Huskers Head to Colorado for Charity Exhibition

The Nebraska men’s basketball team wraps up the exhibition portion of the 2022-23 season this Sunday, Oct. 30, as the Huskers travel to Boulder, Colo., for a matchup with the Colorado Buffaloes. Proceeds from the game, which will tipoff at 5 p.m. (central) at the CU Events Center, will go directly to the Boulder County Wildfire Fund which is being distributed through Boulder County’s Navigating Disaster for Boulder County program. It marks the second straight year that longtime conference rivals have played an exhibition to benefit local charities.

Nebraska comes off an 87-60 win over Chadron State in its exhibition opener on Oct. 23. Nebraska’s trio of Division I transfers all played a key part in the win, combining for 46 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Juwan Gary came off the bench for 23 points and nine rebounds, while Sam Griesel and Emmanuel Bandoumel tallied 14 and nine points, respectively. Nebraska had 12 players crack the scoring column and used second-half runs of 13-2 and 21-0 to put the game away. The Huskers held Chadron State to 38 percent shooting, forced 18 turnovers in the win and recorded nine steals, including three from C.J. Wilcher and two from Bandoumel.

 

Colorado makes its 2022-23 debut on Sunday, as the Buffaloes had a closed scrimmage against Wyoming last weekend. Colorado, which has won 20+ games in each of the past four seasons, replaces their top three scorers from last season, but returns junior forward Tristan da Silva, junior guard Nique Clifford and 2022 All-Pac-12 Freshman team point guard KJ Simpson from a team that went 21-12 and reached the NIT.

Following Sunday’s game, the Huskers will begin preparations for the season opener against Maine on Monday, Nov. 7. Tipoff between the Black Bears and the Huskers is set for 7 p.m. and tickets are available by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets or by calling the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office during business hours (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Mon.-Fri.). It will be the first of two home games during the opening week of the season, as Nebraska plays host to Omaha on Thursday, Nov. 10.

A Quick Look at Nebraska

Fred Hoiberg begins his fourth season at the helm with a veteran-laden team. The Huskers are led by sixth-year senior Derrick Walker, who averaged 9.5 points and a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game. Walker set Nebraska’s single-season field goal percentage record last year, hitting 68.3 percent of his shots from the field. He is also among the Big Ten’s top returning rebounders and shot blockers from last season. NU also returns its top 3-point shooter from a year ago in sophomore C.J. Wilcher. The 6-foot-5 guard led Nebraska with 52 3-pointers and shot over 40 percent from beyond the arc in averaging 8.1 points per game as NU’s sixth man in 2021-22.

NU also returns junior Keisei Tominaga, who started 11 games last year and averaged 5.7 points per game. Tominaga, who was third on the team with 36 3-pointers, spent the summer with the Japanese National Team and averaged more than 15.0 points per game during a pair of tournaments. Sophomore Wilhelm Breidenbach also returns after missing most of last season with a knee injury. A former top-100 recruit, he was the Huskers’ top big man off the bench last year and averaged 3.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game before his injury.

Nebraska’s three Division I transfers – Sam Griesel, Juwan Gary and Emmanual Bandoumel – helped their respective schools to a combined .661 winning percentage and five postseason appearances in their collegiate careers. In addition, junior college transfer Blaise Keita led Coffeyvillle Community College to an NJCAA National title in 2021.

Griesel, a Lincoln native, was a first-team All-Summit League guard and has scored nearly 1,000 points at the Division I level. Bandoumel was a double-figure scorer in each of the last two seasons at SMU and was a three-year starter for the Mustangs. Gary averaged 6.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while making 16 starts for Alabama last season. As a redshirt freshman in 2020-21, he helped the Crimson Tide to an SEC title and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance. Keita averaged 12.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in junior college last season and closed the year with four double-doubles in his final five games.

A trio of redshirts who could find significant playing time include Denim Dawson, who arrived at winter break last season, along with Oleg Kojenets and walk-on Sam Hoiberg. Quaran McPherson, who also redshirted a year ago, was poised to find a spot in the Huskers’ rotation until suffering a season-ending knee injury in August.

Nebraska also adds a pair of freshmen as part of a top-30 recruiting class in Ramel Lloyd Jr. and Jamarques Lawrence. Both players helped their high school teams to national top-20 finishes in 2021-22.

