Huskers Return Home to Face No. 6 Wisconsin

Huskers Return Home for No. 6 Wisconsin
The Nebraska men's basketball team returns home for an important Big Ten matchup Thursday evening, as the Huskers host No. 6 (AP/Coaches) Wisconsin at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on BTN and available on the Huskers Radio Network.

Some 300 Level tickets are available for Thursday'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 6 p.m. on Thursday. 

Nebraska (15-6, 5-5 Big Ten) looks to knock off its second top-10 team of the season, as NU took down then-No. 1 Purdue, 88-72, on January 9. NU will look to topple a pair of top-10 teams for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign and just the sixth time in school history. Thursday's matchup with the Badgers is the first of two ranked teams on the Huskers' docket this week, as NU travels to No. 14 Illinois on Sunday. 

The Huskers will look to rebound following a 73-51 loss at Maryland on Saturday. NU went 10-of-21 from 3-point range, but 18 Husker turnovers led to 25 Maryland points and NU gave up 18 second-chance points. 

One highlight of Saturday's loss was the performance of C.J. Wilcher off the bench. Wilcher led NU with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including four 3-pointers which matched a season high. Wilcher has emerged as a frontrunner for Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 9.1 points per game while shooting over 50 percent from the field and 46 percent from 3-point range. He has reached double figures in each of NU's last four contests, averaging 13.0 ppg in that stretch. 

Wisconsin (16-4, 8-1) has been off since an impressive 81-65 win over Michigan State last Friday. AJ Storr led all scorers with 28 points, while Steven Crowl added 15 points and seven rebounds. Wisconsin shot 51 percent from the field and enjoyed a 35-25 advantage on the glass.

Worth Noting 
• Nebraska enters Thursday's game with a 15-6 record, matching the program's best mark after 21 games since opening the 1990-91 season with an 18-3 mark. NU was also 15-6 in 2010-11, 2005-06, 1995-96, 1994-95 and 1991-92.

• With the visit by No. 6 Wisconsin, the Huskers will have an opportunity to knock off a pair of top-10 teams for the first time since 2013-14. NU has multiple top-10 wins five times in school history (2013-14, 1993-94, 1991-92, 1990-91 and 1957-58). The 1957-58 team was coached by Jerry Bush - the grandfather of current NU Head Coach Fred Hoiberg. 

• Despite being held to 51 points at Maryland, Nebraska enters the Wisconsin game averaging 77.2 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 would rank 10th on NU's single-season chart. NU has climbed from 149th to 28th nationally in offensive efficiency in KenPom as of Jan. 29. NU's highest average since joining the Big Ten was 73.3 points per game in 2021-22.

• Nebraska has snapped extended losing streaks to Michigan State (11 games), Kansas State (seven games), Indiana (seven games) and Northwestern (seven games) during the 2023-24 campaign.

•  C.J. Wilcher has been on a roll in recent weeks, averaging 12.4 points per game on 58 percent shooting over the last 10 contests to raise his season average to 9.1 ppg following his 14-point effort at Maryland. He is 27-of-48 from 3-point range (.563) in that stretch with eight double-figure efforts. Wilcher is tied with Wisconsin's John Blackwell for the most double-figure games of the bench by a Big Ten player this season with 10. No other Big Ten reserve has more than six  double-figure efforts this season. 

•  The Huskers are 20-9 over the last 29 games dating back to Feb. 1, 2023, which ranks second in the Big Ten in winning percentage as of Jan. 29. Nebraska closed the 2022-23 season by winning six of their last nine games.

•  Keisei Tominaga enters the Wisconsin game needing one 3-pointer to break into NU's top-10 career chart. Tominaga, who leads NU with 42 3-pointers, has 144 for his career. Tominaga is one 3-pointer behind Tyronn Lue (145, 1996-98) for 10th place and two behind Cookie Belcher (146, 1997-01). Both Lue (Head Coach) and Belcher (Player Development/Video Coach) are on the Los Angeles Clippers coaching staff. 

• One strength of the Huskers has been getting to the free throw line. NU has shot more free throws in 15 of 21 games in 2023-24 and its +89 differential is fifth in the Big Ten as of Jan. 29. Nebraska has made nearly as many free throws (315) as opponents have had attempts (330). NU allows just 15.8 free throw attempts per game to rank fourth in the Big Ten as of Jan. 29. 

• Nebraska enters Thursday's game ranked third in the Big Ten in free throw shooting at 75.2 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. 

• 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.

• Nebraska's bench has provided a spark, averaging 23.6 points per game. The Huskers' leading scorer has come from the bench seven times (Hoiberg-Lindenwood; Wilcher-Rider, North Dakota, South Carolina State and Maryland; Gary-Stony Brook; Allick-Iowa) and NU has had 20 double-figure efforts from its bench in 2023-24.

• 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
2 - Rienk Mast became only the second Husker in the last 25 years to post a 30-point, 10-rebound game with his performance against Ohio State on Jan. 24. He joined Aleks Maric, who accomplished the feat four times in his career from 2005 to 2008.

9.6 - NU leads the Big Ten with 9.6 3-pointers per game as of Jan. 29, 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 9-3 this season when hitting at least 10 3-pointers.

15 - Nebraska has won its 15 games dating back to last season when holding an opponent to 70 points or less. This season, NU is 11-0 following the win over Ohio State on Jan. 24.

10 - Fred Hoiberg has 10 career wins against top-10 teams and 27 wins over ranked opponents in his collegiate coaching career.

19 - Nebraska has held 19 of 21 opponents under 50 percent shooting. Dating back to last season, NU has held 24 of its last 28 opponents to under 50 percent shooting from the field. 

 

 

About Wisconsin
Under ninth-year coach Greg Gard, Wisconsin comes into Thursday's game with a 16-4 record and in first place in the Big Ten with an 8-1 mark. The Badgers have lost just twice since Nov. 17 and have won three straight following an 81-66 win over Michigan State last Friday night. 

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 featured the same lineup for all 20 games. St. John's transfer AJ Storr leads the Badgers in scoring at 15.9 ppg while Steven Crowl (11.9 ppg; 7.5 rpg) and Tyler Wahl (11.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg) give the Badgers an experienced frontcourt. Junior guard Chucky Hepburn chips in 7.5 ppg and leads the Badgers in both assists (3.8 apg) and steals (2.0 spg).

Series History: Thursday's matchup is the 39th meeting between the two programs, as Wisconsin holds a 22-16 advantage. Wisconsin snapped NU's two-game win streak in the series with an 88-72 win in Madison on Jan. 6.  Prior to that win, NU had won two straight, 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 in Lincoln on Feb. 11, 2023. 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 6-16 against Wisconsin since joining the Big Ten (5-15 in regular season; 1-1 in Big Ten Tournament).

Last Meeting: Keisei Tominaga had a team-high 17 points to lead three Huskers in double figures, but No. 21 Wisconsin hit a season-high 13 3-pointers in an 88-72 victory on Jan. 6. Tominaga hit 7-of-10 shots from the field, including a trio of 3-pointers, while Rienk Mast added 16 points and six rebounds as Nebraska saw its five-game win streak snapped. Tyler Wahl led five Badgers in double figures with 17 points and eight rebounds. Nebraska shot nearly 50 percent from the field, including 12-of-26 from 3-point range, but the Badgers shot 55 percent from the field, including nearly 60 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.