Huskers return to host North Dakota Wednesday night

Story by NU Athletic Communications

The Nebraska men's basketball team looks for its third straight win on Wednesday night, as the Huskers return home to face North Dakota at Pinnacle Bank Arena to begin a three-game homestand.

Tipoff between the Huskers and Fighting Hawks is set for 6:30 p.m. and tickets are available for the matchup by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets, calling 800-8-BIGRED during business hours (Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.) or at PBA beginning at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The game will be carried on the Huskers Radio Network and streamed on B1G+ with Jessica Coody and Erick Strickland on the call. 

Nebraska (9-2) comes its best defensive effort of the season in a 62-46 win at Kansas State on Sunday. The Huskers held Kansas State to 26.7 percent shooting, the Wildcats' lowest shooting performance since 2017, while KSU's 46 points was nearly 35 points under their season average entering the game. The 46 points allowed marked NU's best defensive effort since the 2018-19 season and its best performance in a road game in the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present). 

The Huskers relied on the power game, as Juwan Gary and Rienk Mast both posted double-doubles in the win. Gary had 13 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards, while Mast had a team-high 19 points and 12 rebounds. Brice Williams nearly gave the Huskers three players with double doubles with 10 points and nine rebounds, as Nebraska enjoyed a 57-40 advantage on the boards, including 22 offensive rebounds. 

North Dakota (8-4) comes to Lincoln riding a two-game win streak following a 79-62 win over Utah Tech on Saturday. Treysen Eaglestaff had a game-high 28 points, including six 3-pointers, while B.J. Omot added 20 points as UND used an early 11-0 run to take control and led the final 38 minutes. UND hit 12 3-pointers and enjoyed a 48-29 advantage on the glass.

About North DakotaNorth Dakota comes to Lincoln with an 8-4 record following a 79-62 road win at Utah Tech on Saturday night. The 8-4 mark is the program's best start since moving to Division I level. Wednesday's game wraps up a two-game road trip before the Fighting Hawks begin Summit League play on Dec. 29.  

Head Coach Paul Sather is no stranger to the region, as he is in his fifth season in charge of the North Dakota program. Last season, UND won 13 games after winning just 15 the previous two seasons.  Prior to taking the North Dakota job, he spent nine seasons at Northern State, guiding that program to a trio of NCAA Division II Tournaments and a runner-up finish in 2018. His teams won the Northern Sun Conference title in each of the past two seasons.

The Fighting Hawks feature a trio of double-figure scorers in B.J. Omot, Treysen Eaglestaff and Tsotne Tsartsidze. Omot averages a team-high 16.2 points per game and has four 20-point games, including a 24-point effort at Iowa in the season opener. Eaglelstaff is at 15.5 ppg and also has four 20-point nights this season. He is shooting 8 percent from 3-point range and averaging nearly three 3-pointers per game.  Tsartsidze chips in 10.3 ppg on nearly 48 percent shooting. In addition, Tyree Ihenacho was ruled eligible last week, and the James Madison transfer had nine points and three rebounds in his debut. Ihenacho began his career at UND, where he was the Summit League Freshman of the Year in 2020-21.

Series History: Nebraska leads the all-time series, 3-2, in a series that dates back to 1933. North Dakota won 75-74 in the most recent meeting in 2019, as De’Sean Allen-Eikens' free throw with seven seconds left provided the winning margin. Marlon Stewart scored a game-high 23 points in the win, while Cam Mack had 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to pace four Huskers in double figures. NU is 77-11 all-time against current members of the Summit League. 

Numbers to Know11- Juwan Gary's 11 offensive rebounds against Kansas State on Sunday were the most by a power conference player in 2023-24. According to Sports Reference, only two power conference players - Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe (vs. Duke in 2021) and Washington's Nate Roberts (vs. Northern Illinois in 2021) - have grabbed more offensive boards in a game over the last five seasons.

12- Nebraska allowed 12 second-half points at Kansas State on Sunday, its lowest total since holding Jackson State to nine first-half points on Dec. 19, 2009. 

