Huskers Look for Road Win at Northwestern

The Nebraska men’s basketball team begins the final stretch of the regular season on Tuesday night, as the Huskers travel to Evanston to take on the Northwestern Wildcats. Tipoff from Welsh-Ryan Arena set for 7 p.m. (central) and will be carried on BTN and the Huskers Radio Network. Tuesday’s game starts a stretch where the Huskers will play four of their final five games away from home, including each of the final three games following Friday’s home finale against No. 25 Iowa.

The Huskers (7-19, 1-14 Big Ten) come off a disappointing 90-74 loss to Maryland on Friday night. The Huskers trailed 42-40 at the break, but the Terrapins opened the second half with a 12-3 run to build a double-figure lead. NU eventually trimmed a 20-point deficit to 82-72 with 2:25 left and had three chances to cut the margin to single figures, but went cold down the stretch. Maryland shot 59 percent in the second half and turned 12 Husker turnovers on the night into 21 points, while NU forced just four Terp miscues.

 

Freshman Bryce McGowens continued to make his case for Big Ten Freshman of the Year accolades finishing with a game-high 25 points against Maryland, including 14-of-15 from the foul line, to pace three Huskers in double figures. It marked his ninth 20-point game of the year, including his fourth with at least 25 points.  In addition to McGowens, Alonzo Verge. Jr. had 14 points and five assists while C.J. Wilcher finished with 10 points off the bench, as NU shot just 40 percent, including 5-of-17 from 3-point range.

McGowens, who ranks among the Big Ten scoring leaders at 16.8 points per game, comes into Tuesday’s game at Northwestern needing just seven points to tie Dave Hoppen’s freshman school mark of 445 points set in 1982-83. 

Northwestern (12-13, 5-11 Big Ten) looks to snap a three-game losing streak following a 77-60 loss at Minnesota on Saturday. In that game, the Gophers shot 55.8 percent from the floor, including 11-of-23 from 3-point range. Northwestern trimmed a 21-point deficit to 47-40 with 15 minutes remaining, but Minnesota used a 16-2 spurt to put the game out of reach. Pete Nance led Northwestern with 18 points. Nance (14.9 ppg) and Boo Buie (15.0 ppg) combine for nearly 30 points a game for the Wildcats.

About Northwestern

Chris Collins is in his ninth season in charge at Northwestern, and the Wildcats have battled in nearly every conference game this season. Northwestern is 12-13 on the season, including a 5-11 mark in conference play. The Wildcats have been streaky over the last month with a three-game win streak surrounded by losing streaks of four and three games. The Wildcats are 2-6 at home in Big Ten play with the wins coming in overtime against Rutgers and against Indiana, while all eight of their home games have been decided by eight points or less. 

The Wildcats, who returned four starters and 10 letterwinners from last season, feature a trio of double-figure scorers. Pete Nance leads Northwestern in scoring (15.0 ppg), rebounding (6.4 rpg) and blocked shots (1.1 bpg), while shooting over 41 percent from 3-point range. Boo Buie averages 15.0 points per game and is fourth in the Big Ten with 4.5 assists per game. Chase Audige is the third Wildcat in double figures as he averages 10.5 points and 1.8 steals per game. Northwestern commits just 9.7 turnovers per game and is second in the Big Ten with a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Series History: Nebraska and Northwestern meet for the 20th time on Tuesday, as the Wildcats lead 10-9. Nebraska is 6-9 against Northwestern since joining the Big Ten in 2011-12 with the Wildcats winning the last four meetings. Prior to Northwestern’s win on Feb. 5, the last three matchups have been decided by a total of 11 points. 

Last meeting: C.J. Wilcher had 15 points off the bench, but Nebraska was unable to slow down Northwestern in an 87-63 loss on Feb. 5. Wilcher hit 6-of-10 shots from the floor, including a trio of 3-pointers, but the visitors made nine straight shots during a 25-8 first-half run to overcome an early deficit. Nebraska trailed 14-13 after Wilcher’s second 3-pointer, but the Wildcats responded with 12 unanswered points, including five from Ryan Greer, to take a 13-point lead and force a Husker timeout. 

The Wildcats hit 10 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes and shot 46 percent from the floor in opening up a 49-27 halftime lead. Boo Buie had 16 of his game-high 27 points in the first half, including four 3-pointers before the break. Chase Audige added 16 while Ryan Young chipped in 12 off the bench for the Wildcats, who shot 49 percent from the field, including 13-of-31 from long distance. Bryce McGowens was the only other Husker to finish in double figures, as he had 10 points.

