Huskers Return Home to Face USC Wednesday Night
The Nebraska men's basketball team returns home on Wednesday evening, as the Huskers play host to USC. Tipoff from Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for shortly after 8 p.m., 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. A limited number of 300 Level tickets are available for purchase for Wednesday's matchup by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets or at the PBA box office beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Nebraska (12-6, 2-5 B1G) looks to snap a four-game losing streak following a tough 69-66 loss at Maryland last Sunday. The Huskers overcame a nine-point deficit in the final five minutes with a 9-0 run, tying the score at 66 on a pair of Brice Williams free throws with 1:03 remaining but Ja'Kobi Gillespie's basket with 39.8 seconds left put Maryland ahead for good. Gillespie finished with a game-high 22 points for the Terps. Three of the NU's last four losses have been decided by three points or less or in overtime.
The loss overshadowed a strong performance from the Husker bench, which outscored Maryland's reserves, 34-8. Andrew Morgan led NU with a season-high 17 points, while Ahron Ulis dished out a career-high 10 assists and had four rebounds and a pair of steals. In addition, Sam Hoiberg and Connor Essegian combined for 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Brice Williams was the only other Husker in double figures at Maryland with 14 markers while adding three assists and three steals.
Nebraska held the Terrapins to a season-low 69 points and out-rebounded Maryland, 36-32, in the loss, and the Huskers will need another strong defensive effort on Wednesday as USC makes its first visit to Lincoln since the 2012-13 season.
USC (11-7, 3-4 B1G) comes off an 84-69 home loss to then-No. 24 Wisconsin on Saturday. Saint Thomas led three USC players in double figures with 19 points while Rashaun Agee and Wesley Yates III had 15 and 11 points, respectively. Wisconsin shot 56 percent in the victory and got a game-high 28 points from John Blackwell to lead four Badgers in double figures.
Numbers to Know
7.9 - Nebraska is averaging 7.4 3-pointers per game while shooting 37 percent from the arc over the last 10 games. The Huskers shot just 30 percent from 3-point range in their first eight contests.
83.3 - Sam Hoiberg is shooting 83.3 percent from the field in the month of January after hitting all three of his shots against Maryland. The junior guard is averaging 5.6 points per game with a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in that stretch.
26.4 -Nebraska has gotten great production from its bench, averaging 26.4 points per game over the first 18 games. Nebraska has gotten 19 double-figure efforts from its bench this season (Morgan-10, Essegian-8, Ulis-1). The Huskers led the Big Ten in bench production last season, averaging 21.4 points per game.
70 - Nebraska has gotten great production from its bench, averaging 26.4 points per game over the first 18 games. Nebraska has gotten 19 double-figure efforts from its bench this season (Morgan-10, Essegian-8, Ulis-1). The Huskers led the Big Ten in bench production last season, averaging 21.4 points per game.
15 - Nebraska and USC are two of the 15 teams in the country which have at least five 1,000-point scorers on their active roster as of Jan. 20. Only six programs have more active 1,000-point scorers than the Trojans and Huskers.
3974 - Career points scored between Brice and his father, Henry, who played at Charlotte from 1988 to 1992. Henry, who was Charlotte's all-time leading scorer, totaled 2,383 points in his career while Brice needs just nine points against USC to reach 1,600 for his career.
Worth Noting
• A pair of Huskers eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for their career in Sunday's loss to Maryland. Andrew Morgan went over 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).
• Wednesday's game features two of the eight active Division I coaches who were also head coaches in the NBA in USC's Eric Musselman and Nebraska's Fred Hoiberg. This is NU's third matchup against a former NBA Head Coach this season, posting wins over Bethune-Cookman (Reggie Theus) and Indiana (Mike Woodson).
• USC assistant coach Quincy Pondexter was the coach for Nebraska center Braxton Meah on the Las Vegas Prospects on the EYBL circuit. In addition, Pondexter's sister, Myisha, had custody of Meah when he was 17 years old when Meah's parents moved to Japan for work.
• Ahron Ulis dished out a career-high 10 assists on Sunday 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.
