Huskers Open B1G Play at Indiana

The Nebraska men’s basketball team has a quick turnaround, as the Huskers travel to Bloomington, Ind., to open Big Ten play against the Indiana Hoosiers this Saturday. Tipoff at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall is slated for 11 a.m. and the matchup will be on B1G Network and on the Husker Sports Radio Network.

The Huskers (5-3) come off a heartbreaking 104-100 quadruple overtime loss at NC State on Wednesday evening. The Huskers had chances to win at the end of regulation and in the final second of each of the first three extra sessions before succumbing in the fourth overtime. The four OT game matches Nebraska’s school record set in 1979, and ties for the second-longest Division I game in the past decade, trailing only a five OT game between Louisville and Notre Dame on Feb. 9. 2013.

 

For the Huskers, Alonzo Verge Jr. nearly posted a triple double with 25 points, a career-high 11 assists and nine rebounds, while Bryce McGowens added 24 points and nine boards in a losing effort. Nebraska held NC State to just 37 percent shooting, but the Wolfpack went 32-43 from the line and got a 39-point, 19-rebound effort from Dereon Seabron to lead four NC State players in double figures.

Nebraska’s offense has been solid over the past five games, as NU is averaging 84.4 ppg on 48 percent shooting in that stretch. One of the biggest reasons has been the play of Derrick Walker, as he is averging 14.0 points on 86 percent shooting and 6.2 rebounds per game in that span. Walker has been in double figures in each of the past five games, culminating with his first career double-double on Wednesday at NC State with 12 points, a career-high 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Prior to this stretch, Walker had reached double figures just four times in his collegiate career.

Indiana (6-1) also looks to bounce back from an overtime setback on Tuesday, as the Hoosiers fell to Syracuse 112-110. Trayce Jackson-Davis led four Hoosiers in double figues with 31 points and 16 rebounds, while Miller Kopp added a career-high 28 points in a losing effort. Indiana shot 55 percent from the field, including 11 3-pointers, while the Orange shot nearly 50 percent and went 27-34 from the foul line.  Jackson-Davis is one of the Big Ten’s top players, as he is in the top three of the Big Ten in scoring (22.0, second) and rebounding (8.9, third).

About Indiana

Indiana is 6-1 on the season following a 112-110 double-overtime loss at Syracuse on Tuesday night. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 31 points and 16 rebounds, while Miller Kopp had 28 points in a losing effort. 

Former Indiana All-American Mike Woodson is in his first season at the helm of the Hoosier program. Woodson returns to his alma mater after coaching in the NBA since 1996. Woodson spent eight-plus seasons as an NBA head coach, guiding the Atlanta (2004-10) and the New York Knicks (2012-2014). He guided his teams to a trio of Eastern Conference semifinal appearances (2009, 2010, 2013) during head coaching tenure.  Woodson was the 1980 Big Ten player of the Year before playing 11 seasons in the NBA.

The Hoosiers have been solid in the early going, averaging 82.1 points per game while shooting 51 percent from the floor, and holding opponents to just 35 percent shooting, including 29 percent from 3-point range. 

Jackson-Davis is one of the Big Ten’s premier players, as he leads IU in scoring (22.0 ppg) on 67 percent shooting, rebounding (8.9 rpg) and blocked shots (3.7 bpg). He is one of three Hoosiers averaging double figures, as Pitt transfer Xavier Johnson is at 10.7 ppg and leads IU with 4.6 assists per game, while Northwestern transfer Miller Kopp is at 10.1 points per game while shooting 39 percent from 3-point range. 

Nebraska and Indiana meet for the 24th time on Saturday and the 15th time since the Huskers joined the Big Ten in 2011-12. Indiana leads the all-time series, 16-7, but the Huskers are 6-8 against the Hoosiers since NU joined the Big Ten (6-7 regular season; 0-1 Big Ten Tournament). Nebraska looks to snap a four-game losing streak to the Hoosiers dating back to the start of the 2019-20 season.

