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After playing four of its last five games on the road, the Nebraska men's basketball team returns to Pinnacle Bank Arena Tuesday evening, as the Huskers welcome the Michigan Wolverines to town. Tipoff is at 6:01 p.m. and any returned tickets will go on sale at the Pinnacle Bank Arena box office beginning at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Tuesday's game will be televised on ESPNU with Dave Feldman, Dan Dakich and Molly McGrath on the call. The game with the Wolverines will also be available on the ESPN app and on ESPN.com with authentication.
| GAME 21: NEBRASKA vs. MICHIGAN Date: Tuesday, Jan. 28 Time: 6:01 p.m. (CT) Location: Lincoln, Neb. Arena: Pinnacle Bank Arena Tickets: Huskers.com/Tickets NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS 2019-20 Record: 7-13 (2-7 Big Ten) Head coach: Fred Hoiberg Record at Nebraska: 7-13 (1st year) Career NCAA Record: 122-69 (6th year) MICHIGAN WOLVERINES 2019-20 Record: 11-8 (2-6 Big Ten) Head coach: Juwan Howard Record at Michigan: 11-8 (1st year) Career Record: same BROADCAST INFO Television: ESPNU Play-by-play: Dave Feldman Analyst: Dan Dakich Reporter: Molly McGrath Online Broadcast: ESPN.com and ESPN app Radio: Learfield IMG College 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. SiriusXM (Internet): Ch. 976 XM: Ch. 386 |
Fans can follow all of the action across the state of Nebraska on the Learfield IMG College 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.
Both Michigan and Nebraska are looking to bounce back after losing games against ranked teams in the final seconds on Saturday.
Nebraska (7-13, 2-7 Big Ten) comes off a 75-72 loss at No. 24 Rutgers, as Geo Baker hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining. Behind the play of Cam Mack, the Huskers had rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to take a six-point lead before Rutgers ended the game with a 9-0 run. Mack scored all 19 of his points in the second half, including a career-high four 3-pointers, while Thorir Thorbjarnarson had 17 points, including five 3-pointers, and eight boards in a losing effort.
Mack leads the Huskers in both scoring (13.3 ppg) and assists (6.7 apg), while his 32 3-pointers are second on the squad. Mack has five double-doubles this season, including the first triple-double in school history.
Michigan (11-8, 2-6 Big Ten) fell 64-62 to Illinois in Ann Arbor on Ayo Dosunmu's game winner with 0.5 seconds remaining. The Wolverines were held to 39 percent shooting and were led by Zavier Simpson's 17-point effort. Simpson is one of the best guards in the Big Ten, as he averages 12.8 points and a conference best 8.3 assists per game. Michigan, which averages 76.6 ppg, feature five players who average double figures. Senior Jon Teske paces the UM attack at 13.9 points per game while chipping in 7.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per contest.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
With 133 assists this season, Cam Mack enters Tuesday's game with Michigan needing just three assists to crack Nebraska's single-season top-10 list (Tyronn Lue, 136, 1996-97). Mack's 6.7 assists per game ranks 13th nationally as of Jan. 26.
3.00 - Cam Mack ranks fifth nationally among all power conference players with a 3.00-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in conference play. As of Jan. 26, only six power conference players have a 3.00-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in league contests.
| No. | Name | School | Conf Asst-to-TO |
| 1. | Jordan Goldwire | Duke | 4.50 |
| 2. | Tyger Campbell | UCLA | 4.29 |
| 3. | Quincy McKnight | Seton Hall | 3.56 |
| 4. | Wabissa Bede | Virginia Tech | 3.12 |
| 5. | Cam Mack | Nebraska | 3.00 |
| Connor McCaffery | Iowa | 3.00 |
Min. 3.0 asst/gm
7.4 - Kevin Cross has been one of the Big Ten's top scoring reserves this season. He ranks fifth among players who have exclusively come off the bench in 2019-20, and is the only freshman in the group. Cross ranks sixth among Big Ten true freshmen in scoring this season.
| No. | Name | School | PPG |
| 1. | Izaiah Brockington | Penn State | 9.6 |
| 2. | Jacob Young | Rutgers | 8.7 |
| 3. | Alan Griffin | Illinois | 8.4 |
| 4. | David DeJulius | Michigan | 7.7 |
| 5. | Kevin Cross | Nebraska | 7.4 |
Min 12 games; 0 starts
16 - Double figure scoring runs that Nebraska has had in 2019-20 following an 11-0 run at Rutgers.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN
Michigan comes into Tuesday's contest with an 11-8 record (2-6 Big Ten) following a 64-62 setback to Illinois on Saturday. In that game, Ayo Dosunmu's jumper with 0.5 seconds left was the difference, as he led all scorers with 27 points. Zavier Simpson led three Wolverines in double figures with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
Michigan is led by first-year head coach Juwan Howard, who took over the Michigan program following John Beilein's departure for the Cleveland Cavaliers 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.
