Huskers Resume Rivalry with K-State

The Husker men’s basketball team resumes one of its oldest rivalries on Sunday afternoon, as Nebraska hosts Kansas State at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tipoff for the first matchup between the programs since 2011 is set for 5 p.m. (central) and the matchup will be televised on BTN and carried on the Huskers Radio Network.  It is part of a doubleheader at PBA on Sunday, as the Husker women will host Drake at Noon. Tickets for both contests are available by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets, calling the NU Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED and at the Pinnacle Bank Arena box office beginning 90 minutes prior to tipoff.

Sunday’s game with the Wildcats is the start of a three-year series with future matchups set for both 2022 (Manhattan) and 2023 (Kansas City). The series was originally set to begin last year in Kansas City, but was delayed one year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

The Huskers (5-6) have been off for final exams since a 99-68 loss against No. 18 Auburn in Atlanta on Dec. 11. That day, the Huskers ran into a red-hot Tiger squad that shot 51 percent from the field and went 14-of-31 from 3-point range. Auburn forced NU into a season-high 20 turnovers and turned them into 30 points. NU entered the contest in the top-20 nationally in turnover rate, but struggled against the Tigers’ pressure.

For Nebraska, C.J. Wilcher came off the bench for a career-high 17 points, including 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range in a losing effort. His four 3-pointers were a career high and the fifth time this season the second-year freshman hit multiple 3-pointers in a game.  On the season, Wilcher, who played at Xavier last season, is fifth on the team in scoring at 7.5 points per game and is also second on the squad with 17 3-pointers.

Kansas State (6-3) comes to Lincoln after an 82-64 win over Green Bay on Dec. 12. Markquis Nowell led three Wildcats in double figures with 22 points and eight assists, as KSU shot 62 percent in the first half in building a 46-30 halftime lead. Ismael Massoud added 17 points, while Mark Smith had 14 points and 10 boards for Kansas State, which shot 55 percent and had just eight turnovers.

 

Numbers to Know

2 – Alonzo Verge Jr. is the only Big Ten player with multiple 10+ assist games this season and is tied for eighth nationally with double-digit assists performances. Only Kentucky’s Sahvir Wheeler (3) has more double-digit assist games among power conference players.

6 – Derrick Walker’s double-double (10 points/10 rebounds) against No. 18 Auburn was the sixth double-double by a Husker in the first 11 games this season. Last year, NU had just two in 27 contests.

.804 – Derrick Walker’s field goal percentage, which is on pace to shatter the school record (min 5 att./gm) of .672 by Larry Cox in 1975-76. Only six Huskers have ever posted a field goal percentage of .600 or better while reaching the minimum field goal attempts.

 

About Kansas State

The Wildcats make the 135-mile trip to Pinnacle Bank Arena for the first time on Sunday. Kansas State comes into the matchup with a 6-3 record following a win over Green Bay on Sunday. The Wildcats’ best win in non-conference play was a 65-59 win at Wichita State, while their three losses have been neutral-site losses to Illinois and Arkansas as well as a one-point loss to Marquette on Dec. 8.

Bruce Weber is in his 10th season at the helm of the Wildcat program and has guided Kansas State to five NCAA Tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight finish in 2018-19. Before taking over the Wildcats, Weber coached at Illinois for nine seasons, highlighted by an NCAA runner-up finish in 2005. His last season at Illinois (2011-12) was the Huskers’ first in the Big Ten, as the teams split a pair of games that year.

The Wildcats are a balanced squad with six players averaging more than seven points per game. Nijel Pack is Kansas State’s leading scorer at 14.4 points per game, including 48 percent from 3-point range. Pack had missed a pair of games following a concussion before scoring six points in 14 minutes off the bench against Green Bay. Arkansas Little Rock transfer Markquis Nowell has made a significant impact, averaging 13.2 points per game along with a team-high 4.6 assists per game. Nowell had a season-high 22 points, including four 3-pointers, and eight assists against Green Bay and had 11 points and 11 assists in the loss to Marquette. Mark Smith, who originally began his collegiate career at Arkansas, is the third Wildcat averaging double figures, as he averages 10.0 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game. As a team, K-State is holding teams to 59.7 points per game while holding foes to 38.4 percent shooting. The Wildcats are second nationally in 3-point defense, as teams are shooting just 24.5 percent from beyond the arc.

