Huskers Travel to Michigan State Tuesday Night

Nebraska looks to extend its two-game win streak on Tuesday, Jan. 3, as the Huskers travel to East Lansing, Mich., for a matchup with the Michigan State Spartans. Tipoff from the Breslin Center is set for shortly after 6 p.m. (central) and the game and the contest will be televised nationally on BTN and carried on the Huskers Radio Network. It will also be available on the Fox Sports app.
 

Nebraska (8-6, 0-2 Big Ten) comes off its best defensive effort of the season in a 66-50 win over Iowa. The Huskers held Iowa to a 26 percent shooting in holding the Hawkeyes to a season-low 50 points, 33 below their season average. Nebraska took control with a 20-0 first-half run, holding the Hawkeyes without a field goal for nearly nine minutes and led by as many as 24 points in snapping a four-game losing streak to the Hawkeyes. Juwan Gary led five Huskers in double figures with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Sam Griesel posted his second double-double of the year with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Nebraska features a balanced attack with six players averaging at least 9.7 points per game, including three players in double figures. Senior forward Derrick Walker tops the Huskers in both scoring (13.6 ppg) and rebounding (8.1 rpg) while Sam Griesel is second on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg) and dishes out a team-high 4.4 assists per game. Griesel’s double-double on Thursday was the seventh of the season for a Husker.

Tuesday’s game at Michigan State is the Huskers’ eighth game away from home in the first 15 contests, while the Spartans will be the Huskers’ seventh Quad 1 opponent of the season. As of Jan. 1, NU’s strength of schedule ranks in the top-25 nationally in both the NET (18th) and Kenpom (24th).

Michigan State (9-4, 1-1 Big Ten) returns to Big Ten play following an 89-68 win over Buffalo on Dec. 30. Joey Hauser led four Spartans in double figures with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while A.J. Hoggard had 11 points and dished out 10 assists to guide MSU to its fourth straight win. MSU shot 51 percent, including 55 percent in the second half, and enjoyed a 39-34 advantage on the glass.

About 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. Izzo is in his 28th season running the Spartan program and has taken the Spartans to eight Final Fours and 24 straight NCAA Tournaments. This season, MSU is 9-4 and riding a four-game win streak following Friday’s win over Buffalo. The Spartans faced a challenging non-con schedule, taking on nationally ranked Gonzaga, Kentucky and Alabama as well as Villanova and Notre Dame. MSU was short-handed for most of the season with injuries to Jaden Akins and Malik Hall, but both are now back in the rotation. Michigan State is a balanced team with four double-figure scorers and three others averaging at least 6.7 points per game. Joey Hauser leads the Spartans in scoring (14.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg) while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range. The backcourt of Tyson Walker (13.4 ppg, 3.3 apg) and A.J. Hoggard (12.5 ppg, 6.2 apg) is one of the best in the Big Ten.

Series History: Michigan State leads the all-time series, 21-9, in a series that dates back to February of 1920. The Huskers are 3-13 against Michigan State since joining the Big Ten, while the Spartans have won the last nine meetings. Since joining the Big Ten, NU has faced a ranked Spartan team in 11 of the 16 previous meetings. Nebraska has won twice in East Lansing in the Big Ten era, 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: Four Huskers scored in double figures at Michigan State, and Nebraska tied its season high with 12 steals, but NU struggled with its shot in the second half in a 79-67 road loss to the 10th-ranked Spartans on Jan 5, 2022. Nebraska trailed by just four at halftime and it was still a two-possession game with seven minutes remaining before Michigan State pulled away with a 12-2 run.

Derrick Walker tied his then-career high with 16 points and was 8-of-9 from the field. Bryce McGowens finished with 13 points, while Kobe Webster (13) and C.J. Wilcher (10) combined for 23 points off the bench.  Nebraska’s defense forced Michigan State into 19 turnovers. Max Christie led the Spartans with a career-high 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Worth Noting

• Nebraska has faced one of the nation’s toughest schedules in 2022-23. As of Jan 1, Nebraska’s NET strength of schedule was 18th nationally, the only Big Ten team in the top 30 nationally. Michigan State will be Nebraska’s seventh Quad 1 opponent of the year and ninth opponent in the top-two quads. No Division I team has played more Quad 1 opponents than Nebraska as of Jan. 1.

• Nebraska’s six losses are to teams which a combined 65-15 (.813) record as of Jan. 1, while five of the teams are currently in the top-50 of the NET.  Three of the Husker losses was when Nebraska was at less than full strength, as starters Sam Griesel (at Indiana) and Derrick Walker (first five games) were out of the lineup.