The Wolverines raced out to a 7-0 start, including wins over Creighton, Iowa State, North Carolina and current No. 2 Gonzaga to move from unranked to No. 4 in the country in early December. Michigan entered 2020 with a 10-3 mark, but have gone just 2-5 since then. Michigan has been without the services of Isaiah Livers for six games until he returned to action on Saturday. Livers is second on the team in scoring at 13.1 ppg and is shooting 50 percent from 3-point range.
Despite the injury, the Wolverines have one of the most talented rosters in the Big Ten with four other players averaging double figures. Senior center Jon Teske leads the Wolverines in scoring (13.9 ppg), rebounding (7.6 rpg) and blocked shots (2.0 bpg) while shooting 53 percent from the floor. Senior point guard Zavier Simpson is averaging (12.8) ppg and leads the Big Ten in assists with 8.3 apg, but has been suspended for Tuesday's game. Eli Brooks (10.8 ppg) and freshman Franz Wagner (10.1 ppg) are also averaging double figures.
Series History: Tuesday's meeting is the 20th between the Huskers and Wolverines and the first of two meetings in 2019-20 (also March 5 in Ann Arbor). Michigan leads the all-time series, 16-3, in a series that dates back to 1949, although the Wolverines' win over the Huskers in the 1992 Rainbow Classic was later vacated. Michigan has won 10 of the 11 meetings since Nebraska joined the Big Ten with the only win coming in a 72-52 win 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 TIME OUT
The Nebraska men's basketball team erased a 14-point second-half deficit Saturday afternoon at No. 24 Rutgers, but the Scarlet Knights scored the final nine points to rally for a 75-72 victory.
Nebraska led 72-66 with less than three minutes to play, but Geo Baker hit a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch, including the game-winner with 1.1 seconds remaining. Baker, who was 1-of-13 from 3-point range since returning to action after an injury, hit his only two baskets of the game after Nebraska rallied back from a 14-point second-half deficit into a six-point lead.
Nebraska nearly pulled out the come-from-behind win thanks to a big second half from Cam Mack, who was limited in the first half due to foul trouble. Mack scored 16 of his 19 points in the final period, going 6-of-7 from the field with a career-high four 3-pointers. Thorir Thorbjarnarson tied his career highs with five 3-pointers and 17 points, falling just short of a double-double after grabbing eight rebounds. Jervay Green added 11 points off the bench, while Haanif Cheatham chipped in 10 points, as the Huskers had four players in double figures.
NU knocked down 11 3-pointers, and the Huskers' 72 points were the most Rutgers has allowed during its 14-game home winning streak. Nebraska was only out-rebounded by seven after the Scarlet Knights grabbed 17 more boards than the Huskers in the first meeting this season. But Rutgers had 10 offensive rebounds and outscored Nebraska 17-5 in second-chance points, and both the Scarlet Knights' game-tying and game-winning 3-pointers came after offensive rebounds.
STORYLINES
• Tuesday's game features the two newest coaches in the Big Ten in Fred Hoiberg and Michigan Juwan Howard. Hoiberg went 1-1 against the Wolverines while coaching at Iowa State, including a 77-70 win over No. 7 Michigan in Ames on Nov. 17, 2013. No. 14 Michigan downed the Cyclones 76-66 on Dec. 3, 2011 in Ann Arbor in the other meeting. In addition, the pair faced off one time in college, a 94-72 Michigan win at the Palace of Auburn Hills in 1992.
• Tuesday's game was going to feature two of the Big Ten's premier point guards in Michigan's Zavier Simpson and Nebraska's Cam Mack. Simpson leads the Big Ten in assists at 8.3 per game, while Mack is third in the conference at 6.7 assists per game. Both players have 2.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratios to rank second in the conference, but Simpson will not play on Tuesday.
• ESPN's BPI has Nebraska with the sixth-hardest strength of schedule remaining as of Jan. 25. In fact, eight of the top 10 are from the Big Ten, while all 14 conference teams are in the top 25.
