Huskers Continue Homestand with Florida A&M

Game: 2 
Opponent: Florida A&M
Date: Thursday, Nov. 9
Tipoff: 7:01 p.m. (CT)  
Arena:     Pinnacle Bank Arena
Tickets: Huskers.com/Tickets

ON THE AIR
Radio: Thursday's game will be carried on the Huskers Radio Network with Kent Pavelka and Jake Muhleisen on the call, including KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln, KXSP (590 AM) in Omaha and KRVN (880 AM) in Lexington and will also be available on Huskers.com and the Huskers app. The pregame show begins an hour before tipoff.

TV/Online: Thursday's game is not televised but will be available online at B1G Plus with Jessica Coody and Erick Strickland on the call. To subscribe or for more info, visit bigtenplus.com.

The Nebraska men's basketball team continues its season-opening homestand on Thursday evening, as the Huskers host Florida A&M in a non-conference contest. Tipoff between the Huskers and Rattlers is set for 7 p.m. and tickets are available for the matchup 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 5:30 p.m. 

Nebraska (1-0) comes off an 84-52 win over Lindenwood on Monday night. The Huskers put five players in double figures led by Sam Hoiberg's 15-point performance off the bench. Nebraska took control of the game in the opening 20 minutes by shooting 57 percent from the floor, including nine 3-pointers, in building a 51-24 halftime lead. The Huskers used a 17-2 first-half spurt to seize momentum and led by as many as 29 while putting up 51 points, NU's highest first half against a Division I opponent since 2019. NU also held Lindenwood to 32.4 percent shooting, including 3-of-16 from 3-point range.

The Huskers' balance was on display not only with five double-figure scorers but with six players grabbing at least five rebounds and six players dishing out multiple assists in a game where no Husker played more than 25 minutes. NU, which was without its top two returning scorers from last season, got strong performances from its newcomers. Rienk Mast and Brice Williams had 13 points apiece, while Josiah Allick added 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Jarron Coleman also added five points, a team-high four assists and six rebounds, as NU's newcomers combined for 47 points, 27 rebounds and 11 assists in the win.

Nebraska now looks to move to 2-0 as the Huskers host the Rattlers for the first time since 2009. Florida A&M comes off a 105-54 loss to No. 8 Creighton on Tuesday night in its opener. FAMU was led by Keith Lamar, who finished with 16 points. The Rattlers have a challenging early season slate with games at Creighton, Nebraska and Florida (Nov. 14) before hosting Oregon on Nov. 20.

Numbers to Know
746.8 - Miles that Nebraska will travel during non-conference play this season. Nine of the Huskers' non-conference games are at home with trips to Sioux Falls, S.D. (475.2 miles, round trip) to face Oregon State and a road game at Kansas State (271.6 miles). Last year, NU traveled over 6,000 miles (6,053) during non-conference action.

20.3 - Keisei Tominaga was one of the Big Ten's top scorers down the stretch of the 2022-23 season. After Feb. 1, he averaged 20.3 ppg on 56 percent shooting. He joined National Player of the Year Zach Edey and first-team All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis as the only three Big Ten players to average 20+ ppg from Feb. 1 until the end of the season.

96 - C.J. Wilcher is four 3-pointers away from 100 for his Husker career after hitting a pair of 3-pointers in Monday's opener. Wilcher has played in every game over the past two-plus seasons. 

30 - Nebraska shot 30 3-pointers in Monday's win over Lindenwood, which is the most since shooting 32 in an overtime loss to Purdue last December. NU also went to the foul line 29 times. The last time NU shot at least 30 free throws and 30 3-point attempts in the same game was against Nevada in the 2020-21 season.

Looking at Florida A&M
Florida A&M wraps up a two-game road trip in Nebraska following a 105-54 loss at No. 8 Creighton on Tuesday evening. In that game, Creighton used a 22-4 run in the first half to take control. The Rattlers were held to 37 percent shooting, including just 1-of-7 from 3-point range, while Creighton shot 57 percent and enjoyed a 53-21 edge on the glass.  FAMU continues a difficult non-conference slate continuing after Thursday's game. Before the start of conference action, the Rattlers will also make trips to Florida, Iowa, Iowa State, UCF and South Carolina as well as host Oregon in the Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series on Nov. 20.  

Florida A&M was picked to finish 11th in the SWAC preseason poll. The Rattlers return seven players from that squad and have added several new faces for the year. Dimingus Stevens is FAMU's top returning scorer, as the Seton Hall transfer averaged 8.4 points per game and shot 43 percent from 3-point range last season, but he did not play in the opener.  Jordan Chatman (5.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg), Hantz Louis-Jeune (5.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg) and Chase Barrs (3.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg) all started at least 12 games last year. Against Creighton, senior Keith Lamar, a transfer from South Georgia State, led the Rattlers with 16 points, while freshman K'Jei Parker chipped in 12 markers. 

