The Nebraska men’s basketball team returns home on Saturday afternoon, as the Huskers host Northwestern. Tipoff at Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 1:15 p.m. and the game will be carried on the Big Ten Network and the Huskers Radio Network. Locally, you can listen to the game on KBBN 95.3 FM.
Saturday’s game is Alumni Weekend, as nearly 65 former players and basketball staff will be back in Lincoln for the weekend. The events include a private dinner for basketball alumni and their families on Friday, including recognition of the 1993-94 Big Eight Tournament title team. All of the alumni in town will be recognized during halftime ceremonies, while former Head Coach Danny Nee will be honored during the first half.
Nebraska (13-5, 3-4 Big Ten) looks to bounce back following an 87-82 overtime loss at Rutgers on Wednesday night. Brice Williams had a game-high 22 points, including four of the Huskers’ 13 3-pointers, to lead three Huskers in double figures. Rutgers rallied back from a 12-point deficit in the final 10 minutes to send the game to overtime and then outscored NU 18-13 in the extra session.
Williams has been one of the top newcomers in the Big Ten, as the 6-foot-7 guard is averaging 13.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, as he is second on the team in scoring and assists and third in rebounding entering this weekend’s action.
Northwestern is 13-4 on the season following a 72-69 win over Maryland on Wednesday. Boo Buie had 20 points, including a go-ahead jumper with 20 seconds remaining, and seven assists as the Wildcats won for the third time in the last four contests.
Numbers to Know
.800 – Nebraska is shooting 80.0 percent from the foul line (196-245) over the last 12 contests dating back to Nov. 22. Keisei Tominaga is shooting a team-best 92.9 percent (39-of-42) in that span, while Brice Williams is at an 89 percent clip (38-of-44).
17 – Nebraska has won its last 17 games when scoring at least 80 points before the streak was broken in Wednesday’s overtime loss. Over the past three seasons, NU is 19-2 when scoring 80+ points with both losses coming in overtime (at NC State, 2021; at Rutgers, 2024).
9.4 – NU leads the Big Ten with 9.4 3-pointers per game as of Jan. 18, an average which is on pace to challenge the single-season school record for 3-pointers per game (9.5/gm, 2001-02). The Huskers are 8-2 this season when hitting at least 10 3-pointers.
16 – Nebraska has held 16 of 18 opponents under 50 percent shooting. Dating back to last season, NU has held 21 of its last 25 opponents to under 50 percent shooting.
1.45 – Nebraska’s assist-to-turnover ratio this season, which is sixth in the Big Ten as of Jan. 18. Over the last decade, NU’s best assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.32, set in the 2018-19 season. Nebraska’s 16.2 assists per game is the program’s highest average since 1995-96 (17.37 apg).
4 – Nebraska’s 2023-24 roster features four career 1,000-point scorers (Josiah Allick, Jarron Coleman, Rienk Mast and Brice Williams). Williams became the most recent member of the 1,000-point club at Wisconsin on Jan. 6.
Worth Noting
• Nebraska enters Saturday’s game with a 13-5 mark, which matches NU’s best 18-game record since joining the Big Ten (also in 2018-19) and best since the 2010-11 team opened the year with a 14-4 record.
• Nebraska has an opportunity to end another losing streak on Saturday, as the Huskers have lost their last seven meetings to the Wildcats dating back to 2019. NU has already ended losing streaks to Michigan State (11 games), Kansas State (seven games) and Indiana (seven games) during the 2023-24 campaign.
• Nebraska enters the Northwestern game averaging 78.5 points per game. It is NU’s highest points per game average since averaging 80.2 points per game in the 1995-96 season and on pace to finish in the top 10 in single-season scoring average. It is also more than 12 points per game higher than NU’s average at the 18-game mark last season (66.4 ppg). NU has climbed from 149th to 25th nationally in offensive efficiency in KenPom as of Jan. 18.
• The Huskers are 19-7 over the last 26 games dating back to Feb. 1, 2023, which ranks second in winning percentage as of Jan. 18. A big reason for that is NU’s offense, as NU has averaged 77.1 ppg on 46 percent shooting in that stretch.
