Huskers Set to Battle Buckeyes Tuesday Night

Huskers Host Ohio State Tuesday Night at PBA
The Nebraska men's basketball team finishes a two-game homestand on Tuesday night, as the Huskers play host to Ohio State. Tipoff at Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 6 p.m., and the game will be streamed on Peacock and carried on the Huskers Radio Network.

Some 300 Level tickets are available for Tuesday's game and can be purchased 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 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. 
Tuesday's game is part of the American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week, as the Husker coaches will be in suits and sneakers to raise awareness for cancer research. For more info on Suits and Sneakers Week, visit cancer.org

Nebraska (14-5, 4-4 Big Ten) comes off a gutty 75-69 win over Northwestern on Saturday. The Huskers, who were short-handed without Juwan Gary because of a calf injury, shot a season-best 55.3 percent from the floor and put five players in double figures. Josiah Allick moved into the starting lineup and led NU with 15 points while Keisei Tominaga had seven of his 14 points in a closing 10-4 run after Northwestern tied it at 65 with less than four minutes remaining. 

Allick has stepped up in recent weeks, averaging 8.1 points per game on 77 percent shooting, 5.1 rebounds and nearly two assists per game over the last eight contests.  The 6-foot-8 forward has led NU in scoring in two of the past three games. He also helped hold Northwestern to 38.1 percent shooting, its second-lowest total of the season, on Saturday.
Ohio State (13-5, 3-4) snapped a three-game losing streak with a 79-67 win over Penn State on Saturday. The Buckeyes jumped out to a 16-0 lead and never trailed in holding Penn State to just 37.1 percent shooting. Evan Mahaffey and Roddy Gayle Jr. led OSU with 16 points apiece.

Worth Noting 
• Nebraska enters Tuesday's game with a 14-5 mark which is NU's best 19-game record since joining the Big Ten. The last time NU had a better record after 19 games was in 1995-96 (15-4). A win on Tuesday would be the best 20-game start since the 1990-91 team opened with an 18-2 record.

• Nebraska has snapped several long streaks this season. Saturday's win over Northwestern snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Wildcats dating back to 2019. NU had previously already ended losing streaks to Michigan State (11 games), Kansas State (seven games) and Indiana (seven games) during the 2023-24 campaign.

• Nebraska enters the Ohio State game averaging 78.3 points per game. It is NU's highest points per game average since averaging 80.2 points per game in the 1995-96 season and on pace to finish in the top 10 in single-season scoring average.  It is also more than 12 points per game higher than NU's average at the 18-game mark last season (66.4 ppg).  NU has climbed from 149th to 29th nationally in offensive efficiency in KenPom as of Jan. 21. In six January games, NU is averaging 79.8 points per game. 

• The Huskers are 12-1 at Pinnacle Bank Arena this season, the most home wins since the 2018-19 campaign. 

•  C.J. Wilcher has been on a roll in recent weeks, averaging 11.8 points per game on 58 percent shooting over the last eight contests to raise his season average to 8.5 ppg. He is 19-of-35 from 3-point range (.543) in that stretch with six double-figure efforts.

•  Keisei Tominaga enters the OSU game needing just three 3-pointers to break into NU's top-10 career chart. Tominaga, who leads NU with 40 3-pointers, has 142 for his career. Tominaga, who is fourth in the Big Ten in 3-pointers per game, is five behind Tyronn Lue (145, 1996-98) for 10th place. He has made three or more 3-pointers in four of the past six games dating back to Jan. 3.

•  The Huskers are 20-8 over the last 28 games dating back to Feb. 1, 2023, which ranks second in winning percentage as of Jan. 20. Nebraska closed the 2022-23 season with six wins in their final nine conference contests. A big reason for that is NU's offense, as NU has averaged 77.1 ppg on 47 percent shooting in that stretch.

• The Huskers are now 24-5 under Fred Hoiberg when scoring at least 80 points, including 19-2 over the last three seasons. Both losses have come in overtime (104-100 in 4OT at NC State on Dec. 1, 2021; 87-82 in OT at Rutgers on Jan. 17, 2024). NU had won its last 17 games when reaching the 80-point plateau before the OT loss at Rutgers.

