Huskers Head to Kansas City to Battle Kansas St.

Following a week off for final exams, Nebraska will get another non-conference test Saturday evening, as the Huskers travel to Kansas City for a matchup with the Kansas State Wildcats. Tipoff from the T-Mobile Center is slated for 6 p.m. and the game will be available online on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and on the Huskers Radio Network. The game with Kansas State in KC is the second of a three-year series that includes a trip to Manhattan, Kan., next season.

Nebraska (6-5) looks to bounce back after a heart-breaking 65-62 overtime loss to now No. 1 Purdue on Saturday. Behind 19 points from Keisei Tominaga and a double-double from Derrick Walker (14 points, 10 rebounds), Nebraska erased a 15-point second-half deficit and sent the game into overtime on Tominaga’s 3-pointer with 9.1 seconds left in regulation. NU led 60-59 before Fletcher Loyer’s jumper with 1:30 left in the extra session gave Purdue a lead it would not relinquish.

Nebraska’s defense was the story in the loss, as the Huskers held a Purdue club which was No. 1 nationally in offensive efficiency to 0.99 points per possession and just 39.7 percent shooting from the floor. The Huskers held All-American candidate Zach Edey to 11 points, 12 points below his Big Ten-leading average of 23.2 points per game. On the year, the Huskers have jumped over 110 spots in defensive efficiency compared to last season.

Saturday’s game is a homecoming for Husker super senior Derrick Walker, who hails from Kansas City. Walker leads the Huskers in scoring (15.3 ppg), rebounding (8.8 rpg) and field goal percentage (.692) since returning to action on Nov. 25. Walker posted his team-high third double-double vs. Purdue with 14 points and 10 boards.

Kansas State (9-1) has enjoyed a surprising start under first-year coach Jermone Tang, who took over the program in April. The Wildcats, who are off to their best start in over a decade, bring a three-game win streak to Kansas City following a 98-50 win over Incarnate Word on Sunday. In that game, the Wildcats put seven players in double figures, led Keyontae Johnson’s 18 points. Johnson, who did not play for nearly two years following a heart condition, leads the Wildcats at 17.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.

About Kansas State

The Wildcats will make the 122-mile jaunt from Manhattan to Kansas City for Saturday’s matchup with the Huskers. Jermone Tang is in his first season at Kansas State after spending the last 19 seasons at Baylor, helping the Bears win an NCAA title in 2021. KSU opened the season with six straight wins, including victories over Nevada and LSU in to win the Cayman Islands Classic before suffering a loss to Butler. Since then, the Wildcats have three straight wins and have held all three opponents under 65 points.

The Wildcats feature a pair of double figure scorers in Florida transfer Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell. Johnson was the SEC Preseason Player of the Year in 2020-21 before a heart condition forced him to miss almost two full seasons of action. He leads the Wildcats in scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounding (6.4 rpg) while shooting 59 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range. Newell who averaged 12.4 points and 5.0 assists per game last season, has made a jump and averages 14.1 points and 8.2 assists per game to rank among the national leaders in that category. The Wildcats have five players averaging at least 8.3 points per game.

Series History: Kansas State leads the all-time series, 128-93, and has won six straight dating back to the 2008-09 season. The Huskers will be looking for their first win since a 73-51 win on Jan. 17, 2009. Kansas State is 18-3 all-time against Nebraska in Kansas City, but the two schools have not met in Kansas City since 2001 and never at the T-Mobile Center.

Last season: 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.  Alonzo Verge Jr. had 21 points to lead two Huskers in double figures, while also adding five rebounds, five assists and four steals.  Nijel Pack had 15 points, eight boards and five assists, while Ismael Massoud added 10 markers for Kansas State.

Numbers to Know

.667 – Derrick Walker’s career field goal percentage at Nebraska. He is on track to set NU’s career record in that category. Larry Cox (.625, 1974-76) and Dave Hoppen (.600, 1983-86) are the only two Huskers with career field goal percentages above .600.

2 – Nebraska’s Sam Griesel is one of only two Big Ten players averaging at least 10.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, joining Penn State’s Jalen Pickett.  Only six power conference players have reached those numbers during the 2022-23 season.