Last Time Out

The Huskers had numerous chances to pick up a road win Wednesday night at NC State, but the Wolfpack rallied on multiple occasions en route to a 104-100 quadruple-overtime win at PNC Arena. The Huskers led by 14 with less than 10 minutes to play in regulation but gave up a game-tying 14-0 run to the Wolfpack. NU also led by one with 16 seconds remaining in regulation and was denied a chance to win as Alonzo Verge Jr. missed a potential game-winning shot as time expired on an attempt where it appeared he was hit on the arm.

After missing a chance to win in the closing seconds of regulation, Nebraska missed another potential game-winning shot in the first overtime. Then in the second overtime, Bryce McGowens went to the line with 2.5 seconds left and the Huskers trailing by one. McGowens calmly sank the first free throw but following an NC State timeout, his second free throw rimmed out. In the third overtime, Nebraska led by two until NC State tied the game with five seconds remaining. The Wolfpack outscored the Huskers 12-8 in the final period to improve to 6-1 on the season.

Nebraska made seven more field goals than NC State – including three more 3-pointers – while shooting 42 percent compared to 37 percent by the Wolfpack. But in a matchup where both teams entered the game averaging 24 free throws per game, NC State shot 27 more free throws than the Huskers, going 32-of-43 at the line to outscore Nebraska (11-of-15) by 21 at the charity stripe.

Verge paced four Huskers in double figures. He posted a double-double with 25 points and 11 assists and nearly missed out on a triple double after grabbing nine rebounds. Derrick Walker Jr. also posted a double-double with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. McGowens added 24 points and nine rebounds, while Keisei Tominaga hit five 3-pointers and scored 16 points.

Dereon Seabron led NC State with 39 points and 19 rebounds. Seabron was 17-of-20 from the free throw line, taking more free throws than the entire Husker team combined. He scored 17 of his 39 points in the overtime periods, including a game-tying free throw with five seconds remaining in regulation, another game-tying free throw with six seconds left in the first overtime and a go-ahead basket with four seconds remaining in the third overtime.

