Huskers to Face Sooners in Thanksgiving Hoops Matchup

A pair of former conference rivals will meet on the hardwood Thursday afternoon, as Nebraska will take on Oklahoma in the first round of the ESPN Events Invitational just outside Orlando, Fla. Tipoff between the Huskers and Sooners is set for 4 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN and carried on the Huskers’ Radio Network. It is the first game of the night session which also features Memphis and Seton Hall.

For college sports fans, a meeting of the Huskers and Sooners on Thanksgiving weekend conjures up memories of classic football games over the years, including the legendary Game of the Century which took place on Thanksgiving in 1971 when No. 1 Nebraska beat No. 2 Oklahoma 35-31. From 1990 to 1995, Nebraska and Oklahoma would square off on Black Friday until the schools were put into different divisions in the Big 12 Conference.

On the basketball court, Thursday’s meeting is the first since the Huskers joined the Big Ten Conference in 2011-12. The schools were in the same conference from 1920-21 until the 2010-11 season.

The Huskers (3-1) put together their best half of the season in overcoming an eight-point second-half deficit in an 82-58 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Nebraska trailed 44-38 with 18 minutes left, but outscored UAPB 46-14 the rest of the way. Juwan Gary led four Huskers in double figures with 17 points, seven rebounds and three steals, while Blaise Keita had 14 points and 10 rebounds in the win, as Nebraska out-rebounded UAPB 37-25 and forced 18 turnovers.

The Huskers have been balanced offensively during the first four games of the season. Five players average at least nine points per game, led by Sam Griesel and C.J. Wilcher, who average 13.3 and 12.3 points per game, respectively. Griesel also chips in a team-high 4.3 assists and 6.0 rebounds per game, while Wilcher is shooting a team-high 43 percent from 3-point range.

Oklahoma (3-1) comes off a 64-60 win over South Alabama on Friday night. In that game, Tanner Groves had 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, as OU held South Alabama scoreless over the final five minutes to rally from a 60-56 deficit.

ESPN Events Invitational

Nebraska makes its second appearance – and first since 2017 – in the ESPN Events Invitational this weekend. It is also NU’s first appearance in one of the ESPN multi-team events since 2017, as NU was originally in the 2020 Myrtle Beach Invitational, but the event was canceled due to the pandemic.

• • The ESPN Events Invitational is the sixth ESPN-run event that the Huskers have participated in since 2010 (Puerto Rico Tip-Off, 2010; Charleston Classic, 2013; Diamond Head Classic, 2014, Wooden Legacy, 2016, Advocare Invitational, 2017).

• • The Huskers placed fifth in the 2017 event at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, losing to UCF (68-59) before beating Marist (84-59) and Long Beach State (83-80).

• • NU also played in the 2000, 2005 and 2006 Orange Bowl Classics, going 2-1 in those contests.

• • Nebraska Head Coach Fred Hoiberg guided Iowa State to the 2013 Diamond Head Classic title.

• • While Nebraska and Oklahoma played at least once annually from 1920-21 until 2010-11, most of the field are teams that Nebraska has not faced recently. Outside of Oklahoma, which has played NU 187 times, the other six opponents have faced NU just 16 times.

• • A meeting with Memphis on Friday would be NU’s first against the school since the 1954-55 season, while the only previous meeting between Nebraska and Seton Hall came in the 2018 Gavitt Tipoff Games in Lincoln.

Last Time Out
Juwan Gary scored a season-high 17 points, as Nebraska used a key second-half run and a strong defensive effort in the final 20 minutes to defeat Arkansas Pine-Bluff, 82-58, on Sunday afternoon at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Gary hit 5-of-9 shots from the field and added seven rebounds and three steals to pace four Huskers in double figures. He led the way for a Nebraska team that shot 53.7 percent from the field, including 7-for-19 from three-point range and forced 18 turnovers.

