Huskers Return to Action at Michigan State

The Nebraska men’s basketball program returns from a prolonged absence on Saturday night as the Huskers travel to East Lansing, Mich., to take on the Michigan State Spartans. 

Tipoff between the Huskers and Spartans from the Breslin Center is slated for 5:30 p.m. (central) and will be carried on BTN with Lisa Byington and Stephen Bardo on the call. The game can also be streamed via the web, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through the Fox Sports app.

Fans can follow all of the action across the state of Nebraska on the Learfield IMG College Husker Sports Network with Kent Pavelka and Jake Muhleisen on the call. The game will also be available on Huskers.com, the Huskers app and TuneIn radio. The pregame show begins one hour prior to tipoff.

 

Saturday’s game will be the Huskers’ first game in 28 days dating back to an 84-76 loss against Indiana on Jan. 10. The Huskers were on pause because of positive COVID-19 cases before resuming practice at the start of this week. Saturday’s game begins a two-game road swing, as NU will travel to Minnesota on Monday. 

In Nebraska’s last action, the Huskers (4-8, 0-5 Big Ten) overcame an 18-point deficit to take a 69-66 lead midway through the second half and was within 77-75 with less than two minutes remaining before the Hoosiers held on for the win. Nebraska shot 52 percent in the second half against an Indiana defense which was second in the Big Ten in scoring defense coming into the contest. Teddy Allen led five Huskers in double figures with a game-high 21 points, while Lat Mayen added a career-high 15 points, including five 3-pointers, and six rebounds. Mayen has shot the ball well of late, shooting 44 percent from 3-point range over the last three contests. 

Nebraska received a boost with the debut of Derrick Walker, who made his Husker debut after sitting out the first 11 games of the season because of a suspension. Seeing his first action since the 2019 NCAA Tournament at Tennessee, the 6-foot-8 forward tied or set career highs in points (10), field goals (five), steals (two) and minutes (26) in his first career start. 

Michigan State (8-7, 2-7 Big Ten) looks to snap a four-game losing streak following an 84-78 loss at No. 8 Iowa on Tuesday night. Aaron Henry had 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists to pace three Spartans in double figures.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

Trey McGowens has been in double figures in four of the Huskers’ last five games following his 10-point, six-rebound, six-assist performance against Indiana on Jan. 10. McGowens is also shooting a career-best 42 percent from 3-point range.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

5.1 – Assists per game for sophomore Dalano Banton, which is third in the Big Ten as of Feb. 3. He has a 2.3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio following his seven-assist performance in his last outing against Indiana. 

8 – NU has eight 20-point performances on the season (Teddy Allen-6; Trey McGowens-1; Kobe Webster-1). Allen’s six 20-point efforts ranks fifth in the Big Ten.

8.7 – Nebraska’s 3-pointers per game, which is on pace to be the second-highest average in school history. Two of the Huskers’ four best shooting percentages have been in the past two games, including a season-best 47.4 percent against Michigan State on Jan. 2.

10 – Number of seasons where Nebraska has had multiple 100-point games. The 2020-21 campaign is the first time since 1995-96.

16 – Nebraska’s 16 assists vs. Indiana were its best in Big Ten play while the 1.7-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio was NU’s top performance in Big Ten play in its last 21 conference games dating back to Jan. 11, 2020 at Northwestern. 

33 – Nebraska is 33rd nationally in tempo according to KenPom as of Feb. 3. The Huskers are the only Big Ten team in the top 75 nationally and rank eighth among all power conference teams.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE

Under Hall of Fame Coach Tom Izzo, the Spartans have been the flagship program in the Big Ten over the last two-plus decades. The Spartans have made eight Final Fours in the last 22 seasons and were 22-9 before last season was ended by the COVID-19 pandemic.  MSU was playing its best basketball when the season ended, closing Big Ten play with five straight wins to share the regular-season crown with Wisconsin and Maryland at 14-6. 

MSU won its first six games this season, including a 75-69 win at Duke and a 10-point win over Notre Dame, before a slow start in Big Ten play. MSU dropped its first three games before posting wins over Nebraska and Rutgers. The Spartans lost a 15-point halftime lead in a one-point defeat against Purdue before MSU was stopped for 20 days because of a COVID-19 pause. Saturday’s game at Nebraska is MSU’s first home game since returning to action, as the Spartans dropped games at Rutgers, Ohio State and Iowa. 