Kansas State leads the all-time series, 127-93, but the teams have not played since a 61-57 Wildcat victory in Lincoln on Feb. 23, 2011. KSU won the last five meetings in the Big 12 era, as the Huskers will be looking for their first win since a 73-51 win on Jan. 17, 2009.  Nebraska is 60-35 all-time against the Wildcats in Lincoln, as Sunday’s meeting will be the first between the schools since Pinnacle Bank Arena opened in 2013.

Last Time Out

Extended runs in each half powered 18th-ranked Auburn to a 99-68 victory over the Nebraska men’s basketball team at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Dec. 11. The Tigers used a 13-0 run in the first half and a 14-0 spurt in the second half to win their fifth straight game.

The Huskers had an early one-point lead before Auburn took control with an 18-2 run over a six-minute stretch midway through the first half, scoring 13 straight points during the run. The Tigers were on top by 17 following the run, and they led by at least 14 the rest of the way. Auburn continued to pull away by scoring 14 straight points during a 16-1 second-half run that put the Tigers on top by 30 with eight minutes to play.

 Nebraska (5-6), which was playing without three regular players in its rotation due to injury or illness, lost its fourth straight game, all of which have come to Power Conference opponents. Auburn improved to 8-1 with its fourth straight win by at least 15 points.

Four Huskers scored in double figures, while Derrick Walker posted his second career double-double. Walker was 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line, scoring 10 points and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds, while tying his season high with four assists. C.J. Wilcher led the Huskers with a career-high 17 points, as he made six of his nine shots, including 4-of-6 from the 3-point line. Alonzo Verge Jr. scored 10 points, had five rebounds and four assists, while Bryce McGowens added 14 points and was 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. As a team, Nebraska was 15-of-17 from the line.   

Jabari Smith led five Tigers in double figures with a game-high 21 points, while Wendell Green Jr. added 19 points, six rebounds and six assists.

 

 Worth Noting

• Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg and K-State Coach Bruce Weber squared off seven times while Hoiberg was at Iowa State. The Cyclones won four of the seven meetings between the 2012-13 and 2014-15 seasons, as the teams split regular-season meetings all three years with the home team winning each matchup. The other meeting was a 91-85 ISU win at the 2014 Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.

 

• Sunday’s meeting with the Wildcats will be the Huskers’ first matchup against a former Big 12 foe since the 2018-19 season and the second home matchup against an old Big 12 rival since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011-12.

 

• Nebraska is 5-2 at PBA in non-conference play this season and is 51-14 (.785) since Pinnacle Bank Arena opened in 2013.

 

• Nebraska guard Bryce McGowens ranks third nationally among all true freshmen in scoring at 16.2 points per game as of Dec. 15.  McGowens is one of only four true freshmen nationally averaging at least 15 points per game entering this weekend’s games. McGowens, who leads all Big Ten freshmen in scoring and rebounding, is on pace to shatter single-season freshmen marks for the Huskers in both scoring (15.5, Joe McCray, 2004-05) and rebounding (6.3, Yvan Ouedraogo, 2019-20).

 

• Nebraska has produced a total of nine 20-point efforts in the first 11 games of the season (Bryce McGowens-4; Alonzo Verge Jr.-3; Kobe Webster-1; Keisei Tominaga-1). Last season, NU had just 12 20-point efforts in 27 contests. McGowens’ four 20-point games this season already ranks fourth all-time among Husker freshmen and is the most by any NU freshman since Joe McCray had a school-record 10 in 2004-05.