Worth Noting

• Bryce McGowens enters the final two weeks of the regular season among Big Ten freshman leaders. The 6-foot-7 guard leads all Big Ten freshmen in scoring at 16.8 points per game and is second among rookies in rebounding at 5.2 rebounds per game. McGowens is the only Big Ten freshmen averaging at least 10 points and five rebounds per game.

• McGowens 16.8 ppg is on pace to be one of the highest scoring freshmen averages by a Big Ten freshman in recent seasons. His average is the highest since Michigan State’s Miles Bridges in 2016-17. Over the last three decades, only seven Big Ten freshmen have averaged at least 15.5 ppg over the course of a season. McGowens is also averaging 16.7 ppg in Big Ten play which is the highest average by any Big Ten freshman since the 2016-17 campaign.

• A couple of Huskers players have ties to the Chicago area, as Alonzo Verge Jr. played his senior year at Thornton High School, where he was the Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year in 2017. Keon Edwards spent the 2020-21 season at DePaul before transferring to Nebraska. 

• Nebraska Head Coach Fred Hoiberg returns to Chicago after playing and coaching with the Chicago Bulls. Hoiberg played four seasons with the Chicago Bulls (1999-03) before returning to Chicago to coach the Bulls for three-plus seasons (2015-18), guiding the Bulls to the NBA Playoffs in 2017.

• Husker Assistant Coach Armon Gates spent five seasons (2013-18) on the Northwestern staff as an assistant coach, while assistant coach Nate Loenser was on the Bulls staff as an assistant coach (2017-20) and video coordinator (2015-16) and also coached the Windy City Bulls in the NBA G League (2016-17).

• Alonzo Verge Jr. enters the week needing only eight assists to move into NU’s single-season top-10 list, as Cookie Belcher (1998-99, 138) currently holds the No. 10 spot. Verge, who dished out five assists against Maryland, has 130 assists on the season, which is third among Big Ten players. Verge is one of three Big Ten players currently averaging at least five assists per game, while Northwestern’s Boo Buie is fourth at 4.5 assists per game.

• Since changing the offense in late December, the Huskers have improved their offensive numbers. NU is shooting nearly 45 percent from the field and over 37 percent from 3-point range over the last 14 contests dating back to Dec. 22.  As a team, the Huskers have shot 45 percent or better in eight of the last 12 games dating back to Jan. 8.

• Bryce McGowens ranks second nationally among all true freshmen in scoring at 16.5 points per game as of Feb. 20. McGowens is one of only six freshmen nationally averaging at least 15 points per game.

McGowens, who leads all Big Ten freshmen in scoring and is second in rebounding, is on track to break NU’s freshman single-season scoring mark (15.5, Joe McCray, 2004-05). Only six Husker freshmen in school history finished the season averaging double figures, the most recent was Ryan Anderson in 2006-07. 

• Bryce McGowens has nine 20-point games this season and is one away from matching Joe McCray’s school freshman mark of 10 set in 2004-05. Earlier this season, McGowens became the first Husker freshman to have four straight 20-point games, accomplishing the feat between Jan. 17-Feb. 1. That broke the previous mark of three set by Dave Hoppen during the 1982-83 season.  McGowens’ nine 20-point games this season leads all Big Ten freshmen – Ohio State’s Malaki Branham is second with four – and is seventh among all conference players as of Feb. 20.

• While McGowens is putting up a record-setting season, second-year freshman C.J. Wilcher is quietly putting up a solid campaign as NU’s sixth man. The 6-foot-5 guard is fourth on the team in scoring at 7.9 points per game, while hitting a team-high 42 3-pointers. Since NU revamped its offense in late December, Wilcher has found his stride, shooting 47 percent from the floor, including 45 percent from 3-point range. 

• Nebraska has a total of 16 20-point efforts this season (Bryce McGowens-9; Alonzo Verge Jr.-5; Kobe Webster-1; Keisei Tominaga-1) which already exceeds NU’s season total last year (12). 

• While Derrick Walker is threatening the single-season school field goal percentage mark, he has also made significant strides from the foul line. A career 38 percent shooter from the foul line entering the season, he has jumped up to 69.6 percent this season. 

• Nebraska players have combined for eight double-doubles (Verge-4; Walker-3; B. McGowens-1) in 2021-22 after just having three in 2020-21. The last time NU had 10 double-doubles as a team in a season was 2007-08 (17). In all, NU has six players who have had at least one double-double in their respective careers (Trevor Lakes-2; Kobe Webster-1; Lat Mayen-1).

