Huskers Look for Third Straight win on Wednesday
The Nebraska men's basketball team wraps up its West Coast trip on Wednesday night, as the Huskers travel to Seattle, Wash., to battle with Washington. Tipoff between the Huskers and Huskies from Alaska Airlines Arena is set for shortly after 9:30 p.m. (central) and the contest will be televised on BTN and carried on the Huskers Radio Network, as well as on Huskers.com and the Huskers app. The game will also be available on the Fox Sports App.
Nebraska (14-8, 4-7 B1G) enters the game with a two-game win streak following Sunday's 77-71 win at then No. 16 Oregon. That marked NU's fourth win over a ranked opponent this season.
Seniors Brice Williams and Juwan Gary shined in the win over the Ducks, combining for 51 points. Williams totaled a game-high 28 points along with seven rebounds and six assists as he posted his 10th 20-point game of the season. Gary chipped in 23 points and five rebounds as he posted his fourth 20-point performance of the year. As a team, Nebraska shot 51 percent from the field and went 21-of-29 from the line, including 16-of-20 from the charity stripe in the second half.
While Williams and Gary were the headliners, Nebraska got contributions up and down the rotation. Rollie Worster and Andrew Morgan combined for 19 points on 8-of-8 shooting while Braxton Meah, who had not played in NU's last two games, provided quality minutes off the bench as Nebraska battled foul trouble. Sam Hoiberg played a season-high 37 minutes and played a major role in helping limit Oregon guards Jackson Shelstad and Keeshawn Barthelemy to a combined 7-of-26 shooting
Washington (11-10, 2-8 B1G) comes off a 71-68 road win at Minnesota on Saturday afternoon. Tyler Harris led four Huskies in double figures with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-4 from 3-point range. Great Osobor added 16 points and 10 rebounds as Washington snapped a six-game losing streak.
The Huskers return home following Wednesday's game for a two-game homestand featuring games against Ohio State and Maryland.
Numbers to Know
1998-99: Nebraska has now won four games against ranked teams for the first time since the 1998-99 season and just fourth time in school history.
32: Fred Hoiberg has 32 wins over ranked opponents, including 11 career wins against top-10 teams, in his collegiate coaching career following Sunday's win at Oregon. In addition, his five road wins against ranked opponents is second only to Danny Nee (seven) all-time among NU men's basketball coaches.
.620: Over the last three seasons, Nebraska has played some of its best basketball down the stretch. NU is 17-11 in Big Ten games after Feb. 1 over the last three-plus seasons, including 6-2 in 2022-23 and 7-3 last season.
2: A pair of former Huskers will be in action during All-Star Weekend in San Francisco. Bryce McGowens will be the Castrol Rising Stars on Friday, Feb. 14, while Keisei Tominaga is part of the NBA G League Up Next Game on Sunday, Feb. 16. McGowens is currently second in the G League in scoring at 27.7 ppg.
25.1: Nebraska has gotten great production from its bench, averaging 25.1 points per game this season. Nebraska has gotten 22 double-figure efforts from its bench this season (Morgan-10, Essegian-10, Ulis-1; Worster-1). The Huskers led the Big Ten in bench production last season, averaging 21.4 points per game.
Worth Noting
• With back-to-back wins over No. 18 Illinois and No. 16 Oregon, Nebraska has tied a school record for wins in a season with four. It tied the school record set three other times, most recently in 1998-99.
• Nebraska has won multiple games against ranked foes in three of the past four years and is now 9-9 in its last 18 games against ranked teams dating back to March 1, 2022.
• Nebraska comes off a streak of three straight games against ranked opponents, going 2-1 in that stretch. It marked the first time since Dec. 4-10, 2022, where NU faced three straight ranked teams.
• The Huskers will be looking for their fourth road win of the season at Washington on Wednesday. NU is 3-5 on the road this year and 5-6 away from Pinnacle Bank Arena. Two of NU's three road wins are against ranked foes. During non-conference action, NU was 4-1 in road/neutral games while its two wins (at Creighton and at Hawai'i) were half of the Big Ten's entire non-conference total.
• A pair of players will be facing their former team on Wednesday. Nebraska's Braxton Meah played two seasons (2022-23, 2023-24) at Washington while Washington's Wilhelm Breidenbach began his college career at Nebraska and spent the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons with the Huskers.
• While Wednesday's meeting is the first between the programs since the 1996-97 season, two members of the Husker roster have squared off with the Huskies previously. Rollie Worster averaged 9.4 ppg and 5.2 apg in five games against Washington at Utah, while Berke Büyüktuncel averaged 7.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg in two matchups last season while at UCLA.
• Of the six games in NU's recently ended losing streak, Nebraska has been within three points in the final 10 seconds of regulation four times.
