Huskers Close Non-Con Play with Kennesaw State

Nebraska concludes the non-conference portion of its schedule Wednesday evening, as the Huskers host Kennesaw State at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tipoff is slated for 6:35 p.m. and the matchup will be carried on ESPNU and the Huskers Radio Network.  Tickets for Wednesday’s game, which features a halftime performance by Red Panda, are available by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets, calling the NU Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED and at the Pinnacle Bank Arena box office beginning 90 minutes prior to tipoff. 

The Huskers (5-7) put together a solid defensive effort, but could not get shots to drop in a 67-58 loss to Kansas State on Sunday. Nebraska held Kansas State to just 39 percent shooting, marking the sixth opponent in 12 games that the Huskers have held under 40 percent shooting. Unfortunately, NU shot just 33 percent from the floor, including 5-of-28 from 3-point range. The Huskers forced 19 turnovers against the Wildcats, but converted those into just 11 points, while KSU got 22 points off of 17 Husker miscues. Despite the shooting woes, Nebraska led 44-42 with 10 minutes left before Kansas State seized momentum with a 12-2 spurt.

 

Alonzo Verge Jr. posted his fourth 20-point game of the season, finishing with 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and matching his career high with four steals against KSU. On the season, Verge tops Nebraska in scoring (16.4 ppg), assists (5.4 apg) and steals (1.6 spg) and is one of just five players nationally averaging 15 points, five rebounds and five assists per game heading into this week’s action. 

Kennesaw State (4-7) comes to Lincoln looking to rebound after an 85-84 loss at Samford on Saturday night. The Owls erased a 10-point deficit in the final 10 minutes and took an 84-83 lead following a pair of Demond Robinson free throws with 33 seconds left, but Ques Glover’s jumper with 11 seconds left provided the winning margin. The Owls had two attempts to win the game in the final seconds, but fell short. Terrell Burden led three Owls in double figures with 25 points and seven assists in a losing effort. 

The Huskers will be off following Wednesday’s game before resuming conference play on Jan. 2 against No. 15 Ohio State.

About Kennesaw State

Kennesaw State comes to Lincoln with a 4-7 record following a one-point loss to Samford on Saturday. The Owls have been tested in non-conference play, including close losses at Iowa State (84-73) and Creighton (51-44) while also playing Wake Forest and Belmont. The Owls will have one more conference game before opening Atlantic Sun play on Jan. 5.

Amir Abdur-Rahim is in his third season in charge of the Owls. Previously, he served as an assistant at Georgia, Texas A&M and the College of Charleston and Murray State. He played collegiately at Southeastern Louisiana where he ranked in the top-10 in school history in points, steals and 3-pointers. 

The Owls are led by sophomore Chris Youngblood, as the 6-foot-4 sophomore paces Kennesaw State in both scoring (13.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.4 rpg). He was a member of the ASUN All-Freshmen team last season when he was second on the team in scoring at 12.3 ppg. Spencer Rodgers was the team’s top returning scorer, as he was second in the ASUN with 16.3 ppg in 2020-21. This season, he is second on the squad in scoring (12.0 ppg), rebounding (5.2 rpg) and assists (2.6 apg). Terrell Burdon is the third Owl in double figures at 11.0 ppg while dishing out a team-high 4.5 assists per game. KSU has started the same lineup in all 11 games and nine players appear in at least nine games. 

Wednesday’s meeting is the first meeting between the two schools. NU is 7-0 all-time against members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. 

B1G Numbers

12 – NU’s 12 steals against Kansas State marked the Huskers’ highest total of the season and most since recording 13 at Maryland on Feb. 16, 2021. The Huskers are second in the Big Ten with 7.9 steals per game.

.786 – Derrick Walker’s field goal percentage, which is on pace to shatter the school record (min 5 att./gm) of .672 by Larry Cox in 1975-76. Only six Huskers have ever posted a field goal percentage of .600 or better while reaching the minimum field goal attempts. 

2- Alonzo Verge Jr. is the only Big Ten player with multiple 10+ assist games this season and is tied for eighth nationally with double-digit assists performances. Only Kentucky’s Sahvir Wheeler (3) has more double-digit assist games among power conference players.

