Tag: Nebraska Basketball

First half struggle leads to 72-61 loss to No. 17 Georgia Tech

Nebraska falls to 10-2 on the season.

The No. 23 Nebraska women’s basketball team commenced its annual Big Ten/ACC clash on Saturday night. The Huskers faced off against undefeated No. 17 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and faced stiff first half, resulting in a 72-61 defeat.

The Yellow Jackets outscored the Huskers 32-19 in the first half, giving Nebraska a hole just big enough to fail to climb out of. Though the Huskers outscored the Yellow Jackets 42-40 in the second half, the Yellow Jackets hit free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

Georgia Tech shot 18-of-21 from the free throw line while the Huskers landed 9-of-10. This helped the Yellow Jackets keep Nebraska at bay, with both teams nearly matching their shooting statistics.

Nebraska hit 23-of-67 shots from the floor and 6-of-23 threes. Georgia Tech meanwhile landed 24-of-62 from the floor and 6-of-24 from beyond the arc.

Alexis Markowski earned another double-double for Nebraska in the loss, leading the team in points (20) and rebounds (10).

Britt Prince and Logan Nissley also scored double-digit points on the night, both dropping 11. Prince also hauled in eight rebounds, while Nissley landed three-of-seven from beyond the arc.

Nebraska falls to 10-2 on the season and remains on the road, heading to Los Angeles for two Big Ten clashes. The Huskers face off against the No. 1 UCLA Bruins on Dec. 29. Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m. CT on B1G+.

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Guard Brice Williams earns National Player of the Week honors

Brice Williams continues to shine.

Nebraska basketball guard Brice Williams was one of five players selected for the Oscar Robertson Trophy National Player of the Week accolades. The honor was announced on Tuesday.

Williams was a catalyst in the program’s win over the Indiana Hoosiers last Friday. He scored 34 points in 30 minutes of play. He got it done both from the field and from the free-throw line. He shot 72.7% from the line and 66.7% from the field. The senior also chipped in six rebounds and five assists on the afternoon.

Friday’s performance was just another notch in the belt in what has been a strong stretch of games for Williams. He has scored at least ten points in his last five games.

This strong stretch of play for Williams could not come at a better time for the Huskers. The veteran is exceeding his production from last year to this point, averaging 18.9 points per game while shooting 49.5% from the field.

The guard will undoubtedly need to continue to play at a high level for Nebraska basketball. The games will get tougher once the calendar turns, and Williams’s stellar play could make a significant difference toward a potential NCAA tournament run.

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Former Wisconsin transfer guard makes history for Nebraska in 31-point win

Former Wisconsin transfer guard makes history for Nebraska in 31-point win

Former Wisconsin guard Connor Essegian made history in Nebraska‘s 103-72 win over North Florida on Sunday.

In the blowout win, the former Badger transfer went off for 22 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals on 8-of-10 shooting and 6-of-8 from three. Essegian joined Cary Cochran as the second player in school history to nail six or more three-point field goals in back-to-back games.

This was also the second straight game Essegian scored 20 or more points. The former Badger went for a career 29 points of 10-of-22 shooting and 6-of-15 from three in Nebraska’s recent win over South Dakota.

The Fort Wayne, Indiana native’s stellar string of performances now pushes his per-game averages to 21.5 minutes, 14.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists on 50% shooting and 44.4% from three.

The Cornhuskers certainly hoped to acquire this version of Essegian when he elected to transfer from Wisconsin to Nebraska this April. As a freshman for the Badgers, Essegian averaged 11.7 points per game off nearly 36% from deep in 35 appearances.

His production dropped dramatically as a sophomore with UW, prompting the sharpshooter to transfer to a different program this spring. He’s beginning to hit his groove under head coach Fred Hoiberg, a fellow marksman during his tenure in the NBA from 1995-2005.

The Cornhuskers sit at 7-1 on the season and earned 22 votes on Monday’s AP Poll. Essegian’s team opens Big Ten play on Saturday, Dec. 7 against Michigan State.