Blaise Keita notched his first career double-double for the Big Red with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He came alive in the second half, scoring 11 points and recording seven rebounds as Nebraska used a 31-6 run to take control after falling behind by as many as eight points.  C.J. Wilcher also chipped in 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, which included a 3-for-3 mark from 3-point range, while Wilhelm Breidenbach had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.

After Arkansas Pine-Bluff jumped out to a 44-36 lead early in the second half, Nebraska used an 8-0 run to pull even at 44 with 15:49 left. UAPB regained the lead at 47-44 after a 3-pointer from Shaun Doss Jr. moments later before the Huskers started the run with six straight points as part of a 31-6 spurt over the next 12 minutes to build a 24-point cushion.

UAPB (1-6) shot 48 percent from the floor, including 8-of-12 from 3-point range, in the opening 20 minutes, but shot just 32 percent in the second half was out-rebounded 23-7 after halftime.

Looking at Oklahoma

The Sooners returned a pair of starters and six letterwinners from a team that went 19-16 and reached the second round of the 2022 NIT. Head Coach Porter Moser, who played collegiately at Creighton and began his coaching career on the Bluejay staff, is in his second season at Oklahoma after previous stops at Arkansas-Little Rock, Illinois State and Loyola-Chicago. Moser guided Loyola-Chicago to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances in his 10 years at the school, including a Final Four in 2018 and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2021. Moser’s staff features Doc Sadler, who coached at Nebraska from 2006-12 as head coach and was on Fred Hoiberg‘s staff from 2019-22, and Clayton Custer, who played for Hoiberg at Iowa State in 2014-15.

This season, the Sooners are 3-1 with three of the games decided by eight points or less. After dropping the opener to Sam Houston State, OU has strung together three straight wins, including a 64-60 win over South Alabama on Friday night. Nevada transfer Grant Sherfield leads the Sooners in scoring at 15.5 points and 4.8 assists per game, while Tanner Groves averages a double-double with 10.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. The Sooners have seven players averaging at least 5.0 points per game.

Oklahoma leads the all-time series, 104-83 that began on Jan. 31, 1921. Thursday’s game will be the first non-conference meeting between the two programs. The schools have met at other neutral sites, including Kansas City (numerous times) and Dallas (2004, 2006) for holiday tournaments and postseason play. The matchup with Oklahoma is one of two Big 12 teams on the 2022-23 schedule, as NU will face Kansas State in Kansas City on Dec. 17.

Worth Noting

• • With more of an emphasis on positional size compared to previous Hoiberg-coached Husker teams, Nebraska has made significant improvement on the defensive end despite breaking in an entirely new starting lineup. The Huskers have held all four opponents to 70 points or less and are allowing just 63.8 ppg through four games.

• • Three of NU’s four opponents have been held to season-low marks by the Huskers through the first two weeks of the season. NU has held all four of its opponents to under 1.0 point per possession.

• • Nebraska has shared the wealth during the first four games. The Huskers have had a different player lead the team in scoring in each of the first four games (Griesel-Maine; Wilcher-Omaha; Tominaga-St. John’s; Gary-UAPB) and have had seven players reach double figures at least once. All this without Derrick Walker, who was the Huskers’ leading returning scorer (9.5 ppg) from last season. NU played a season-high four players in double figures in Sunday’s win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

• • Nebraska enters Thursday’s game with a streak of four straight games with a player grabbing at least 10 rebounds. This is the first time it has happened for the Big Red since the 2010-11 season. If the streak continues on Thursday, it would be NU’s longest since the 2007-08 campaign.

• • Nebraska’s strength during the early season has been attacking the offensive glass. NU is tied for the Big Ten lead with 13.8 offensive rebounds per game, a total that nearly doubles last season’s average. Nebraska had a season-high 18 offensive rebounds at St. John’s, the Huskers’ highest total since the 2018-19 season.

• • Juwan Gary ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 3.8 offensive boards per game and is one of four Huskers averaging at least one offensive rebound per contest.

