Huskers Return Home to Face Purdue

The Nebraska men's basketball team finally returns to Pinnacle Bank Arena Sunday afternoon, as the Huskers host Purdue in its Big Ten home opener. 

Tipoff at Pinnacle Bank Arena is slated for 3 p.m. and a limited number of tickets are available for purchase by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets or at the Pinnacle Bank Arena box office beginning 90 minutes prior to tipoff. Sunday's game will also feature a halftime performance from the KC Disc Dogs. 

Sunday's game will be televised nationally on BTN with Cory Provus and Shon Morris on the call. The game will also be available on the Fox Sports app on tablets, computers and mobile devices.
 

GAME 11: vs. PURDUE Date:     Sunday, Dec. 15 Time:     3:01 p.m. (CT)   Location:     Lincoln, Neb. Arena:     Pinnacle Bank Arena Tickets:     Huskers.com/Tickets NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS 2019-20 Record: 4-6 (0-1 Big Ten) Head coach: Fred Hoiberg     Record at Nebraska: 4-6 (1st year)     Career NCAA Record: 119-62 (6th year) PURDUE BOILERMAKERS 2019-20 Record: 6-3 (1-0 Big Ten) Head coach: Matt Painter     Record at Purdue: 326-162 (14th year)     Career Record: 351-167 (15th year) BROADCAST INFO Television: BTN     Play-by-play: Cory Provus     Analyst: Shon Morris Online Broadcast: Fox Sports App Radio: Learfield-IMG Husker Sports Network, including 590 AM (Omaha), 1400 AM (Lincoln) and 880 AM (Lexington)     Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka         Analyst: Jake Muhleisen Online Radio: Available on Huskers.com, Huskers App, TuneIn.com/Huskers and TuneIn App.  Sirius (Internet): 372     XM: Ch. 372

Fans can follow all of the action across the state of Nebraska on the Learfield-IMG Husker Sports Network with Kent Pavelka and Jake Muhleisen on the call. The game will also be available on Huskers.com, the Huskers app and TuneIn radio. The pregame show begins one hour prior to tipoff.

Nebraska (4-6) is home for the first time since Nov. 22, as the Huskers wrapped up a six-game road trip with a heartbreaking 96-90 overtime loss at Indiana Friday evening. Dachon Burke's season-high 25 points paced four Huskers in double figures, as Nebraska overcame an eight-point deficit in the final four minutes, capped by Burke's game-tying 3-pointer with 1.0 second left in regulation. Haanif Cheatham added 21 points, while Cam Mack finished with 15 points and 10 assists in a losing effort.

Purdue is 6-3 on the season and has been off since a 58-44 win over Northwestern last Sunday. The Boilermakers held Northwestern to 34 percent shooting in its Big Ten opener and put three players in double figures, led by Sasha Stefanovic's 14-point effort. Purdue is second in the Big Ten in scoring defense at 54.8 ppg and has held its last seven opponents to 65 points or less. Junior center Matt Haarms anchors the Boilermaker defense, as he averages 11.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots per game.

Following Sunday's contest, the Huskers will be off for finals before returning to the court on Saturday, Dec. 21, to take on North Dakota at 5 p.m.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
Thorir Thorbjarnarson has set career bests in points in each of the last three games, including 17 points in Friday's overtime loss at Indiana. He is averaging 13.3 points per game over NU's last three games after not reaching double figures in his career until Dec. 4 at Georgia Tech.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
.542 - Thorir Thorbjarnarson leads the Big Ten in 3-point percentage entering Saturday's action. He is 13-of-24 from long range this season after going a combined 6-of-28 behind the 3-point stripe in his first two years. 

4 - Double-digit scoring performances from Kevin Cross, which is the most by a Husker freshman since 2016-17 (5-Jeriah Horne and 4-Jordy Tshimanga). 

5.5 - Rebounds per game for freshman Ivan Ouedraogo, which is fourth among all Big Ten freshmen. His rebounds per game is on track to be the highest by a Husker freshman since Aleks Maric grabbed 6.3 rebounds per game in 2005-06.

8 - Nebraska has had eight of its nine eligible scholarship players reach double figures this season. The Huskers have four players currently averaging double figures.  

19 - Assists by Nebraska at Indiana on Friday, matching a season high. As a team, the Huskers have a 1.12-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

40+ - Nebraska had four players play over 40 minutes in the overtime loss at Indiana. It marked the first time in at least 15 seasons.

50- Returning point total from last season, all by Thorir Thorbjarnarson. That is the lowest by any power conference team since the 2009-10 season.

SCOUTING PURDUE
After a slow start, Purdue has gotten on a roll and has won five of its last six contests since a 1-2 start. The Boilermakers replaced a trio of starters from last year's Big Ten co-champion team, including All-Big Ten performer Carsen Edwards. Purdue went 26-10 and reached the Elite Eight before falling to eventual champion Virginia in an epic clash. 