Worth Noting 

• Saturday’s matchup will be the first between former NBA coaches Mike Woodson and Fred Hoiberg, as both spent significant time in the NBA, but their head coaching careers did not overlap. Hoiberg and Woodson are just two of nine former NBA coaches on the Division I sidelines this year. 
• Nebraska opens at Indiana for the second time in three seasons (also 2019-20) and marks the fourth time since the 2014-15 season that Nebraska has opened Big Ten play with Indiana (2014-15, 2016-17, 2019-20).
• Nebraska’s Trey McGowens and Indiana’s Xavier Johnson were teammates at Pitt for two seasons (2018-20).  Johnson originally signed with Nebraska in 2017, but decommitted from the Panthers in the spring of 2018 and eventually signed with Pitt.
• Former Husker assistant coach Kenya Hunter is in his second season on the Indiana staff. Hunter was at Nebraska from 2013 to 2018.
• Bryce McGowens leads all true freshmen nationally in scoring at 18.5 points per game entering the start of Big Ten play. McGowens joins Duke’s Paolo Banchero as the only true freshmen nationally averaging at least 17.0 ppg as of Dec. 1. McGowens leads all Big Ten true freshmen in both scoring and assists (2.0 apg) and ranks second in rebounding (7.1 rpg).
• Nebraska has been opportunistic on the defensive end, ranking second in the Big Ten in turnover margin (+5.7) and third in steals per game (7.9) as of Dec 1.  NU forces a Big Ten high 16.8 turnovers per game and is averaging 22.3 points per game off opponent turnovers.
• One area where Nebraska has made significant strides from last season is reducing turnovers. The Huskers are currently sixth in the Big Ten at 11.1 turnovers per game as of Dec. 1. Last season, NU was last in the conference with 14.1 turnovers per game. The Huskers have jumped from 205th to 27th in turnover rate, as Fred Hoiberg‘s teams have traditionally been among the nation’s best in that category. 
• Nebraska has produced eight 20-point efforts in the first eight games of the season (Bryce McGowens-4; Alonzo Verge Jr.-2; Kobe Webster-1; Keisei Tominaga-1). Last season, NU had 12 in 27 contests. McGowens’ four 20-point games this season already ranks fourth all-time among Husker freshmen. 
• Alonzo Verge Jr. comes into Saturday’s contest as one of six players nationally – and the only Big Ten player – averaging at least 15.0 points, 5.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game. He joins Duke’s Wendell Moore as the only two power conference players at that plateau. 
• Nebraska has gotten great production from its bench over the last six games, as the Husker reserves have averaged 34.4 points per game in that span, compared to just 10.0 ppg in the first two games. NU has received 30-or-more points from its reserves in five of the last six contests. NU has gotten nine double-figure efforts from its bench this season, including a pair of 20-point efforts (Webster-Creighton; Tominaga-USD).
• Nebraska comes into Saturday’s game ranking fifth in the Big Ten in scoring offense at 79.9 points per game despite shooting just 28 percent from 3-point range. NU has made up for it at the foul line, ranking 64th nationally in free throw rate as of Dec. 1. The Huskers are shooting 72.4 percent this season after converting just 63.9 percent in 2020-21. On Wednesday, The Huskers got to the line just 15 times, compared to 43 for NC State.
• Alonzo Verge Jr. has become more of a playmaker during his time at NU. He is second in the Big Ten with 6.3 assists per game and has a 2.3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Both numbers are significantly improved from his time at Arizona State. His 11 assists against NC State are the highest total by a Big Ten player in 2021-22. Verge is 15th nationally in assists per game as of Dec. 1. 
• Alonzo Verge Jr. is tied for second in the Big Ten with three double-doubles. Verge has two points/assist double doubles (25 pts./11 asst. at NC State; 18pts./10 asst. vs. Tennessee State) and a 26-point, 13-rebound effort against Western Illinois. Only Rutgers’ Ron Harper Jr. has more double-doubles than Verge in the Big Ten so far in 2021-22.
• Derrick Walker tied a school record last week, as he connected on 15 straight field goals from Nov. 21-27. He tied the mark originally set by Ade Dagunduro in 2008-09. Walker is shooting 67 percent from the floor in the 24 games he has played at Nebraska since becoming eligible last January.  
• The return of fifth-year senior Kobe Webster has stabilized the Husker backcourt, especially following the injury to Trey McGowens on Nov. 16. Webster is averaging 8.5 ppg on 47 percent shooting, including 41 percent from 3-point range, while also dishing out 12 assists with only two turnovers in 133 minutes.
• Bryce McGowens joined rare company on Nov. 12 against Sam Houston with his 29-point effort. It tied for the second-highest performance by a freshman in school history and was the most since Shavon Shields also had 29 at Penn State in 2013. 
• The season opener against Western Illinois featured two of the highest-scoring debuts by any Husker in the last 50 years. Alonzo Verge Jr. (26) and Bryce McGowens (25) became just the third and fourth Huskers in the last five decades to score 20+ points in a Husker debut.
• The season opener against WIU marked only the third time since 2007 that Nebraska had two players score 25-or-more points in a game. It also marked the fourth time that NU had multiple 20-point scorers in a game in Fred Hoiberg‘s tenure.
• Nebraska’s 2021-22 roster features a trio of college graduates in Derrick Walker, Alonzo Verge Jr. and Kobe Webster. 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.
• Nebraska’s game against NC State marked the longest Big Ten game in the last decade. In fact, only three other Big Ten games had reached triple overtime dating back to the start of the 2011-12 season. 

Twice is Nice for Bryce
Bryce McGowens was honored as the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Week for the second time in three weeks on Monday (Nov. 29). The 6-foot-7 guard averaged 20.0 points on 50 percent shooting, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in helping the Huskers to a perfect 2-0 week. He is the first Husker men’s basketball player to earn multiple weekly freshman honors since Shavon Shields in 2012-13.

Super McGowens Brothers 

The high-flying duo of Trey and Bryce McGowens will be sidelined for a bit, as Trey recovers from a broken foot suffered on Nov. 16. This season marked the first time the brothers were on the same court together since they were kids and provided a number of early highlights. 