Aaron Henry leads Michigan State in scoring at 13.9 points per game, while also topping MSU in assists (3.5), blocked shots (1.4) and steals (1.5).  Junior transfer Joey Hauser has been an impact performer in his first season as a Spartan, averaging 11.2 points per game on 49 percent shooting and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game. Six MSU players average at least 5.1 points per game. 

Series History: Michigan State leads the all-time series, 19-9, in a series that dates back to February of 1920. The Huskers are 3-11 against Michigan State since joining the Big Ten, while the Spartans have won the last seven meetings. Since joining the Big Ten, NU has faced a ranked Spartan team in 10 of the 14 meetings. Nebraska has won twice in East Lansing, including a 60-51 win over No. 9 MSU in 2014 and a 72-71 win over the No. 11 Spartans on Jan. 20, 2016.

Last meeting vs. MSU: Nebraska nearly rallied back from a 17-point second-half deficit before falling to No. 17 Michigan State, 84-77, on Jan. 2. The Huskers trailed 52-35 with 17:34 remaining before making a spirited comeback behind the scoring of Teddy Allen, who had 19 of his team-high 23 points in the second half. NU pulled to within 66-61 with 7:32 left and trailed 71-64 after a 3-point play from Trey McGowens at the 4:57 mark, but two straight MSU buckets gave the Spartans an 11-point lead after Josh Langford’s basket with 3:35 remaining. The Huskers eventually cut the margin to five three times in the last 1:12, but the Spartans kept the Huskers at bay to earn their first conference win.

McGowens added 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting and five rebounds, while Kobe Webster was the third Husker in double figures with 10 points.  Michigan State’s Aaron Henry led all scorers with a career-high 27 points.

LAST TIME OUT

Nebraska overcame an 18-point deficit to take a three-point lead with just over seven minutes remaining, but Indiana held on for an 84-76 win over the Huskers on Jan. 10. Teddy Allen led five Huskers in double figures with 21 points, while Lat Mayen chipped in a career-high 15 points, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range.  Nebraska withstood a blistering Hoosier start, as IU hit 11 of its first 15 shots from the floor, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range to build a 31-13 lead. 

The Huskers regrouped, as Shamiel Stevenson keyed an 8-0 spurt to pull NU within 31-21 after Mayen’s third 3-pointer of the half. Indiana eventually pushed the margin to 15 before the Huskers ran off seven straight points, the final two coming off a Derrick Walker layup to make it 42-34 with 2:25 left in the half.  Indiana, which shot 53 percent in the first half, stretched the lead back to 12 with the final four point off the half, the last coming on Trey Galloway’s tip-in to beat the first half buzzer. 

Nebraska roared back in the second half, using a 19-4 surge behind the play of Walker, who had 10 points in his Husker debut, and Trey McGowens, who had 10 points and six assists. The Huskers, who hit 13 of their first 17 shots from the field in the second half, eventually built the lead to 69-66 after a McGowens’ layup with 7:21 remaining capped a streak of seven straight makes for Nebraska. The Hoosiers (8-5, 3-3 Big Ten) would answer back, as Anthony Leal’s 3-pointer would knot the score at 69. With the score tied at 72. Trayce Jackson-Davis took over, scoring six of his 15 points to help Indiana build a 77-72 lead. NU got to within 77-75 on Allen’s 3-pointer with 2:11 left, but could not get closer. 

Rob Phinisee led four Indiana players in double figures with 18 points, including 16 in the first half, while Jackson-Davis posed a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards. 

STORYLINES

• The Huskers will embark on a two-game road swing, as the team will travel to Minnesota following the MSU contest. It will be the first time NU has done that since the 2017-18 season (at Ohio State, at Rutgers) and just the second time since joining the Big Ten prior to the 2011-12 campaign. 

• Nebraska’s game at Michigan State on Saturday will be NU’s first road contest since Dec. 30. NU is 0-3 on the road this season with all three losses coming to nationally ranked teams (Creighton, Wisconsin, Ohio State). 

• Nebraska Head Coach Fred Hoiberg will see a familiar face on the opposite sideline on Saturday, as his son Jack is a junior guard at Michigan State. Jack, the second oldest of Hoiberg’s four kids, has played in eight games this season and was put on scholarship for the 2020-21 campaign.

• After the Ohio State loss on Dec. 30, a point of emphasis has been fixing the Husker’ offensive attack. In the two games since the loss to the Buckeyes, NU averaged 76.5 points per game while making significant strides in its shooting numbers. Against Indiana, the Huskers averaged 1.10 points per possession, as the Hoosiers were in the top 15 nationally in defensive efficiency according to KenPom.