• Nebraska had its fourth multiple 20-point game this season at Oregon with Brice Williams (28) and Juwan Gary (23). It marked the fourth time this season and 15th time in Fred Hoiberg's tenure that Nebraska had multiple players score 20+ points in a game.
• Nebraska is No. 50 in the NET on Feb. 2 and has plenty of opportunities to jump in the coming weeks. Nebraska picked up its fourth Quad 1 win on Sunday at Oregon. Five of the Huskers’ next six games are against Quad 1 opponents (OSU, MD, at PSU, at NW and Mich.). Eight teams are currently in the top 30 of the NET while 17 of 18 Big Ten teams are inside the top 100 as of Feb. 3.
• On Jan. 26, Brice and his father, Henry, became the seventh father-son duo to combine for 4,000 career points at the college level. Brice now has 1,646 career points and is now only 127 points away from reaching 1,000 as a Husker. Henry Williams, who passed away in 2018, was Charlotte's all-time leading scorer with 2,383 career points.
• Over the last 26 games dating back to last season, Brice Williams is averaging 19.2 points per game on .473 shooting and has 13 20-point efforts in that span, including 27 in Thursday's win over Illinois and 28 at Oregon. He has been in double figures in 24 of the last 26 contests. Williams averaged just 12.5 ppg over his first 30 games at Nebraska in 2023-24.
• Nebraska has put together two solid defensive efforts holding Illinois (0.94 ppp) and Oregon (1.02 ppp) in check offensively. NU is 11-0 when holding opponents to under one point per possession, but 3-8 when opponents are above 1.0 PPP. Nebraska has won its last 28 games dating back to the 2022-23 season when holding an opponent under 1.0 PPP.
• Connor Essegian has been one of the Big Ten's best sixth men, as the junior guard enters Wednesday's game at Washington averaging 11.0 points per contest. Essegian is one of only three Big Ten reserves currently averaging double figures while making five or fewer starts.
• Following his 23-point night at Oregon on Feb. 2, Juwan Gary has more 20-point games in his last 12 games (four) as in he did in his first 114 games of his career (three).
• Nebraska comes into Wednesday's game at Washington averaging 75.6 points per game. NU has scored 70+ points in 13 of 22 games, including eight games with at least 80 points. Last season, NU averaged 77.7 points per game for 34 games, its highest offensive total since the 1995-96 season.
• NU has relied on its depth with six players averaging at least 6.8 points per game. Eight players have posted double-figure efforts, while three players (Brice Williams, Connor Essegian and Juwan Gary) have recorded 20-point games. Williams is the only Husker in the top 30 of the Big Ten in scoring as of Feb. 3.
• With its 14-8 record in 2024-25, Nebraska is 43-22 over the last 65 games dating back to the start of February 2023. NU's .662 winning percentage ranks fourth among Big Ten programs in that stretch. NU went just 33-80 from the start of the 2019-20 season until Feb. 1, 2023.
• A pair of Huskers eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for their career on Jan. 19 at Maryland. Andrew Morgan reached the mark in the first half on his way to a season-high 17-point effort, while Juwan Gary reached the milestone late in the second half. NU's roster now has five career 1,000-point scorers (Brice Williams, Rienk Mast, Rollie Worster, Andrew Morgan and Juwan Gary).
• Brice Williams is just the sixth Husker in the Big Ten era to have multiple 30-point games. He had 30 points in the win over Indiana on Dec. 13 and tied his career high with 32 points against Hawai’i on Dec. 23. He is one of eight Big Ten players with multiple 30-point games this season.
• Ahron Ulis dished out a career-high 10 assists on Jan. 19 at Maryland. It more than tripled his previous season high of three and marked the first time a Husker had 10 assists in a game since Alonzo Verge Jr. in 2022. It also marked the first 10-assist game by a Husker reserve since Tom Wald had 11 in a win over Appalachian State on Dec. 31, 1994. According to Stathead.com, Ulis became the first Big Ten player to come off the bench and have 10 assists in a Big Ten game since A.J. Huggard had 10 assists against Purdue in the 2022 Big Ten Tournament.
• For most of the season, Nebraska was one of the most prolific teams in the Big Ten in getting to the foul line. Nebraska averaged 26.8 attempts per game during the first 14 contests but averaged just 16.3 attempts per game heading into Sunday's game at Oregon. In that game, NU went 21-of-29 from the line, including 16-of-20 in the second half.
• Nebraska is averaging 7.7 steals per game to rank sixth in the Big Ten as of Feb. 3. Four Huskers average at least one steal per game led by Sam Hoiberg, who is 14th in the conference with 1.3 spg.
