Postgame Notes

• Brice Williams posted his fourth straight 20-point game with 24 points and 10 rebounds. It marked his fourth straight 20-point game, matching a career high (last three games of 2023-24 and 2024-25 opener).
• Williams posted his first double-double of the season, the second of his Nebraska career (at Northwestern last season) and sixth of his college career, as he finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds. His 10 rebounds were a season high, topping his previous season high of eight against Illinois.
• Nebraska has now won four straight games, including three Quad 1 wins in that stretch (Illinois, at Oregon, Ohio State). NU has now won four of the last five meetings against Ohio State.
• Berke Büyüktuncel reached double figures for the fifth time this season and the first since scoring a career-high 16 points against Oregon State, finishing with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Büyüktuncel tied career bests in 3-pointers (three) and assists (three)
• Nebraska shot 51.9 percent from the field and has shot over 50 percent in each of the last three games. 
• Braxton Meah has now made his last 11 field goals dating back to Dec. 30. Meah had five points, including 3-of-3 from the foul line, in 7:15 of action.
• Nebraska’s 11-0 second-half run was NU’s 17^th double-figure run of the season. 
• Nebraska improves to 1-5 on Super Bowl Sunday games in program history.

Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg
On Juwan Gary’s performance after having foul trouble
“He picked up his third [foul] pretty quick in the second half as well. We had a decision to make but he made a couple of really good plays for us. We decided to roll with it. We made a gamble. We’re thankful he didn’t end up picking up his fourth. We switched the matchup a little bit to get him off their driver, their aggressive player, because I knew they were going to go at him to try to draw his fourth. He did a good job staying on the floor.” 
 
On adjusting at halftime 
“It’s different things where you have to come out and throw the first punch whether you are up five or 10 whether you are down five or 10, which in the last two games we were 10 in Washington and five tonight. You have to come out and be the aggressor in the second half because it can turn. In Wisconsin it turned, we were down 12 at half and that thing got to 20 in a matter of three or four possessions. You have to come out whatever it is, if you are up double digits you can’t let a team come out and get back and get confident. We were still down eight when Connor (Essegian) made that play and when Andrew (Morgan) made that big play as well which started an eight nothing run for us and then finally we got the lead. It was a good response by our guys, there is no head hanging going on out there. Again, if we continue to go out there and fight, that's all you can ask your guys. We had that losing streak. There were some games we played actually pretty well and we lost. That will happen in this league. Right now, we have to keep this momentum, the crowd was absolutely phenomenal, so thankful to have a fanbase like we do that’s there every game, win or lose. They’ve continued to come and they were a huge factor in that win today.” 
 
On the difference in executing in the last minutes of the game
“I mean early on we had some games that were really tight that we ended up pulling away from. I know they weren’t one- or two-possession games but I give our guys credit for their execution to pull away at the end of some close games early in the season. Against Indiana, was a close game down the stretch but we pulled away and ended up winning by 14. Oregon State was a tight one. We executed well down the stretch. Obviously, we found a guy that’s got it going right now. Brice (Williams) isn’t being a pig out there shooting the ball every time. He’s making the right plays, he’s getting in the pocket. He’s making the shake pass. He gets Sam (Hoiberg) on the exit, where he curled it, got fouled and we scored. He’s just making the right plays. He’s playing arguably as well as anybody. He got the award for the best player in the country last week. He’s doing it without being selfish. He’s just making winning plays.”
 
Player Quotes: 
 
Nebraska Forward Juwan Gary 
On the intensity and the season turnaround
“It was a start from the Illinois game. We had urgency to get to where we are at now. We had a comeback. We knew it was going to be tough with the time zone change. At the end of the day, we have to play our basketball. That’s what we did. The first half was kind of slow, and Coach got on us at half-time. At the end of the day, we can’t keep having starts like that, especially with good teams. But the second half start was the best thing that we needed. We Had a spark, came out on top, and I’m proud of my boys.” 
 
On the atmosphere at PBA and his senior year
“I’m still trying to not think about it actually. It hurts every time I think about this being my last year. I am grateful for the energy, the fanbase and just everything that Nebraska brings to the table at PBA.”
 
Brice Williams 
On the last three minutes and executing down the stretch
“It’s kind of tough, but it comes down to trusting my teammates when they know I’m going to shoot. They kind of load up, I’ve noticed that. But whoever is helping them, just looking for them or remaining unselfish, some guys just have to take a shot, but I’m looking for the best shot, if I’m taking it or if my teammates are taking it. But my teammates stay ready, stay aggressive, and I have confidence in them and that’s what helps us.”
 
On Berke Büyüktuncel performance and possible injury
“BK (Berke Büyüktuncel) and his ability to space the floor and also his ability to rebound every game whether he gets a double-digit rebound or not he’s been all over the glass. He’s physical and it’s hard in this league when you’re going against big athletic strong guys every night. But BK’s toughness and his ability to stretch the floor really helps us and takes us to a different element.” 
 
Andrew Morgan 
On making emphasis winning plays 
“It’s definitely something we talked about at halftime. We felt like we weren’t winning the 50/50 balls. Coming out of the locker room, I felt like I was pretty fresh, I kind of sat most of the first half, like I could dive on the floor, I could sacrifice my body in the second half too. I really wanted to get out there and make a play and obviously try and make a play in any way.” 
 
On winning on the glass
“I mean obviously it was a big emphasis that we had as well. We knew that if we boxed out and played defense, we knew they were going to hit tough shots, we knew they were going to miss some shots as well. We needed to box out on almost all the shots and get the rebounds and secure the possession because they are a really good offensive team. Obviously, it was a big emphasis on cleaning the glass and I thought we did a pretty good job.”
 
Ohio State Quotes

Head Coach Jake Diebler
Opening Statement
“Obviously, give Coach (Fred) Hoiberg and Nebraska a ton of credit. They are playing some high-level basketball right now, and we knew that going into the game. For us to get a victory, we have to put our best foot forward. I feel like we didn't quite do that for enough of the game, but we had some really good segments and ultimately they were able to push a little lead there. It came down to a couple of offensive rebounds. It felt like them stepping up, making some shots. I thought the three that (Rollie) Worster hit was huge. Really good team, fun environment to play in.”

On the segment where the Nebraska crowd got back into it
“I mean, we felt like coming out of the half, we needed to try to win that first segment and certainly anticipated them coming out with a ton of energy. And that felt like ours was pretty good. I'd have to go back and look, but it felt like we had a couple good looks that didn't go down. They went down scoring. And that can obviously change momentum quickly. So I thought we were dialed in. We were playing tough. And there was a moment in the game where we needed to be able to kind of go, strive for strive back and forth with them, to maybe change the complexion of the very final few minutes, or at least put us in a better position going into the final few minutes, and we just weren't able to do it.”