• Nebraska is in a stretch where it will play 14 straight games against teams currently ranked in the top 50 of the NET. In all, 12 of the 14 Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 46 of the NET as of Jan. 25.
• Nebraska enters the Michigan contest averaging 72.3 points per game, which matches NU's highest average since the 1996-97 season.
• Nebraska has relied on its balance during the 2019-20 season. NU has put at least four players in double figures 15 times in the first 20 contests. The Huskers put five players in double figures three times, most recently against Iowa on Jan. 7. The Huskers currently have three players averaging double figures overall, including four in conference games.
• Despite being undersized and having just one player who had played in a Big Ten game entering the season, Nebraska's play in Big Ten action is starting to resemble the team's that Coach Hoiberg had at Iowa State, especially with ball movement and limiting turnovers. NU is in the top three in five offensive categories entering the weekend, including assist-to-turnover ratio and 3-point shooting.
Big Strides in Conference Play
| Category | 2019-20 (B1G) | 2018-19 (B1G) | Times Leading Big 12 during Hoiberg's tenure |
| 3-Pt./GM | 9.4 (1st) | 6.8 (8th) | (3) 2011-12; 2012-13; 2014-15 |
| Asst/GM | 15.9 (3rd) | 11.7 (10th) | (2) 2013-14; 2014-15 |
| Asst-to-TO Ratio | 1.7-to-1 (2nd) | 1.2-to-1 (5th) | (2) 2013-14; 2014-15 |
| Turnover Margin | +2.9 (2nd) | +2.0 (4th) | (0) None |
| Turnovers/Gm | 9.3 (3rd) | 9.6 (3rd) | (1) 2014-15 |
as of Jan. 26
• Sophomore Cam Mack has made an impact in his first season at Nebraska. He is 13th nationally with 6.7 assists per game, which is on pace to be the most by a Husker since the 1984-85 season, and ranks 31st nationally with his 2.46-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Mack's assist-to-turnover ratio is on pace to be one of the best in school history.
Best Assist/Turnover Ratios (Since 1979)
| No. | Ratio | Player | Asst.-TO | Year |
| 1. | 3.05 | Brian Carr | 201-66 | 1985-86 |
| 2. | 2.73 | Jamar Johnson | 123-45 | 1993-94 |
| 3. | 2.58 | Brian Carr | 237-92 | 1984-85 |
| 4. | 2.54 | Jack Moore | 109-43 | 1981-82 |
| 5. | 2.52 | Charles Richardson Jr. | 179-71 | 2006-07 |
| - | 2.46 | Cam Mack | 129-51 | 2019-20 |
min. 3.0 assists/gm
• Cam Mack is the only Husker in the last 30 years to have multiple points-assists double-doubles in the same season as he has four this season, including three in Big Ten play. From 1989-90 to the end of the 2018-19 season, it had happened just five times. Mack's consecutive points-assists double-doubles against Indiana and Purdue were the first since Brian Carr in December of 1985 (vs. UC-Irvine and Creighton).
Husker Points/Assists Double-Doubles (Last 30 years)
| No. | Pts. | Asst. | Opponent |
| Cam Mack | 15 | 10 | vs. Iowa, 1/7/20 |
| Cam Mack | 11 | 12 | vs. Purdue, 12/13/19 |
| 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 |
• Nebraska enters Tuesday's game leading in the Big Ten in turnover margin with +3.0 per game. The Huskers are third in the Big Ten in forcing turnovers (14.0 per game) and taking care of the basketball (11.0 per game). NU is 16th nationally in fewest 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.
• It is not surprising that Nebraska has relied on its 3-point shooting, 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 8.6 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 | 20 | 8.55 |
| 2. | 2006-07 | 31 | 7.87 |
| 3. | 2018-19 | 36 | 7.50 |
• Freshman Yvan Ouedraogo leads the Huskers in rebounding at 6.2 per game, which would be the highest season average by a Husker freshman in 15 years (Aleks Maric, 6.3 rpg in 2004-05). Ouedraogo's 14 rebounds vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 29 were the most by a Husker freshman since 2004 (15, Maric vs. UAB) and tied for the third-highest total by a Husker freshman in the last 20 years.
• The Huskers have played three overtime games in 2019-20, posting a 1-2 record. NU's single-season record is four, set five times, most recently in 2007-08. As of Jan. 17, Nebraska has played in three of the Big Ten's nine overtime games in 2019-20, including the first meeting with Indiana.
