Huskers Travel to Michigan Tuesday

The Nebraska men’s basketball team hits the road on Tuesday looking for its first road win of the season, as the Huskers travel to Ann Arbor for a matchup with the Michigan Wolverines. Tipoff is set for shortly after 8 p.m. (central) and the game will be carried on the Big Ten Network and the Huskers Radio Network.

The Huskers (6-15, 0-10 Big Ten) were in position for their first Big Ten win before a late Rutgers comeback allowed the Scarlet Knights to escape with a 63-61 victory Saturday night. NU, which led by as much as 11 in the first half, was up 58-54 with 3:28 remaining, but Rutgers closed the game on a 9-3 run. NU had three shots to regain the lead as well as a chance to send the game into overtime, Kobe Webster was fouled with 0.9 left, but he split the first two and NU committed a lane violation on the intentional miss to allow Rutgers to escape with the triumph.

 

The loss overshadowed another strong scoring performance by Bryce McGowens, as the freshmen matched his career high with 29 points, including 14-of-18 from the foul line. His 29-point effort on Saturday matched the highest freshman total ever by a Husker in a conference game and marked his third straight 20-point effort.  Over the last six games, which includes three ranked opponents, the freshman is averaging 19.5 points per game while shooting 44 percent from the field and 42 percent from 3-point range.

The return of junior Trey McGowens has helped stabilize the Husker defense. NU has held its last two opponents (No. 11 Wisconsin and Rutgers) to under 40 percent shooting, and McGowens has played a major role. He held Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis to a season-low 13 points on Thursday before helping to limit Ron Harper Jr. to just 1-of-9 shooting on Saturday.

Michigan (10-8, 4-4 Big Ten) saw its three-game win streak snapped in an 83-67 loss to No. 10 Michigan State on Saturday. Hunter Dickinson had 25 points and six rebounds to pace the Wolverines while freshmen Moussa Diabate and Caleb Houston added 11 points apiece. The Wolverines were held to 37 percent shooting while Michigan State shot 55 percent, including 9-of-18 from 3-point range, to pull away in the second half.

 

B1G Numbers

106 – Alonzo Verge’s 106 assists as of Jan. 30 leads all Big Ten players and matches the total by Dalano Banton in 2020-21. Verge leads the Big Ten with 5.3 assists per game, including a trio of games with at least 10 assists.

22.4 – Four of Bryce McGowens’ 20-point games this season have come with his brother Trey in the lineup. In the five games they have played together, Bryce is averaging 22.4 ppg on 44 percent shooting.

7.8 – Lat Mayen is starting to get healthy and has increased his production in recent games. He is averaging 7.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game over his last five games and is 8-of-15 from 3-point range in that stretch. Mayen had averaged 4.7 ppg and 3.5 rpg in his first 15 games.

 

About Michigan

Michigan enters February with a 10-8 record following an 83-67 loss to No. 10 Michigan State on Saturday. Michigan had won three straight games before the MSU game, including an 80-62 win at Indiana. The Wolverines are 6-2 at home, including 2-1 in Big Ten action.

Michigan is led by third-year head coach Juwan Howard, who took over the Michigan program in May of 2019. Howard, who starred at Michigan during the Fab 5 era, spent 19 seasons in the NBA playing for eight franchises and won two NBA titles with the Miami Heat in 2012-13. He worked in the Miami Heat organization for six seasons, the final five as an assistant coach before returning to his alma mater in 2019. Last year, Michigan went 23-5 and reached the Elite Eight before falling to UCLA.

Sophomore Hunter Dickinson anchors the Wolverine attack, as he averages 17.0 points on 59 percent shooting and 8.2 rebounds per game. Dickinson was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and second-team All-American last season. Fifth-year senior Eli Brooks is chipping in 11.3 points and 2.9 assists per game, while shooting 38 percent from three-point range. Michigan boasts a pair of five-star freshmen in Caleb Houstan (10.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and Moussa Diabate (9.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg). Coastal Carolina transfer DeVante Jones (8.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.9 apg) rounds out the lineup.

Series History: Michigan leads the all-time series, 20-3, in a series that goes back to 1949, although the Wolverines’ win over the Huskers in the 1992 Rainbow Classic was later vacated. Michigan has won 14 of the 15 meetings since Nebraska joined the Big Ten with the Huskers’ only win coming in a 72-52 win in Lincoln during the 2017-18 campaign. One of Nebraska’s three wins in the series was a 74-73 win over No. 1 Michigan at the NU Coliseum on Dec. 12, 1964. In that game, Fred Hare’s buzzer beater knocked off the Cazzie Russell-led Wolverines. That win is one of three wins over No. 1 ranked teams in Nebraska’s history.

