Story by NU Athletic Communications
- Nebraska’s win snapped an 11-game losing streak to Michigan State. It was the Huskers’ first victory over the Spartans since Jan. 20, 2016.
- NU outscored Michigan State 46-36 in the second half. The 46-point second half marked the Huskers’ highest-scoring half in their last 25 games against Big Ten teams dating back to a 49-point first half at Penn State on Feb. 27, 2022.
- NU shot 50 percent in the game (27-of-54), including 64.0 percent from the field in the second half (16-of-25). Each of those marked Nebraska’s second-best effort of the season, as the Huskers shot 55 percent against Stony Brook on Nov. 12, including 65.5 percent in the second half.
- It also marked the first time MSU had allowed an opponent to shoot 50 percent since the 2022 NCAA Sweet 16. The previous opponent high this season was .458 by Arizona on Nov. 23.
- Nebraska was 13-of-15 from the free throw line in the game, including 11-of-13 in the second half. The Huskers made their final 11 free throws to close out the game.
- Nebraska is shooting 86.3 percent (82 of 95) from the foul line over the last five games.
- The Huskers’ seven-point victory marked Nebraska’s first game this season decided by single digits.
- Nebraska hit 10 3-pointers in the game, marking the Huskers’ fourth game of the season with double-digit 3-pointers.
- Juwan Gary tied his career high with 20 points in his first start of the season. That matched his scoring output against Duquesne on Nov. 22.
- Rienk Mast had a career-high six assists to go along with a game-high 14 rebounds. Mast had five of his six assists and 10 of his 14 rebounds in the second half.
- Brice Williams scored all of his 14 points in the second half, making all four of his field goal attempts.
Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg
Opening Statement
“I’m proud of our guy for an unbelievable bounce back game after a really difficult night in Minneapolis where we could not have played worse in the second half. Give Minnesota credit for the pressure they turned up on us, but I thought we learned a lot from that game. Our guys were locked during the film session the next morning and went out and had two really good hard physical days of practice preparing for a very tough Michigan State team. I thought the second half we got out, we talked about the starts obviously that have been an issue for our team, and to come out and get off to an 11-2 start in the second half and take a lead. They got a little lead on us there late, but for the most part we kept it for the entire 20 minutes. We made really smart decisions unlike the other night, and that’s something I give our guys a lot of credit for is learning from the mistakes we made in Minnesota. We had 12 turnovers in the second half (against Minnesota), tonight we had two. When you get the ball to the elbow, we worked a lot with that, getting movement, getting it to the elbow, cutting, and trying to use pressure against the defense. I thought our guys did a masterful job of getting the job to Rienk (Mast) and continuing with that, doing the things that made us successful. When I look at that box score, obviously Juwan (Gary) and Rienk with the nights they had, but you could argue anybody that stepped on the floor tonight was the player of the game. Eli (Rice) and Matar (Diop) go out and give us huge minutes especially with Josiah out of the lineup today with his ankle. Start to finish, I was just really pleased how the guys went out there and played a complete 40-minute game. Really talked a lot about that, and it couldn’t have happened at a better time.”
On Juwan Gary’s first start of the season and the game overall
“We’ll see. We’ve got a week to make that decision. Juwan’s energy out of the gate was great. It is just exactly what he does when he comes off the bench. It doesn’t change the person or the player that Juwan is. He is going to go out there and compete every time he’s on the floor. Made some huge blocks for us late in the game. Shot looked phenomenal tonight. He had great balance, and great lift, and knocking down shots when he was open. He had a really nice play to Rienk (Mast) after the timeout play. Just really made winning plays all night long. Rienk was an absolute monster on the glass. Got it handed to us the other night. Minnesota was much more physical than us. Again, that was a huge emphasis for us going into this game. Getting back in transition. We gave them too many in the first half, did much better in the second, but transition and rebounding were the two keys and for the most part, I thought we did a solid job.”
On shooting from 50% from the field and team decision making
“We executed. We talked about playing with pace but playing with smart pace. If we didn’t have anything, I thought we did a really nice job of getting into a set, and I thought we executed very well, especially in the second half. I think we were 65%, and that is not easy to do against a Tom Izzo team. We just kept going back to what was working, and I can’t call a timeout every possession. These guys have to go out there and execute. When we didn’t have anything, we didn’t press, we didn’t force, we got the ball where we needed to get it. You look at Rienk with six assists. It showed a little bit of what Derrick (Walker) did for us last year, and again the guys cut and withstood runs. I thought they kept their poise and composure. One thing I was really pleased with our team was how well they were communicating in huddles, and talking to each other, and taking constructive criticism, and then going out and executing. That makes our job as coaches a lot easier when those guys are over there talking about things that they need to figure out on the floor, and I thought our huddles were the best they’ve been all year tonight.”
Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo
Opening Statement
“Disappointed is the word. There’s some things we did better. Couldn’t believe some of the shots we missed early then made a decent amount of shots. When they hit those threes banged in a two. 30-40 quarters in the shot clock. That kinda you know instead of being up eight or nine at half we were up to three or four. Give them credit. They made some plays. Third game of five that we’ve lost that we were up four minutes left in the game and found a way to win it. I think A.J. (Hoggard) played well on both ends. Tyson (Walker) played okay. I thought they did a good job at the end. Give Fred (Hoiberg) credit. Good job on him. Malik (Hall) had a tough game overall. I had to move him all over. There’s a lack of production I got out of my two centers. I’m just disappointed that I thought we were playing well enough to win. Boy, they made some shots in the second half. They did a hell of a job in those back doors and our centers got lazy. Ball pressure and they got three of them in the start of the second half. They made nine out of their first 11 shots. So we’ll be doing some restructuring I guess. Really disappointed in the outcome. They did a great job. Give them some credit.”
On restructuring the centers and what other options there have
“The way I feel right now Nick (Sanders) and Steven (Izzo) are options. I was very disappointed in our play out there. Very disappointed. You’re right. Not a lot of options, just the same. Just need a little better play. In fairness, Jeremy (Fears Jr.) played his butt off as far as trying to check and do things.
On Xavier (Booker) not playing tonight and what he can do in the rotation