8 – Derrick Walker is one of only five players nationally – and four from power conferences – averaging 15.0 points per game, while shooting at least 65 percent from the field this season.

10.3 – Nebraska is allowing its opponents only 10.3 free throw attempts per game. The Huskers have held six of their 11 opponents to 10 free throws or less, including five at Creighton and eight at Indiana. On the other hand, NU is getting to the line an average of 15.6 times per game.

25 – Nebraska’s strength of schedule is 25th nationally and second among Big Ten teams as of Dec. 13, trailing only Michigan State. Saturday’s matchup with Kansas State will be NU’s seventh game against a Quad 1 or 2 opponent in 12 contests.

2018 – Nebraska’s last appearance in the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City when the Huskers went 1-1 in the Hall of Fame Classic. NU downed Missouri State 85-62 before losing to Texas Tech, 70-52. That Red Raider team reached the NCAA title game later that season.

Worth Noting

• While no current Husker has played in the T-Mobile center during their college career, Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg is very familiar with the building from his tenure at Iowa State. His Cyclone teams went 8-4 in the building from 2010-11 to 2014-15, including Big 12 Tournament titles in each of the final two seasons. In 2015, the Cyclones defeated No. 15 Oklahoma in the semifinals and No. 9 Kansas in the championship game.

• Nebraska’s game at Kansas State will mark the Huskers’ sixth Quad 1 game of the season. As of Dec. 13, Nebraska’s five Quad 1 games ties for the national lead with Duke, Gonzaga and South Alabama.  Currently, 17 of the Huskers’ remaining 20 games are either Quad 1 (11) or Quad 2 (8) opponents.

• The Big Ten has a national-best eight teams in the top 50 of the NET as of Dec. 13, two more than the Big 12 and the SEC with six each. The other power conferences have five (Pac 12) or four (ACC and Big East).

• The Big Ten has six teams ranked in the Top 25 this week in either the AP or coaches poll: Purdue (1/1); Indiana (14/16); Illinois (18/19); Maryland (20/17); Wisconsin (22/23); Ohio State (23/21).  In addition, three other teams (Iowa, Michigan State and Rutgers) are receiving votes in at least one poll.

• Derrick Walker’s double-double against Purdue was his third of the season and sixth by a Husker in 2022-23, and all six have been points/rebounds double-doubles. Last year, NU totaled 10 double-doubles in 32 games (6 pts./reb. and 4 pts./asst). Four Huskers (Juwan Gary, Blaise Keita, Sam Griesel and Walker) have posted double-doubles in the first 11 games.

• Nebraska recently finished up a streak of three straight games against top-15 opponents (No. 7 Creighton, No. 14 Indiana and No. 4 Purdue), the first time that has happened for the Huskers since the 2020-21 season.

• Nebraska saw its three-game win streak against ranked opponents snapped in a loss at No. 14 Indiana on Dec. 10. It matched the second-longest streak in school history and was made more impressive that all three games were on the road. It marked the first time in school history that Nebraska had a three-game road win streak vs. ranked teams.

• With more of an emphasis on positional size compared to previous Hoiberg-coached Husker teams, Nebraska has made significant improvement on the defensive end despite breaking in an entirely new starting lineup. The Huskers have held nine of their 11 opponents to 70 points or less and have more than 110 spots in adjusted defense in KenPom compared to last season.  The Huskers have held seven of their 11 opponents to under 1.0 point per possession, including Purdue to a season-low 0.99 points per possession.

• The biggest strides Nebraska has made has been in rebounding. NU is currently eighth in the Big Ten in rebounding margin at +3.5 per game and has been out-rebounded just three times in its first 11 contests. Two of the teams which out-rebounded Nebraska rank in the top 20 nationally in that category (Purdue and St. John’s).  NU is 117th nationally in rebounding margin after ranking 344th last year. The Huskers have four players averaging at least 5.0 rebounds per game entering Saturday’s game at Kansas State.