• The Big Ten has eight teams in the top 50 of the NET as of Jan. 1, second only to the Big 12 (10 teams). In all, 11 of the 14 Big Ten schools are in the top 75 of the NET.

• The return of Derrick Walker after missing the first five games has been evident on both ends of the court. Nebraska’s leading scorer and rebounder, he has helped Nebraska’s dramatic improvement on the defensive end. Over the last eight games according to Bart Torvik’s rankings, Nebraska’s defense is 24th in adjusted efficiency since he returned on Nov. 25.

Walker’s Defensive Impact

 
• Derrick Walker enters the week as one of three players nationally averaging at least 13 points and eight rebounds per game while shooting at least 65 percent from the field. Walker had 10 points and eight rebounds in Thursday’s win over Iowa while playing a season-low 21 minutes.

• Nebraska has shared the wealth during the first half of the season. The Huskers have six players averaging at least 9.7 points per game, while seven different players have topped NU in scoring at least once. Keisei Tominaga and Juwan Gary are the only players who have led NU in scoring more than twice.  Since 2000-01, NU has had only four seasons with four players averaging double figures (2019-20, 2018-19, 2013-14, 2005-06). The last time NU had five players finish the season averaging double figures was the 1993-94 season.

• In the first 14 games, Nebraska has already totaled seven double-doubles (Derrick Walker-3; Juwan Gary-1; Sam Griesel-2; Blaise Keita-1) and all seven have been points/rebounds double-doubles. Last year, NU totaled 10 double-doubles in 32 games (6 pts./reb. and 4 pts./asst).

• One area where NU has made significant strides in recent weeks is at the foul line. Over the last four games, NU is shooting 72.9 percent from the line (51-70) after shooting 62.2 percent during the first nine contests. The Huskers have shot 70 percent or better in each of the last five contests.

• 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 11 of their 14 opponents to 70 points or less and have climbed nearly 140 spots in adjusted defense in KenPom compared to last season.  The Huskers have held 10 opponents to under 1.0 point per possession or less and held Iowa, which entered the game 10th in offensive efficiency to a season-low 50 points.

• Nebraska saw its three-game win streak against ranked opponents snapped in a loss at No. 14 Indiana on Dec. 10. It matched the second-longest streak in school history and was made more impressive that all three games were on the road. It marked the first time in school history that Nebraska had a three-game road win streak vs. ranked teams.

• The biggest strides Nebraska has made has been in rebounding. NU is currently seventh in the Big Ten in rebounding margin at +4.1 per game and has been out-rebounded just four times in its first 14 contests.  NU is 105th nationally in rebounding margin after ranking 344th last year.

• Last month, Nebraska had a streak of three straight games against top-15 opponents (No. 7 Creighton, No. 14 Indiana and No. 4 Purdue), the first time that has happened for the Huskers since the 2020-21 season.

• Nebraska has done an excellent job of not fouling. The Huskers are seventh nationally in fewest fouls per game (13.1) as of Jan. 1. Only three opponents – Florida State, No. 4 Purdue and Queens – have gotten to the line more than Nebraska in the first 14 contests.

 

Last Time Out

Juwan Gary’s 14 points led five Huskers in double figures, as the Huskers held Iowa to 26 percent shooting in a 66-50 victory on Dec. 29.  Gary, who also grabbed nine rebounds, keyed the Huskers’ best defensive performance since the 2018-19 season, as the Hawkeyes were held 33 points below their Big Ten-leading scoring average.

In addition to Gary, Sam Griesel had 12 points and 10 rebounds while C.J. Wilcher (13), Emmanuel Bandoumel (10) and Derrick Walker (10) all finished in double figures for Nebraska, which improved to 6-1 at home with the only setback coming in an overtime loss to now No. 1 Purdue.

Nebraska thrilled the sellout crowd of 14,920 with a 20-0 first-half run, turning a 9-8 lead into a 21-point cushion en route to taking a 38-26 lead into the locker room. NU eventually pushed the lead to 24 and cruised to a 16-point win. The 50 points allowed was NU’s best defensive effort under Fred Hoiberg and lowest against a Big Ten opponent since Northwestern was held to 50 points on Feb. 16, 2018. Nebraska held Iowa (8-5, 0-2 Big Ten) to 26 percent shooting, the lowest by a Husker opponent since Mississippi Valley State shot 19 percent on Nov. 6, 2018.

