Huskers Look to Tame Lions in Hawaii Tuesday

Game #11 vs. Loyola Marymount
Date: Tues., Dec. 23
Time: 10:30 p.m. (CT)
Arena: Stan Sheriff Center
Capacity: 10,300

Nebraska Cornhuskers
2014-15 Record: 6-4, 0-0 Big Ten
Head coach: Tim Miles
Record at Nebraska: 40-35 (Third year)
Career Record: 323-255 (20th year)

Loyola Marymount Lions
2014-15 Record: 3-7, 0-0 West Coast Conf.
Head coach: Mike Dunlap
Record at LMU: 7-3 (First year)
Career Record: 331-112 (15th year)

Broadcast Information
Television: ESPNU
Announcers: Roxy Bernstein and Dino Gaudio

Online: WatchESPN.com

Radio: IMG Husker Sports Radio Network, including KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln, KFAB (1110 AM) in Omaha and KRVN (880 AM) in Lexington. Also available online at Huskers.com, on the Huskers App and on TuneIn Radio and the TuneIn Radio App.
Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka
Expert Analysis: Matt Davison

Satellite Radio: None

Live Stats: Huskers.com

Huskers Look to Tame Lions in Hawaii Tuesday

It is a quick turnaround for the Nebraska men’s basketball team, as the Huskers look to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Hawaii by taking on Loyola Marymount. The Huskers return to the court Tuesday evening as they take on Loyola Marymount. Tipoff between the Huskers and Lions is slated for 10:30 p.m. (central) or 20 minutes following the conclusion of the Hawaii/Wichita State semifinal.

Tuesday’s contest will be nationally televised on ESPNU with Roxy Bernstein and Dino Gaudio on the call. The contest, along with all of the Diamond Head Classic games, is also available online at WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.

The game will be broadcast across the state of Nebraska on the IMG Husker Sports Radio Network, including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, 1110 KFAB in Omaha and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington with Kent Pavelka calling the action and Matt Davison adding color commentary. The game can be heard for free on Huskers.com and available on the Huskers’ app on iOS or android devices, as well as on TuneIn Radio.

The Huskers are 6-4 on the season following a 66-58 loss to Hawaii late Monday evening. Nebraska held Hawaii to 38 percent shooting, but it was not enough to overcome the 30 points the Huskers allowed off their 18 turnovers and Hawaii’s second-chance points. 

Nebraska stayed in the contest despite All-Big Ten performers Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields combining to shoot 7-of-23 from the field, as the Huskers put four players in double figures. Junior Walter Pitchford totaled his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Benny Parker had a career-high 12 points and three assists.

Pitchford has shown the form he played down the stretch last season, averaging 9.7 points and 7.7 rebounds over NU’s last three games. He has been in double figures in rebounding in each of NU’s last two contests.

One of the intriguing plots of tonight’s game is the longtime friendship between Nebraska Coach Tim Miles and Loyola Marymount’s Mike Dunlap. Both had built successful programs at that the Division II level and Miles has called Dunlap, who had previously coached at Metro State and in the NBA, one of his coaching mentors.

Loyola Marymount comes into Tuesday’s game with a 3-7 record after falling 80-53 to No. 11 Wichita State on Monday. LMU features one of the top scorers on the west coast in sophomore guard Evan Payne, as the guard averages 21 points per game for the Lions.
A win tonight would put the Huskers against the winner of Ohio/DePaul on Christmas day at either 12:30 p.m. (CT) or 3 p.m. (CT).

Numbers 2 Know
1 - Tonight’s matchup is the second between the Huskers and Loyola Marymount, as Nebraska won 67-66 in the opening round of the Utah Classic on Dec. 12, 1980. The Huskers are 12-9 (.571) all-time against current West Coast Conference members.

20 - Nebraska’s point guards combined for 20 points in the loss to Hawaii, as both Benny Parker (12) and Tarin Smith (8) set career high against the Rainbow Warriors.

5 - Nebraska has held five of its first 10 opponents under 40 percent shooting, including each of the last two (Cincinnati and Hawaii).

2010 - The last time a Husker had 10 or more rebounds in consecutive games before Walter Pitchford accomplished the feat was Toney McCray, who 10 vs. TCU (12/11/10) and 11 vs. Eastern Washington (12/18/10). It has happened only three times in the last five seasons.

Last Time Out
Hawaii got 3-pointers from Garrett Nevels and Roderick Bobbitt in a decisive second-half run 6-0 run, as Hawaii knocked off Nebraska, 66-58, in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic opener for both teams.

The 3-pointers by Hawaii, which was just 2-of-16 from long distance for the first 36 minutes, broke a 53-all deadlock and propelled the hosts to victory down the stretch. Hawaii was just 4-of-18 from long distance and shot 38 percent, but converted 18 NU turnovers in 18 points and turned 16 offensive rebounds into a 12-1 advantage in second-chance points.