Improving Offense

• Teddy Allen is one of only four newcomers among power conference players averaging at least 17.0 points per game as of Feb. 3. Allen is currently sixth overall in scoring at 18.4 points per game, including 19.6 ppg in NU’s five games against ranked opponents. His scoring average is on track to be the highest ever by a Husker newcomer, as the current mark is 18.1 points per game by All-Big Ten performer Terran Petteway in 2013-14.

Highest Scoring NU Newcomers

• The Big Ten had 11 teams in the top 50 of the NET rankings on Feb. 3, including five in the top 16. No other power conference had more than 7. The Big Ten also had seven of the 20 Wooden Award™ Late Season Top 20 players released last week, as no other conference has more than three. 

• Nebraska enters the weekend ranked third in the Big Ten and 64th nationally with 8.7 3-pointers per game, which is on pace to be the second-highest total in school history. It is not surprising that Nebraska has relied on its 3-point shooting in Hoiberg’s tenure, as his Iowa State teams led the Big 12 in 3-pointers in four of his five seasons at the school. The Huskers have struggled from beyond the arc, shooting just 32.0 percent from 3-point range. During his five seasons at Iowa State (2010-11 to 2014-14), the Cyclones shot at least 36 percent from the line in each season. 

Most 3-Pointers/Game in School History

• Trevor Lakes enters Saturday’s game at Michigan State needing one point to reach 1,000 for his college career. He would become the second current Husker with at least 1,000 career points, joining grad transfer Kobe Webster (1,510). Junior guard Trey McGowens is now just 100 points from 1,000 for his collegiate career. 

NEWCOMERS MAKING AN IMPACT

Nebraska knew it would be relying on newcomers with only three returnees on the 2020-21 roster. In the offseason, the Huskers added four scholarship players with previous Division I experience, as well as Division II transfer Trevor Lakes.

• The group combined for nearly 4,000 points, 1,300 rebounds and 600 assists in their collegiate careers before joining the Husker program.

• The group included multi-year starters Kobe Webster (Western Illinois), Trey McGowens (Pittsburgh) and Trevor Lakes (Indianapolis).  

• The Huskers also gain the services of three players (Dalano Banton, Shamiel Stevenson and Derrick Walker) who all sat out the 2019-20 campaign after transferring to Nebraska. Walker made his debut on Sunday against Indiana. 

• Nebraska’s top five scorers are all newcomers, including three double-figure scorers. In all, nearly 90 percent of the Huskers’ offense and 78 percent of its rebounds have come from players who did not play at Nebraska in 2019-20.

• Teddy Allen leads all Big Ten newcomers in scoring and  steals, while Dalano Banton is second in assists and fourth in scoring, reboundings and steals. Trey McGowens ranks third among Big newcomers in steals. 

• In all, 43 of Nebraska’s 44 double-figure efforts this season have been by players in their first season of competition at NU. Yvan Ouedraogo’s double-double vs. Doane is the Huskers’ only double-figure scoring effort by a returnee in 2020-21.

A UNIQUE POINT GUARD

It is not often that you see a point guard handling jump ball duties, but Dalano Banton is not your typical point guard, and NU coach Fred Hoiberg is finding ways to incorporate Banton’s unique skills.  

The 6-foot-9 sophomore provides a unique focal point to the Huskers’ attack and is averaging 12.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. He comes into the Michigan State game ranking among the Big Ten leaders in assists (third), rebounding (12th), steals (13th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (sixth). 

A former top-100 recruit, Banton has reached double figures in 10 of his 12 outings, including a 15-point, eight-rebound four-assist performance against No. 9 Wisconsin on Dec. 22 and a 17-point effort against No. 19 Michigan on Dec. 25. 

• Banton is on pace to be just the fifth player to average at least 5.0 assists per game over a full season. It has happened just five previous times in school history.

• He is one of nine players nationally and one of two power conference players (Stanford’s Ziaire Williams) with a triple-double this season as of Feb 2. Banton posted his first career triple-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against Doane on Dec. 17. In addition, he nearly posted another triple-double against North Dakota State on Nov. 18 with 12 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. 

• Banton is one of only 10 players nationally – and four from power conferences – averaging at least 12 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game as of Feb. 2. Two of the four are in the Big Ten with Banton and Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu.

