Injury Ends Kavas’ Career

Lincoln – University of Nebraska guard Matej Kavas (pronounced MAH-tey KAH-vahs) will miss the remainder of the 2019-20 season, as he suffered an injury in the first half of Nebraska's loss to Wisconsin Saturday afternoon.
 
Medical test showed that Kavas, a 6-foot-8 senior guard from Ljubljana, Slovenia, has an injury to his left hand. Further testing and evaluation by a hand specialist are planned for Monday to determine the further course of action. That examination will determine his prognosis, but the injury results on Saturday have ruled Kavas out for the remainder of the season.
 
"It is disappointing to see Matej's college career end because of an injury," Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg said. "Matej was one of the first players to commit to Nebraska when we started last spring. He believed he could help set the foundation for our program even though he had one season to play. Everyone in our program appreciates Matej, and we look forward to him having a full recovery and getting the opportunity to continue playing after college."
 
Kavas played in 22 games at Nebraska this season as a graduate transfer, averaging 5.3 points per game, as one of the Huskers' top scorers off the bench. He had seven double-figure performances in 2019-20, including a season-high 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range, against North Dakota.
 
Kavas had been playing some of his best basketball in recent games, averaging 8.3 ppg on 50 percent shooting in the three games prior to the Wisconsin game, including an 11-point effort off the bench against No. 9 Maryland in a 72-70 loss on Feb. 11.
 
Kavas, who played his first three seasons at Seattle University, totaled 1,096 career points, including 200 3-pointers, in his collegiate career. He was 11th nationally among active players in 3-point percentage (.431). His best season was in 2017-18 at Seattle, when he averaged 15.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game to earn second-team All-WAC honors. That year, he led the conference in both 3-pointers per game (2.8) and 3-point percentage (.464).
 
The Huskers return to action on Thursday. Feb. 20, when Nebraska hosts Michigan State. Tipoff at Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. and will be televised by FS1 and carried on the Learfield IMG College Husker Sports Network.