Since a 10-point loss at Marquette in the Gavitt Games, Purdue has been stout defensively, holding its opponents to under 65 points in each of the last seven contests. The streak included a 29-point win over the Cavaliers and a 14-point win in its Big Ten opener on Dec. 8. On the year, Purdue is holding teams to 54.8 points per game, including 38 percent shooting while limiting teams to 26 percent beyond the arc. Today's game in Lincoln is Purdue's first road game since Nov. 13.

The Boilermakers, who use a nine-man rotation are anchored by junior center Matt Haarms, as the 7-foot-3 center averages 11.7 points on 63 percent shooting, 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots per game. Jahaad Proctor, a senior grad transfer who played at High Point for two seasons, leads Purdue in scoring at 14.2 ppg, while sophomore Eric Hunter Jr. chips in 10 points a contest. Over the last two games, Trevion Williams (7.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and Sasha Stefanovic (9.3 ppg) have moved into the lineup, as Stefanovic leads Purdue with 10 3-pointers.

Series History:  Sunday's game between the Huskers and Purdue will be the 22nd all-time meeting between the two programs in a series that dates back to 1947. Purdue holds a 16-5 lead in the all-time series, including a 10-3 mark (9-2 in regular season; 1-1 in Big Ten Tournament) since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011-12. This will mark the first time since the 2014-15 season that Purdue was not ranked at game time.

LAST MEETING VS. PURDUE
The Nebraska men's basketball team battled No. 15 Purdue for 40 minutes, but the Huskers came up just short of an upset in a 75-72 loss to the Boilermakers at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

In a close game that featured six ties and 11 lead changes, Nebraska could never quite get over the hump in the second half. The Huskers never led in the second half, despite pulling to within two eight times in the final 20 minutes. 

The Huskers received a big game from Glynn Watson Jr., who scored 25 points, including 5-of-9 from the 3-point line. James Palmer Jr. added 15 points and a season-high eight assists, while Thomas Allen had nine points. 

Purdue was led by Matt Haarms, who scored 17 points – one shy of his career high – and grabbed nine rebounds. Carsen Edwards, the Big Ten's leading scorer, chipped in 13 points, but the Huskers held him to just 3-of-16 shooting. Ryan Cline also added 13 points for the Boilermakers.

LAST TIME OUT
Dachon Burke Jr. poured in a team-high 25 points, including a 3-pointer with two seconds left in regulation to force overtime, but Nebraska fell 96-90 at Indiana Friday night.    

Four of five Nebraska starters scored in double figures. Hannif Cheatham contributed 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Thorir Thorbjarnarson had a career-high 17 points and was 3-of-5 from 3-point range. Cam Mack scored 15 points and dished out a team-high 10 assists. Yvan Ouedrago chipped in nine points and led the Huskers on the glass, collecting 10 rebounds. 

Overall, Nebraska shot 44 percent from the field, including 12-of-32 from behind the 3-point arc, while holding the Hoosiers to 5-of-25 shooting from long distance. The Hoosiers owned a 54 to 31 rebounding advantage, however, and rode freshman Trayce Jackson-Davis' 25 points and 15 rebounds to the overtime victory. For the game, Indiana shot 47 percent from the field and attempted 20 more free throws than the Huskers, making 27-of-38 from the charity stripe. 

DID YOU KNOW
• Nebraska's four home games entering Sunday's action ties for the lowest total in the Big Ten (with Michigan State and Northwestern). The Huskers wrapped up a stretch of six straight games away from home, its longest stretch since the 1997-98 season.

• The Huskers have already played three overtime games in the first five weeks of the 2019-20 season. NU's single-season record is four, set five times, most recently in 2007-08. Heading into Saturday's action, Nebraska has played in three of the Big Ten's six overtime games, while the Huskers' three overtime games is third nationally and leads all power conference teams. 

• One of the biggest points of emphasis for Hoiberg and his staff has been to shoot better from 3-point range, and that work has paid off over the past three weeks. Over the last seven games dating back to Nov. 22, NU is shooting 38 percent from 3-point range and averaging 9.1 3-pointers per game after shooting just 23 percent in the first three games of the season. 

Huskers' 3-Point Improvement

Category	First 3 Games	Last 7 Games
3 Pt. Pct.	.231	.381
3-Pointers/Gm	6.0	9.1
Att./Gm	26.0	24.0

• Nebraska has put at least four players in double figures in nine of the last 10 games. The only time it didn't occur was against South Florida on Nov. 27, when the Huskers had a pair of 20-point scorers in Haanif Cheatham (26) and Dachon Burke Jr. (21).  The Huskers put five players in double figures against Washington State on Nov. 25 and at Creighton on Dec. 7. 

• Through the first 10 games, 73.2 percent of the Huskers' offense has come from players who were added in the offseason, including four of Nebraska's top five scorers.

• It is not surprising that Nebraska has relied on its 3-point shooting early on, as Hoiberg's Iowa State teams led the Big 12 in 3-pointers in four of his five seasons at the school. The Huskers are on pace to average 8.2 3-pointers per game, a total which would rank second in school history and be the most since the 2001-02 campaign. 