• • The Big Ten won the 2022 Gavitt Tipoff Games over the Big East by a 6-2 score, improving to 3-1-3 in the seven events. Big Ten teams enter this week with a combined 50-7 mark (.877). Six teams are in this week’s AP top-25 while three others are receiving votes.

Trio of Transfers Making Impact
Nebraska added three Division I transfers in the offseason in Sam Griesel (North Dakota State), Emmanuel Bandoumel (SMU) and Juwan Gary (Alabama). The trio combined for nearly 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in their college careers before enrolling at NU and have made major contributions early on.  They’ve combined for 32.1 points and 20.3 rebounds per game in NU’s first four contests.

Griesel, a Lincoln native, has enjoyed quite the homecoming, as he leads NU in both scoring (13.3 ppg) and assists (4.3 apg) while grabbing 6.0 rebounds per game. The Huskers’ first scholarship recruit from the state since Jake Muhleisen in the early 2000s, Griesel is one of only 17 players in Division I averaging at least 13 points, six rebounds and four assists per game through Nov. 21. Against Maine, Griesel scored a season-high 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds while also chipping in 18 points against Omaha. He has led NU in assists in each of the first four games and dished out seven in the win over UAPB on Nov. 20. Griesel’s 22-point effort against Maine was one of the highest-scoring debuts by a Husker in the last 50 seasons.

Bandoumel has been steady on both ends of the court, averaging 9.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while also pacing NU’s effort on the defensive end. Bandoumel, who played off the ball for most of his time at SMU, has a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.  He enjoyed his best game against Omaha with 18 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in NU’s game-opening 11-0 run. His on-ball pressure on opposing guards has helped with NU’s defensive efforts early on in the seeason. Bandoumel averaged double figures in his final two years at SMU.

Gary, who can be used on the wing or in the post when NU goes small, has been a disruptive force on both ends, as he averages 9.8 points per game, while leading the Huskers in both rebounding (7.5 rpg) and steals (2.0 spg). He enters the week fifth in the Big Ten in steals and 13th in rebounding. Gary comes off a 17-point, seven-rebound, three-steal effort against UAPB. In the opener against Maine, he posted a double-double against Maine with 14 points and 11 boards, while he matched his career high with 11 rebounds in the loss to St. John’s.

If history is any indication, it will be likely that one of these three will pace NU in scoring, as a newcomer has topped the Husker scoring chart in each of the three seasons under Fred Hoiberg. Of the eight players who have averaged double figures under Hoiberg, all eight have been in their first year of competition at Nebraska.

Tominaga Continues Strong Play

After a summer with the Japanese National Team, junior Keisei Tominaga continued his strong play during the opening stretch of the season. Tominaga, a 6-foot-2 guard, has been a spark off the bench, ranking third on the team in scoring at 10.3 points per game while averaging just under 17 minutes per contest.

• • Tominaga has been in double figures twice this season, including a team-high 15 points at St. John’s and a season-high 19-poin effort against Maine. In that game, he connected on 7-of-12 shots from the field, including a trio of 3-pointers, and added two rebounds and a blocked shot in 20 minutes.

• • He is second on the team with seven 3-pointers and is shooting 39 percent from long range.

• • Of Tominaga’s nine double-figure games at Nebraska, six have come off the bench, including his career high 23-point effort against South Dakota last season.

• • Over the summer, Tominaga was with the Japanese National Team, making his debut in the FIBA World Cup Asia qualifier in early July and then starred for Japan in the 2022 Asia Cup. In seven games with the Senior National Team, Tominaga averaged 15.9 points per game while shooting 39.3 percent from the 3-point line. His best performance came against Australia in the Asia Cup quarterfinals, when he poured in 33 points on 12-of-20 shooting, including 8-of-15 from 3-point range.