15 - Nebraska's win snapped Kansas State's 15-game home winning streak in non-conference games and was the Wildcats' second home loss in 23 home games dating back to the start of the 2022-23 season.

2- Number of power conference players averaging at least 10 points, nine rebounds and three assists per game this season as of Dec. 18 - Nebraska's Rienk Mast and Duke's Kyle Filipowski. 

57 - Nebraska grabbed 57 rebounds in the win at Kansas State, its highest rebounding total since grabbing 60 rebounds against Oral Roberts on Dec. 22, 1999.

8.6 - NU ranks second in the Big Ten with 8.6 3-pointers per game as of Dec. 18.  NU has averaged more than 8.0 3-pointers/game just twice in program history (2001-02 and 2020-21).

13.7 - Nebraska leads the Big Ten and ranks 14th nationally in fewest fouls per game (13.7) entering this week's action. NU also ranked in the top 20 nationally in that category in 2022-23 (14.1, 16th). 

2 - Nebraska matched a school record with two turnovers in the win over Duquesne on Nov. 22, matching a record originally set in 2013. As of Dec. 18, it ties for the lowest total by a power conference team in 2023-24.

1.43 - Nebraska's assist-to-turnover ratio this season, which is sixth in the Big Ten as of Dec. 19. NU's best assist-to-turnover ratio in the last decade is 1.32, set in the 2018-19 season. That season, NU had 9.96 turnovers per game, the lowest average since assists were tracked in 1978-79.

Worth Noting

1. Nebraska's 9-2 record matches NU's best 11-game mark since opening the 2003-04 season with a 10-1 mark in its first 11 contests. The Huskers were also 9-2 on five other occasions (2005-06, 2007-08, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2018-19) since 2003-04.  Nebraska opened the season with seven straight wins, marking just the fifth time in program history that Nebraska opened the season with seven straight wins.
2. Nebraska held Kansas State to 46 points in holding the Wildcats to its fewest points since the 2020-01 and third-fewest total at home since Bramlage Coliseum opened in 1988.  It marked the fewest points NU allowed on the road since joining the Big Ten and was only the second time NU had held an opponent under 50 points on the road since the 2011-12 season. Nebraska allowed just 0.68 points per possession, its lowest total in the Big Ten era. 
3. C.J. Wilcher graduated over the weekend with a degree in child, youth & family studies but will go through graduation ceremonies during the spring. Wilcher, who began his collegiate career at Xavier before transferring to Nebraska before the 2021-22 season, is a three-time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Roll member and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2023. He will be the fifth college graduate on the 2023-24 Husker roster, joining Josiah Allick, Jarron Coleman, Rienk Mast and Brice Williams.
4. One oddity in Sunday's win was that Nebraska got to the foul line a season-low four times compared to Kansas State's 18 attempts. It marked just the second time this year that an opponent got to the line more than Nebraska. Despite that difference on Sunday, the Huskers have been to the foul line 65 more times than its opponents, a total which ranks third in the Big Ten entering the week.  
5. The Huskers are 15-5 over the last 20 games dating back to Feb. 1, 2023. A big reason for that is NU's offense, as NU has averaged 75.3 ppg on 46 percent shooting in that stretch.  Sunday's win was only the fifth time in the last 20 games NU has been held under 70 points. NU is 2-3 in those contests. 
6. Nebraska is 20-4 under Hoiberg when scoring at least 80 points, including 15-1 over the last three seasons. The only loss was a 104-100 quadruple overtime game at North Carolina State on Dec. 1, 2021. NU has won its last 13 games when reaching the 80-point plateau. 
7. Nebraska enters Wednesday's game ranked fourth in the Big Ten in free throw shooting at 74.2 percent.  While it is still early in the season, 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 where NU shot a school-record 76.6 percent. Over the last six games, Nebraska is shooting 83.8 percent (83-of-99) from the charity stripe, including the two best totals in Hoiberg's five seasons.  NU's 19-of-20 effort against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 26 was its best percentage (min. 20 att.) since going 20-of-21 (.952) against Minnesota on Nov. 26, 1995.
8. 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.
9. Nebraska's bench has provided a spark, averaging 22.5 points per game in the first 11 contests. The Huskers' leading scorer has come from the bench three times (Hoiberg-Lindenwood; Wilcher-Rider; Gary-Stony Brook) and NU has had nine double-figure efforts from its bench in 2023-24.  Juwan Gary's 20-point effort against Duquesne on Nov. 22 marked the seventh time under Fred Hoiberg that NU had a player score at least 20 points off the bench.