Last Time Out

Nebraska fought back from a six-point halftime deficit, but Kansas State used a 12-2 second-half run to earn a 67-58 victory over the Huskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

 Nebraska held Kansas State to 39 percent shooting and forced 19 turnovers, but the Wildcats were more opportunistic, turning 17 NU turnovers into 22 points and enjoying a 15-6 advantage in second-chance points.  Nebraska shot just 33 percent from the field, including 5-of-28 from 3-point range to fall to 5-7 on the season.

Alonzo Verge Jr. had 21 points to lead two Huskers in double figures, while also adding five rebounds, five assists and four steals.  Bryce McGowens added 14 points in a losing effort.  Nijel Pack had 15 points, eight boards and five assists, while Ismael Massoud had 10 points for Kansas State (7-3).

Nebraska jumped out to an early 10-5 lead in the first 4:11 off two straight 3-pointers from Keisei Tominaga. The Huskers kept the momentum and stretched the lead to 10 at 25-15 with under nine minutes to go in the half, but the visitors came back. Kansas State ran off 16 unanswered points and grabbed a 31-25 lead with just under a minute left. McGowens broke the Huskers’ cold streak with a layup, but the Wildcats grabbed the buzzer beater by Markquis Nowell, and Nebraska trailed 33-27 at the break.  

NU roared back, using a 9-0 spurt to open the second half, as the Huskers took a 36-33 lead with 17:30 left following a 3-point play from Lat Mayen.   Nebraska led 47-45 after a 3-point play from Verge with 10:13 left, but a Pack 3-pointer gave the visitors the lead before Bradford scored five straight points to give the visitors a 53-47 lead. Pack’s basket with 6:15 left capped a 12-2 spurt and made it an eight-point lead for the visitors. The Huskers made one last run, scoring five straight points to pull within 59-55 with 2:41 left, but KSU scored the next four points, including a 3-pointer from Mark Smith, to make it 63-55.   NU eventually made it 63-57 and had a good look but Tominaga missed a 3-pointer, and Kansas State sealed the game with four straight free throws to push the lead back to 10.

Worth Noting 

• Nebraska is 5-3 at PBA in non-conference play this season and is 51-15 (.773) since Pinnacle Bank Arena opened in 2013. A win Wednesday would give NU its best home non-conference mark since going 8-0 in 2018-19.
• Nebraska guard Bryce McGowens ranks third nationally among all true freshmen in scoring at 16.2 points per game as of Dec. 20.  McGowens is one of only three true freshmen nationally averaging at least 15 points per game entering this week’s games. 
• McGowens, who leads all Big Ten freshmen in scoring and rebounding, is on pace to threaten single-season freshmen marks for the Huskers in both scoring (15.5, Joe McCray, 2004-05) and rebounding (6.3, Yvan Ouedraogo, 2019-20).
• Nebraska has produced a total of ten 20-point efforts in the first 12 games of the season (Bryce McGowens-4; Alonzo Verge Jr.-4; Kobe Webster-1; Keisei Tominaga-1). Last season, NU had just 12 20-point efforts in 27 contests. McGowens’ four 20-point games this season already ranks fourth all-time among Husker freshmen and is the most by any NU freshman since Joe McCray had a school-record 10 in 2004-05.
• Nebraska looks to snap a shooting slump from 3-point range, as the Huskers are shooting just 21 percent from 3-point range over the last five games. NU went just 5-of-28 from 3-point range in Sunday’s loss to Kansas State. 
• Alonzo Verge Jr. comes into the week as one of five players nationally – and the only Big Ten player – averaging at least 15.0 points, 5.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game. He joins Duke’s Wendell Moore as the only two power conference players at that plateau. Verge is looking to become the fifth Big Ten player since 2010-11 to average 15 points, five rebounds and five assists per game