Wilcher Breaks Out
Sophomore C.J. Wilcher was one of the Big Ten’s top scoring sixth men last year and has moved into the starting lineup in 2022-23. The 6-foot-5 guard is second on the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game while shooting 46 percent from the field and a team-high 43 percent from 3-point range.

• • Wilcher was efficient in NU’s win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff with 15 points and three assists on just nine shots. Wilcher was 3-of-3 from 3-point range, the second time this season he had at least three 3-pointers.

• • He posted a career-high 21 points against Omaha on 8-of-12 shooting, including four 3-pointers. It marked the first 20-point game of his career.

• • Last season, he closed the season playing some of his best basketball, shooting 60 percent from the field, including 50 percent from 3-point range over NU’s final five games. In Big Ten play last season, he shot a team-best 43.0 percent from beyond the arc.

Welcome Back Wilhelm
Although he is one of NU’s four returnees, sophomore Wilhelm Breidenbach is looking to regain his stride after missing most of his freshman year following knee surgery last December. Breidenbach is NU’s first big off the bench and averaging 5.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.

• • He reached double figures for the first time in his career in Sunday’s win over UABP, scoring 10 first-half points on 4-of-5 shooting. Although he saw limited duty in the second half, NU Coach Fred Hoiberg cited his energy and effort from the bench as a rallying point.

• • Breidenbach was impressive in his 2022-23 debut against Maine, tying or setting career highs in points (nine), rebounds (seven) and assists (three) in 17 minutes off the bench.

Revamped Husker Coaching Staff
In addition to nine new faces on the Husker roster (six scholarship players and three walk-ons), the Husker staff also has several new faces this season.

• • Assistant Coach Adam Howard comes to Nebraska after spending the last four seasons at South Alabama, helping the program to 75 wins in that span after the program had seven straight losing seasons. Last year, South Alabama won 21 games, the school’s highest total since 2008. Howard also coached at Troy, Tennessee, Southern Miss and Morehead State after playing collegiately at Western Kentucky.

• • Assistant Coach Ernie Zeigler comes to Lincoln after spending six years on Ben Howland’s staff at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs had four postseason appearances between 2018-22. Zeiger spent six seasons as the head coach at Central Michigan (2007-12) and previously served stints at UCLA, Pittsburgh, Kansas State, Detroit and Bowling Green.

• • Emmanuel Tommy joined the staff as Director of Player Development. He was an assistant coach at Alabama A&M last season and had worked on the administrative side at both McNeese State and South Alabama.

• • Two familiar faces in new positions are graduate managers Michael Bania and Payden Borders, both of whom worked as managers in the Husker program. Both graduated from Nebraska last May.

Pushing the Pace
One typical trait of a Fred Hoiberg coached team is to play at a fast pace. The Huskers led the Big Ten in pace in each of the last three seasons according to KenPom, including top-20 rankings in 2019-20 (16th) and 2021-22 (19th). NU has been the only Big Ten team to rank in the top-50 in any of the past three seasons.

• • In his eight seasons as a college head coach, Hoiberg’s teams have ranked in the top-50 in tempo six times, including four times in the top-20.

• • The 2022-23 team has been a little different in that area, ranking just 221st nationally in pace entering this week’s action. NU has had just one game with 70+ possessions in the first four contests, that came against a St. John’s team which led the country in that category last season.

Walker Looks to Continue Efficient Shooting
Nebraska returns one of the most efficient big men in college basketball in Derrick Walker. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 9.6 points per game on 68.3 percent shooting from the field in 2021-22. He broke NU’s single-season field-goal percentage that was held by Larry Cox since the 1975-76 season. Walker was the only Big Ten player and one of just 14 players in Division I to shoot at least 65 percent and average at least eight points per game last season. Walker has not played in NU’s first four games this season.

