Huskers to Face No. 21 Wisconsin on Saturday

The Nebraska men's basketball team returns to the road this weekend, as the Huskers travel to Madison, Wis., for a matchup with No. 21 (AP/Coaches) Wisconsin. Tipoff from the Kohl Center is set for 1:15 p.m. and the game will be carried on the Huskers Radio Network and televised on BTN with Jeff Levering and Bruce Weber on the call.

 

Nebraska (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten) has won five straight following an 86-70 win over Indiana on Tuesday night. Keisei Tominaga had a season-high 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting to pace four Huskers in double figures, as Nebraska matched a season high with 12 3-pointers. Tominaga had 18 second-half points, including 13 in a 16-5 spurt that turned a 67-53 game into a 22-point lead with just over five minutes remaining. 

 

While Nebraska's offense put up 86 points, Nebraska's defense was opportunistic, turning 19 Hoosier turnovers into 27 points while holding Indiana to 1.0 points per possession in the win.  The Huskers recorded 15 steals against Indiana, including four steals each from Brice Williams and Jamarques Lawrence. 

 

The Huskers' 12-2 record matches NU's best start since the 1990-91 season and is only the sixth time since World War II that NU has started with a 12-2 record or better in the first 14 games. Only the 1990-91 team had a better record after 13 games, as that squad won 16 of its first 17 games en route to a school-record 26 wins. 

Now the Huskers begin a stretch of three of its next four on the road with the only home game being a matchup against No. 1 Purdue next Tuesday night. 

 

Wisconsin (10-3, 2-0 Big Ten) has won three straight contests following an 83-72 win over Iowa on Tuesday night. Tyler Wahl's 19 points paced four Badgers in double figures as Wisconsin shot 59 percent from the field after halftime to break open a 32-all deadlock. Wisconsin is 7-1 at home this season with the only setback coming against nationally-ranked Tennessee on Nov. 10. 

 

• Nebraska's 12-2 mark is only the ninth time since the end of World War I in 1918 that Nebraska has opened a season with at least 12 wins in the first 14 contests. The 12-2 start is its best since joining the Big Ten in 2011-12 and matches the best start for the Huskers since the 1990-91 season. Nebraska opened the 2023-24 season with seven straight wins, marking just the fifth time in program history that Nebraska opened the season with seven straight wins and enters Saturday's game on a five-game win streak. 

 

No.	Year	14-Game Record	G-15
1.	1990-91	13-1	Won
2.	2023-24	12-2	-
	2010-11	12-2	Won
	1993-94	12-2	Lost
	1991-92	12-2	Won
	1977-78	12-2	Lost
	1965-66	12-2	Won
	1920-21	12-2	Lost
	1919-20	12-2	Won

 

• The Huskers have snapped several streaks during its current five-game win streak. The Dec. 10 win over Michigan State snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Spartans dating back to 2016. The Dec. 17 win over Kansas State broke a seven-game losing streak to the Wildcats dating back to 2009, while Tuesday’s win over Indiana was its first since 2019, as Indiana had won seven straight meetings entering the contest.

 

• Nebraska will look to break a shorter streak on Saturday, as NU has lost its last four games to ranked teams dating back to a 63-53 win at No. 7 Creighton on Dec. 4, 2022.  The Huskers are 3-4 in their last seven games against ranked opponents dating back to March 1, 2002, including a 3-2 mark away from home. That includes the win over No. 10 Wisconsin in the Kohl Center on March 6, 2022.   

 

• Nebraska is 2-7 all-time against teams ranked No. 21 in the AP poll, with wins over Maryland (2019 Big Ten Tournament) and Oklahoma State (1994). 

 

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

 

•  The Huskers are 18-5 over the last 23 games dating back to Feb. 1, 2023. The only Big Ten team with more wins since Feb. 1 is Purdue, which is 21-6 in that span.  A big reason for that is NU's offense, as NU has averaged 76.7 ppg on 46 percent shooting in that stretch.  According to Barttorvik.com, NU's offensive efficiency in that stretch is 38th nationally. 

 

• Nebraska enters the Wisconsin game averaging 78.2 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 10 points per game higher than NU's average at the 14-game mark in 2002-23. NU has jumped from 149th to 42nd nationally in offensive efficiency in KenPom.

 

• The Huskers are now 23-4 under Fred Hoiberg when scoring at least 80 points, including 18-1 over the last three seasons. The only loss was a 104-100 quadruple overtime game at North Carolina State on Dec. 1, 2021. NU has won its last 16 games when reaching the 80-point plateau.

 

• Nebraska held Kansas State to 46 points on Dec. 17 in holding the Wildcats to their fewest points since the 2020-21 season and third-fewest total at home since Bramlage Coliseum opened in 1988.  It marked the fewest points NU allowed on the road since joining the Big Ten and was only the second time NU had held an opponent under 50 points on the road since the 2011-12 season. Nebraska allowed just 0.68 points per possession, its lowest total in the Big Ten era.

 

• The Huskers held South Carolina State to 11 first-half points on Dec. 29. The 11 points allowed broke a Pinnacle Bank Arena record for fewest points allowed in a half, breaking the mark of 13 set two times. It was also the fewest points NU allowed in a half since allowing nine to Jackson State in 2009.

 

• One strength of the Huskers has been getting to the free throw line. NU has shot more free throws in 11 of 13 games in 2023-24 and its +91 differential ranks fourth in the Big Ten as of Jan. 5. Nebraska has had more free throws made (228) than opponents have attempted (215). NU allows just 15.4 free throw attempts per game to rank fourth in the Big Ten as of Jan. 4.