Postgame Notes vs. Iowa

• Nebraska’s 50 points allowed was a season low (53 at Creighton) and the lowest by a Fred Hoiberg coached team at Nebraska (previous low 51 vs. Rutgers, 3/1/21). It was NU’s lowest total allowed since Northwestern scored 50 on Feb. 16, 2019.
• Nebraska held Iowa to season lows in points (50) and field goal percentage (.260), as Iowa entered the game leading the Big Ten in scoring offense (83.8 ppg).
• Nebraska has held four straight opponents (Purdue, KSU, Queens and Iowa) to 40 percent or lower. 
• Nebraska held Iowa to .76 PPP, NU’s second-lowest total of the year (.73 at Creighton). Iowa entered the game in the top-10 nationally in offensive efficiency
• Nebraska out-rebounded Iowa 54-40, as NU’s 54 caroms was its highest total of the year (46, at St. John’s) and most since collecting 55 against Doane on Dec. 17, 2020. It was the most against a Division I team since having 55 vs. Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 6, 2018.
• NU’s 54 rebounds marked it highest total in a Big Ten game since joining the league in 2011-12 and most in a conference game since grabbing 56 against Texas Tech on Jan. 19, 2000.
• NU’s 20-0 run was its largest of the of the season. The previous high was 12 against Maine and Boston College.

Hometown Kid Making Good
Senior Sam Griesel has enjoyed quite the homecoming, averaging 10.7 points, 4.5 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game from his point guard spot in replacing Alonzo Verge Jr., who led the Big Ten in assists per game last season. Griesel spent the last four seasons at North Dakota State, earning All-Summit League honors in 2021 and 2022 before returning to Lincoln for his senior year.

• He ranks fifth in the Big Ten in assists per game and 13th in steals per game.
• Griesel collected his second double-double in the win over Iowa with 12 points and team highs in rebounds (10) and assists (five).
• Griesel led NU with 16 points and added three assists and three rebounds in the win over Queens
• The Huskers’ first scholarship recruit from Lincoln since Jake Muhleisen in the early 2000s, Griesel keyed NU’s win at No. 7 Creighton with 18 points, a season-high 12 rebounds and seven assists.
• Against Maine, Griesel scored a season-high 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds while also chipping in 18 points in the win over Omaha.
• Griesel’s 22-point effort against Maine in the season opener was one of the highest-scoring debuts by a Husker in the last 50 seasons.

 Bandoumel Provides Steady Production for Big Red
Senior grad transfer Emmanuel Bandoumel has been a steadying force on both ends of the court for the Huskers this season. He enters the Queens game averaging 9.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game while also keying NU’s defensive attack. Before joining the Husker program, the Quebec City, Quebec, native was a three-year starter at SMU, averaging double figures in both 2020-21 and 2021-22.

• Bandoumel, who played off the ball for most of his time at SMU, has nearly a 1.2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and matched his career best with six assists against Boston College on Nov. 30.
• He has reached double figures eight times, which ties for the team lead following a 10-point effort against Iowa. Bandoumel tallied 18 points and five assists in the loss against Memphis on Nov. 15 and had 13 points and five dimes against Oklahoma on Nov. 24.
• Bandoumel enjoyed his best game against Omaha with 18 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in NU’s game-opening 11-0 run.
• Walker Looks to Continue Efficient Shooting
• Nebraska has been a much more efficient team since the return of Derrick Walker on Nov. 25. Walker, who missed NU’s first five games, has been a force in the paint, averaging 13.6 points on 66 percent shooting, 8.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. The 6-foot-9 forward was NU’s only returning starter entering 2021-22 and has eight double-figure efforts in nine games.
• Walker has a team-high three double-doubles (Memphis, Florida State and No. 4 Purdue) and six for his career.
• He is one of only two Big Ten players averaging 13 points, eight rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
• Walker is also one of three players nationally averaging 13 points and eight rebounds per game while shooting 65 percent from the field as of Jan. 1.
• His most recent double-double was a 14-point, 10-rebound effort against No. 4 Purdue on Dec. 10, his third double-double of the year and sixth of his career.  He also helped limit Zach Edey to a season-low 11 points, snapping his streak of eight straight 20-point games.
• He keyed NU’s win over No. 7 Creighton with a career-high 22 points on 11-of-16 shooting and eight rebounds against Ryan Kalkbrenner, the reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Year. Walker’s efforts helped NU enjoy a 46-16 advantage in points in the paint.
• Walker posted his first career 20-point game in a win over Florida State on Nov. 27, with 20 points on 10-of-12 shooting and matched his career high with 13 rebounds.
• He made his 2022-23 debut against Memphis and had 15 points and 12 boards in a loss to the Tigers.
• Walker averaged 9.5 ppg and 6.0 rpg in 2022, breaking NU’s single-season field goal percentage mark by shooting 68.3 percent from the field. 
• Last 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. 