H/T – Sports Reference

• For most of the year, the Huskers have done a good job of limiting turnovers, but NU has averaged 18.5 turnovers the last two contests. Prior to the Auburn contest, NU was committing an average of 11.2 turnovers per game over the first 10 contests. Despite the last two games, the Huskers have jumped from 205th to 43rd in turnover rate, as Fred Hoiberg‘s teams have traditionally been among the nation’s best in that category. Prior to last season, his last three teams ranked in the top 30 nationally in that category. 
• Nebraska is the only power conference school and one of nine schools nationally with two players averaging at least 15 points per game entering this week’s action. The other schools are Belmont, Fordham, Furman, Missouri State, Monmouth, Portland, Richmond and VMI. 
• Nebraska already has six double-doubles this season (Walker-3; Verge-2; B. McGowens-1) in 12 games after just having two all of last season. 
• Nebraska has been opportunistic on the defensive end, ranking second in the Big Ten by forcing 15.7 turnovers per game as of Dec. 20. NU is second in the Big Ten in steals (7.9 spg) and fourth in turnover margin (+3.3 per game).
• Alonzo Verge Jr. has become more of a playmaker during his time at NU. He is second in the Big Ten with 5.4 assists per game after averaging 2.9 assists per game during his two-year career at Arizona State.  His 11 assists against NC State on Dec. 1 is the highest total by a Big Ten player in 2021-22.  Verge is 26th nationally in assists per game in 2021-22 as of Dec. 20. 
• Bryce McGowens joined rare company on Nov. 12 against Sam Houston with his 29-point effort. It tied for the second-highest performance by a freshman in school history and was the most since Shavon Shields also had 29 at Penn State in 2013. 
• The season opener against Western Illinois featured two of the highest-scoring debuts by any Husker in the last 50 years. Alonzo Verge Jr. (26) and Bryce McGowens (25) became just the third and fourth Huskers in the last five decades to score 20+ points in a Husker debut.
• The season opener against WIU marked only the third time since 2007 that Nebraska had two players score 25-or-more points in a game. It also marked the fourth time that NU had multiple 20-point scorers in a game in Fred Hoiberg‘s tenure.

• Nebraska’s 2021-22 roster features a trio of college graduates in Derrick Walker, Alonzo Verge Jr. and Kobe Webster. Walker became the first member of his family to get a degree when he graduated in May of 2021, while Webster (2020, Western Illinois) and Verge (2021, Arizona State) came to Nebraska as graduate transfers.

McGowens Earns Third Big Ten Rookie of the Week Award
Bryce McGowens picked up his third Big Ten Freshman of the Week award on Dec. 20, becoming the first Husker in the Big Ten era to earn three awards in one season. Before this season, Shavon Shields (2012-13) was the only freshmen to earn multiple Big Ten rookie awards in one season. Dating back to the Huskers’ Big 12 era (1996-97 to 2011-12), McGowens is the only freshman to win the award three times in a season, as the Big 12 used its award to honor both freshmen and newcomers. 

Husker Injury Update

Fred Hoiberg announced Dec. 12 that freshman forward Wilhelm Breidenbach will most likely miss the remainder of the 2021-22 season with a leg injury suffered during the second half of Nebraska’s game against Michigan on Dec. 7.  Breidenbach, a 6-foot-10, 227-pound forward from Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., had played in each of Nebraska’s first 10 games, averaging 3.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.

Breidenbach joins starting guard Trey McGowens, who underwent surgery on Nov. 17 to repair a broken fifth metatarsal in his right foot. He is expected back in mid-January.  McGowens had started all 30 games since transferring to Nebraska prior to the 2020-21 campaign. He ranked second on the team in both scoring (10.7 ppg) and assists (2.3 apg) in 2020-21.

Four OT Thriller at NC State

Nebraska’s four-overtime game at NC State on Dec. 1, was one for the record books. The four OT game matched Nebraska’s school record set in 1979 and was the longest Big Ten game in at least a decade. It tied for the second-longest Division I game in the past 10 seasons, trailing only a five OT game between Louisville and Notre Dame on Feb. 9. 2013. 

