Huskers Continue Road Trip at Minnesota

The Nebraska men’s basketball program continues its two-game swing on Monday night, as the Huskers travel to Minneapolis for a matchup with Minnesota.

Tipoff between the Huskers and Golden Gophers from historic Williams Arena is slated for 7 p.m. (central) and will be carried on BTN with Dave Revsine and John Beilein on the call. The game can also be streamed via the web, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through the Fox Sports app.

Fans can follow all of the action across the state of Nebraska on the Learfield IMG College Husker Sports Network with Kent Pavelka and Jake Muhleisen on the call. The game will also be available on Huskers.com, the Huskers app and TuneIn radio. The pregame show begins one hour prior to tipoff.

Nebraska (4-9, 0-6 Big Ten) was predictably rusty in its first game since Jan. 10, a 66-56 at Michigan State on Saturday. The Huskers shot just 36 percent from the field, including 3-of-17 from 3-point range, and went just 11-of-24 from the foul line against the Spartans. The Huskers shot just 25 percent in the first half, as MSU used an 11-1 run late in the half to build a 12-point halftime lead. After halftime, NU improved to 47 percent from the floor and out-scored MSU 24-8 in the paint.

The Huskers stayed in the game with one of its best efforts of the season on the defensive end. NU held MSU to 39 percent shooting, including 33 percent in the second half, and forced 22 turnovers which led to 17 points. NU stayed within striking distance until the final minute when MSU went 9-of-10 from the line to hold on.

While junior guard Trey McGowens led NU with 13 points, the Huskers had to rely on their depth against MSU as no player played more than 32 minutes. The Huskers got solid minutes from Shamiel Stevenson, who had eight points, four board and a pair of steals in 19 minutes. NU got 20 points from its bench, its highest total in Big Ten play this season.

Minnesota (11-7, 4-7 Big Ten) had a chance to win its first road game of the year but fell to Rutgers, 76-72, on Thursday. The Golden Gophers led 70-66 with 2:22 left, but Rutgers closed the game on a 10-2 spurt, as Geo Baker scored eight of his 16 points in the final four minutes including a go-ahead basket with just over a minute remaining. Marcus Carr led Minnesota with 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds. He is among the Big Ten leaders in both scoring (19.9 ppg) and assists (5.3 apg).

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
Trey McGowens matched his season high with three steals against Michigan State. In Big Ten play, he leads the conference with 1.8 steals per game. McGowens ranked in the top five of the ACC in steals in both of his seasons at Pittsburgh.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
.390 – NU held Michigan State to .390 shooting on Saturday, the first time NU held a Big Ten opponent to under 40 percent since at Illinois on Feb. 24, 2020.

3 – The Huskers had a season-low three 3-pointers at Michigan State, snapping a 14-game streak of at least five 3-pointers dating back to last season.

4.8 – Assists per game for sophomore Dalano Banton, which is fourth in the Big Ten as of Feb. 7. He is also 11th in the conference with a 2.1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

8 – NU has eight 20-point performances on the season (Teddy Allen-6; Trey McGowens-1; Kobe Webster-1). Allen’s six 20-point efforts ranks fifth in the Big Ten.

10 – Number of seasons where Nebraska has had multiple 100-point games. The 2020-21 campaign is the first time since 1995-96.

12 – Nebraska’s 12 steals at Michigan State was he Huskers’ fourth game with at least 10 steals in 2020-21 and most since having 16 against Northwestern on March 1, 2020.

27 – Nebraska is 27th nationally in tempo according to KenPom as of Feb. 7. The Huskers are the only Big Ten team in the top 75 nationally.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA
Under Richard Pitino, the Golden Gophers are 11-7 on the season and 4-7 in Big Ten play. Minnesota went a perfect 7-0 in non-conference play, highlighted by wins over Saint Louis and Boston College. The Golden Gophers were 9-1 following runs over nationally-ranked Iowa and Michigan State, but is just 2-6 since the calendar turned to 2021. UM is 11-1 at Williams Arena, including Big Ten wins over Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa, as the Gophers handed the Wolverines its only loss of the season.

Minnesota features one of the Big Ten’s best point guards in Marcus Carr. The junior guard ranks among the Big Ten leaders in scoring (19.9 ppg, fourth) and assists (5.3, second) while also grabbing 4.2 rebounds per game. Junior transfer Liam Robbins is the other Golden Gopher in double figures, as he averages 13.6 points per game and a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game. The Drake transfer paces the Big Ten with 2.7 blocks per game. In all, four of Minnesota’s top six scorers are in their first year at Minnesota.

Series History: Nebraska and Minnesota will meet for the 79th time on Monday, which is the most between the Huskers and any other Big Ten member.  It is NU’s longest-running series in the Big Ten, dating back to February of 1902. The Gophers lead the all-time series, 56-22, while the Huskers have won seven of the past 11 meetings. In all, 12 of the last 13 meetings have been won by the home team dating back to 2012.  Nebraska is 7-7 against the Golden Gophers as Big Ten members. Prior to joining the Big Ten in 2011-12, NU and Minnesota met in non-conference action every year from 1995 until 2004 after not playing for 16 years.

