Huskers Renew Rivalry at Kansas State on Sunday

Game 11: at Kansas State
Date: Sun., Dec. 17
Tipoff:  2:01 p.m.  
Location: Manhattan, Kan.
Arena:  Bramlage Coliseum

On the Air
Radio: Sunday's game will be carried on select Huskers Radio Network stations with Kent Pavelka and Jake Muhleisen on the call, including KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln and KKCD (105.9 FM) in Omaha and will also be available on Huskers.com and the Huskers app. The pregame show begins an hour before tipoff.

TV/Online: Sunday's game will be streamed on Big 12 Now (ESPN+) with Ben Boyle, Stan Weber and Sophie Smith on the call. To sign up, visit https://plus.espn.com. It will not be televised.

 

After a break for finals, the Nebraska men's basketball team returns to action this Sunday, Dec. 17, as the Huskers travel to Manhattan, Kan., for a matchup with the Kansas State Wildcats. Sunday's game will be streamed on ESPN+ and carried on the Husker Radio Network.

The Huskers (8-2) came off their best effort of the season, a 77-70 win over Michigan State on Dec. 10. In that game, the Huskers shot 64 percent in the second half to erase a 34-31 halftime deficit, as Juwan Gary's 20-point night led four Huskers in double figures. Nebraska took control of the game late, outscoring the Spartans 15-5 over the final 3:01 to to pick up the program's first win over Michigan State since 2016. 

Gary matched a career high with 20 points in his first start of the season. The 20-point effort marked the third time this season he has either tied or set a career high in scoring, as he is averaging a career-high 14.7 points per game on 59 percent shooting, including 35 percent from 3-point range.

In addition to Gary's performance, the Huskers also did much better taking care of the ball with nine turnovers, including three in the second half. NU had a season-high 18 turnovers in the loss to Minnesota, the only time in the last six games where NU committed double-figure turnovers. 

With its two December Big Ten games wrapped up, NU faces a familiar foe, as Sunday's meeting will mark the final game of a three-game series between the Huskers and Kansas State. 

The Wildcats, coming off an Elite Eight appearance last season, are 8-2 on the season and have been off since a 75-60 win at LSU on Dec. 9. Cam Carter had 21 points and eight rebounds to pace four Wildcats in double figures, while the Wildcats held LSU to 29 percent shooting in the second half and outrebounded the Tigers, 39-36.

Numbers to Know
2 - Number of power conference players averaging at least 10 points, nine rebounds and three assists per game this season as of Dec. 15 - Nebraska's Rienk Mast and Duke's Kyle Filipowski. 

.863 - Nebraska went 13-of-15 from the line against Michigan State, including 8-of-8 in the final 1:44 to seal the win.  Over the last five games, Nebraska is shooting 86.3 percent (82-of-95) from the charity stripe.

1.49 - Nebraska's assist-to-turnover ratio this season, which is fourth in the Big Ten as of Dec. 15. 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.

8.4 - NU ranks third in the Big Ten with 8.4 3-pointers per game as of Dec. 15.  NU has averaged more than 8.0 3-pointers/game just twice in program history (2001-02 and 2020-21).

13.4 - Nebraska leads the Big Ten and ranks seventh nationally in fewest fouls per game (13.4) entering this weekend's action. NU also ranked in the top 20 nationally in that category in 2022-23 (14.1, 16th). 

2 - Nebraska matched a school record with two turnovers in the win over Duquesne on Nov. 22, matching a record originally set in 2013. As of Dec. 15, it ties for the lowest total by a power conference team in 2023-24.