Robert McCullum is in his seventh season in charge of the Rattlers after previous head coaching stops at Western Michigan (2000-03) and South Florida (2003-07). He guided Florida A&M to winning MEAC records in the school's final four years in the conference (2018-19 to 2021-22), as the Rattlers has not had a winning conference mark since 2006-07. FAMU joined the SWAC in 2022-23 and went 6-23, including a 4-14 league mark.  A long-time college basketball coach, he was most recently at Oregon from 2014-17 before taking the FAMU job. 

Nebraska leads the all-time series, 2-0, but the teams have not met since an 81-56 Husker win on Jan. 5, 2009, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The teams were scheduled to meet during the 2020-21 season, but that game was canceled because of Covid-19. The Huskers are 28-1 all-time against current members of the SWAC, and the Rattlers are the only SWAC team on the 2023-24 Husker schedule.

Last Time Out: Huskers Blitz Lindenwood in 84-52 Win
Sam Hoiberg’s 15 points led five Huskers in double figures, as Nebraska opened the 2023-24 season with an 84-52 win over Lindenwood on Nov. 6. Nebraska showed a balanced attack with five players in double figures and 10 cracking the scoring column, as the Huskers took control early with a dominant offensive performance. 

Hoiberg tied his career high with 15 points, while Rienk Mast (13), Brice Williams (13), C.J. Wilcher (13) and Josiah Allick (11) all finished in double figures. NU had 19 assists on 27 baskets, including 13 on 17 first-half baskets.

The Huskers shot 57 percent in the first half, including nine 3-pointers, in building a 51-24 halftime lead. NU had a 10-0 run and a pair of 9-0 spurts in the opening 20 minutes, as Hoiberg and Mast combined for 20 first-half points. Lindenwood was within 11-8 at the 14:56 mark of the first half before Nebraska took control with a 17-2 spurt to build a 28-10 lead after two straight baskets from Mast, who hit 4-of-5 shots in the opening half. From there, NU took control from long range, hitting six 3-pointers in the last six minutes of the half in leading by as many as 29 points before taking a 51-24 lead at the break.

Nebraska opened the second half with seven straight points to build a 58-24 lead and led by as much as 36 points before cruising to a 32-point win.

Keenon Cole led Lindenwood (0-1) with 14 points, while Jeremiah Talton added 10 points off the bench as the Lions shot just 32 percent, including 3-of-16 from 3-point range.

Worth Noting

• Nebraska had nine 3-pointers in the first half of Monday's opener. Last season, NU had only six games with at least nine 3-pointers. 
• With Monday's win, Nebraska improved to 87-41 (.680) all-time in season openers and has won 21 of the past 23 season openers dating back to an 87-83 setback at Oral Roberts to begin the 2000 season.
• Sam Hoiberg led NU in scoring for the first time in his career with 15 points against Lindenwood. Hoiberg became the first walk-on to lead Nebraka in scoring in a game since Paul Velander had 20 points in a 73-51 win over Kansas State on Jan. 17, 2009.
• Nebraska held Lindenwood to 3-of-16 from 3-point range. Last year, Lindenwood shot 36 percent as a team from 3-point range and averaged 7.5 3-pointers per game. 
• Nebraska’s 84 points vs. Lindenwood is the most since scoring 88 against Boston College on Nov. 30, 2022.
• Nebraska has scored 70+ points in 10 of the last 11 season openers dating back to the opening of Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2013-14. 
• Seven of the 12 players who played in Monday's win were making their Husker debut. In fact, C.J. Wilcher was the only player who appeared in both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 openers.

A Quick Look at the Huskers
Nebraska enters the 2023-24 season with its most experienced roster in Fred Hoiberg's five seasons at the helm. The Huskers returned seven letterwinners and three redshirts while adding seven new players to the roster.

• For the first time since 2018-19 and the third time since 2012-13, the Huskers return more than 50 percent of their scoring from the previous year. 

• NU also returns 86 starts, which is the most since the 2018-19 NIT team. That breakdown is as follows:  C.J. Wilcher (26); Keisei Tominaga (25); Juwan Gary (17); Jamarques Lawrence (12); Blaise Keita (5); Sam Hoiberg (1). Wilcher and Tominaga are the only two Huskers who have played in every game the past two seasons.
• The Huskers return five of their top eight scorers from a year ago, as Keisei Tominaga's 13.1 ppg is the highest for a Husker returnee since James Palmer Jr. in 2018-19 (17.2 ppg).  NU also returns its fourth leading scorer (Juwan Gary, 9.5 ppg) as well as C.J. Wilcher (8.0, sixth), Jamarques Lawrence (5.0, seventh) and Sam Hoiberg (4.1, eighth). 
• The 2023-24 Huskers are an experienced bunch with nine of the 13 scholarship players in at least their fourth season of college basketball. The group features one sixth-year senior in Jarron Coleman and five others who are in their fifth season of college basketball.  
• The 2023-24 roster has combined for 766 games, including 409 starts, at the Division I level. That does not include two seasons of junior college basketball for both Keisei Tominaga and Blaise Keita.