• Bryce is fifth in the Big Ten in scoring at 18.5 ppg while grabbing a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game as of Dec. 1. He ranks among the B1G leaders in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, free throw percentage and minutes played. 
• A two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, he leads all conference rookies in both scoring and assists per game (2.0) while ranking second in rebounding. 
• He is the only Big Ten freshman who leads his team in both scoring and rebounding.
• McGowens has reached double figures in scoring six times, including four of 20-point efforts. His most recent 20-point game was a 24-point, nine-rebound effort in the 4OT loss at NC State on Dec. 1. 
• He collected his first career double-double on Nov. 21 against Southern with 18 points and 11 rebounds. McGowens also had four assists and two steals in 31 minutes. 
• McGowens became the first Husker since 2016 to earn Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week accolades on Nov. 15, as he averaged 27.0 ppg on 52 percent shooting in a pair of contests to open the season.
• He is just the second Husker freshman to ever put up multiple 25-point games, as he had 25 in the opener against Western Illinois and 29 in the win over Sam Houston. He joins Dave Hoppen, who accomplished the feat during the 1982-83 season (27 vs. K-State; 25 vs. Iowa State).
• 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 94 of 96 games at the college level for Pittsburgh and Nebraska and scored over 1,000 career points. 
• Trey started the first three games and was averaging 6.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game before suffering his injury midway through the first half against Creighton on Nov. 16. McGowens also drew the opponent’s top perimeter defender and shared point guard duties. He helped limit Sam Houston’s Demarkus Lampley, a returning first-team all-conference performer, to 2-of-14 shooting on Nov. 12.
• Last season, Trey averaged 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assist per game, while starting all 27 games. He reached double figures 17 times in 2020-21, including a season-high 20 points against No. 17 Michigan State.
• The McGowens brothers are one of 15 brother combos on the same college roster this season.

“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.  Walker, who is in his third year at NU, has provided the Huskers a much-needed inside threat since becoming eligible last January. 

The 6-foot-9 center is enjoying a career year in 2021-22, averaging 10.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 79 percent from the field. 

Walker is playing the best basketball of his career over the last four games, averaging 15.0 points while connecting on 30 of his last 35 shots from the floor. He tied or set career highs in three straight games from Nov. 19-23,

culminating in a 16-point effort on 8-of-8 shooting vs. Tennessee State on Nov. 23. Walker comes off his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds at NC State.

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, 5.1 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. The 6-foot-4 guard from Chicago is second in the Big Ten in assists, fifth in steals and eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio as of Dec. 1.

• He has a 2.38-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio after posting a 1.29-to-1 ratio in his two seasons at Arizona State.
• Verge ranks second in the Big Ten with a three double-doubles (vs. Western Illinois; vs. Tennessee State; at NC State). 
• He is one of six Division I players – and one of two power conference performers – averaging at least 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game as of Dec. 1. 
• Verge nearly had a triple-double in the Huskers’ epic game at NC State 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.

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.
• The 95 percent GSR rate is another milestone for a program that has long been a national leader in academic and athletic achievement. Nebraska leads all Division I programs with 347 CoSIDA Academic All- Americans in school history across all sports. Nebraska also leads the nation with 18 NCAA Today’s Top 10 Award winners. 

Husker Recruiting Class Seeing Stars
The Huskers brought one of the nation’s top recruiting classes to campus this fall. The class is ranked as high as 13th by ESPN as well as 18th by 247Sports and 21st by Rivals and is the third-highest ranked class in the Big Ten. 
 Nebraska’s five signees are headlined by five-star Bryce McGowens and four-star recruit Wilheim Breidenbach, both of whom were top-100 recruits. McGowens was a consensus top-25 recruit who played in the Iverson Classic and was selected to the Jordan Brand team. NU rounded out the class with junior college All-American Keisei Tominaga and freshmen Oleg Kojenets and Quaran McPherson.

While McGowens has been one of the Big Ten’s top newcomers, Tominaga and Breidenbach have been significant contributors early on. Tominaga has been one of the Big Ten’s top reserve scorers, averaging 8.3 points per game while shooting 39 percent from 3-point range. Breidenbach as been the Huskers’ top frontcourt reserve and is chipping in 3.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.