Worth Noting

• C.J. Wilcher is scheduled to graduate this weekend 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.
• A pair of foes this weekend were teammates this past summer, as Nebraska's Rienk Mast and Kansas State's David N'Guessan were both on the Netherlands National team during the 2023 Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Türkiye.
• Sunday's game also matches a pair of conference rivals who led their team to hardware last season. Nebraska's Brice Wiliams was the MVP of the 2023 CBI after leading Charlotte to a tournament title while Kansas State's Tylor Perry was the most outstanding player of the 2023 NIT while leading North Texas to a tournament title. Charlotte and North Texas split their regular-season meetings in 2022-23.
• Nebraska's trip to Kansas State marks just the Huskers' second road game against a Big 12 opponent since joining the Big Ten in 2011-12 and first since a trip to Kansas on Dec. 10, 2016.
•  Nebraska's 8-2 record is NU's best 10-game mark since also going 8-2 in the 2018-19 season. Nebraska opened the season with seven straight wins, marking just the fifth time in program history that Nebraska opened the season with seven straight wins.
• Nebraska has made an effort to get to the foul line, as the Huskers are fifth in the Big Ten in free throw attempts with 225, while opponents have gotten to the line a Big Ten low 146 times. The +79 differential ranks third among Big Ten teams heading into this weekend's action.
• Nebraska's win over Michigan State on Dec. 10 snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Spartans dating back to the 2015-16 season. The 11-game losing streak was NU's longest active streak against a Big Ten opponent.
• The Huskers are 14-5 over the last 18 games dating back to Feb. 1, 2023. A big reason for that is NU's offense, as NU has averaged 75.9 ppg on 47 percent shooting in that stretch.  Wednesday's game marked only the fourth time in the last 18 games where NU was held to under 70 points.
• Nebraska is 20-4 under Hoiberg when scoring at least 80 points including 15-1 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 13 games when reaching the 80-point plateau. 
• 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.
• Nebraska enters Sunday's game ranked fourth in the Big Ten in free throw shooting at 75.1 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 where NU shot a school-record 76.6 percent. 
• Over the last five games, Nebraska is shooting 86.3 percent (82-of-95) 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 in the first 10 contests. The Huskers' leading scorer has come from the bench three times (Hoiberg-Lindenwood; Wilcher-Rider; Gary-Stony Brook) and NU has had nine double-figure efforts from its bench in 2023-24.  Juwan Gary's 20-point effort against Duquesne on Nov. 22 marked the seventh time under Fred Hoiberg that NU had a player score at least 20 points off the bench.

About Kansas State
The Wildcats are 8-2 on the season following a 15-point win at LSU on Dec. 9.  KSU enters Sunday's game having won eight of its last nine, including overtime wins over Providence and Villanova. KSU has already played four overtime games in its first 10 contests and is a perfect 4-0 in those games. 

Jermone Tang is in his second season at Kansas State after spending the last 19 seasons at Baylor, helping the Bears win an NCAA title in 2021.  Last year, the Wildcats won 26 games and reached the Elite Eight, as Tang was the Naismith National Coach of the Year. 

The 2023-24 Wildcats feature three players averaging at least 16 points per game in Cam Carter and transfers Arthur Kuluma and Tylor Perry. Carter leads the team at 16.9 points per game while also grabbing 5.6 rebounds per game. Kaluma, who started at Creighton for two seasons, is at 16.6 ppg and tops KSU with 8.6 rebounds per game, while Perry, who was the 2022-23 Conference USA Player of the Year, is at 16.2 ppg and dishes out a team-best 5.5 assists per contest. 

Series History: Kansas State leads the all-time series, 129-93, and has won seven straight dating back to the 2008-09 season. The Huskers will be looking for their first win since a 73-51 win on Jan. 17, 2009. NU's last win in Manhattan came in a 57-42 win on Jan. 11, 2006.

Last season: Wilhelm Breidenbach had a career-high 13 points off the bench while Nebraska’s second-half comeback fell short in a 71-56 loss to Kansas State in Kansas City. Breidenbach hit 5-of-9 shots from the field and grabbed five rebounds, as he and Jamarques Lawrence keyed a strong bench effort that helped the Huskers rally after falling behind 59-40 with just under nine minutes remaining. Nebraska ran off 10 straight points to pull within 59-50 with 3:43 remaining. The Huskers continued to chip away, as Lawrence’s second 3-pointer of the night made it 62-56 with 1:19 remaining, but the Wildcats went 9-of-10 from the line down the stretch to hold off the Husker comeback. Keyontae Johnson's 23 points and 11 rebounds to pace four Wildcats in double figures.