Tominaga Named Preseason All-Big Ten
Nebraska senior guard Keisei Tominaga was honored on Oct. 6, as he was one of 10 players selected to the preseason All-Big Ten team.  The 10-member team included four unanimous selections: Terrence Shannon (Illinois), Jahmir Young (Maryland), Boo Buie (Northwestern) and Zach Edey (Purdue). Edey, the reigning national player of the year, was tabbed as the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year. 

Tominaga becomes just the third Husker to be named preseason All-Big Ten since Nebraska joined the conference in 2011-12, joining James Palmer Jr. (2018) and Terran Petteway (2014). Last season, he averaged 13.1 points per game on 53 percent shooting, including 40 percent from 3-point range, while appearing in all 32 contests.  Tominaga led the Huskers in 3-pointers with 66 and was one of only six players nationally to average double figures and shoot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 85 percent from the foul line. 

During Big Ten play, he led NU in scoring at 14.2 ppg to rank 15th in the conference while also ranking among Big Ten leaders in field goal percentage (.512, seventh) and 3-pointers per game (2.3, sixth) as he shot 41 percent from beyond the arc. He had seven of his nine 20-point games during Big Ten contests, including a career-high 30-point effort against Penn State, and added 23 points in NU’s loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament.

Tominaga has not played since suffering an ankle injury in the first half against Doane on Oct. 29.

3 Quick Keisei Bullets

• • Tominaga had seven of his 10 career 20-point games over the Huskers' final nine contests of 2022-23.
• • He was one of six players in Division I basketball to average double figures while posting 50/40/85 shooting splits in 2022-23.
• • In Big Ten play, Tominaga shot 63.4 percent from 2-point range, the highest percentage for any Big Ten player who averaged double figures on the season (sports-reference.com).

Husker Post Trio Returns for Opener
After being short-handed in the frontcourt against Doane because of injuries, Rienk Mast and Josiah Allick made their NU debuts against Lindenwood. The pair combined for 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting along with 14 rebounds and five assists.  The pair helped limit Lindenwood to 32 percent shooting.

• Allick led NU in both rebounds (eight) and steals (two) while hitting 4-of-5 shots from the floor. The Lincoln native is a career 55 percent shooter in college, including stints at UMKC and New Mexico. Last season, he shot 57 percent from the field in helping the Lobos to 22 wins and an NIT appearance. 
• Mast showed his skillset with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, six rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes of work. The 6-foot-10 forward was a first-team All-MVC selection who was second in the league in rebounding and fourth in field goal percentage in 2022-23. 
• Freshman Matar Diop, who missed the exhibition game with an illness, made his Husker debut with three points and a rebound in five minutes of work. 

Huskers to Be Challenged in 2023-24
Nebraska will play 12 games this season against ranked teams or teams receiving votes in either the Associated Press or the USA Today Coaches preseason polls. 

• Nebraska's home schedule features three preseason top-10 opponents in No. 3/2 Purdue, No. 4/4 Michigan State and No. 8/8 Creighton. In addition, NU also hosts three other teams receiving votes: Wisconsin; Indiana; and Ohio State.
• Nebraska travels to No. 25/RV Illinois and also makes trips to four other teams that received preseason votes in Kansas State, Maryland, Indiana and Ohio State.
• Last year, the Big Ten had 12 teams which reached postseason play, including NCAA teams that reached the NCAA Tournament. 

Huskers Complete Spain Trip with 3-0 mark
Nebraska made its first overseas trip since 2019 and went 3-0 against teams in Madrid (89-84, OT), Valencia (86-83) and Barcelona (82-62) despite having just nine players available for the trip.  

C.J. Wilcher led five Huskers who averaged double figures with 17.0 ppg, while Brice Williams (16.3 ppg) and Eli Rice (16.0 ppg) both averaged at least 16 points per game. Redshirt freshman Cale Jacobsen led NU in rebounding at 8.3 per game and tied Jarmarques Lawrence for the team high in assists per game (4.3 apg).

Tominaga, Mast Spend Summers with National Teams
A pair of Huskers spent the summer representing their national teams in international events. Rienk Mast represented the Netherlands in the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Turkey, while Keisei Tominaga played for Japan in the FIBA World Cup.  

• Mast played in all three games for the Netherlands, averaging 6.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game as the team posted a 1-2 record. His best performance was an eight-point, seven-rebound effort in a win over Belgium.
• Tominaga played in all five games for Japan, averaging 11.4 points per game in helping the team qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics as the highest finishing team from Asia. He was named player of the game in the win over Cape Verde, finishing with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range. Of the five NCAA players who played in the World Cup, Tominaga was the only one to average double figures. 

NCAA Players in 2023 FIBA World Cup