Huskers Look to Extend Win Streak against UMES Tuesday Evening
The Nebraska men's basketball program looks to extend a six-game win streak Tuesday night, as the Huskers welcome Maryland-Eastern Shore to Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (central) and 300 Level tickets are available for the matchup by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets or at the PBA Ticket Office beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The game will be broadcast on B1G+, while the radio broadcast is available on the Husker Sports Network, as well as on Huskers.com and on the Huskers app.
Tuesday's game is the Hoops for Troops game where fans who donate to the Blue Star Moms donation drive at PBA will be entered to win an autographed Fred Hoiberg basketball.
The Huskers (2-0) come off a strong offensive performance in a 96-66 win over FIU last Saturday. Nebraska shot 55.2 percent from the field, including 17-of-34 from 3-point range, dished out 29 assists and put five players in double figures. Rienk Mast led Nebraska with the third triple-double in school history as he totaled 18 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. Mast is averaging 14.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game and has double-doubles in both of NU's games.
While Mast's triple-double highlighted the Husker attack, junior forward Pryce Sandfort led NU's 3-point barrage with 20 points, including a career-high tying six 3-pointers. He had 14 of his 20 points, including four 3-pointers, as part of a 22-6 spurt during the first 5:20 of the second half to break the game open.
Maryland-Eastern Shore (1-2) had a strong offensive showing of its own in a 104-59 win over Cheyney on Saturday. The Hawks shot 78.8 percent from the field, including 8-of-13 shooting from 3-point range, and put five players in double figures. UMES took Georgia Tech to overtime in its season opener while Tuesday's game starts a two-game road trip as the Hawks will face Creighton on Friday.
Numbers to Know
29 - Nebraska had 29 assists in Saturday's win over FIU, the Huskers' highest total since dishing out 35 assists against Northeastern Illinois on Dec. 21, 1994. The previous high for a Husker team under Hoiberg was 25 vs. Doane on Dec. 17, 2020.
20 - Nebraska has dished out 20 or more assists in each of its last three games dating back to the College Basketball Crown last April. It marks the first time in the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present) that the Huskers have had 20 or more assists in three straight games.
3.0 - Over the last six games dating back to the College Basketball Crown, Sam Hoiberg is averaging 4.0 assists per game with a 3.0-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Hoiberg has more steals (12) than turnovers (eight) in that stretch.
3 - For just the third time in the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present), Nebraska returns multiple double-figure scorers with Rienk Mast (12.3 ppg in 2023-24) and Connor Essegian (10.7 ppg). In both previous instances (2018-19 and 2024-25), Nebraska has advanced to postseason play.
.931 - Over the last three-plus seasons, NU is 41-3 when holding foes to under 1.00 PPP and 43-5 when holding opponents to under 70 points. Nebraska has improved its KenPom defensive efficiency in each of the past three seasons.
.955 - Nebraska is 21-1 at home in non-conference play over the last three-plus seasons and is 34-9 (.791) at home in non-conference action in Fred Hoiberg's tenure at Nebraska.
.800 - Nebraska is 40-10 under Fred Hoiberg when scoring 80 or more points, including a 31-7 mark over the last three-plus seasons. Of those seven losses since the start of 2022-23, four were in overtime.
Scouting Maryland-Eastern Shore
Maryland Eastern Shore comes to Lincoln with a 1-2 record after Saturday's 104-59 win over Chaney University. The Hawks will play seven of their first eight games on the road, as Tuesday's game with the Huskers begins a five-game road swing. During non-conference play, UMES will face seven power conference foes (Georgia Tech, Georgia, Nebraska, Creighton, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Texas) before opening MEAC play on Jan. 3. The Hawks were picked to finish seventh in the MEAC preseason poll and are led by preseason all-conference pick Christopher Flippin, as the 6-foot-8 forward averaged 9.9 ppg and 5.5 rebounds per game last season. This year, UMES has been led by Joseph Locandro, who is averaging 10.7 ppg, including 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting in 19 minutes in the overtime loss to Georgia Tech.
UMES Coach Cleo Hill Jr. is in his second year in charge of the program after enjoying success at the Division II level. He spent five seasons at Winston-Salem State, posting a 89-50 mark and won 18 or more games in each of his final four seasons. Hill began his college coaching career in Lincoln as an assistant coach on Danny Nee's staff during the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons.
Nebraska is 3-0 all-time against UMES, posting wins in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The Huskers are 15-0 all-time against the current members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
FIU Recap
Rienk Mast recorded the third triple-double in school history, while Nebraska hit 17 3-pointers in a 96-66 win over FIU on Nov. 8. Mast became the first Husker since Dalano Banton in 2020 to record a triple-double as he finished with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting, 12 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. The 6-foot-10 senior had 14 points, 10 boards and five assists by halftime and secured the achievement by hitting Braden Frager on a driving layup with 7:29 remaining.