 

• Alonzo Verge Jr. comes into Sunday’s contest with Kansas State as one of four 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. Verge is looking to become the fifth Big Ten player since 2010-11 to average 15 points, five rebounds and five assists per game.

Division I Players Averaging 15 Points, 5 Rebounds and 5 Assists Per Game 

H/T – Sports Reference

• One area where Nebraska has made significant strides from last season is reducing turnovers. Despite the performance against Auburn, the Huskers are currently averaging just 12.0 turnovers per game as of Dec. 15. Last season, NU was last in the conference with 14.1 turnovers per game. The Huskers have jumped from 205th to 33rd in turnover rate, as Fred Hoiberg‘s teams have traditionally been among the nation’s best in that category. Prior to last season, his last three teams ranked in the top 30 nationally in that category.

• Nebraska has been opportunistic on the defensive end, ranking second in the Big Ten by forcing 15.4 turnovers per game as of Dec. 15. NU is third in the conference in steals (7.6 spg) and fourth in turnover margin (+3.3 per game)

• Alonzo Verge Jr. has become more of a playmaker during his time at NU. He is second in the Big Ten with 5.5 assists per game and has a 1.6-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Both numbers are significantly improved from his time at Arizona State. His 11 assists against NC State on Dec. 1 is the highest total by a Big Ten player in 2021-22. Verge is 24th nationally in assists per game as of Dec. 16.

• The Huskers look to break out of a cold spell from 3-point range, as NU is just 17-of-79 (.215) from beyond the arc in the last three contests. That has played a major role in NU averaging just 63.3 points per game in that span after averaging nearly 80 points per game in the first eight outings this season.

• Junior college transfer Keisei Tominaga has been playing much better since a slow start. The 6-foot-2 guard is averaging 10.3 points per game over Nebraska’s last eight games after totaling just 3 points on 1-of-9 shooting in his first three games.

• The return of fifth-year senior Kobe Webster has stabilized the Husker backcourt, especially following the foot injury to Trey McGowens on Nov. 16. Webster, who missed NU’s first two games with an injury, is averaging 7.0 ppg on 41 percent shooting, while also posting a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in 178 minutes.  Webster enters Sunday’s game with K-State needing one point to reach 1,700 for his career.

• 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.

 

Double 25-Point Scorers

 
• 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.
 
Husker Injury Update
Fred Hoiberg announced Dec. 12 that freshman forward Wilhelm Breidenbach will most likely miss the remainder of the 2021-22 season with a leg injury suffered during the second half of Nebraska’s game against Michigan on Dec. 7.  Breidenbach, a 6-foot-10, 227-pound forward from Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., had played in each of Nebraska’s first 10 games, averaging 3.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.

Breidenbach joins starting guard  Trey McGowens, who underwent surgery on Nov. 17 to repair a broken fifth metatarsal in his right foot. He is expected back some time in  January.  McGowens had started all 30 games since transferring to Nebraska prior to the 2020-21 campaign. He ranked second on the team in both scoring (10.7 ppg) and assists (2.3 apg) in 2020-21.

Four OT Thriller at NC State

Nebraska’s four-overtime game at NC State on Dec. 1, was one for the record books. The four OT game matched Nebraska’s school record set in 1979 and was the longest Big Ten game in at least a decade. It tied for the second-longest Division I game in the past 10 seasons, trailing only a five OT game between Louisville and Notre Dame on Feb. 9. 2013.