• Alonzo Verge Jr.’s 16-point, 12-assist performance against Kennesaw State on Dec. 22 marked the eighth points-assist double-double by a Husker in Fred Hoiberg‘s two-plus seasons at Nebraska (Cam Mack-4; Dalano Banton-1; Alonzo Verge Jr.-3). Over the previous 30 years (1989-90 to 2018-19), it occurred just five times. Verge is only the second Husker to have multiple points-assists double-doubles in the same season since 1990.

• Alonzo Verge Jr. has become more of a playmaker during his time at NU. He is second in the Big Ten with 5.2 assists per game after averaging 2.9 assists per game during his two-year career at Arizona State.  Verge has three games with 10+ assists this season and currently ranks 27th nationally in assists per game as of Feb. 20. Hoiberg has coached five other guards who have ranked in the top 40 nationally in assists in his seven previous college seasons. 

• Nebraska added a player over the break as Denim Dawson enrolled for the start of the spring semester. Dawson is a 6-foot-6 wing who attended Southern California Academy as a postgrad. He played at Orange Lutheran in 2020-21, averaging 16 points and five rebounds per game as the school reached the California Division 2AA CIF-SS quarterfinals last spring. Dawson, who started practicing on Dec. 29, is expected to redshirt this season.

• Nebraska’s 2021-22 roster features a trio of college graduates in Derrick Walker, Alonzo Verge Jr. and Kobe Webster, and there is a patch on the Husker jersey to recognize that accomplishment. 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. 

• Bryce McGowens has been a six-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week this season. He became the eighth Big Ten Freshman to receive at least six honors in a season since the freshman weekly award started in 2010-11. Prior to this season, no Husker had won the award more than twice (Shavon Shields, 2012-13.)

Last Time Out

Freshman Bryce McGowens finished with a game-high 25 points, but Maryland used a 12-3 run to open the second half on its way to a 90-74 victory Friday evening. 

McGowens posted his ninth 20-point game of the season, including 14-of-15 from the foul line, but Maryland shot 59 percent in the second half in breaking a five-game losing streak.  Fatts Russell had 23 points, respectively, as Maryland (12-14, 4-11 Big Ten) put six players in double figures and shot 52.5 percent from the floor. The Terrapins committed just four turnovers, while converting 12 Husker turnovers into 21 points. 

 In addition to McGowens, Alonzo Verge Jr. finished with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists, while C.J. Wilcher had 10 points off the bench for Nebraska.

Webster Earns Academic All-District

Nebraska senior guard Kobe Webster was honored Feb. 17, as he was named to the 2021-22 Academic All-District® Men’s Basketball Team, selected by CoSIDA. Webster was a first-team honoree as he carries a 3.75 GPA while pursuing a masters degree in educational administration. He graduated with a degree in management from Western Illinois in 2020.  

Webster, a third-team Academic All-American in 2021, is a three-time first-team all-district selection (2019, 2021, 2022). He will look to become only the third Husker basketball player to be a two-time Academic All-American, joining Shavon Shields (2015-16) and Beau Reid (1989-91). Webster was one of three Big Ten players recognized, including Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson and Michigan State’s Malik Hall.

“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, especially after adjusting the offensive attack in December.  

The 6-foot-9 center is enjoying his best year in 2021-22, averaging 9.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while shooting nearly 68 percent from the field. 

• Walker has 14 double-figure games, including seven in Big Ten play, after having just four heading into this season. His most recent one was a 14-point, seven-rebound effort at Iowa on Feb. 13.
• He was a major reason why NU defeated Minnesota on Feb.9, finishing with 11 points along with team highs in both rebounds (seven) and blocked shots (two). 
• Walker has played his best against NU’s ranked opponents, averaging 11.6 points on 63 percent shooting, 6.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game in six contests against ranked foes.
• In the Huskers’ loss to No. 25 Illinois on Jan. 11, he finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, while helping to limit Kofi Cockburn to 8-of-18 shooting.
• He turned in a strong performance at No. 10 Michigan State on Jan. 5 with 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting to match his career high in points. 
• Walker tied or set a career best in scoring in three straight games during non-conference action, including 16 points on 7-of-7 shooting against Tennessee State on Nov. 23. 
• He matched a school record with 15 consecutive made field goals from Nov. 21 to Nov. 27.
• Walker has three double-doubles this season, including 12 points and 13 rebounds in a career-high 50 minutes in the four OT loss at NC State. In the loss at No. 18 Auburn, he had 10 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals. Walker’s most recent double-double came against No. 13 Ohio State on Jan. 2 when he had 15 points, 10 rebounds and four steals against the Buckeyes. 

McGowens Brothers Reunited on Court
After a two-month hiatus, the McGowens brothers were reunited on the court on Jan. 17, and back together in the starting lineup since Jan. 29. Before the first three games of the season, the pair had not played together in a competitive environment since they were kids. 