Nebraska overcame a 34-23 halftime deficit with a 20-6 deficit spurt in the first eight minutes of the first half, taking a 43-40 lead after a Walter Pitchford 3-pointer and a jumper by Benny Parker, but Hawaii took control on the defensive end. The Rainbow Warriors capitalized on four Husker turnovers in an 8-0 spurt to regain the lead at 48-43.

Nebraska put four players in double figures, including 14 from Terran Petteway, 12 each from Shavon Shields and Benny Parker and 10 from Walter Pitchford who also grabbed 10 rebounds. Aaron Valdes led three Hawaii players in double figures with 15 points, as it overcame 38 percent shooting from the field.

Notes from the Hawaii Game

• Nebraska falls to 2-7 all-time against Hawaii with all nine meetings taking place on the island.
• Nebraska had a season-high four players score in double figures.
• Nebraska falls to 37-3 when leading with 5:00 left under Tim Miles, as Nebraska had a 49-48 lead with 5:00 left.
• Walter Pitchford posted his first double-double of the season and third of his career with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Pitchford had double-figures rebounds in consecutive outings for the first time in his career and the first time by a Husker since the 2010-11 season.
• Benny Parker finished with a career-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. The 12-point effort topped his previous best of nine set on two previous occasions. Parker also topped NU with three assists.
• Freshman Tarin Smith also set a career best in scoring with eight points o 4-of-5 shooting. His previous best was six points against Northern Kentucky on Nov. 16.
• Nebraska went 13-of-23 from the foul line after entering the game ranked fourth in the Big Ten at 74.0 percent. It was NU’s second-lowest shooting night from the line this season.

Tracking the Huskers

• Nebraska is 6-4 on the season with an overtime loss at Rhode Island and a one-point loss to Incarnate Word. The Huskers’ strength has been on the defensive end, as Nebraska has held opponents to 39 percent shooting, including 29 percent from 3-point range.
• Nebraska is 6-2 this season when holding opponents to under a point per possession and 0-2 when an opponent is above the mark. Hawaii finished at .985 points per possession on Monday night.
• Nebraska features two of the Big Ten's top scorers in juniors Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields. Petteway, a first-team All-Big Ten performer and Wooden Award nominee, leads the Huskers and is second in the conference at 19.2 points per game while averaging 5.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Shields is sixth in the conference at 17.1 points per game and seventh in rebounding.
• The duo is the highest scoring duo in the Big Ten at 36.3 ppg, ahead of Indiana’s duo of Yogi Ferrell and James Blackmon Jr. (33.9 ppg).
• Petteway has been in double figures in 21 straight games dating back to last season and in 40 of 42 career games at Nebraska. That streak is the longest streak for a Husker since Venson Hamilton had 24 straight games in double figures during the 1998-99 season. He also has team-high five 20-point games this season (17 for his career), including 25 against Florida State and Northern Kentucky.
• Petteway is one of only eight players in the country averaging at least 19 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in 2014-15.
• Petteway’s career scoring average of 18.4 points per game ranks second on Huskers' list (Dave Hoppen, 19.5 ppg) and Petteway is on pace to be only the second Husker to average 18.0 ppg in his career.
• Shavon Shields has raised his scoring average from 12.8 ppg to 17.1 ppg, including a 35-point outburst against Omaha and 25 points at Rhode Island. Shields is now 44th in career points and is 160 points away from being the 26th Husker with 1,000 career points.
• Shields is one of three Big Ten players in the top-10 in both scoring and rebounding, joining Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky and Iowa’s Aaron White.
• Shields has started 61 consecutive games dating back to midway through his freshman year entering tonight’s game with Loyola Marymount.
• After a slow start, Walter Pitchford is averaging 9.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in his last six games. Pitchford is also shooting 43 percent from 3-point range after opening the year by going 1-for-16 from long range in his first four contests.
• David Rivers is averaging a career-high 5.6 rebounds per game and has grabbed at least six caroms in each of the last six games. Prior to this season, he had 14 games with at least six rebounds in his first three seasons.
• Benny Parker has become more of a focal point in the Huskers’ offense, as the junior guard is third on the team in scoring at 7.2 points per game. The 5-foot-9 guard averaged just 2.6 points per game as a sophomore. Parker has become a dependable 3-point shooter, as he is at 46.2 percent this year after going just 2-of-18 in his first two seasons at Nebraska.
• Nebraska continues to be without two of its top post players in Moses Abraham (hand) and Leslee Smith (knee). Abraham, who was second on the team in rebounding (5.4 rpg) at the time of his injury, suffered the injury on Dec. 9 and will miss his fourth straight game tonight. Smith, who averaged 5.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game off the bench is recovering from knee surgery and could be back next month. 
• NU has been hurt by turnovers, committing an average of 15.5 turnovers per game to rank last in the Big Ten.