Walker vs. the Bigs
Over a three-game stretch earlier in December, Nebraska’s Derrick Walker battled three of the nation’s top centers in Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner, Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis and Purdue’s Zach Edey. Kalkbrenner was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, while Jackson-Davis and Edey are on the short list for National Player of the Year over the first month of the year. In the three-game stretch, Walker matched the trio’s performance as Nebraska squared off against a trio of teams in the top 15 of the Associated Press poll.
 
Centers of Attention

Gary is Huskers’ Junkyard Dog
Nebraska’s improvement in defense and rebounding is directly attributable to the arrival of Alabama transfer Juwan Gary. The 6-foot-6 forward is utilized in a number of ways, even playing center when the Huskers go a to a small-ball lineup. On the season, he is averaging 9.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and a team-best 1.7 steals per game, ranking fourth in the Big Ten in that category.

• He already has eight double-figure scoring efforts this season, matching his entire 2021-22 total in 29 games at Alabama. He scored a season-high 17 points against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and 16 against Oklahoma.
• Gary led NU with 14 points and nine rebounds in the win over Iowa on Dec. 29
• He has picked up his rebounding in recent games, averaging 8.5 rebounds per game over NU’s last six games since Dec. 4, including 11 rebounds at Kansas State. His 11 boards against K-State matched his career best.
• His three double-figure rebound games (Maine, St. John’s and K-State) ties for ninth in the Big Ten.
• He nearly posted his second double-double of the year with 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting and nine rebounds in the win at No. 7 Creighton on Dec. 4.
• Gary has more steals (24) than in either of his two seasons at Alabama.
• He posted a double-double in his Husker debut with 14 points and 11 boards against Maine on Nov. 7

  
Gary’s Jump in 2022-23

 
Tominaga Continues Strong Play
After a summer with the Japanese National Team, junior Keisei Tominaga continued his strong play this season.  Tominaga, a 6-foot-2 guard, has been a spark off the bench, ranking third on the team in scoring at 10.6 points per game while averaging just over 20 minutes per contest.

• Tominaga is second on the team in 3-pointers (23) and heads NU in 3-point percentage (.377)
• Of Tominaga’s 15 double-figure games at Nebraska, 11 have come off the bench, including 23-point efforts against Boston College on Nov. 29 and against South Dakota last season.
• Tominaga’s eight double-figure games are a team high, including a 15-point effort against Queens on Dec. 20.
• He enjoyed one of his best efforts of the year, a 19-point game, including four 3-pointers, in an overtime loss to Purdue on Dec. 10. He sent the game to OT with a 3-pointer with 9.1 seconds left in regulation.
• Tominaga shined in NU’s win over Boston College on Nov. 30. He tied his career high of 23 points on just eight field goal attempts (7-8 FG, 4-5 3PT; 5-5 FT) for his second career 20-point game. He had 17 of his 23 markers in the first half, including 11 straight NU points.
• Tominaga also had a team-high 15 points at St. John’s and a 19-point 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.
• 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.

Keisei’s Improvement

 
Wilcher Breaks Out
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 averaging 9.7 points per game and has a team-leading 25 3-pointers.

• He comes off a 13-point effort in NU’s win over Iowa on Dec. 29, after averaging just 3.0 ppg in NU’s previous three games.
• Wilcher had a career-high 22-point effort at No. 14 Indiana on Dec. 7, scoring 17 second-half points to keep the Huskers in the game.
• He scored all 14 of his points in the second half in the win over Boston College on Nov. 30, including a quartet of 3-pointers.
• 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 then-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.

Making Strides On Defense
Nebraska has been much improved on the defensive end this season, jumping nearly 140 spots in defensive efficiency despite facing six opponents who rank in the top 50 nationally in offensive efficiency as of Jan. 1.

• Nebraska has held 10 opponents, including the last four to 1.0 points per possession or less.
• In the overtime loss to No. 4 Purdue on Dec. 10, Nebraska held the Boilermakers to a season-low 0.99 points per possession. Purdue came into the contest leading in the nation in offensive efficiency (118.0).
• Nebraska held Iowa, which was 10th nationally in offensive efficiency, to 0.76 per possession and jjust 26 percent shooting.
• In NU’s win at No. 7 Creighton, the Huskers limited the Bluejays to 0.73 points per possession, the Huskers’ best performance in a road game in over a decade.