Husker Roster Has International Flavor
Nebraska’s 2022-23 roster will once again have an international flavor, as it will feature a quartet of international players in Emmanuel Bandoumel (Canada), Blaise Keita (Mali), Keisei Tominaga (Japan) and Oleg Kojenets (Lithuania). During Fred Hoiberg‘s four seasons at Nebraska, the Huskers have had players from nine countries (Australia, Canada, England, France, Iceland, Japan, Lithuania, Mali and Slovenia).

Three Huskers on NBA Rosters in 2022-23
Nebraska is well represented on NBA Opening Night rosters with Isaiah Roby (San Antonio), Dalano Banton (Toronto) and Bryce McGowens (Charlotte). The group is joined by Tyronn Lue, who begins his third season as head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers.

• • Nebraska’s three active NBA players is the most since the 2007-07 season (Eric Piatkowski, Mikki Moore and Lue)

• • McGowens became the 15th former Husker to make his NBA debut on Oct. 19, as he saw action in Charlotte’s win over San Antonio.

• • Five members of the 2021-22 team are playing professionally, including Bryce McGowens (NBA), Trey McGowens (G League), Lat Mayen (Australia), Alonzo Verge Jr. (Poland) and Kobe Webster (Netherlands).

• • In all, 25 former Huskers are playing professionally around the world, including 10 players from Hoiberg’s three Husker teams.

Homegrown Huskers
The 2022-23 roster features four in-state products in Sam Griesel (Lincoln), Sam Hoiberg (Lincoln), Henry Burt (Omaha) and Cale Jacobsen (Ashland). Before joining NU, Griesel made two other appearances in PBA in his college career.  While at North Dakota State, he started both games for the Bison in the 2020 Golden Window event at PBA, averaging 9.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. He had nine points and 12 rebounds in a 79-57 loss to the Huskers. No current Husker played against Griesel in that contest.

Huskers to Be Tested in 2022-23
Nebraska will have a challenging schedule this upcoming season. The Huskers will play a minimum of 25 power conference teams during the season, including five (St. John’s, Creighton, Boston College, Kansas State and Oklahoma) in non-conference action. Depending on the results of the ESPN Events Invitational, NU could see as many as seven power conference teams during non-conference action, including six away from home.

• • Nebraska will play at least 13 games in the regular season against ranked teams or teams receiving votes in the AP or Coaches Preseason poll. The Huskers will face No. 9/9 Creighton, No. 13/14 Indiana, No. 22/22 Michigan and No. 23/23 Illinois while six other teams (Purdue, Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa, Rutgers, Wisconsin) received votes. NU could also face Memphis during the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando.

• • Nebraska has 16 regular-season games against teams that reached postseason play in 2021-22. The Big Ten had nine NCAA teams in 2021-22, and Nebraska will face that group a combined 13 times (Illinois-2, Iowa-2, Michigan State-2, Purdue-2, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, Rutgers and Wisconsin). In non-conference action, NU will face Creighton in Omaha and will face Oklahoma in the ESPN Events Invitational opener. The Huskers will also square off against either Seton Hall or Memphis the following day.

McGowens Becomes Highest Drafted Husker since 1998
Bryce McGowens became the second Husker drafted in as many years, as he was the No. 40 pick of the Charlotte Hornets in the 2022 NBA Draft last June. He was the highest Husker drafted since Tyronn Lue went No. 23 overall in 1998. McGowens averaged 16.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in 2021-22, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and media.

• • McGowens’ 16.8 points per game ranked third nationally among true freshmen in 2021-22. The top two true freshmen in scoring were Paolo Banchero (Duke) and Jabari Smith (Auburn) and those two were picked first and third, respectively, in the 2022 NBA Draft.

• • With Dalano Banton (No. 46 in 2021) and McGowens, Nebraska has players selected in consecutive NBA Drafts for the first time since 1998 and 1999.

• • McGowens was one of nine Big Ten players selected in the 2022 NBA Draft. The nine picks were the most of any conference and the highest total since 10 Big Ten players were selected in the 1990 NBA Draft.