Last Time OutJuwan Gary and Rienk Mast combined for 32 points and 30 rebounds, as Nebraska posted an impressive 62-46 road win over Kansas State on Dec. 17.

Gary and Mast both posted double-doubles, as Nebraska overcame a 34-31 halftime deficit by holding the Wildcats to just 12 second-half points on 16 percent shooting. 

Gary had 13 of his career-high 18 rebounds in the second half, including eight offensive caroms after halftime, as Nebraska doubled up the Wildcats, 34-17, on the glass in the second half. 

Gary finished with 13 points and 18 rebounds, while Mast tallied 19 points and 12 rebounds on his way to his fourth double-double of the season. Brice Williams also nearly posted a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds, as the Huskers were held to 35 percent shooting, but hit 11 3-pointers in the win. 

The Huskers set the tone from the start in the final 20 minutes, as Gary had six points and five rebounds – all on the offensive glass - in an 11-4 spurt that put Nebraska up 42-38 after Sam Hoiberg’s 3-pointer with 15:49 remaining. 

Kansas State, which saw its 15-game non-conference home win streak snapped, pulled to within 42-40 after Macaleab Rich’s basket with 14:45 left but would get no closer.  The Huskers went on a 17-1 spurt over nearly a 10-minute span behind Mast, who scored six of his 19 points in the surge that gave NU a 59-41 lead after Keisei Tominaga’s 3-pointer with 5:34 left. 

Finding BalanceNebraska relied on its depth and balance early in the season. While the Huskers have four players averaging double figures, three others are between 5.5 and 6.4 ppg.

1. Nebraska has four players averaging double figures, which ties for the most in the Big Ten (also Michigan, Indiana and Purdue) entering this week's action. 
2. Nebraska has had nine different players reach double figures and have six different leading scorers through the first 11 games. Rienk Mast is the only player to lead NU in scoring more than twice in 2023-24.
3. No Husker averages more than 29.3 minutes per game, while eight Huskers are averaging at least 15 minutes per game. 
4. NU has gotten at least one double-figure effort from its bench in nine of 11 contests (all but the Creighton game). 

Tominaga Returns to All-Big Ten FormNebraska's lineup has been boosted by the return of fifth-year senior Keisei Tominaga, who missed NU's first two games with an ankle injury. He is third on the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game while shooting 44 percent from the field and 35 percent from 3-point range. 

1. Tominaga had nine points and set career highs in both assists (four) and steals (five) at Kansas State on Dec. 17. The five steals were the most by a Husker since Sam Griesel had five steals at Penn State last January. 
2. He has been in double figures five times, most recently a 15-point effort against Michigan State on Dec. 10. 
3. In a five-game stretch from Nov. 21-Dec. 3, he averaged 16.8 ppg on 58 percent shooting, including 44 percent from 3-point range over his previous five contests. 
4. He posted his 12th career 20-point game against No. 15 Creighton on Dec. 3, finishing with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting. 
5. Tominaga has a season-high 23 points versus Duquesne on Nov. 18, including 9-of-10 from the foul line. 
6. He had a perfect shooting performance against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 26, as he went 5-of-5 from the field, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range, and 4-of-4 from the foul line.   
7. Prior to Tominaga, the last player to have at least 15 points on a perfect shooting night was David Rivers at Michigan State on Jan. 13, 2013 (8-8 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 1-1 FT).  According to Sports Reference, only five power conference players have totaled at least 15 points on a perfect shooting night this season as of Dec. 18.