• One strength of the Huskers has been getting to the free throw line. NU has shot more free throws in 15 of 19 games in 2023-24 and its +91 differential is fourth in the Big Ten as of Jan. 21. Nebraska has made nearly as many free throws (299) as opponents have had attempts (304). NU allows just 16.0 free throw attempts per game to rank fourth in the Big Ten as of Jan. 22

• Nebraska enters Tuesday's game ranked second in the Big Ten in free throw shooting at 75.7 percent.  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 when NU shot a school-record 76.6 percent. 

• Nebraska's bench has provided a spark, averaging 23.9 points per game. The Huskers' leading scorer has come from the bench six times (Hoiberg-Lindenwood; Wilcher-Rider, North Dakota and South Carolina State; Gary-Stony Brook; Allick-Iowa) and NU has had 18 double-figure efforts from its bench in 2023-24. 

• 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.

• The Huskers finished non-conference action with a 10-1 mark, matching their best non-conference record since joining the Big Ten (also 2018-19).  

Numbers to Know
17 - Nebraska has won its last 17 games when scoring at least 80 points before the streak was broken in Wednesday's overtime loss. Over the past three seasons, NU is 19-2 when scoring 80+ points with both losses coming in overtime (at NC State, 2021; at Rutgers, 2024).

9.3 - NU leads the Big Ten with 9.3 3-pointers per game as of Jan. 22, an average which is on pace to challenge the single-season school record for 3-pointers per game (9.5/gm, 2001-02). The Huskers are 8-2 this season when hitting at least 10 3-pointers.

17 - Nebraska has held 17 of 19 opponents under 50 percent shooting. Dating back to last season, NU has held 22 of its last 26 opponents to under 50 percent shooting. 

4 - Nebraska's 2023-24 roster features four career 1,000-point scorers (Josiah Allick, Jarron Coleman, Rienk Mast and Brice Williams). Williams became the most recent member of the 1,000-point club at Wisconsin on Jan. 6.

1.41 - Nebraska's assist-to-turnover ratio this season, which is sixth in the Big Ten as of Jan. 22.  Over the last decade, NU's best assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.32, set in the 2018-19 season. Nebraska's 16.0 assists per game is the program's highest average since 1995-96 (17.37 apg).

About Ohio State
Under the direction of seventh-year coach Chris Holtmann, Ohio State is 13-5 on the season and 3-4 in Big Ten play following Saturday's win over Penn State. Holtmann guided OSU to five 20-win seasons and four NCAA Tournament appearances before the streak was snapped last season as OSU went 16-19.

OSU is led by a trio of sophomores who returned after playing significant roles in 2022-23. Bruce Thornton leads the Buckeye attack, as he is averaging 16.0 points and 4.4 assists per outing while posting a 4.4 assist-to-turnover ratio.  Roddy Gayle Jr. is averaging 14.2 ppg and 5.1 rebounds per game while Felix Okpara is at 6.6 ppg along with team highs in both rebounds (7.6 rpg) and blocked shots (2.6 bpg) per game . Minnesota transfer Jamison Battle has given the Buckeyes an elite shooting threat, as he is averaging 14.4 ppg while shooting 45 percent from 3-point range. 

Series History: Ohio State leads the all-time series, 20-6, in a series that dates back to 1936. The Buckeyes are 16-4 against the Huskers since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011-12, but Nebraska has won the last two matchups. Tuesday's game will be just the seventh time in 21 meetings that OSU has not been ranked at game time against the Huskers since Nebraska joined the Big Ten.

Last Meeting: Sam Griesel scored 10 of his game-high 15 points in the second half, while Nebraska held Ohio State to 36 percent shooting in a 63-60 victory at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Jan. 18, 2023.

While Griesel kept the Huskers within striking distance early, it was some unsung heroes that gave Nebraska a hard-fought win. The Huskers trailed 49-47 with 8:55 remaining before Denim Dawson's basket keyed a decisive 8-0 run for the hosts. Jamarques Lawrence's 3-pointer gave NU a 52-49 lead it wouldn't relinquish before an Emmanuel Bandoumel basket and a Wilhelm Breidenbach free throw put NU up 55-49 with 5:14 left. 

The game featured 13 lead changes and eight ties as neither team led by more than six points the entire evening. The  Huskers held OSU without a field goal for over six and half minutes down the stretch and hit just enough free throws in the final two minutes to earn a second straight win over the Buckeyes. OSU closed to within 62-60 with 12.7 seconds remaining after a pair of free throws from Sean McNeil. C.J. Wilcher split a pair of free throws with 12.2 seconds remaining and the Huskers held on for a crucial home win.