Nebraska upsets No. 14 Creighton in Omaha 74-63

Nebraska will return home to face South Dakota on Wednesday night.

The Nebraska men’s basketball team visited Omaha for its first big test of the season, No. 14 Creighton. The Huskers delivered a fierce battle on the night, stunning the Blue Jays 74-63.

This is Nebraska’s second straight win on the road against Creighton, and the Huskers delivered a defensive front to halt the Blue Jays’ offense. The Huskers held Creighton to 17-of-52 from the field with 12 of the Blue Jays’ shots coming from beyond the arc.

Nebraska meanwhile shot 24-of-57 from the field and kept its lead over Creighton for nearly the entire game. Though the Blue Jays attempted to claw their way back into the fight, the Huskers never broke.

Brice Williams and Juwan Gary led the team in scoring, each dropping 16 points on the night. Williams earned half of his points from the free throw line, going a perfect 8-of-8. Gary hauled in seven rebounds along with his 16 points.

Connor Essegian finished directly behind the duo with 15 points, going 4-of-6 from the field and 6-of-9 from the free throw line. Berke Büyüktuncel scored 12 points, going 4-of-7 from the field, and hauled in a team-high nine rebounds. Rollie Worster rounded out Nebraska’s top-five scorers, landing 11 points on the night.

Nebraska improves to 4-1 on the season and will return home to face South Dakota on Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. on Big Ten Network.

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How Wisconsin transfer guard has fared through Nebraska’s first three games

How former Wisconsin guard has fared through Nebraska’s first three games

Former Wisconsin Badgers guard Connor Essegian started his first career game with the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Wednesday night.

In more than 16 minutes of action, Essegian logged eight points in an 86-60 victory over the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights. The former Badger nailed two of his seven 3-point field goal attempts and notched two rebounds.

Related: Biggest takeaways from Wisconsin basketball’s big win over Arizona

Through three games of the 2024-25 season, Essegian is averaging 9.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game off nearly 36% shooting from beyond the arc. In his debut for the Cornhuskers, Essegian logged 13 points and four rebounds with three made looks from outside.

At 3-0, Nebraska is tied with Penn State, Iowa, Illinois, Purdue, Wisconsin, Oregon, USC and Maryland atop the Big Ten.

Essegian transferred to Nebraska in April after two years in Madison. In 2023-24, he averaged 7.3 minutes and 3.2 points per game after falling in Greg Gard’s rotation.

His ceiling, however, is much higher. Essegian averaged 27.4 minutes and 11.7 points per game on 40% shooting and 36% from 3 during his freshman year in 2022-23.

Nebraska’s next game is Sunday against St. Mary’s (California).

Nebraska’s Alexis Markowski earns preseason All-Big Ten honors

Nebraska women’s basketball star Alexis Markowski earned Big Ten preseason honors this week.

Nebraska women’s basketball star center Alexis Markowski has earned All-Big Ten preseason honors ahead of the 2024-25 season.

On Thursday, Markowski was one of 11 standouts to earn preseason All-Big Ten honors as selected by Big Ten women’s basketball head coaches.

Markowski is entering this season after recording a career-best 15.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game last season in 35 starts.

Through her first three seasons with the program, Markowski has played in 101 games, making 87 starts while averaging 13.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest. She’s a career 46.3% shooter from the field, including 35.4% from three-point range.

She holds multiple Nebraska records, including being the Husker’s all-time career double-doubles leader and the Husker’s all-time top rebounder in rebounds per game with 9.5. She’s been an All-Big Ten selection in each of her last three seasons.

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Huskers land commitment from 2025 four-star forward

Nebraska basketball was able to pick up the first commitment for the 2025 recruiting class,

Nebraska basketball picked up a commitment from four-star forward Quentin Rhymes on Sunday. Rhymes made the announcement to HuskerOnline’s Robin Washut.