Most 3-Pointers/Game in School History

No.	School	Games	3-Pointers/Game
1.	2001-02	28	9.54
-	2019-20	10	8.20
2.	2006-07	31	7.87
3.	2018-19	36	7.50

• After shooting 34 percent in their first two losses, the Huskers have shot much better as a team. Over the last eight games, the Huskers are shooting 46 percent from the floor, including three performances of 52 percent or better in that stretch. 

• Nebraska enters Sunday's game third in the Big Ten in turnover margin at +2.8 per game. The Huskers have forced an average of 15 turnovers per game to rank third in the Big Ten while averaging 12.2 turnovers per game. During his tenure at Iowa State, Hoiberg's teams ranked in the top three in the Big 12 in fewest turnovers per game in four of his five seasons at the school. 

• Nebraska had a 12-0 run at Indiana, the Huskers' eight double-digit scoring run of the season. NU has had at least one double-digit run in three of the last four games. 

• The Huskers have averaged 78 points per game since the opening night loss to UC Riverside, including three games of at least 90 points. NU had 90+ points in consecutive games against South Dakota State (90) and Southern (93), the first time the Huskers have scored 90 or more points in consecutive games since the 1999-2000 season. 

• Nebraska's 14 first-year players on the roster matches TCU for the most in the nation in research done by the Utah SID John Vu. Only four teams (TCU-14, Nebraska-14, East Carolina-13 and Utah-12) have at least 12 newcomers on their 2019-20 rosters. Nebraska returns a national-low 1.9 percent of its scoring from last season and the 50 returning points is the lowest by any power conference team since 2009 according to noted statistician Ken Pomeroy.

Fewest Returning PPG from 2018-19

No.	School	Returning PPG	Pct. of Scoring
1	Nebraska	2.0 PPG	1.9%
2.	Tulane	10.8 PPG	12.2%
3.	South Dakota St.	15.8 PPG	16.9%
4.	Virginia Tech	13.3 PPG	18.1%
5.	Washington	13.9 PPG	19.8%

Courtesy: Virginia Tech SID office

• Cam Mack is the only Husker in the last 30 years to have multiple points-assist double-doubles in the same season as he had one against Southern Utah on Nov. 9 and at Indiana on Dec. 13. In fact, it is only the seventh time in the last 30 years that a Husker has had a points-assists double-double. 

Husker Points/Assists Double-Doubles (Last 30 years)

No.	Pts.	Asst.	Opponent
Cam Mack	15	10	at Indiana, 12/13/19
Cam Mack	13	11	vs. Southern Utah, 11/11/19
Glynn Watson Jr.	10	10	vs. Cal State Fullerton, 12/20/18
Lance Jeter	10	10	vs. Kansas, 2/5/11
Lance Jeter	12	12	at Kansas State, 2/7/10
Sek Henry	11	11	at TCU, 11/21/09
Tom Wald	11	11	vs. Appalachian State, 12/31/94

THE CHASE FOR 1,000
Despite having only 50 points returning from last season, a pair of Huskers are quickly closing in on 1,000 career points at the collegiate level. 

Senior Haanif Cheatham enters the Purdue contest with 976 points during his career following his 21-point night at Indiana and is 26 points away from 1,000 for his career. Cheatham, who previously played at Marquette and Florida Gulf Coast, is averaging career bests in scoring (13.4 ppg), rebounding (5.3 rpg) and field gal percentage (.556). 

Junior guard Dachon Burke Jr. comes into Big Ten play with 946 points counting his two seasons at Robert Morris, and needs 54 points to reach that plateau. Burke comes off a 25-point night at Indiana and is averaging 13.3 ppg this season while shooting a career-best 37 percent from 3-point range. 

They will join Matej Kavas, who went over 1,000 career points on Nov. 22. Kavas now has 1,033 career points between his time at Seattle and Nebraska. 

SETTING A FAST PACE
Not only are the Huskers adjusting to a whole new roster, but playing at a significantly faster pace than in previous years. The Huskers are 16th nationally in offensive tempo, as their average possession is 15.0 seconds through Friday's games.

• In his five seasons as a college coach, Hoiberg's teams have ranked in the top 20 in offensive tempo four times, including top-10 rankings in both 2014 and 2015. 

• Hoiberg's first Iowa State team in 2010-11 jumped from 67th to 20th nationally in offensive pace and ranked in the top 40 nationally in adjusted tempo in four of his five seasons in Ames, including top-15 nationally in his last two campaigns.

• In the KenPom era (1997-present), only one Husker team has ranked among the top 100 nationally in adjusted tempo - the 1999-2000 Huskers under Danny Nee. The Huskers' quickest offensive tempo in the last decade was in 2017-18 when the Huskers were 140th in offensive tempo.

• Sunday's matchup against Purdue will present a clash of styles, as NU leads the Big Ten in adjusted tempo, while the Boilermakers are 13th in the conference in that category.