Last Meeting: Minnesota made a season-high 18 3-pointers and shot 56.9 percent from the field in posting a 107-75 victory on March 8. Haanif Cheatham scored 17 points and junior guard Jervay Green added 15 to pace Nebraska, which played with only seven scholarship players available. Nebraska shot 37.8 percent from the field and a season-high 82.4 percent on free throws. Gabe Kalscheur tied his career high with 26 points to lead Minnesota and finished with a career-high eight 3-pointers. As a team, the Gophers were 18-of-35 on 3-pointers, or 51.4 percent, and surpassed their previous season high of 14 made 3-pointers against Northwestern.

LAST TIME OUT
Playing its first game in nearly a month, Nebraska battled for 40 minutes before falling 66-56 Saturday night in East Lansing.  The Huskers were done in by cold shooting, hitting just 36 percent on the evening, including 25 percent in falling behind 34-22 at the break.

The Spartans scored the first seven points, only to see the Huskers respond with a 12-4 spurt to take a one-point lead at 12-11. MSU took control late in the first half with an 11-1 run that turned a 16-16 tie into a 27-17 Spartan lead. The Huskers used a 9-2 run to cut a 14-point to 46-37 after a Dalano Banton basket with 8:53 remaining. NU, which led the Spartans to 33 percent shooting in the second half, stayed within striking distance before Michigan State put the game away at the foul line in the final minute.

Trey McGowens led the Huskers with 13 points, while Lat Mayen added 10 markers. MSU’s Joshua Langford led all scorers with 18 while Aaron Henry finished with 16 for the Spartans, who improved to 9-7 overall and snapped a three-game losing streak.

STORYLINES
• Nebraska Head Coach Fred Hoiberg returns to Minneapolis, where he spent two seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves (2003-05) before joining the Timberwolves front office for five seasons (2005-10). Hoiberg helped the Timberwolves to 58 wins and the Western Conference Finals in 2003-04 and led the NBA in 3-point shooting during his final season. In addition, NU Assistant Coach Matt Abdelmassih worked under Hoiberg in the Timberwolves’ front office for two years (2008-10).

• Nebraska’s Shamiel Stevenson and Minnesota’s Marcus Carr were teammates at Pittsburgh during the 2017-18 season. In fact, three of the top four scorers from that team are now at Big Ten schools (Parker Stewart, Indiana).

• Monday’s game is the Huskers second game after a nearly month-long pause because of positive COVID-19 cases. Prior to Saturday’s game at Michigan State, NU’s last game was Jan. 10. NU is currently scheduled to play three games in six days (at MSU, at Minn., vs. Wis.).

• Monday’s game is the back end of a two-game road swing, marking the Huskers’ first extended conference road trip since the 2017-18 season (at Ohio State, at Rutgers) and just the second time since joining the Big Ten prior to the 2011-12 campaign.

• Nebraska has won once in Williams Arena in the Big Ten era, a 91-85 victory on Feb. 6, 2018.

• Teddy Allen is one of only four newcomers among power conference players averaging at least 17.0 points per game as of Feb. 7. Allen is currently sixth in the Big Ten at 17.2 points per game, including 19.6 ppg in NU’s five games against ranked opponents. His scoring average is on pace to be one of the highest scoring averages by a first-year Husker. The current mark is 18.1 points per game by All-Big Ten performer Terran Petteway in 2013-14.

Highest Scoring NU Newcomers
No.        Player   PPG       Year
1.           Terran Petteway              18.1       2013-14
–             Teddy Allen        17.2       2020-21
2.           James Palmer Jr.             17.2       2017-18
3.           Andrew White III             16.6       2015-16

• The Big Ten had 10 teams in the top 50 of the NET rankings on Feb. 7, including four in the top 10. No other power conference had more than 7. The Big Ten also had seven of the 20 Wooden Award™ Late Season Top 20 players released last week, as no other conference has more than three.

• Nebraska enters the week ranked fifth in the Big Ten with 8.7 3-pointers per game, which is on pace to be the second-highest total in school history. It is not surprising that Nebraska has relied on its 3-point shooting in Hoiberg’s tenure, as his Iowa State teams led the Big 12 in 3-pointers in four of his five seasons at the school.

The Huskers have struggled from beyond the arc, shooting just 31.3 percent from 3-point range entering Monday’s game. During his five seasons at Iowa State (2010-11 to 2014-14), the Cyclones shot at least 36 percent from the line in each season.

Most 3-Pointers/Game in School History
No.        School  Games  3-Pointers/Game
1.           2001-02              28          9.54
–             2019-20              12          8.23
2.           2019-20              32          7.90
3.           2006-07              31          7.87
4.           2018-19              36          7.50

• Trevor Lakes enters Monday’s game at Minnesota needing one point to reach 1,000 for his college career. He would become the second current Husker with at least 1,000 career points, joining grad transfer Kobe Webster (1,514). Junior guard Trey McGowens is now just 87 points from 1,000 for his collegiate career.