Last meeting: Alonzo Verge Jr. had a season-high 31 points, but Michigan took control early and posted a 102-67 victory over Nebraska on Dec. 7, 2021.

The Huskers shot just 31.9 percent on the night, including 35.1 percent in the first half, as Michigan used a 21-5 run in building a 51-32 halftime lead.

Terrance Williams II and Brandon Johns Jr. had 22 and 20 points, respectively, as Michigan put five players in double figures and 51 percent from the floor, including 15-of-32 from long range.

Worth Noting

• Nebraska looks for its first ever win in Ann Arbor on Tuesday. The Huskers are winless in 10 previous attempts at Michigan and Tuesday’s game is the first meeting between the two teams in Ann Arbor since March 5, 2020.

• Trey McGowens’ return to the lineup has helped the Husker defensive efforts. NU has held its last two opponents to 37.5 percent shooting. In the four full games he has played (McGowens was injured in the first half against Creighton on Nov. 16), the Huskers are holding opponents to 38 percent shooting.

• Nebraska finished the month of January playing five ranked teams, which tied a single-season school record. NU also played five ranked teams four other times (Feb. 2010, Jan. 2002, Feb. 1995 and Feb. 1992). The Huskers would have played a sixth ranked team in January, but the Jan. 22 game at No. 19 Ohio State on Jan. 22 was postponed because of NU’s pause.

• Bryce McGowens has scored 20-or-more points in each of NU’s last three games. It is the first time any Husker has posted three straight 20-point games since James Palmer Jr. had four straight 20+ games between late in the 2018-19 season (March 5-13). The last time a Husker freshmen had three straight 20-point games was Dave Hoppen during the 1982-82 season. McGowens’ seven 20-point games leads all Big Ten freshmen and is tied for fifth among all conference players. 

• Since changing its offense in late December, the Huskers have improved their offensive numbers. NU is shooting 44 percent from the field and nearly 38 percent from 3-point range over the last nine contests.

NU’s Improved Shooting

 
• Nebraska has a total of 13 20-point efforts this season (Bryce McGowens-7; Alonzo Verge Jr.-4; Kobe Webster-1; Keisei Tominaga-1) which exceeds NU’s season total last year (12). Bryce McGowens’ seven 20-point games this season is tied for the second most by a Husker freshman, trailing only Joe McCray, who had a school-record 10 in 2004-05.

• Bryce McGowens ranks second nationally among all true freshmen in scoring at 16.7 points per game as of Jan. 30 after his 29-point effort vs. Rutgers.  McGowens is one of only four true freshmen nationally averaging at least 15 points per game. McGowens, who leads all Big Ten freshmen in scoring and is second in rebounding, is on pace to break NU’s freshman single-season scoring mark (15.5, Joe McCray, 2004-05). Only six freshmen in school history with the most recent being Ryan Anderson in 2006-07.

 

NCAA True Freshman Scoring Leaders (As of Jan. 30)

 
• Derrick Walker is shooting 68 percent from the floor and is now one of just 11 players nationally shooting 65 percent from the field and 70 percent from the line while averaging at least five points per game. The last Huskers to shoot at least 60 percent and average double figures were Kimani Ffriend and Steffon Bradford in 2000-01.

• Alonzo Verge Jr. reached the 1,000-point plateau following a 19-point effort against Indiana on Jan. 17. Verge became the fourth current Husker to go over 1,000 career points, joining Kobe Webster, Trey McGowens and Trevor Lakes. Verge has averaged 14.1 points per game during his collegiate career, which also included two seasons at Arizona State. He also scored over 1,600 points in his two years at Moberly (Ill.) Junior College.

• Nebraska players have combined for eight double-doubles (Verge-4; Walker-3; B. McGowens-1) this season after just having three in 2020-21. The last time NU had 10 double-doubles as a team in a season was 2007-08 (17). In all, NU has six players who have had at least one double-double in their respective careers (Trevor Lakes-2; Kobe Webster-1; Lat Mayen-1).

• Nebraska’s 15 3-pointers against Kennesaw State on Dec. 22, were not only a season high, but marked just the sixth time since 1990 that Nebraska hit at least 15 3-pointers in a game. It was NU’s highest total since Nov. 6, 2018.

•-Over the last three games, the Huskers are 52-of-67 (.776) from the foul line. NU is shooting 71.8 percent as a team this year after shooting just 63.9 percent in 2020-21.