Tominaga was named to the preseason All-Big Ten team, becoming just the third Husker to receive the honor since Nebraska joined the conference in the 2011-12 season.  Last season, he averaged 13.1 points per game on 53 percent shooting, including 40 percent from 3-point range, while appearing in all 32 contests.  Tominaga led the Huskers in 3-pointers with 66 and was one of only six players nationally to average double figures and shoot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 85 percent from the foul line. 

Gary Returns Better than Ever After his 2022-23 season was cut short with a left shoulder injury that required surgery, Juwan Gary has come back playing some of the best basketball of his career.  During his rehab, Gary spent extensive time working on his shooting mechanics and the work has paid off.

1. He leads Nebraska in scoring (14.5 ppg) and field goal percentage (.544) since returning to action on Nov. 15. He also tops NU in steals (1.4 spg) and is second in rebounds (6.7 rpg). 
2. Gary already has seven double-figure games in his first eight contests after having just nine last year and just 20 in 75 career games entering 2023-24.
3. Gary was dominant in NU's win at Kansas State on Dec. 17 with 13 points and a career-high 18 rebounds in 30 minutes of work. His 18 boards shattered his previous career high of 11 set three other times, while his 11 offensive boards were the second-highest total by a Division I player this season.  
4. He recorded his second career 20-point game against Michigan State, hitting 8-of-11 shots from the field and adding three rebounds and three steals in NU's win over the Spartans. He moved into the starting lineup for the first time this year as Josiah Allick missed the game with an injury. 
5. His performance against MSU marked the third time in seven games that he tied or eclipsed his career high in points. 
6. Gary collected his first double-double off the bench against Oregon State with 12 points and 10 boards in just 21 minutes of work. 

New Faces, New RolesNebraska made a big splash in the transfer portal, adding five players to the roster, and their impact is already being felt during the early portion of the season. The group of Josiah Allick (New Mexico), Jarron Coleman (Bradley), Rienk Mast (Bradley), Ahron Ulis (Iowa) and Brice Williams (Charlotte) combined for more than 4,300 points, 2,100 rebounds and 800 assists entering this year.

1. Mast is averaging 13.0 points per game while leading the Huskers in rebounding (9.9 rpg) and assists (3.0 apg).  Mast currently ranks second in the Big Ten in rebounding and 13th in assists.  The 6-foot-10 forward has been in double figures eight times, highlighted by a 20-point, 16-rebound effort against Florida A&M and 19 points and 12 rebounds against Kansas State. He leads NU with four double-doubles and has 24 for his career.
2. Williams has started all 11 contests and is second in scoring at 13.6 points per game to rank 22nd in the Big Ten. Williams, who is third on the team in assists per game (2.3 apg) is shooting 44 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and nearly 85 percent from the foul line.  The 6-foot-7 guard has been in double figures eight times this season, highlighted by a 25-point effort in the win against Oregon State on Nov. 17 and had 18 points, six rebounds and four assists at Minnesota on Dec. 6.  Williams is 49 points away from the 1,000-point plateau for his career.
3. Allick has been a presence inside, averaging 6.4 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game.  Allick has three double-figure efforts this season, including 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists vs. Duquesne. He missed the Michigan State game because of an injury, but returned to action in Sunday's win over Kansas State.
4. Coleman has come off the bench in nine contests and is fourth on the team in assists at 2.2 per game while posting a 1.8-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. 

Mast's Massive NightRienk Mast put together a strong performance in Nebraska's win against Florida A&M on Nov. 9. The 6-foot-10 forward had game highs of 20 points and 16 rebounds for his first double-double as a Husker.

1. He became the first Husker in the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present) to have a game with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds, and the first Husker to do so since All-Big 12 performer Aleks Maric in 2008.
2. Since 1990, only six Huskers have had games with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds. That list includes Aleks Maric, Kimani Ffriend, Venson Hamilton, Mikki Moore and Eric Piatkowski.
3. Mast’s 16 rebounds were the most by a Husker since Yvan Ouedraogo had 19 rebounds against Northwestern on March 1, 2020, and the second-highest rebound total in Hoiberg’s four-plus seasons at Nebraska.
4. Mast and Duke's Kyle Filipowski are the only two power conference players averaging 10.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game as of Dec. 18.