• Freshman guard Charlie Easley was put on scholarship for the spring semester. Easley has played in 16 games as a backup guard, including each of Nebraska's nine Big Ten contests. Easley has averaged 3.6 ppg during this month after averaging just 1.0 ppg in his first nine contests. He had a career-high eight points against Indiana and seven points in Saturday's loss to No. 25 Rutgers.
• 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
| Pace Under Hoiberg | ||
| Year | Avg. Poss. Length | NCAA Rank |
| 2010-11 | 15.9 | 20th |
| 2011-12 | 16.9 | 62nd |
| 2012-13 | 15.8 | 12th |
| 2013-14 | 15.2 | 8th |
| 2014-15 | 14.6 | 2nd |
| 2019-20 | 15.3 | 14th |
| as of Jan. 26 | ||
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 14th nationally in offensive tempo, as their average possession is 15.3 seconds per possession as of Jan. 26.
• The only power conference schools that play at a faster pace are Alabama (seventh) and St. John's (11th).
• Of the top 25 teams in terms of pace nationally, Nebraska is second only to Gonzaga in lowest turnover rate as of Jan. 26.
• In his five full 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.
| Most Assists/Game | ||
| No. | Name | APG |
| 1. | Brian Carr (1985) | 7.90 |
| 2. | Brian Carr (1986) | 6.70 |
| - | Cam Mack (2020) | 6.65 |
| 3. | Charles Richardson Jr. (2007) | 5.77 |
| 4. | Brian Carr (1987) | 5.03 |
MACK DELIVERS AS HUSKERS' LEAD GUARD
Junior college transfer Cam Mack was the cornerstone of the Huskers' recruiting class, and has lived up to the billing during the first half of the year. Mack was the No. 3 JUCO recruit in the country last year at Salt Lake CC and has made an impact in his first season at Nebraska. Mack, who was listed as the top JC point guard recruit in the country, enters the Michigan contest averaging 13.3 points per game while leading the Huskers in assists (6.7) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5-to-1).
• He is third in the Big Ten in assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio while ranking 10th in steals.
• Mack is tied for the national lead with four games with at least 10 points and 10 assists. In fact, only 12 players in Division I have at least three double-doubles with points and assists this season as of Jan. 26.
• His 6.7 assists per game is on pace to rank third in school history, trailing only Brian Carr, who averaged 7.9 assists per game in 1984-85 and 6.7 assists per game in 1985-86.
| Points/Assists Double-Doubles | |||
| No. | Name | School | 10+ Pts/Asst. Games |
| 1. | Cam Mack | Nebraska | 4 |
| Charlie Moore | DePaul | 4 | |
| Cameron Parker | Sacred Heart | 4 | |
| Jason Preston | Ohio | ||
| as of Jan. 26 | |||
• Mack has been even better in Big Ten play, leading the conference in assists (7.8 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.0-to-1) in conference games only. He has four of his five double-doubles in Big Ten action.
• He recorded the first triple-double in program history against Purdue on Dec. 15 with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, setting season bests in both rebounds and assists in NU's 70-54 win.
• He's reached double figures 18 times, including a season-high 24-point performance against South Dakota State on Nov. 15 and a 20-point, nine-assist effort against Indiana on Jan. 18.
• Mack nearly led the Huskers to a comeback win at No. 24 Rutgers on Jan. 26, scoring 16 of his 19 points in the second half as Nebraska rallied back from 14 points down to take the lead before falling 75-72.
• Mack is three assists away from 10th place on NU's single-season chart and his 133 assists is the most by a Husker in the Big Ten era.
• Last season at Salt Lake CC, Mack averaged 19.1 points, 7.6 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game, ranking fifth nationally in assists per game. He totaled nine double-doubles and three triple-doubles as a freshman and dished out 10-or-more assists nine times.
CHEATHAM MAKES IMPACT ON BOTH ENDS
Fifth-year senior Haanif Cheatham has been one of the leaders for a young Husker team. The guard from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has made 100 career appearances, including 92 starts during a career which has seen him play at Marquette and Florida Gulf Coast before coming to Nebraska. After a slow start, Cheatham has been one of NU's most consistent offensive threats. Over the last 15 games, he is averaging 13.4 points per game while typically guarding the opponent's top scoring threat on the wing. He is second on the team in field goal percentage (.478) and third on the team in assists (28).