 

Scouting Colorado

Colorado has been one of the most consistent programs in the Pac-12 under Head Coach Tad Boyle, who is in his 13th year at the school. The Buffaloes have won 20-or-more games in each of the past four seasons, including an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021 and NIT appearances in 2019 and 2022.

The Buffs were picked to finish sixth in the media poll for a second straight year after finishing fourth last season with a 12-8 conference record. CU returns a pair of starters and four other players who saw action in at least 18 games a year ago. The returnees are led by Tristan da Silva, a 6-foot-9 forward who is CU’s top returning scorer at 9.4 ppg. A second-team preseason all-Pac 12 honoree, he ranked second on the team in field goal shooting (.479) and free throw percentage (.797), third in assists (61) and fourth in scoring and rebounding (3.5 rpg) in 2021-22. Nique Clifford is the other returning starter as he started 17 games and averaged 6.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Sophomore KJ Simpson earned preseason honorable-mention honors from the media, as he came off the bench and averaged 7.4 points per game while pacing CU in both assists (86) and steals (26).

Series History: Nebraska holds a 77-71 edge in a series which dates back to the 1902-03 season. The teams shared the same conference from 1947-48 to 2010-11. Sunday’s trip will be the Buffaloes’ first to Pinnacle Bank Arena. Boyle and Hoiberg met three times in 2010-11, when Hoiberg was at Iowa State, with Colorado winning two of the three meetings. Both teams won on their home court, while Colorado beat ISU, 77-75 in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.

Last Year vs. Colorado: Bryce McGowens’ 15 points led four Huskers in double figures, as Nebraska posted an impressive 82-67 win over Colorado in a charity exhibition at Pinnacle Bank Arena. McGowens led a balanced attack that saw NU shoot 49 percent from the field, dish out 17 assists and hit 12 3-pointers. Defensively, NU held Colorado to 32 percent shooting and forced 16 turnovers. Derrick Walker Jr. had 12 points and six rebounds, while C.J. Wilcher and Alonzo Verge Jr. added 11 and 10 points respectively. Nebraska shot 58 percent in the first half to build a 44-28 halftime lead. Wilcher keyed a Huskers’ 17-2 first-half spurt with a trio of 3-pointers as Nebraska built a 22-point lead less than 10 minutes into the contest. Nebraska eventually stretched the margin to 67-40 with 11:50 left before the Buffaloes made one last charge. CU used a 17-2 spurt to pull within 69-57 with 05:14 left, but Walker’s basket stemmed the tide before he added two free throws to stretch the lead back to 16 and NU led by double figures the rest of the way.

 

Last Time Out

Juwan Gary had 23 points and nine rebounds off the bench, while Nebraska used a pair of second-half spurts to cruise to an 87-60 win over Chadron State at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Oct. 23.

Gary had 15 of his points in the second half during two decisive runs, including five in a 13-2 run after Chadron State cut Nebraska’s 15-point halftime lead to six in the opening minutes of the second half. Leading 44-38, Gary, along with senior transfers Sam Griesel and Emmanuel Bandoumel scored all 13 points over the next four-plus minutes as the Huskers stretched the lead to 57-40, their largest lead at the time.

 Gary went 9-of-17 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, and had five of the Huskers’ 19 offensive rebounds in under 20 minutes of work. Griesel joined Gary in double figures with 14 points and seven assists, while 13 players cracked the scoring column in the win.

 

Nebraska Exhibition History

Nebraska is 62-6 all-time in exhibition games dating back to the 1966-67 season following Sunday’s win over Chadron State and has won its last 19 exhibition games since a 54-50 loss to SIU-Edwardsville in 2006.  In all, NU has won 31 of its last 32 exhibition games dating back to 2001.

• The Huskers are 18-0 against in-state teams in exhibition games dating back to the 2001-02 season.
• Nebraska’s game at Colorado will be the Huskers’ first road exhibition game since playing a charity exhibition game at Mississippi State during the 2017-18 season. NU won that game 76-72.

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.
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.
 
Adding Experience

 
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 activies 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).
 
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 Preseason poll. The Huskers will face No. 9 Creighton, No. 13 Indiana, No. 22 Michigan and No. 23 Illinois while five other teams (Purdue, Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa, Rutgers) 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.

 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 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.
 
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.
 
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.).