 

• Nebraska enters Saturday's game ranked fourth in the Big Ten in free throw shooting at 74.5 percent.  While it is still early in the season, 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. 

Over the last nine games, Nebraska is shooting 80.1 percent (141-of-176) from the charity stripe, including the two best totals in Hoiberg's five seasons. NU's 19-of-20 effort against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 26 was its best percentage (min. 20 att.) since going 20-of-21 (.952) against Minnesota on Nov. 26, 1995.

 

• Nebraska's bench has provided a spark, averaging 23.8 points per game. The Huskers' leading scorer has come from the bench five times (Hoiberg-Lindenwood; Wilcher-Rider, North Dakota and South Carolina State; Gary-Stony Brook) and NU has had 13 double-figure efforts from its bench in 2023-24, including three straight from C.J. Wilcher. 

 

• 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.

 

• Junior guard Brice Williams enters Saturday's game with Wisconsin needing just six points to reach 1,000 career points. He would be the fourth member of the 2023-24 Husker roster to reach 1,000 career points. 

 

• C.J. Wilcher graduated in December with a degree in child, youth & family studies but will go through graduation ceremonies during the spring. Wilcher, who began his collegiate career at Xavier before transferring to Nebraska before the 2021-22 season, is a three-time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Roll member and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2023. He will be the fifth college graduate on the 2023-24 Husker roster, joining Josiah Allick, Jarron Coleman, Rienk Mast and Brice Williams.

 

15.5 - Nebraska had 15 steals in Tuesday's win over Indiana and is averaging 15.5 steals over the last two contests. Nebraska is one of four power conference teams with multiple 15-steal games this season, joining Iowa State (four), Houston (three) and TCU (two).

 

9.1 - NU ranks second in the Big Ten with 9.1 3-pointers per game as of Jan. 5.  NU has averaged more than 8.0 3-pointers/game just twice in program history (2001-02 and 2020-21). The Huskers are 7-0 this season when hitting at least 10 3-pointers.

 

14.3 - Nebraska is third in the Big Ten and 29th nationally in fewest fouls per game (14.3) as of Jan. 5 NU, Purdue and Illinois are the only Big Ten teams in the top 30 nationally.  NU also ranked in the top 20 nationally in that category in 2022-23 (14.1, 16th).

 

1 -Rienk Mast is one of five players nationally and the only power conference player as of Jan. 4 averaging

at least 10 points, nine rebounds and three assists per game this season. 

 

4 - The 14-point deficit against North Dakota on Dec. 20 was NU's largest comeback of the season and fourth time under Fred Hoiberg that Nebraska has overcome a double-digit deficit. It was also NU's largest comeback vs. a non-conference foe since the 2014-15 season. 

 

1.42 - Nebraska's assist-to-turnover ratio this season, which is sixth in the Big Ten as of Jan. 5. NU's best assist-to-turnover ratio in the last decade is 1.32, set in the 2018-19 season. That season, NU had 9.96 turnovers per game, the lowest average since assists were tracked in 1978-79.

 

Under ninth-year coach Greg Gard, Wisconsin comes into Saturday's matchup with a 10-3 mark and has won 10 of its last 11 dating back to Nov. 17. The Badgers were 1-2 after back-to-back losses to Tennessee and at Providence before winning six straight, including victories over Marquette, Virginia and at Michigan State before falling at Arizona on Dec. 9. Since then, the Badgers have won three-straight contests, including an 83-72 win over Iowa on Tuesday night in Madison. In that game, Tyler Wahl had 19 points, including 11-of-13 from the foul line, and eight rebounds, while Steven Crowl had 14 points and 13 boards, as the Badgers shot 52 percent and went 25-of-35 from the line. 

 

The Badgers returned all five starters and 13 letterwinners from a team that went 9-11 in Big Ten play but reached the NIT semifinals. This year, Wisconsin has featured the same lineup for all 13 games. St. John's transfer AJ Storr leads the Badgers in scoring at 15.1 ppg while Steven Crowl (12.8 ppg; 7.7 rpg) and Tyler Wahl (11.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg) give the Badgers an experienced back line. Junior guard Chucky Hepburn chips in 8.6 ppg and leads the Badgers in both assists (3.8 apg) and steals (1.7 spg).

 

Series History: Saturday's matchup is the 38th meeting between the two programs, as Wisconsin holds a 21-16 advantage. The Huskers have won the last two meetings, a 74-73 win at No. 10 Wisconsin in the Kohl Center in the 2022-23 regular-season finale and a 73-63 overtime win over the Badgers last season in the only meeting between the programs. In both of those games, Nebraska rallied from a double-figure deficit to win.  The series dates back to the 1903-04 season. The Huskers are 6-15 against Wisconsin since joining the Big Ten (5-14 in regular season; 1-1 in Big Ten Tournament).

 

Behind a season-high 28 points from Keisei Tominaga, Nebraska improved to 12-2 on the season with an 86-70 win over Indiana at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Jan. 3. 

 

Tominaga had 18 of his 28 in the second half, as Nebraska matched a season high with 12 3-pointers en route to its first win over Indiana since 2019.  He hit a season-high four 3-pointers, including three in the second half, as he fell two points shy of his career high in helping Nebraska build a 22-point lead before cruising to a 16-point win. 

 

Tominaga was one of four Huskers in double figures, as Brice Williams added 15 points, six boards and four steals, while Jamarques Lawrence and C.J. Wilcher added 12 and 11 markers, respectively.  Lawrence also set a career high with four steals.  The Huskers had 15 steals and forced Indiana into 19 turnovers, leading to 27 Husker points.