• Bryce is eighth in the Big Ten in scoring at 16.8 ppg while grabbing 5.2 rebounds per game as of Feb. 16. He ranks among the B1G leaders in scoring, free throw percentage and minutes played.
• A six-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, he leads all conference rookies in scoring and is second in rebounding. He is the only Big Ten freshman averaging 10 points and five rebounds per game as of Feb. 20.
• He is the only Husker freshman in either the Big 12 (1996-97 to 2010-11) or Big Ten (2011-12 to present) eras with more than two weekly freshman honors (Shavon Shields, 2012-13). 
• McGowens has reached double figures a team-high 21 times, including nine 20-point efforts. He had a season-high 29 points against Sam Houston (Nov. 12) and Rutgers (Jan. 29). 
• McGowens leads the Big Ten and ranks 12th nationally in free throws made (136) as of Feb. 20. He is one of only two freshmen in the top-50 nationally. 
•  He collected his first career double-double on Nov. 21 against Southern with 18 points and 11 rebounds. 
• Bryce (four) joins Dave Hoppen (five) as the only freshmen to post multiple 25-point games in a season.
• 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 101 of 104 games at the college level for Pittsburgh and Nebraska and scored over 1,000 career points. He has started 37 of the 38 games he has played at Nebraska (all but his return against Indiana on Jan. 17). He is averaging 6.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

• After being on a minute restriction in his first two games, McGowens had a season-high 11 points and seven rebounds against Rutgers on Jan. 29.
• He played his best all-around game against Minnesota on Feb. 9, as he finished with six points, seven rebounds and a season-high five assists in 34 minutes. 
• Considered NU’s best defender, McGowens usually is assigned to the opponent’s top perimeter scorer.  Against No. 11 Wisconsin on Jan. 27, he limited Johnny Davis to a season-low 13 points, including none in the first half and followed up holding Ron Harper Jr. to 1-of-9 shooting on Jan. 29. He limited Minnesota’s Payton Willis to 3-of-8 shooting on Feb. 9.
• Last season, Trey averaged 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, while starting all 27 games. He reached double figures 17 times, including a season-high 20 points against No. 17 Michigan State.
• Trey has ranked among the conference leaders in steals in each of his first three seasons in college. He is one of only two active power conference players who ranked in the top five in steals in each of the past three seasons (Jamari Wheeler, PSU/OSU). 
• In his final season at Pittsburgh (2019-20), he averaged 11.5 ppg, while ranking in the top 15 of the ACC in steals (fourth), assists (3.6, 10th), assist-to-turnover ratio (15th) and minutes played.
• The McGowens brothers are one of 15 brother combos on the same college roster this season.

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 13.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. The 6-foot-4 guard from Chicago ranks among conference leaders in both assists (second) and steals (seventh) as of Feb. 20. 

• He has a 1.51-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio after posting a 1.29-to-1 ratio in his two seasons at Arizona State.
• His 5.20 assists per game would rank fifth in school history, while only four players in school history have averaged at least 5.00 assists in a season. 
• Verge is one of two Big Ten players (also Minnesota’s Payton Willis) with both a points/assist double-double and a points/rebound double-double. 
• Verge posted a 22-point, four-assist, three-steal effort against Minnesota on Feb. 9. He scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half while helping NU shoot 58 percent from the floor after halftime. 
• He nearly collected another double-double with 14 points and nine assists vs. No. 25 Illinois on Jan. 11.
• Verge posted his fourth double-double of the year with 16 points and a career-high 12 assists in the win over Kennesaw State on Dec. 22.
• He had 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.

Keisei for 3
The addition of Keisei Tominaga has helped the Huskers’ 3-point shooting. The 6-foot-2 guard is fifth on the team in scoring at 6.3 points per game while connecting on 36 3-pointers to rank second on the team heading into the Northwestern contest.  He is shooting 35 percent from 3-point range and has also committed just 10 turnovers in 463 minutes this season. Tominaga has posted seven double-figure games this season, including a career-high 23 points against South Dakota on Nov. 27 and 18
points in the win over Kennesaw State on Dec. 22. 

Last summer, Tominaga represented Japan in 3×3 basketball in the Tokyo Olympics, helping Japan reach the medal round. He finished third among all players in scoring (6.9 ppg), fourth in 1-point shooting (74 percent) and seventh in 2-point shooting (36 percent).  He was one of only two active NCAA players to play in the Olympics, joining Virginia’s Francisco Caffaro, who played for Argentina in men’s basketball.  

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.