• It was the longest game in Big Ten/ACC Challenge history, but was one of three OT games in the 2021 challenge. The Big Ten won the challenge, 8-6, with three of the six losses coming in overtime.
• It marked only the eighth time in school history where both teams scored over 100 points.
• The 100 points NU scored marked the 44th 100-point game in school history, but only the fifth time that NU scored 100 points and lost.
• Nebraska had a pair of double-doubles from Alonzo Verge (25 points/11 assists) and Derrick Walker (12 points, 13 rebounds). Verge (assists) and Walker (rebounds) both set personal bests on their way to double-doubles

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 against Creighton on Nov. 16, but is expected back in January.  The 2021-22 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 11th in the Big Ten in scoring at 16.2 ppg while grabbing a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game as of Dec. 4. 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 (Nov. 15, Nov. 29), he leads all conference rookies in scoring and rebounding
• He became only the second Husker in the Big Ten era to be a two-time conference freshman of the week, joining Shavon Shields in 2012-13.
• Bryce is the only Big Ten freshman who leads his team in both scoring and rebounding.
• McGowens has reached double figures in scoring seven 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 9.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 80 percent from the field.

Walker is playing the best basketball of his career over the last eight games dating back to Nov. 19, averaging 11.1 points on 86 percent shooting and 6.1 rebounds per game. 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 recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds at NC State on Dec. 1.  Against No. 18 Auburn, Walker posted his second double-double and filled the stat sheet with 10 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals.

 

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 16.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game. The 6-foot-4 guard from Chicago is second in the Big Ten in assists, 12th in scoring and  in steals as of Dec. 16.

• He has a 1.58-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio after posting a 1.29-to-1 ratio in his two seasons at Arizona State.
• Verge is sixth in the Big Ten with three double-doubles (vs. W. Illinois, vs. Tennessee State and at NC State).
• He is one of four 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. 15.
• 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.

 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. 

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 Wilhelm 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 played in all 11 games, averaging 7.7 points per game while leading NU with 19 3-pointers. Breidenbach was Nebraska’s top frontcourt reserve before suffering a likely season-ending injury against Michigan on Dec. 7. He played in NU’s first 10 games and averaged 3.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.

 

Up-Tempo Basketball

One trait of any 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 two seasons, ranking 16th nationally by KenPom in 2019-20 and 35th in 2020-21. NU has been the only Big Ten team to rank in the top-50 nationally in each of the past two seasons.

In seven full seasons as a college head coach (five at Iowa State and two at NU), Hoiberg’s teams have ranked in the top-50 in tempo five times, including three 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.

 

 
All in the Family
Several members of the 2021-22 Huskers have family members who have played basketball at the college or professional levels. The list is led by former NBA players Eric Piatkowski, who spent 14 years in the NBA after scoring nearly 2,000 career points at Nebraska, and Fred Hoiberg, who played in the NBA for a decade after a standout career at Iowa State. Keisei Tominaga’s father didn’t play college basketball, but was a center on the Japanese national team at the 1998 FIBA World Championship and played professionally in Japan for a decade.
 

An Olympic Effort by Tominaga
Nebraska’s 2021-22 roster features an Olympian, as Keisei Tominaga played for his native Japan in 3×3 basketball during the Tokyo Olympics. Tominaga, the youngest player in the eight-team field, helped Japan reach the medal round and 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. 

Tominaga became the third Husker basketball player to play in the Olympics, joining Aleks Maric (2012, Australia) and Ade Dagunduro (2012, Nigeria).

NBA Coaches Go Back to School

Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg is one of nine active NCAA coaches to have coached in the NBA, as he spent three-plus seasons with the Chicago Bulls. Hoiberg’s 270 regular-season NBA games rank third among the 10 former NBA coaches in the collegiate ranks.

 

 
It is Academic For Webster
Kobe Webster became the latest Husker men’s basketball player to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, as he was a third-team selection in May of 2021. Webster, who graduated from Western Illinois in 2020, has a 3.75 GPA while working on his master’s degree in educational administration.

Webster was the first Husker men’s basketball player to be honored since Shavon Shields in 2015 and 2016.  NU Head Coach Fred Hoiberg was a two-time Academic All-American at Iowa State (1994 and 1995) and was inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame in 2016. Entering the 2021-22 school year, Nebraska leads all NCAA Division I schools with 347 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.