Power Conference Players Averaging 12.0 Points, 6.0 Rebounds and 4.5 Assists Per Game  in 2020-21

CBB Reference

BANTON POSTS TRIPLE-DOUBLE

 Prior to Fred Hoiberg taking over the Nebraska basketball program, Nebraska never had a triple-double in a regular-season game, but now has had one in each of the past two seasons following Dalano Banton’s triple-double against Doane on Dec. 17. In fact, the only two triple-doubles in the Big Ten have been by Huskers. Hoiberg has had three players on the college level post a triple double, as Royce White of Iowa State had one in 2012 (10 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists). 

Nebraska Triple-Doubles Under Hoiberg

STEALS = BASKETS
Nebraska’s length on the defensive end has been disruptive during the first half of the campaign. The Huskers enter the Michigan State contest ranked third in the Big Ten with 7.5 steals per game. 
• Nebraska will look to finish among the top three teams in the Big Ten in steals for the third straight year (2019-20, 7.0, second; 2018-19, 7.2, third).
• Teddy Allen (1.8 spg, third), Trey McGowens (1.3 spg, 8th) and Dalano Banton (1.3 spg, 10th) rank among the Big Ten leaders in steals.
• Nebraska had 10+ steals in each of its first three games, marking the first time since the 2016-17 season and just the second time since 2010.

TEDDY BUCKETS

Junior college transfer Teddy Allen has lived up to his billing as an elite scorer in his first season at Nebraska. The 6-foot-6 junior guard leads Nebraska and ranks fifth in the Big Ten in scoring at 18.4 points per game while also chipping in 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game.  

• Allen, who leads all Big Ten newcomers in scoring and steals, is one of only two newcomers listed in the top 10 of the Big Ten in scoring as of Feb. 3.

• He is one of only 11 players nationally – and one of three players from power conferences – averaging at least 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game and has played in at least five games this season. Julian Champaigne (St.John’s) and James Bouknight (UConn) are the other power conference players with those marks. 

• Allen has a team-high six 20-point efforts and is one of six Big Ten players with at least six 20-point games this season.

• He has been in double figures in each of his past 13 games dating back to his NCAA Sweet 16 game at West Virginia in 2018.

• Allen has played well against the Huskers’ toughest opponents, averaging 19.6 ppg in NU’s five games against ranked opponents this season.

• He has nine career 20-point games, including three during his freshman season at West Virginia in 2017-18. 

Allen, who averaged 31.4 points per game at Western Nebraska Community College last season, had 21 points in the Huskers’ loss to Indiana on Jan. 10. Against No. 17 Michigan State, he had 19 of his team-high 23 points in the second half.  He enjoyed his best performance of the season at No. 8 Creighton on Dec. 11, when he totaled D-1 career highs with 26 points and nine rebounds. He also posted 20-point games against No. 19 Michigan (25), North Dakota State (22) and South Dakota (23). 

HUSKERS LOOK TO PUSH PACE

When Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg talks about playing with pace, he means it. His first Nebraska team led the Big Ten and was the only conference program in the top-50 nationally in tempo in 2019-20. It was the highest finish of any Big Ten program in the KenPom database since the site began tracking in 2001-02. 

In six full seasons as a college head coach, his teams have ranked in the top-50 in tempo five times – that matches the entire number of times that a Big Ten program has done it since the 2001-02 campaign. 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. 

Pace Under Hoiberg

FROM COLLEGE TO THE NBA AND BACK AGAIN
Nebraska’s Fred Hoiberg is in an exclusive club, as he was one of just 10 current D-I coaches to coach in both Division I and in the NBA in 2020-21. He spent three-plus seasons with the Chicago Bulls, guiding the Bulls to the NBA Playoffs in 2016.  Hoiberg’s 270 regular-season NBA games rank second among the 10 former NBA coaches in the collegiate ranks. Hoiberg also brings five years of NBA front office experience, as he worked with the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2005 to 2010.

Coach, School    NBA Head Coach, Years

HUSKERS SIGN TALENTED TRIO 
The three-member class that the Nebraska basketball program signed in November for next season has been lauded as one of the nation’s top recruiting classes. 

The trio of Wilhelm Breidenbach, Bryce McGowens and Keisei Tominaga has NU ranked 16th in the ESPN.com team ranking as of Dec. 10th. The class ranks third in the Big Ten to Michigan and Michigan State, and Nebraska is one of three Big Ten programs – joining Michigan and Michigan State – in signing a five-star recruit in the class of 2021. 