• Alonzo Verge Jr.’s 16-point, 12-assist performance against Kennesaw State on Dec. 22 marked the eighth points-assist double-double by a Husker in Fred Hoiberg‘s two-plus seasons at Nebraska (Cam Mack-4; Dalano Banton-1; Alonzo Verge Jr.-3). Over the previous 30 years (1989-90 to 2018-19), it occurred just five times. Verge is only the second Husker to have multiple points-assists double-doubles in the same season since 1990.

• Alonzo Verge Jr. has become more of a playmaker during his time at NU. He leads the Big Ten with 5.3 assists per game after averaging 2.9 assists per game during his two-year career at Arizona State.  Verge has three games with 10+ assists this season and currently ranks 20th nationally in assists per game as of Jan. 30.

Top-25 Nationally in Assists/Game Under Hoiberg

• Nebraska added a player over the break as Denim Dawson enrolled for the start of the spring semester. Dawson is a 6-foot-6 wing who attended Southern California Academy as a postgrad. He played at Orange Lutheran in 2020-21, averaging 16 points and five rebounds per game as the school reached the California Division 2AA CIF-SS quarterfinals last spring. Dawson, who started practicing on Dec. 29, is expected to redshirt this season.

• 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.

 

Last Time Out

Bryce McGowens tied a season-high with 29 points, but the Huskers could not hold on and fell to Rutgers, 63-61 on Jan. 29.

The freshman, whose 29 points matched the most ever by a Husker freshmen in a conference game, kept NU ahead for most of the evening before Trey McGowens’ 3-pointer with 3:28 left gave the Huskers a 58-54 lead. Rutgers would have one last run, outscoring the Huskers’ 9-3 down the stretch to pull out the victory.

Paul Mulcahy’s putback basket with 1:32 left gave the Scarlet Knights their first lead of the game. NU had three chances to regain the lead in the final 1:30 and trailed 63-60 after Ron Harper Jr. hit two free throws with less than 10 seconds remaining. NU had a final chance to send it to overtime as Kobe Webster was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 0.9 seconds left. Webster split the first two to make it a 2-point Rutgers lead, but was called for a lane

violation as he intentionally tried to miss the third free throw, and Rutgers led on.

In addition to Bryce McGowens’ 29-point effort, Trey McGowens added a season-high 11 points and seven rebounds as the Huskers had 44-39 advantage on the boards and held Rutgers to 38 percent shooting.

Nebraska shot just 29 percent from the floor, but kept control for most of the night by going 21-of-29 from the line, including 14-of-18 by Bryce McGowens, who posted his seventh 20-point effort of the year.

Geo Baker led Rutgers with 14 points to pace three Rutgers players in double figures. Mawot Mag added 13 off the bench and Mulcahy added 10 points and four steals. NU held Ron Harper Jr., who was leading Rutgers in scoring, to just seven points on 1-of-9 shooting. 

 

“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.

The 6-foot-9 center is enjoying his best year in 2021-22, averaging 9.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals per game while shooting nearly 70 percent from the field.

 

Walker Making Big Jumps

*-Includes Tennessee (2017-19) and Nebraska (2020-21)

• Walker has played his best against NU’s ranked opponents, averaging 11.6 points on 63 percent shooting, 6.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game in six contests against ranked foes.

• In the Huskers’ loss to No. 25 Illinois on Jan. 11, he finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, while helping to limit Kofi Cockburn to 8-of-18 shooting.

• He turned in a strong performance at No. 10 Michigan State on Jan. 5 with 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting to match his career high in points.

• Walker has been in double figures 11 times in NU’s last 14 games, and he tied or set a career best in scoring in three straight games, including 16 points on 7-of-7 shooting against Tennessee State on Nov. 23.

• He matched a school record with 15 consecutive made field goals from Nov. 21 to Nov. 27.

• Walker has three double-doubles since Dec. 1 including 12 points and 13 rebounds in a career-high 50 minutes in the four OT loss at NC State. In the loss at No. 18 Auburn, he had 10 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals. Walker’s most recent double-double came against No. 13 Ohio State on Jan. 2 when he had 15 points, 10 rebounds and four steals against the Buckeyes.

 

McGowens Brothers Reunited on Court

After a two-month hiatus, the McGowens brothers were reunited on the court on Jan. 17, and back in the starting lineup for the last two games. Before the first three games of the season, the pair had not played together in a competitive environment since they were kids.