• The Huskers are now 24-5 under Fred Hoiberg when scoring at least 80 points, including 19-2 over the last three seasons. Both losses have come in overtime (104-100 in 4OT at NC State on Dec. 1, 2021; 87-82 in OT at Rutgers on Jan. 17, 2024). NU had won its last 17 games when reaching the 80-point plateau before Wednesday’s OT loss.
• C.J. Wilcher has been on a tear in recent weeks, averaging 12.0 points per game on 59 percent shooting over the last seven contests to raise his season average to 8.4 ppg. He is 17-of-31 from 3-point range (.548) in that stretch with five double-figure efforts.
• Keisei Tominaga enters the Northwestern game needing just five 3-pointers to break into NU’s top-10 career chart. Tominaga, who leads NU with 38 3-pointers, has 140 for his career. Tominaga, who is fourth in the Big Ten in 3-pointers per game, is five behind Tyronn Lue (145, 1996-98) for 10th place. He has made three or more 3-pointers in four of the past five games dating back to Jan. 3.
• One strength of the Huskers has been getting to the free throw line. NU has shot more free throws in 14 of 18 games in 2023-24 and its +88 differential is tied for third in the Big Ten as of Jan. 18. Nebraska has made nearly as many free throws (283) as opponents have had attempts (287). NU allows just 15.9 free throw attempts per game to tie for third in the Big Ten as of Jan. 18.
• Nebraska enters Saturday’s game ranked second in the Big Ten in free throw shooting at 75.5 percent. It is on pace to be one of NU’s highest season percentages. NU has not shot over 74 percent from the foul line since the 2011-12 season when NU shot a school-record 76.6 percent.
• Nebraska’s bench has provided a spark, averaging 24.4 points per game. The Huskers’ leading scorer has come from the bench six times (Hoiberg-Lindenwood; Wilcher-Rider, North Dakota and South Carolina State; Gary-Stony Brook; Allick-Iowa) and NU has had 17 double-figure efforts from its bench in 2023-24.
• Nebraska won its first seven games by 10 or more points. It was just the second time in over 100 years – the other was from Dec. 3-30, 1990 – that the Huskers won seven straight games by double figures.
• The Huskers finished non-conference action with a 10-1 mark, matching their best non-conference record since joining the Big Ten (also 2018-19).
About Northwestern
Chris Collins is in his 11th season at Northwestern and brings the Wildcats to Lincoln with a 13-4 record, including a 4-2 Big Ten mark.
The Wildcats returned three starters from a team that won 22 games and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Senior guard Boo Buie is one of the Big Ten’s premier players as he averages 18.4 ppg on 45 percent shooting and 5.1 assists per game. He has scored 20+ points in each of Northwestern’s last two games. He is one of four Wildcats averaging double figures. Brooks Barnhizer is at 13.9 ppg while Ty Berry (11.6 ppg) and Princeton transfer Ryan Langborg (11.2 ppg) are both shooting over 37 percent from 3-point range. As a team, the Wildcats are shooting 37 percent from long distance.
Series History: Nebraska and Northwestern meet for the 23rd time on Saturday, as the Wildcats lead 13-9. NU is just 6-12 against the Wildcats with Northwestern winning the last seven meetings dating back to 2019.
Last Meeting: Keisei Tominaga paced the Huskers with 22 points, but Nebraska was unable to keep up with Ty Berry and Northwestern, as the short-handed Huskers fell to the Wildcats, 78-63, on Jan. 25, 2023.
Tominaga racked up 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting for the Huskers. Jamarques Lawrence added 12 points, including four 3-pointers, in his first career start. In all, the Huskers hit nine 3-pointers and shot 47.2 percent from the field, but Northwestern shot 52 percent and enjoyed a 35-23 advantage on the boards.
Berry notched career-highs in points (26) and 3-pointers (6), while Boo Buie and Chase Audige added 17 and 15 points, respectively.