• Cheatham has reached double figures in 13 of the Huskers' last 16 games, including a 21-point, six-rebound performance at Indiana on Dec. 13. He had six straight double-figure efforts from Nov. 25-Dec. 13, the second-longest streak of his collegiate career. Of the three games he didn't reach double figures, he scored nine points twice.
• He went over 1,000 career points with a 17-point performance against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 29.
• Cheatham posted his first career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds at Georgia Tech on Dec. 4.
• He was in double figures all three games of the Cayman Islands Classic, averaging 19.0 ppg including a career-best 26-point effort against South Florida to garner all-tournament honors.
A former top-100 recruit out of high school, he was named Marquette's top defensive performer in each of his two full seasons at Marquette.
THOR EMERGES AS SCORING THREAT
Junior Thorir Thorbjarnarson emerged as a vital part of the Huskers' offensive attack and one of the most improved players in the Big Ten. On the season, the 6-foot-6 guard is fifth on the team in scoring at 8.8 ppg, while shooting 50 percent from the field and 46 percent from 3-point range.
• Thorbjarnarson is second in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage (.459) after shooting just 21.4 percent from 3-point range in his first two seasons. He is now 14th in the Big Ten in 3-pointers per game (1.7).
• In conference play, he is second on the team in scoring (12.7 ppg), rebounding (5.8 rpg) and steals (1.1 spg), while shooting team bests from both the field (.519) and 3-point range (.458).
• He ranks second in 3-pointers per game (2.4) and fourth in 3-point percentage (.458) in conference play.
• His 11.3 ppg increase in conference play from last season is the second-highest jump in the Big Ten, and he is one of four players who have increased their conference scoring average by at least 10 ppg this season.
• He has been on a roll as of late, reaching double figures nine times in NU's last 13 games after not reaching double figures in his first 41 contests at Nebraska. Since Dec. 4, he has tied or set a career high in points five times in that stretch, including 17
points at No. 24 Rutgers on Saturday.
• He nearly had a double-double in the win over Iowa, finishing with 17 points, including three 3-pointers, and a season-high nine rebounds. He tied his season high originally set at Indiana on Dec. 13.
•Thorbjarnarson played one of his best all-around games against Indiana on Jan. 18, finishing with 13 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three assists in 37 minutes of work.
BURKE SHOWS SCORING TOUCH
The other returnee from the 2018-19 season, Dachon Burke Jr. waited in the wings after transferring from Robert Morris. A 6-foot-4 guard, Burke has quickly shown the skills to flourish in Fred Hoiberg's attack, averaging 11.7 points, 4.1 rebounds per game and 1.4 steals per game.
• He leads NU and ranks third in the Big Ten in steals and paces the Huskers in blocked shots (14).
• Burke has three 20-point efforts this year, including a 25-point effort against Indiana on Dec. 13, a 21-point performance against South Florida on Nov. 27 and a 20-point, eight-rebound outing at Wisconsin on Jan. 21.
• He has eight games with at least two steals, including a five-steal effort against George Mason on Nov. 25.
Two years ago, Burke was one of the best players in the Northeast Conference, averaging 17.6 points per game while adding 5.8 rebounds and a conference-best 2.1 steals per contest to earn second-team all-conference recognition.
OUEDRAOGO ADDS NAME TO SHORT LIST OF TRUE FROSH
Freshman Yvan Ouedraogo became the first true freshman to start a season opener at Nebraska since 2013 and has been a mainstay of the Husker lineup.
• He is one of the youngest players in the country, as he won't turn 18 until after the 2020 Big Ten Tournament.
• Ouedraogo has started all 20 games for the Huskers, averaging 5.6 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game in just over 21 minutes per game. He is third among Big Ten true freshmen in rebounding as of Jan. 26.
• He is on track to be the third freshman to lead NU in rebounding in a season, joining Aleks Maric (2005-06) and John Turek (2001-02), while Ouedraogo's 6.2 rebounds per game would rank second all-time for a Husker freshman.
• Ouedraogo has averaged 7.2 rebounds per game over the last 11 games dating back to Dec. 13. He grabbed seven or more rebounds eight times in that stretch.
• He reached double figures for the third time this season at Ohio State, finishing with 10 points and five boards.
• He picked up his first career double-double against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 29 with 11 points and 14 rebounds. His double-double was the first by a Husker freshman since Shavon Shields in 2013 and Ouedraogo became just the 10th NU freshman to ever record a double-double.
• His 10 rebounds against Indiana on Dec. 13 marked the second-highest rebounding total for a Husker freshman in his first conference game, trailing only Dave Hoppen in 1983.