• It was the longest game in Big Ten/ACC Challenge history, but was one of three OT games in the 2021 challenge. The Big Ten won the challenge, 8-6, with three of the six losses coming in overtime.
• It marked only the eighth time in school history where both teams scored over 100 points.
• The 100 points NU scored marked the 44th 100-point game in school history, but only the fifth time that NU scored 100 points and lost. 
• Nebraska had a pair of double-doubles from Alonzo Verge (25 points/11 assists) and Derrick Walker (12 points, 13 rebounds). Verge (assists) and Walker (rebounds) both set personal bests on their way to double-doubles.

Super McGowens Brothers 
The high-flying duo of Trey and Bryce McGowens will be sidelined for a bit, as Trey recovers from a broken foot suffered against Creighton on Nov. 16, but is expected back in mid January.  The 2021-22 season marked the first time the brothers were on the same court together since they were kids and provided a number of early highlights. 

• Bryce is 12th in the Big Ten in scoring at 16.1 ppg while grabbing 6.1 rebounds per game as of Dec. 20. He ranks among the B1G leaders in scoring, rebounding, free throw percentage and minutes played (33.8, seventh).
• A three-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week (Nov. 15, Nov. 29, Dec. 20), he leads all conference rookies in scoring and rebounding.
• He is the only Husker freshmen in either the Big 12 (1996-97 to 2010-11) of Big Ten (2011-12 to present) eras to be a three-time honoree as a freshman. 
• Bryce McGowens has reached double figures in scoring eight times, including four of 20-point efforts. His most recent 20-point game was a 24-point, nine-rebound effort in the 4OT loss at NC State on Dec. 1. 
• He collected his first career double-double on Nov. 21 against Southern with 18 points and 11 rebounds. McGowens also had four assists and two steals in 31 minutes. 
• He is just the second Husker freshman to ever put up multiple 25-point games, as he had 25 in the opener against Western Illinois and 29 in the win over Sam Houston. He joins Dave Hoppen, who accomplished the feat during the 1982-83 season (27 vs. K-State; 25 vs. Iowa State).
• As a high schooler, he totaled 2,341 points, including 285 3-pointers and was selected for the 2021 Iverson Classic. He was also selected to the Jordan Brand Classic, but the event was not held.
• Last season, he was the Gatorade South Carolina Player of the Year, averaging 21.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest for Legacy Early College and Coach BJ Jackson.
  
   
• Trey has been a proven performer throughout his career, as he has started 94 of 96 games at the college level for Pittsburgh and Nebraska and scored over 1,000 career points. 
• Trey started the first three games and was averaging 6.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game before suffering his injury midway through the first half against Creighton on Nov. 16. McGowens also drew the opponent’s top perimeter defender and shared point guard duties. He helped limit Sam Houston’s Demarkus Lampley, a returning first-team all-conference performer, to 2-of-14 shooting on Nov. 12.
• Last season, Trey averaged 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assist per game, while starting all 27 games. He reached double figures 17 times in 2020-21, including a season-high 20 points against No. 17 Michigan State.
• The McGowens brothers are one of 15 brother combos on the same college roster this season.

“Good things happen when we play through Derrick”
Fred Hoiberg understands the importance of having Derrick Walker on the floor for the Big Red, and Walker’s play has been a focal point for the Huskers.  Walker, who is in his third year at NU, has provided the Huskers a much-needed inside threat since becoming eligible last January. 

The 6-foot-9 center is enjoying a career year in 2021-22, averaging 8.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting almost 80 percent from the field. 

Walker is playing the best basketball of his career over the last nine games dating back to Nov. 19, averaging 10.6 points on 84 percent shooting and 6.4 rebounds per game. He tied or set career highs in three straight games from Nov. 19-23, culminating in a 16-point effort on 8-of-8 shooting vs. Tennessee State on Nov. 23. Walker recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds at NC State on Dec. 1.  Against No. 18 Auburn on Dec. 11, Walker posted his second double-double and filled the stat sheet with 10 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals.

Zo Takes the Point

Alonzo Verge took over the point guard duties from 2021 NBA Draft pick Dalano Banton, and Verge has provided an immediate impact, averaging 16.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game. The 6-foot-4 guard from Chicago is second in the Big Ten in assists, fourth in assists and 11th in scoring as of Dec. 20.