• NU’s class features a pair of top-100 recruits in McGowens and Breidenbach, who are two of the three-highest-rated players Nebraska has signed in the 247 composite database, which compiles all of the major recruiting sites into one list.  

• McGowens is listed as a 5-star recruit by all three national publications (ESPN, 247, Rivals) and is a consensus top-25 national player (ESPN, 247 Sports, Rivals). He is the highest-ranked recruit Nebraska has signed since the current national recruiting sites began nearly 20 years ago.  

• Breidenbach is a four-star recruit by both ESPN and 247 Sports and is ranked No. 63 by ESPN and No. 87 on 247Sports composite rankings. 

HUSKER NOTEBOOK

• Nebraska’s 2020-21 roster features players from six countries (United States, Canada, Iceland, England, France and Australia). Nebraska’s six international players tie for eighth nationally and ties for third among power conference programs (Arizona and Washington State-7 apiece). 

• Nebraska is a bigger and more experienced team in Hoiberg’s second season. Last year, Nebraska ranked among the least experienced Division I programs and was one of the smallest teams in the Big Ten according to data from KenPom. This season, the Huskers have made significant improvements in both areas.

Adding Size and Experience

 
• Nebraska has several players whose relatives played collegiately, including Jace Piatkowski, whose father Eric scored nealy 2,000 points at Nebraska before spending 14 years in the NBA. 

Athletic Families

• Nebraska signed a pair of top-20 junior college prospects for the second straight season. Junior guard Teddy Allen was rated eighth by JUCORecruiting.com, while forward Lat Mayen was tabbed 18th nationally by the publication.  The Huskers were one of three programs nationally to sign a pair of top-20 JUCO recruits (St. John’s and Southern Miss).

NEBRASKA BOASTS HIGHEST EVER GSR SCORE

Nebraska student-athletes have posted a 94 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 Nov. 17, with Nebraska recording its highest all student-athlete rate for the eighth consecutive year. It also marked the third straight year Nebraska has achieved a GSR of 90 percent or higher.

•  At the conference level, the 94 percent mark is tied for second among 14 Big Ten schools. On the national scale, Nebraska’s GSR ranks in a tie for 10th among 65 Power Five Schools, and third among public institutions at the Power Five level. 

• The Husker men’s basketball program achieved a 100 percent GSR and was one of 13 Husker programs to post a 100 GSR in the latest rankings. 

• The 94 percent GSR rate is another milestone for a program that has long been a national leader in academic and athletic achievement. Nebraska leads the nation with 340 CoSIDA Academic All- Americans in school history across all sports. Nebraska also leads the nation with 18 NCAA Today’s Top 10 Award winners. 

MISSING THAT HOME CROWD ADVANTAGE

With no fans allowed for the foreseeable future, Nebraska will miss out on the fan support which has ranked among the nation’s best since moving into Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2013-14. 

• Nebraska has ranked in the top 15 nationally in average attendance in each of the past seven seasons, averaging sellout crowds in the 15,000-seat arena. 

• In 2019-20, the Huskers finished the home portion of their campaign averaging 15,605 fans per game for 16 home games. The average set NU’s single-season record, breaking the mark of 15,569 per game set during the 2014-15 season despite posting a 7-25 record. 

• Nebraska is one of nine schools in the country to average 15,000+ fans per contest in each of the last seven seasons (2014-20), joining Kentucky, Syracuse, Louisville, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas and Creighton.

HUSKER FAMILY TIES RUN DEEP FOR HOIBERG

While Fred Hoiberg grew up in Ames and played his high school (Ames High School) and college basketball (Iowa State) there, he was born in Lincoln and has numerous ties to the city and to the University of Nebraska. 

• Fred’s father (Eric) and mother (Karen) both earned their undergraduate degrees from Nebraska in 1966. In fact, Eric earned his undergraduate degree, Master’s degree, and Ph.D. in sociology from the university. 

• His maternal grandfather was former Husker basketball coach Jerry Bush. Known as the “Big Bear of the Coliseum,” Bush guided NU from 1955 to 1963, and directed two of the greatest upsets ever – a 43-41 victory over top-ranked Kansas and Wilt Chamberlain, and a 55-48 victory over No. 4 Kansas State and Olympian Bob Boozer during the 1957-58 campaign.

• His paternal grandfather (Otto) received his Master’s Degree and Ph.D from Nebraska. He joined the faculty of the University of Nebraska in 1948, where he taught sociology and served as director of the community development program in the University of Nebraska Extension Division.