• He enjoyed his best offensive effort of the season with 11 points, including six in overtime, and four rebounds against Southern on Nov. 22. He snared a team-high 12 rebounds against South Dakota State on Nov. 15.
• He is just the 11th true freshman and 13th freshman overall to start a season opener in the last 25 years at Nebraska, joining a group which includes 1,000-point scorers Tai Webster, Ryan Anderson, Cookie Belcher and Tyronn Lue.
• Ouedraogo played for the French U-18 squad at the 2019 European Championships in July, as France went 6-1 and finished fifth in the competition.
CROSS LIFTS BENCH PRODUCTION
Freshman Kevin Cross has been a key contributor for the Huskers. The 6-foot-8 freshman from Little Rock, Ark., has been Nebraska's sixth man, averaging 7.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
• Cross is sixth among Big Ten true freshman in scoring and fifth in rebounding as of Jan. 26.
• He has been in double figures six times off the bench, which is the most by a Husker since the 2015-16 campaign.
• Cross enjoyed one of his best efforts of the season at Wisconsin on Jan. 21, finishing with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting in 20 minutes. He also had a season-best three steals against the Badgers.
• He has improved his rebounding in recent weeks, averaging 4.5 rebounds per game over the Huskers' last 11 contests dating back to Dec. 13. He has grabbed five-or-more rebounds 11 times this season.
• Cross is fifth on the team with 19 3-pointers and fifth in assists (22) while playing just 18.3 minutes per game.
• Against Iowa, Cross had eight of his 11 points in the second half and added five rebounds.
• Cross hit a season-high three 3-pointers as part of his nine-point, five-rebound effort against Northwestern.
• He played a complete game in the win over Washington State on Nov. 25, scoring 14 points, grabbing a season-high eight rebounds and blocking two shots in 27 minutes.
• Against Southern Utah on Nov. 9, Cross had a season-high 19 points, which is the most by a Husker freshman since the 2016-17 season. It was also the most by a Husker freshman since Shavon Shields also had 19 against Michigan State in 2013.
KAVAS IS ONE OF NATION'S TOP SHOOTERS
Senior transfer Matej Kavas comes to Nebraska with a reputation as one of the nation's top 3-point shooters. The 6-foot-8 guard is a career 43 percent shooter from 3-point range, and shot 40 percent or better in all three of his seasons at Seattle. Kavas' .430 career percentage ranks 10th among active Division I players as of Jan. 26.
• To put Kavas' shooting in perspective, Nebraska's career mark for career 3-point percentage is .432 by Brian Conklin (2001-04) and only five players in school history have shot 40 percent in their Husker career with a minimum of 100 3-pointers.
• Kavas had his best performance of the year against North Dakota on Dec. 21, hitting 4-of-5 3-pointers. It was the 18th time in his career he had 4-or-more 3-pointers in a game. Kavas had nine points off the bench at Northwestern on Jan. 11.
• As a sophomore at Seattle, Kavas led the WAC in both 3-point percentage (.464) and 3-pointers per game (2.8).
• Kavas' 195 career 3-pointers would ranks third on NU's career list while his 91 3-pointers as a sophomore would top NU's single-season mark (Cary Cochran, 89, 2001-02).
PINNACLE BANK ARENA SOLD OUT FOR 2019-20 SEASON
Since moving into Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2013-14, the Huskers have ranked in the top 15 in attendance nationally in each of the past six seasons. The streak will continue into 2019-20, as all available season tickets were sold out in August.
• Last season, Nebraska averaged 15,341 fans per home game to rank 10th nationally in attendance, matching the highest rank in school history.
• Nebraska is one of nine schools in the country to average 15,000+ fans per contest in each of the last six seasons, joining Kentucky, Syracuse, Louisville, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas and Creighton.
• The Big Ten Conference has led NCAA Basketball in attendance for 43 straight years, dating back to the 1976-77 season. Last season, Big Ten schools drew more than a combined three million fans for the fifth straight year.
Filling Up Pinnacle Bank Arena
| Season | Average | NCAA Rank |
| 2013-14 (1st year of PBA) | 15,419 | 13th |
| 2014-15 | 15,569 | 10th |
| 2015-16 | 15,430 | 11th |
| 2016-17 | 15,427 | 11th |
| 2017-18 | 15,494 | 11th |
| 2018-19 | 15,341 | 10th |
| 2019-20 | 15,475 | 11th |