Huskers Host Chadron State in Exhibition Opener

The Nebraska men’s basketball team takes the Pinnacle Bank Arena court for the first time in 2022-23 on Sunday afternoon, as the Huskers host Chadron State in the first of two exhibition games this year. Tipoff from Pinnacle Bank Arena between the Huskers and Eagles is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be carried online on B1G Plus (subscription required). Tickets are available for the matchup 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 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. 

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. Walker 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 51 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.
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’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. 

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 CHADRON STATE

Chadron State visits Lincoln for its lone exhibition of the season Sunday afternoon. The Eagles begin their 2022-23 season on Nov. 11 at Texas A&M International. Last year, CSC went 10-17, including a 6-13 finish in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

Shane Paben begins his third season in charge of the Eagles’ program after spending 11 years at Bellevue University. He guided the Bruins to 10 straight trips to the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament, including Fab Four appearances in 2010 and 2017. At Chadron State, he guided the school to the RMAC Tournament in 2021 and its best conference finish in a decade. 

The Eagles have revamped their roster with only four returnees, including three that saw playing time last season. The group is led by senior point guard Marcus Jefferson, who averaged 12.7 points per game and dished out a team-high 97 assists in 27 games.  Porter Anderson started 20 games for the Eagles and averaged 8.9 points on 61 percent shooting and 4.0 rebounds per game, while Gage Delimont, who is from Ainsworth, Neb., played in 18 games off the bench last year. The only other Nebraska native on the 2022-23 roster is junior guard Conner McCracken who is from Scottsbluff.

NEBRASKA EXHIBITION HISTORY

Nebraska is 61-6 all-time in exhibition games dating back to the 1966-67 season and has won its last 19 exhibition games since a 54-50 loss to SIU-Edwardsville in 2006.  In all, NU has won 30 of its last 31 exhibition games dating back to 2001.

• The Huskers are 17-0 against in-state teams in exhibition games dating back to the 2001-02 season, including a 2-0 mark against Chadron State (98-45 in 2016-17; 85-54 in 2008-09).
• Nebraska’s game at Colorado on Oct. 30 will be the Huskers’ first road exhibition game since playing a charity exhibition game at Mississippi State during the 2017-18 season. 

HUSKERS-BUFFS BATTLE FOR A GOOD CAUSE
For the second straight season, longtime conference rivals Nebraska and Colorado will square off for a good cause, as the two schools will play a charity exhibition on Sunday, Oct. 30. Tipoff from the CU Events Center is set for 5 p.m. (central) and tickets can be purchased from Cubuffs.com.

• Ticket proceeds from the game will go directly to the Boulder County Wildfire Fund which is being distributed through Boulder County’s Navigating Disaster for Boulder County program.  
• Last season, Nebraska won the matchup, 82-67, with proceeds benefiting several Lincoln-area organizations affected by COVID-19. 
• Nebraska also played in a charity exhibition at Mississippi State during the 2017-18 season.

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.

NU Single-Season Field Goal Leaders

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. 

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. 

JERSEYS FEATURE GRADUATE PATCHES

For the second straight year, Nebraska’s jerseys will feature graduate patches for the student-athletes who have already received their undergradudate degrees. Nebraska will have three college graduates on its 2022-23 roster in Derrick Walker, Sam Griesel and Emmanual Bandoumel. Walker, who graduated in May of 2021, is in his fourth season at Nebraska while Griesel (North Dakota State) and Bandoumel (SMU) both received their undergraduate degrees in May of 2022. 

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. 
• In all, 24 former Huskers are playing professionally around the world, including nine players from Hoiberg’s three Husker teams. 

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.

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. Full-season packages start at $120 and feature 15 games, including all 10 Big Ten matchups. 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.).

SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM

Nebraska has enjoyed success in the classroom under Fred Hoiberg. Over the past three years, NU has had nine players earn Academic All-Big Ten honors, including four in each of the past two years. 

Four members of the 2021-22 squad (Trevor Lakes, Lat Mayen, Chris McGraw and Kobe Webster) received either undergraduate or graduate degrees. In addition, Shamiel Stevenson, who played at NU in Hoiberg’s first two seasons, finished his degree while playing overseas.