• Bryce is ninth in the Big Ten in scoring at 16.7 ppg while grabbing 5.5 rebounds per game as of Jan. 30. He ranks among the B1G leaders in scoring, free throw percentage and minutes played.

Bryce at a Glance

• A three-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week (Nov. 15, Nov. 29, Dec. 20), he leads all conference rookies in scoring and is second in rebounding.

• He is the only Husker freshmen in either the Big 12 (1996-97 to 2010-11) or Big Ten (2011-12 to present) eras to be a three-time honoree as a freshman.

• McGowens has reached double figures in scoring 16 times, including seven 20-point efforts. He has been in double figures in each of the last three games, capped by a 29-point effort against Rutgers on Jan. 29.

• McGowens leads the Big Ten and ranks eighth nationally in free throws made (107) as of Jan. 30.

• Bryce enters Tuesday’s game with Michigan with 351 points, which is fifth on NU’s all-time freshmen list. He is closing in on both Eric Piatkowski (372, fourth) and Jerry Fort (376, third).

• 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.

• 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 against both Sam Houston and Rutgers. 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 96 of 99 games at the college level for Pittsburgh and Nebraska and scored over 1,000 career points. He has started 32 of the 33 games he has played at Nebraska.  He is averaging 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game in six contests

• After being on a minute restriction in his first two games, McGowens had 11 points and seven rebounds against Rutgers on Saturday.

• Considered NU’s best defender, McGowens usually is assigned to the opponent’s top perimeter scorer.  Against No. 11 Wisconsin, he limited Johnny Davis to a season-low 13 points, including none in the first half and followed up holding Ron Harper Jr. to 1-of-9 shooting on Saturday.

• He helped limit Sam Houston’s Demarkus Lampley, a returning first-team all-conference performer, to 2-of-14 shooting on Nov. 12, while McGowens grabbed a season-high nine rebounds.

• Last season, Trey averaged 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, while starting all 27 games. He reached double figures 17 times, including a season-high 20 points against No. 17 Michigan State.

• Trey has ranked among the conference leaders in steals in each of his first three seasons in college. He is one of only two active power conference players who ranked in the top five in steals in each of the past three seasons (Jamari Wheeler, PSU/OSU).

• In his final season at Pittsburgh (2019-20), he averaged 11.5 ppg, while ranking in the top 15 of the ACC in steals (fourth), assists (3.6, 10th), assist-to-turnover ratio (15th) and minutes played.

• The McGowens brothers are one of 15 brother combos on the same college roster this season.

 

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 14.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. The 6-foot-4 guard from Chicago ranks among conference leaders in both assists (first) and steals (sixth) as of Jan. 30.

• He has a 1.51-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio after posting a 1.29-to-1 ratio in his two seasons at Arizona State.

• His 5.30 assists per game would rank fifth in school history, while only four players in school history have averaged at least 5.00 assists in a season.

• Verge is ninth in the Big Ten with four double-doubles (vs. W. Illinois, vs. Tennessee State, at NC State and Kennesaw State).

• He nearly collected his fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and nine assists vs. No. 25 Illinois on Jan. 11.

• He posted his fourth double-double of the year with 16 points and a career-high 12 assists in the win over Kennesaw State on Dec. 22.

• He had his fourth 20-point effort of the season with 21 points, five assists, five rebounds and four steals in the loss to Kansas State on Dec. 19.

• 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.

 

Keisei for 3

The addition of Keisei Tominaga has helped the Huskers’ 3-point shooting. The 6-foot-2 guard is fifth on the team in scoring at 7.0 points per game while connecting on a team-high 33 3-pointers entering the Michigan game. He has also committed just nine turnovers in 409 minutes this season.

Tominaga started slowly as he had just three points in his first three games, but is averaging 8.1 points per game on 41 percent shooting, including 38 percent from 3-point range in NU’s last 18 games dating back to Nov. 19. He has seven double-figure games in that stretch, including a career-high 23 points against South Dakota on Nov. 27 and 18 points in the win over Kennesaw State on Dec. 22.

Last summer, Tominaga represented Japan in 3×3 basketball in the Tokyo Olympics, helping Japan reach the medal round. He 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. 

 

Husker Injury Update

The Huskers have a pair of scholarship players currently out with injuries. Trevor Lakes is out indefinitely because of a lingering shoulder injury. Lakes, who underwent surgery on his right shoulder last March, managed the injury throughout the year, but has not played since Jan. 8.

Wilhelm Breidenbach underwent season-ending leg surgery on Dec. 22 for an injury suffered in Nebraska’s game against Michigan.  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.