• Nebraska looks to start a new home win streak on Wednesday when the Huskers host USC. Nebraska saw its school-record 20-game home win streak snapped against Rutgers on Jan. 16. The 20 straight home wins tied the mark set on two previous occasions, most recently from 2017 to 2019. Over the past three years, Nebraska is 37-6 (.860) inside Pinnacle Bank Arena.
• Nebraska is No. 49 in the NET on Jan. 20 and enters this week as one of 11 Big Ten teams in the top 50 of the NET. Seven Big Ten teams are in the top 25 of the NET while 17 of the 18 conference teams are in the top 100 of the NET as of Jan. 20.
• Connor Essegian has been one of the Big Ten's best sixth men, as the junior guard enters Wednesday's game with USC averaging 11.3 points per contest. He is one of only three Big Ten reserves currently averaging double figures while making five or fewer starts.
• With Brice Williams and Juwan Gary both going over 20 points against Rutgers, it marked the 15th time in Fred Hoiberg's tenure that Nebraska had multiple players score 20+ points in a game.
• Nebraska made significant improvement after struggling in the first three games of its losing streak. NU held Maryland to 69 points, matching its lowest offensive total of the season on just 1.02 PPP (points per possession). That was NU's lowest opponent PPP since the win over UCLA on Jan. 4. NU is now 32nd nationally in defensive efficiency heading into the weekend. Nebraska has won its last 27 games dating back to the 2022-23 season when holding an opponent under 1.0 PPP.
• Over the last 22 games dating back to last season, Brice Williams is averaging 18.9 points per game on .485 shooting and has 11 20-point efforts in that span. He has been in double figures in 20 of 22 games in that stretch. He averaged just 12.5 ppg over his first 30 games at Nebraska in 2023-24.
• The Jan. 12 loss to Purdue snapped a two-game win streak against ranked teams. NU is now 7-8 in its last 15 games against ranked teams dating back to March 1, 2022. The Huskers will get their next opportunity against a ranked team as Wisconsin is ranked No. 18 in the AP poll released Monday.
• With its 12-6 start in 2024-25, Nebraska is 41-20 over the last 61 games dating back to the start of February 2023. NU's .672 winning percentage ranks third among Big Ten programs in that stretch. NU would be fourth (behind Purdue, Oregon and Illinois) if you included the four new Big Ten schools (Oregon, UCLA, Washington and USC) during that same stretch. NU went just 33-80 from the start of the 2019-20 season until Feb. 1, 2023.
• Juwan Gary is playing some of the best basketball of his career over the last month. The senior is averaging 12.6 ppg over the last nine games. Gary had his second 20-point game of the season with 20 points and a team-high seven rebounds against Rutgers and led NU with seven rebounds in the loss at Maryland.
• NU has relied on its depth with six players averaging at least 7.2 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 Jan 20.
• 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 five Big Ten players with multiple 30-point games this season.
• Nebraska comes into Wednesday's game with USC averaging 76.6 points per game. NU has scored 70+ points in 11 of 18 games, including seven 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.
• Nebraska has been prolific at getting to the foul line and taking advantage of the opportunities. Nebraska ranks among the Big Ten leaders in free throws made and attempted per game and free throw percentage. Against Maryland, NU got to the line 11 times - matching a season low - and went just 5-of-11 from the charity stripe.
• Nebraska is averaging 8.1 steals per game to rank fifth in the Big Ten as of Jan. 20. Four Huskers average at least one steal per game led by Sam Hoiberg, who is ninth in the conference with 1.5 spg. Of the 46 Big Ten players averaging at least one steal per game as of January 21, Hoiberg is one of two players who averages less than 20 minutes per game.
• The Huskers are 37-6 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. NU has been out-rebounded only twice in 18 games this season.
• 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 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.
• Nebraska has increased its win total in each of the past three years, marking the first time NU has done that since the mid-1960s (1963-64 to 1965-66). If Nebraska can improve its win total this year, it would mark the first time since a four-year stretch from 1945-46 to 1948-49 that the Huskers improved their win total in four consecutive seasons.