• Nebraska has been balanced during the early portion of the season. Currently five Huskers are averaging double figures, led by Derrick Walker’s 15.3 points per game, while Juwan Gary is averaging 9.4 points per game.   Since 2000-01, NU has had only four seasons with four players averaging double figures (2019-20, 2018-19, 2013-14, 2005-06). The last time NU had five players finish the season averaging double figures was the 1993-94 season.

• Nebraska has shared the wealth during the first 11 games. The Huskers have had six different players lead the team in scoring and eight players score double figures at least once.

• Nebraska has done an excellent job of not fouling. The Huskers are third nationally in fewest fouls per game (12.5) as of Dec. 13. Only two opponents – Florida State and No. 4 Purdue – have gotten to the line more than Nebraska in the 11 contests.

• The wins by the Husker men (63-53 at No. 7 Creighton) and women (90-67 at No. 20 Maryland) on Dec. 7 marked the first time since March 9, 2014, that both programs beat ranked opponents on the same day.

Walker vs. the Bigs

Over the last three games, Nebraska’s Derrick Walker has battled three of the nation’s top centers in Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner, Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis and Purdue’s Zach Edey. Kalkbrenner was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, while Jackson-Davis and Edey are on the short list for National Player of the Year over the first month of the year. In the three-game stretch, Walker matched the trio’s performance as Nebraska squared off against a trio of teams in the top 15 of the Associated Press poll.

Centers of Attention

Last Time Out
Nebraska overcame a 14-point second-half deficit against No. 4 Purdue, but the Boilermakers held off the Huskers in overtime for a 65-62 victory on Dec. 10.

Purdue led 45-31 with 15 minutes left, before Nebraska sprinted out to a 10-0 run, including seven points from Keisei Tominaga to trim the lead to four at 45-41. NU kept chipping away, tying the score at 56 on a 3-pointer from Tominaga with nine seconds left. NU, which held Purdue to one field goal over the last eight-plus minutes of regulation, got one final stop to send the game to an extra period.

Nebraska took a pair of leads in overtime, the last at 60-59 on a Derrick Walker basket with 1:49 remaining. Purdue would respond as Fletcher Loyer hit a jumper to put Purdue ahead 61-60 with 1:30 left. Loyer led all scorers with 22 points, while NU limited Zach Edey to 11 points, snapping a streak of eight straight 20-point efforts for the 7-foot-4 center. Edey made his presence felt with 17 rebounds and seven blocks.

Nebraska was within 63-62 after Tominaga’s layup with 14 seconds left and looked like it had forced a turnover when Braden Smith lost the ball near midcourt, but the official on the baseline called a foul on C.J. Wilcher with 12 seconds left. Smith then made both free throws to stretch the lead to three. The Huskers had one final chance, but Sam Griesel’s 3-pointer was off the mark, and Purdue escaped with a three-point win.

Three Huskers scored in double-figures as Tominaga led the way for Nebraska with 19 points, including four long balls and the game-tying three. Emmanuel Bandoumel and Walker both added 14 points, the sixth double-digit effort this season for each of them. Walker added 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.

Nebraska held Purdue, which came into the contest leading the nation in offensive efficiency to just 65 points on 39.7 percent shooting and 0.99 points per possession.

Hometown Kid Making Good

Senior Sam Griesel has enjoyed quite the homecoming, averaging 11.7 points, 4.8 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game from his point guard spot in replacing Alonzo Verge Jr., who led the Big Ten in assists per game last season.

Griesel spent the last four seasons at North Dakota State, earning All-Summit League honors in 2021 and 2022 before returning to Lincoln for his senior year. He ranks fifth in the Big Ten in assists per game, while also ranking in the top 25 in both steals (14th) and rebounds (22nd).  The Huskers’ first scholarship recruit from Lincoln since Jake Muhleisen in the early 2000s, Griesel keyed NU’s win at No. 7 Creighton with 18 points – including 13 in the second half – a season-high 12 rebounds and seven assists. Against Maine, Griesel scored a season-high 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds while also chipping in 18 points in the win over Omaha. Griesel’s 22-point effort against Maine in the season opener was one of the highest-scoring debuts by a Husker in the last 50 seasons.