Huskers Annually Rank Among NCAA Attendance Leaders
Since moving into Pinnacle Bank Arena, the Huskers have been among the national leaders in attendance. The Huskers have ranked in the top 15 in attendance every year since 2013-14, ranking in the top 10 on three occasions including last year.

• •  Nebraska is one of eight schools in the country to average 15,000+ fans per contest in each of the last seven seasons (2014-20, 2022), joining Kentucky, Syracuse, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas and Creighton. The NCAA did not count attendance figures during the 2020-21 season because of Covid-19

Huskers Add Top-30 Recruiting Class
For the second straight season, Nebraska pulled in a top-30 national recruiting class, as the 2022 class was rated No. 28 by Rivals. The class included incoming freshmen Ramel Lloyd Jr. and Jamarques Lawrence, as well as junior college transfer Blaise Keita. It also included Denim Dawson, who signed with Nebraska in November and enrolled for the start of the spring 2022 semester.

Lloyd was ranked No. 88 nationally by ESPN and was a top-100 recruit in the 247Sports Composite rankings, while Lawrence was ranked among the top 150 players by Rivals at the end of his senior season. Keita was ranked as the No. 1 overall JUCO player by 247Sports and No. 4 by JUCORecruiting.com.  The Huskers’ 2021 freshmen class was ranked as high as 13th nationally by ESPN and also earned top-25 recognition by 247Sports and Rivals.

All in the Family

Several members of the 2022-23 Huskers have family members who have played basketball at the college or professional levels. The list is led by Fred Hoiberg, who played in the NBA for a decade after a standout career at Iowa State. In addition, Ramel Lloyd was a Parade All-American who scored over 1,600 points at the college level at Syracuse and Long Beach State. Both Aleh Kojenets and Jurga Paliaukaite played at UNC Wilmington, while Paliaukaite holds the UNC Wilmington women’s record with 10 blocked shots in a game.  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.

NBA Coaches: Back to School
Fred Hoiberg is one of eight active NCAA coaches to have coached in the NBA, as he spent three-plus seasons with the Chicago Bulls from 2015 to 2018. Hoiberg’s 270 regular-season NBA games rank third among the eight former NBA coaches in the collegiate ranks. Hoiberg is also one of former 23 former NBA players as Division I head coaches in 2022-23.

Division I Coaches with NBA Head Coaching Experience

Eli Rice Signs with Nebraska
Nebraska Men’s Basketball Coach Fred Hoiberg announced Nov. 9 that Eli Rice (Gallatin, Tenn.) has signed a National Letter-of-Intent to play for the Husker basketball program in 2023-24.  Rice is a 6-foot-7, 195-pound guard who will play for IMG Academy’s postgraduate team this season after spending his senior year at Beech (Tenn.) High School. A three-star recruit by 247Sports, Rivals and On3, he was rated No. 194 nationally in the 247Sports composite rankings and among the top-25 recruits in the state of Florida by 247Sports.

Rice, who turned 18 in August, starred at Beech High School in 2021-22, averaging 17.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 blocks per game. He helped Coach Kip Brown’s team to a 34-2 record, including a 33-game win streak, and the school’s first appearance in the state tournament since 2010.  For his efforts, Rice was named to the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s all-state high school boys basketball team in Class 4A and was named the Sumner County Player of the Year.

Single-game Tickets Now on Sale

Single-game tickets for the 2022-23 schedule are now on sale. A select number of 300 Level seats are available for $7 apiece for non-conference games and $10 each for each of the Huskers’ 10 Big Ten matchups, including games with Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Ohio State and Iowa.

The single-game tickets are one of several options to purchase Husker basketball tickets for the 2022-23 season. In addition, the Six-Game Mini-Plan which allows fans to pick 300 Level seats for any six games during the 2022-23 season for just $30 while supplies last.

To purchase, visit Huskers.com/Tickets or call the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED during business hours (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Mon.-Fri.).