• The Huskers are 38-6 over the last two seasons when out-rebounding opponents. NU had won 27 straight games when out-rebounding opponents before the streak was snapped against Saint Mary's on Nov. 17. Nebraska has been out-rebounded just five times in 22 games this season, and Thursday's win over Illinois marked the first time NU has been out-rebounded and won since Feb. 21, 2021 at Indiana.
• NU went 10-1 in non-conference action, only the seventh time since WWII that NU finished its non-con slate with one loss (also 10-1, 2023-24; 10-1, 2018-19; 10-1, 2003-04; 12-1, 1991-92; 15-1, 1990-91; 11-1, 1977-78).
• Nebraska's 2024 Diamond Head Classic title marked the program's first MTE event title since the 2000 San Juan Shootout. With the win, Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg became the first coach to win multiple Diamond Head Classic titles, as he coached Iowa State to the 2013 championship.
• Brice Williams earned MVP honors at the Diamond Head Classic, as he averaged 22.0 points per game on 56 percent shooting, 3.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Williams averaged 19.3 ppg on 57 percent shooting in seven December games following his 11-point, seven-rebound effort against Southern.
• Nebraska is 38-7 (.844) inside Pinnacle Bank Arena over the last three seasons. The Huskers had a school-record 20-game home win streak snapped against Rutgers on Jan. 16.
• Nebraska comes off one of its most successful seasons in program history. The Huskers went 23-11 in 2023-24 and tied for third in the Big Ten standings before reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013-14. The Huskers’ 23 wins were the most since setting a school-record with 26 wins in 1990-91, while NU’s 12 conference wins also ranked second in school history.
Last Time Out
Brice Williams and Juwan Gary combined for 51 points, leading Nebraska to a 77-71 win at No. 16 Oregon Sunday evening at Matthew Knight Arena.
Williams finished with a game-high 28 points, along with seven rebounds and six assists to match his season high, while Gary had 23 points, including 10-of-12 from the foul line, as Nebraska shot 51 percent from the field in collecting its first Big Ten road win. Gary’s free throws made and attempted were both career highs as his recorded his fourth 20-point game of the year.
Nebraska’s defense keyed the win, holding Oregon to 40 percent shooting, including 5-of-20 from 3-point range, and enjoyed a 35-32 lead on the glass in posting its fourth ranked win of the season. Nebraska’s four wins over ranked opponents tied a program record, while NU won multiple road games against ranked teams for the second time in the Big Ten era.
About Washington
Washington comes into Wednesday's contest with an 11-10 record following Saturday's 71-68 win at Minnesota. Washington went 9-2 during non-conference action highlighted by wins over Colorado State and Santa Clara. In Big Ten play, the Huskies knocked off Maryland, 75-69 on Jan. 2 but had dropped six straight before the road win over the Gophers.
Danny Sprinkle is in his first season in charge of the Washington program after stints at Montana State and Utah State. Last season, he guided the Aggies to a 28-7 record and a Mountain West Conference regular-season title in his only season at Utah State. Previously, he spent four years at Montana State, where he guided the Bobcats to NCAA Tournament appearances in his final two seasons at the school.
The Huskies are led by senior forward Great Osobor, who followed Sprinkle from Utah State. The 6-foot-8 forward was the Mountain West Player of the Year last season and tops Washington in scoring (15.5 ppg), rebounding (8.7 rpg), assists (3.1 apg) and steals (2.1 spg). He is averaging 21.2 ppg over Washington's last five games. He is one of three UW players averaging double figures, as Tyler Harris averages 12.0 ppg and shooting 47 percent from 3-point range after a 23-point effort at Minnesota. Zoom Diallo chips in 10.9 points and 2.9 assists per game.
Series History: Wednesday's game is just the 10th meeting between the schools and the first since a 67-63 NU win in the first round of the NIT. Washington leads the series, 6-3, with the last two meetings coming in NIT matchups in Lincoln. Washington won the first six meetings, including five straight in Seattle before Nebraska posted a 59-58 win in Seattle on Nov. 29, 1976. This is the only meeting between the teams during the 2024-25 season.
Williams Earns Second Big Ten Honor
Following a pair of wins over ranked opponents, Nebraska’s Brice Williams was tabbed as the Big Ten Player of the Week on Feb. 3
Williams earned his second award of the season as he averaged 27.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in helping Nebraska post wins over No. 18 Illinois and at No. 16 Oregon. He finished with 27 points, including eight straight points in overtime, a season-best eight rebounds and four assists as the Huskers knocked off Illinois for the first time since 2018. In NU’s 77-71 win at Oregon, Williams had 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting along with seven rebounds and six assists to match a season high in that category.
Williams becomes the second Husker to win multiple Big Ten Player-of-the-Week honors, joining Shavon Shields, who earned a pair of weekly honors during the 2013-14 season.