Bandoumel Provides Steady Production for Big Red

Senior grad transfer Emmanuel Bandoumel has been a steadying force on both ends of the court for the Huskers this season. He is one of five Huskers averaging double figures, averaging 10.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while keying the Huskers’ defensive attack.  Bandoumel, who played off the ball for most of his time at SMU, has nearly a 1.3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and matched his career best with six assists against Boston College on Nov. 30. He has reached double figures six times, including each of the last two games. Bandoumel tallied 18 points and five assists in the loss against Memphis on Nov. 15 and had 13 points and five dimes against Oklahoma on Nov. 24. He enjoyed his best game against Omaha with 18 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in NU’s game-opening 11-0 run. His on-ball pressure on opposing guards has helped with NU’s defensive efforts, jumping over 100 spots in KenPom’s defensive rankings. Before joining the Husker program, the Quebec City, Quebec, native was a three-year starter at SMU, averaging double figures in each of the last two years.

Walker Looks to Continue Efficient Shooting

Nebraska has been a much more efficient team since the return of Derrick Walker on Nov. 25. Walker, who missed NU’s first five games, has been a force in the paint, averaging 15.3 points on 69 percent shooting, 8.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. The 6-foot-9 forward was NU’s only returning starter and has posted three double-doubles in his first six games.

• • Walker comes off a 14-point, 10-rebound effort against No. 4 Purdue on Dec. 10, his third double-double of the year and sixth of his career.

• • He has now been in double figures in eight straight games dating back to last season, averaging 15.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in that stretch.  The eight straight games in double figures is Walker’s longest stretch of his career.

• • Walker is one of just eight players nationally as of Dec. 13 averaging at least 15 points and shooting 65 percent from the field in 2022-23.

• • He keyed NU’s win over No. 7 Creighton with a career-high 22 points on 11-of-16 shooting and eight rebounds against Ryan Kalkbrenner, the reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Year. Walker’s efforts helped NU enjoy a 46-16 advantage in points in the paint.

• • Walker posted his first career 20-point game in a win over Florida State on Nov. 27, with 20 points on 10-of-12 shooting and matched his career high with 13 rebounds.

• • He made his 2022-23 debut against Memphis and had 15 points and 12 boards in a loss to the Tigers.

• • Walker averaged 9.5 ppg and 6.0 rpg in 2022, breaking NU’s single-season field goal percentage mark by shooting 68.3 percent from the field.

• • Last 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.

Gary is Huskers’ Junkyard Dog
Nebraka’s improvement in defense and rebounding is directly attributable to the arrival of Alabama transfer Juwan Gary. The 6-foot-6 forward is utilized in a number of ways, evening playing center when the Huskers to a to a small-ball lineup. On the season, he is averaging 9.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and a team-best 1.7 steals per game, ranking fourth in the Big Ten. Gary already has six double-figure efforts this season, after recording eight in 29 games last season. He nearly posted his second double-double of the year with 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting and nine rebounds in the win at No. 7 Creighton on Dec. 4. Gary had 16 points and seven rebounds against Oklahoma on Nov. 24 and a season-high 17 points against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 20. He posted a double-double against Maine with 14 points and 11 boards, while he matched his career high with 11 rebounds in the loss to St. John’s.

Tominaga Continues Strong Play
After a summer with the Japanese National Team, junior Keisei Tominaga continued his strong play this season.  Tominaga, a 6-foot-2 guard, has been a spark off the bench, ranking second on the team in scoring at 11.5 points per game while averaging just over 20 minutes per contest.

• • Tominaga leads the Huskers in both 3-pointers (20) and 3-point percentage (.426)

• • He comes one of his best efforts of the year, a 19-point game, including four 3-pointers, in an overtime loss to Purdue on Dec. 10

• • Tominaga made his first start of the year at No. 14 Indiana on Dec. 7 and had 11 points, two rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes.