• Over the past two seasons (2022-23 and 2023-24), NU has won 21 conference games, the highest two-year total since the 1965-66 and 1966-67 teams won 22 conference tilts. The last two seasons under Fred Hoiberg mark just the fourth time in school history that Nebraska has won 20 or more conference games in a two-year span.
Scouting USC
USC comes to Lincoln with an 11-7 record following an 84-69 loss to No. 24 Wisconsin on Jan. 18. Under first-year coach Eric Musselman, the Trojans went 5-4 in their first nine games with a retooled roster before putting together a four-game win streak highlighted by a win over Washington. USC's most impressive performance of the season was an 82-72 win at No. 13 Illinois on Jan. 11. USC also posted a 10-point win over Iowa before its two-game win streak was snapped with the loss to the Badgers.
Musselman spent the previous five seasons at Arkansas, guiding the Razorbacks to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2021. He also led Nevada to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances in his four-year tenure. Musselman also coached in the NBA for three seasons (2002-04, Golden State; 2006-07, Sacramento).
USC features a balanced attack with four players averaging double figures. Desmond Claude paces the Trojans at 16.0 pgg while dishing out 4.1 assists per game. He had a season-high 31 points in the win over illinois. Chibuzo Agbo is at 12.4 ppg while pacing USC with 41 3-pointers at a 38 percent clip. Saint Thomas is at 11.0 ppg while topping USC in assists (4.1 apg), rebounds (6.1 rpg) and steals (1.4 apg). As a team, USC shoots over 48 percent from the field and commits just 11.8 turnovers per game.
Series History: Wednesday's meeting is the 11th all-time meeting between the two teams, which dates back to the 1962-63 season. USC won five of the first six matchups while Nebraska has rebounded to win the last four meetings. The two schools played for four straight seasons from 2009-10 to 2012-13, including the most recent meeting, a 63-51 Husker win at the Devaney Center on Dec. 3, 2012.
Williams Builds All-Big Ten Resume
Brice Williams has built upon a strong finish during the first half of the 2024-25 season. The 6-foot-7 senior enters the USC game averaging a career-best 18.6 points per game along with 2.6 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals per contest.
• He ranks in the top five of the Big Ten in scoring (fifth) and free throw percentage (third) while shooting 38 percent from 3-point range.
• He has reached double figures 16 times, including a pair of 30-point games and seven 25-point performances.
• Williams had his eighth 20-point performance of the year at Rutgers on Jan. 16 with 21 points.
• He had a 28-point effort at Iowa on Jan. 7, when he hit four 3-pointers, including a buzzer beater to send the game to overtime. It was his seventh game with at least 25 points this season.
• He was the MVP of the Diamond Head Classic, averaging 22.0 points per game on 56 percent shooting, along with 3.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He tied a career high with 32 points in the semifinal win over Hawai'i and had 25 points, seven boards and four assists against Oregon State.
• Williams has five career 30-point games including his time at Charlotte. This season, he tied his career high with 32 points at Hawai'i on Dec. 23 and had 30 points against Indiana on Dec. 13.
• His 18.6 ppg scoring average is the second-highest average by a Husker after 18 games in the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present). The last Husker to finish a season averaging at least 18 points per game was James Palmer Jr. (19.7 in 2018-19).
• He is shooting a career-best 91.7 percent from the foul line to rank fourth in the Big Ten in free throw percentage. He is bidding to become the third player in school history to shoot 90 percent from the foul line (Jack Moore, 1980-81 and 1981-82; Cary Cochran, 2001-02).
• Williams had 28 points against Saint Mary's on Nov. 17 and 27 points in the season opener against UTRGV on Nov. 4. His 27-point night vs. UTRGV was one of the highest opening-night totals by a Husker in the last 30 years.
Williams' emergence began during the Huskers' 2024 postseason run when he averaged 23.3 points per game during the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. He had more 20-point games in three postseason games (three) than in 31 regular-season games (two) during 2023-24. His 23.3 ppg after the end of the regular season is the highest by a returning Big Ten player entering 2024-25.