That was the only drama in the final 15 minutes, as the Huskers opened the second half with a barrage of 3-pointers in a 22-6 run in the first 5:20 after the break to build a 71-34 lead.
Nebraska went 17-of-34 from beyond the stripe, one shy of the single-game 3-point record which had stood since 2002. Nebraska shot 55 percent from the field, put five players in double figures and dished out 29 assists, the team’s highest total since 1994. Pryce Sandfort totaled a game-high 20 points, including six 3-pointers to tie his career high. Braden Frager (15), Connor Essegian (13) and Berke Buyuktuncel (11) also scored in double figures as Nebraska used an early 11-0 to build a double-digit lead and never trailed again.
Worth Noting From Saturday's win
• Rienk Mast posted the third triple-double in school history with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in 25 minutes of work. Mast was 8-of-10 from the field and had a double-double by halftime with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
• Mast joins Cam Mack (2019) and Dalano Banton (2020) as the three Huskers in school history with triple doubles. All three triple-doubles have come during Fred Hoiberg’s seven seasons at Nebraska.
• Mast now has eight double-doubles as a Husker and 28 in his college career.
• Pryce Sandfort finished with 20 points for his second career 20-point game and first as a Husker. His six 3-pointers tied his college career high (vs. Southern while at Iowa last season).
• Nebraska’s 17 3-pointers are the most by a Husker team since hitting a school-record 18 3-pointers against Kansas on Feb. 24, 2002.
• Nebraska’s 29 assists were the most in a game by NU since Dec. 21, 1994, when NU had 35 against Northeastern Illinois.
Worth Noting
• Nebraska enters the week with Division I's longest winning streak at six games following Saturday's win over Maryland Eastern Shore. The Huskers closed 2024-25 by winning their final four games at the College Basketball Crown before a pair of wins last week. Nebraska is averaging 84.2 ppg on 49 percent shooting during its six-game win streak.
• Nebraska has had six different players in double figures during the first two games, including a pair of 20-point efforts (Braden Frager-West Georgia; Pryce Sandfort-FIU). Nebraska put five players in double figures on Saturday vs. FIU
• If Rienk Mast can record a double-double on Tuesday night, he will be the first Husker with three straight double-doubles since Isaiah Roby from Feb. 10-18, 2018. Roby is the only Husker to post three straight double-doubles in the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present).
• Redshirt freshman Braden Frager put up a strong week to open the season, as he averaged 18.5 ppg on 67 percent shooting in NU's two games. The 6-foot-7 forward from Lincoln, who turned 19 on Nov. 10, had 22 points in his debut and added 15 points off the bench in the win over FIU.
From a Distance
One trend which continued from NU's two exhibition games is solid shooting from 3-point range. Including the two exhibition games, NU has averaged 14.5 3-pointers per game, including 17 against FIU and 16 in the exhibition win over No. 8 BYU.
• Nebraska's 17 teams against FIU were one shy of the Huskers' single-game record and matched the most 3-pointers by a Fred Hoiberg coached team.
• Five different players have hit at least four 3-pointers in a game (including the exhibitions): Rienk Mast (7 vs. BYU), Connor Essegian (5 vs. BYU), Braden Frager (6 vs. Midland), Jamarques Lawrence (5 vs. West Georgia) and Pryce Sandfort (4 vs. Midland, 6 vs. FIU).
• Dating back to last year, NU has had a player hit four or more 3-pointers in the last five contests dating back to the College Basketball Crown. (Brice Williams-Georgetown; Juwan Gary-Boise State; Connor Essegian-UCF; Jamarques Lawrence-West Georgia; Sandfort-FIU).
• Two years ago, Nebraska led the Big Ten with 9.4 3-pointers per game on its way to hitting a school record 319 3-pointers.
Bench Support
Nebraska has received outstanding play from its bench, averaging 46.0 ppg in two games this season.
• The back-to-back 46-point efforts marked the seventh and eighth time the Husker bench has scored 40+ points in a game under Fred Hoiberg. The others include Doane (61, 2020-21), South Dakota (51, 2024-25), South Carolina State (47, 2023-24); South Dakota (43, 2021-22); Creigton (42, 2021-22) and Southern (40, 2024-25).
• Two of the Huskers' top three scorers are coming off the bench in Braden Frager (18.5 ppg, first) and Connor Essegian (12.5 ppg, third). Both Frager and Essegian have reached double figures in both games.
• Frager's 22 points off the bench vs. West Georgia tied for the fifth-highest output by a Husker reserve in Fred Hoiberg's six-plus seasons at Nebraska.
• Last year, Nebraska got 31 double-figure efforts from its bench and averaged 23.0 ppg from its bench.