• • He enjoyed the best performance of his career in NU’s win over Boston College on Nov. 30. He tied his career high of 23 points on just eight field goal attempts (7-8 FG, 4-5 3PT; 5-5 FT) for his second career 20-point game. He had 17 of his 23 markers in the first half, including 11 straight NU points.

• • Tominaga has reached double figures seven times this season, including a team-high 15 points at St. John’s and a 19-point effort against Maine. In that game, he connected on 7-of-12 shots from the field, including a trio of 3-pointers, and added two rebounds and a blocked shot in 20 minutes.

• • Of Tominaga’s 14 double-figure games at Nebraska, 10 have come off the bench, including his other 23-point game against South Dakota last season.

• • Over the summer, Tominaga was with the Japanese National Team, making 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.

Wilcher Breaks Out
Sophomore C.J. Wilcher was one of the Big Ten’s top scoring sixth men last year and has moved into the starting lineup in 2022-23. The 6-foot-5 guard is averaging 10.4 points per game. He is second on the Huskers with 19 3-pointers this season.

• • Wilcher had a career-high 22-point effort at No. 14 Indiana on Dec. 7, scoring 17 second-half points to keep the Huskers in the game.

• • He scored all 14 of his points in the second half in the win over Boston College on Nov. 30, including a quartet of 3-pointers.

• • Wilcher was efficient in NU’s win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff with 15 points and three assists on just nine shots. Wilcher was 3-of-3 from 3-point range, the second time this season he had at least three 3-pointers.

• • He posted a then-career-high 21 points against Omaha on 8-of-12 shooting, including four 3-pointers. It marked the first 20-point game of his career.

• • Last season, he closed the season playing some of his best basketball, shooting 60 percent from the field, including 50 percent from 3-point range, over NU’s final five games. In Big Ten play last season, he shot a team-best 43.0 percent from beyond the arc.

Making Strides On Defense
Nebraska has been much improved on the defensive end this season, jumping over 100 spots in defensive efficiency despite facing five opponents who rank in the top 50 nationally in offensive efficiency as of Dec. 13.

• • Nebraska has held seven of its 11 opponents to under 1.0 point per possession this year.

• • In the overtime loss to No. 4 Purdue on Dec. 10, Nebraska held the Boilermakers to a season-low 0.99 points per possession. Purdue came into the contest leading in the nation in offensive efficiency (118.0)

• • In NU’s win at No. 7 Creighton, the Huskers limited the Bluejays to 0.73 points per possession, the Huskers’ best performance in a road game in over a decade.

A Change of Pace
One typical trait of a Fred Hoiberg team is to play at a fast pace. The Huskers 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.

1. 1. • The 2022-23 team has been completely different, as NU is 292nd nationally in pace entering this week’s action. NU has had just four games with 70+ possessions in the first 11 contests (St. John’s, Florida State, Creighton and Indiana), and only one of those opponents finished above 1.0 point per possession.

Playing with Pace (Adjusted Tempo per KenPom)

Revamped Husker Coaching Staff
In addition to nine new faces on the Husker roster (six scholarship players and three walk-ons), 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.

Three Huskers on NBA Rosters in 2022-23
Nebraska is well represented on 2022-23 NBA 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.

• • Four members of the 2021-22 team are playing professionally, including Bryce McGowens (NBA), Lat Mayen (Australia), Alonzo Verge Jr. (Poland) and Kobe Webster (Netherlands). Trey McGowens was in camp in the G-League but was cut in November.

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 including last year.  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.

Battle in the Vault Tickets on Sale Now
Campio’s Battle in the Vault takes place next Tuesday, Dec. 20, at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The one-day event features a trio of games, capped by Nebraska’s game against Queens University (8-2) at 6:30 p.m.  The Battle in the Vault is not included in Husker basketball 2022-23 season-ticket packages, but PBA and Campio are running a special promotion throughout this week as fans can buy one ticket and get a second one free by visiting Ticketmaster.com or PinnacleBankArena.com. Tickets are good for all three games that day. The other matchups that day includes No. 17 Mississippi State (9-0) taking on Drake (8-2) at 4 p.m. and Concordia battling Oklahoma Wesleyan at 1 p.m.