• He has a 1.48-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio after posting a 1.29-to-1 ratio in his two seasons at Arizona State.
• Verge is sixth in the Big Ten with three double-doubles (vs. W. Illinois, vs. Tennessee State and at NC State). 
• He is one of five Division I players – and one of two power conference performers – averaging at least 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game as of Dec. 20.
• He had his fourth 20-point effort of the season with 21 points, five assists, five rebounds and four steals in the loss to Kansas State on Dec. 19. 
• Verge posted his second career 30-point game against Michigan on Dec. 7, as he had 31 points and eight boards. It was his first 30-point game since the 2019-20 season when he was at Arizona State.
• Verge nearly had a triple-double in the Huskers’ epic game at NC State on Dec. 1 with 25 points, a career-high 11 assists and nine rebounds before fouling out in the fourth OT.
• He led NU with 18 points and 10 assists in the Huskers’ win over Tennessee State on Nov. 23.
• He posted his first collegiate double-double in the opener with 26 points – the most points ever in a Husker debut – a career-high 13 rebounds and five assists.
• Verge was a combo guard during his two seasons at Arizona State, where he teamed with current Kansas guard Remy Martin in one of the highest scoring backcourts in the Pac-12. 
• He averaged 14.0 points, 3.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game in 2020-21, ranking among the Pac-12 leaders in scoring (15th), assists (seventh), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.55-to-1, sixth), steals (1.2, 13th) and free throw percentage (.809, 13th). 
• In his first season at ASU, he was the 2020 Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year and an honorable-mention all-conference pick after averaging 14.6 points per game, 3.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
• A two-time NJCAA All-American at Moberly Area (Ill.) CC, he ranked in the top three nationally in both scoring and assists in 2018-19. He tallied 1,086 points (30.9 ppg in 35 games), but also dished out 8.2 assists per game en route to first-team accolades.

NU Graduation Success Rate Hits All-Time High of 95 Percent
Nebraska student-athletes have posted a 95 percent NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR), continuing the Huskers’ long tradition of being a national leader in the classroom. The NCAA released its GSR scores on Dec. 2, with Nebraska improving its GSR for the 11th straight year. 

• The 95 percent GSR rate for all student-athletes ranks third among 14 Big Ten schools. On the national scale, Nebraska’s GSR is tied for 10th out of 130 FBS institutions. The 95 percent GSR rate marks the 11th straight year Nebraska has increased its GSR.
• The Husker men’s basketball program achieved a 100 percent GSR for the second straight season and was one of 13 Husker programs to post a 100 GSR in the latest rankings. NU was one of five Big Ten teams with a perfect GSR this year.

Husker Recruiting Class Seeing Stars
The Huskers brought one of the nation’s top recruiting classes to campus this fall. The class is ranked as high as 13th by ESPN as well as 18th by 247Sports and 21st by Rivals and is the third-highest ranked class in the Big Ten. 
 Nebraska’s five signees are headlined by five-star Bryce McGowens and four-star recruit Wilhelm Breidenbach, both of whom were top-100 recruits. McGowens was a consensus top-25 recruit who played in the Iverson Classic and was selected to the Jordan Brand team. NU rounded out the class with junior college All-American Keisei Tominaga and freshmen Oleg Kojenets and Quaran McPherson.

While McGowens has been one of the Big Ten’s top newcomers, Tominaga and Breidenbach have made significant contributions. Tominaga has played in all 12 games, averaging 7.8 points per game while leading NU with 21 3-pointers. Breidenbach was Nebraska’s top frontcourt reserve before suffering a likely season-ending injury against Michigan on Dec. 7. He played in NU’s first 10 games and averaged 3.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.

Up-Tempo Basketball

One trait of any 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 two seasons, ranking 16th nationally by KenPom in 2019-20 and 35th in 2020-21. NU has been the only Big Ten team to rank in the top-50 nationally in each of the past two seasons. In seven full seasons as a college head coach (five at Iowa State and two at NU), Hoiberg’s teams have ranked in the top-50 in tempo five times, including three 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.