According to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, Rhymes is the 25th-ranked small forward in the 2025 class and the fifth-ranked player in his class from Arizona. He had a sizable offer sheet that included Nebraska, Boise State, New Mexico, and TCU. He most recently visited Lincoln on September 20.

Rhymes had a stellar summer for the AAU Las Vegas Knicks. He recorded 17.5 points, six rebounds, five assists, and one block per game. The program began making a strong push for him this summer, with assistant Ernie Ziegler being his primary recruiter.

This is the first commitment for the Nebraska basketball program in the 2025 class, which is now ranked 38th overall, according to the 247Sports Team Rankings.

Fred Hoiberg and this coaching staff have shown a solid ability to recruit. They certainly proved that with this commitment.

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Former Husker Keisei Tominaga shines in G League United debut

In his final year at Nebraska, Tominaga averaged 15.1 points per game

A former Nebraska basketball standout had an impressive debut off the bench on Wednesday night. Keisei Tominaga scored 12 points to help G League United defeat BC Mega MIS 99-81.

The G League United is a select squad of current and future G League stars. BC Mega MIS is a premier Serbian team known for developing three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić.

Tominaga is the only rookie on the 12-member squad. He spent three seasons at Nebraska and scored 1,074 points, good for seventh in school history. He recently signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Indiana Pacers.

In his final year at Nebraska, the guard averaged 15.1 points per game and landed 76 3-pointers, which ranked eighth on the Huskers’ single-season chart. His efforts helped Nebraska to a 23-11 record in 2023-24, a third-place Big Ten finish, and the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014.

The team will also compete in Singapore’s 2024 FIBA Intercontinental Cup from Sept. 12 to 15.

https://twitter.com/nbagleague/status/1831525814682448149

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Nebraska women’s basketball signs Croatian star Petra Bozan

Head coach Amy Williams announced that the team signed Croatian star Petra Bozan to the lineup.

The Nebraska women’s basketball team added another player to its 2024-2025 roster just three months before the start of the season. Head coach Amy Williams announced that the team signed Croatian star Petra Bozan.

Bozan, a 6-foot-3 forward/center from Split, Croatia, joins the Huskers after competing for the KAZL Split in Croatia’s Premier League. Across 22 games, she averaged 15.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.7 blocked shots per game.

She finished the season with a shooting percentage of .545 and recorded 17 double-doubles. She scored a season-high 31 points against Zagreb in October 2023 and hauled in a season-high 19 rebounds against Brod Na Savi in November 2023.

Bozan also represented Croatia in the FIBA European Championships for the last three years. She arrives at Nebraska following her recent outing in the FIBA U18 Women’s Eurobasket in Portugal.

Bozan led Croatia in both points (113) and rebounds (70) across seven tournament games. She ranked sixth among all players in the 16-team tournament in scoring, averaging 16.1 points per game, and third in rebounding, averaging 10.0 per game.

Bozan is one of four freshmen on Nebraska’s roster and one of two centers, the other being senior Alexis Markowski. Bozan plans to major in business at Nebraska.

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Nebraska Basketball reveals opening Diamond Head Classic opponent

Nebraska basketball will be looking to improve upon their successful 2023-24 season.

Nebraska basketball has their matchup set for the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii in December. They will open with Murray State and then face either Hawaii or Charlotte depending on the results of their opening game.

Murray State is coming off a 2023-24 season that saw them go 12-20 including a 9-11 record in the Missouri Valley Conference. They lost to Missouri State in the opening round of the Mountain Valley Conference Tournament.

In the meantime, Nebraska basketball is looking to build off an NCAA tournament appearance. They finished 23-11 in 2023-24, including 12-8 in the Big Ten Conference. They made it to the opening round of the NCAA tournament before losing to Texas A&M by an 83-98 margin.

Under coach Fred Hoiberg, the Huskers, with a slew of new transfers, look to make another run at a tournament appearance.

The mid-season tournament will be a nice tune-up before conference play begins in January. This could be an important stretch of games for a program looking to take the next step and get that elusive NCAA Tournament win.

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