Several members of the 2022-23 Huskers have family members who have played basketball at the college or professional levels. The list is led by Fred Hoiberg, who played in the NBA for a decade after a standout career at Iowa State. In addition, Ramel Lloyd was a Parade All-American who scored over 1,600 points at the college level at Syracuse and Long Beach State. Both Aleh Kojenets and Jurga Paliaukaite played at UNC Wilmington, while Paliaukaite holds the UNC Wilmington women’s record with 10 blocked shots in a game.  Keisei Tominaga’s father didn’t play college basketball, but was a center on the Japanese national team at the 1998 FIBA World Championship and played professionally in Japan for a decade.
 

 
NBA Coaches: Back to School
Fred Hoiberg is one of eight active NCAA coaches to have coached in the NBA, as he spent three-plus seasons with the Chicago Bulls from 2015 to 2018. Hoiberg’s 270 regular-season NBA games rank third among the eight former NBA coaches in the collegiate ranks. Hoiberg is also one of former 23 former NBA players as Division I head coaches in 2022-23.
 
Division I Coaches with NBA Head Coaching Experience

 
SIngle-Game Tickets Now on Sale
Single-game tickets for the 2022-23 schedule are now on sale. A select number of 300 Level seats are available for $7 apiece for non-conference games and $10 each for each of the Huskers’ 10 Big Ten matchups, including games with Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Ohio State and Iowa. The single-game tickets are one of several options to purchase Husker basketball tickets for the 2022-23 season. In addition, the Six-Game Mini-Plan which allows fans to pick 300 Level seats for any six games during the 2022-23 season for just $30 while supplies last.
To purchase, visit Huskers.com/Tickets or call the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED during business hours (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Mon.-Fri.).