Huskers Look to Bounce back at Ohio State

Game #28 at Ohio State
Date: Thursday, Feb. 26
Time: 6 p.m. (CT)
Arena: Value City Arena
Capacity: 18,809

Nebraska Cornhuskers 2014-15 Record: 13-14, 5-10 Big Ten Head coach: Tim Miles Record at Nebraska: 47-45 (Third year) Career Record: 330-265 (20th year)

Ohio State Buckeyes 2014-15 Record: 19-8, 8-6 Big Ten Head coach: Thad Matta  Record at Ohio State: 294-91 (11th year) Career Record: 396-122 (15th year)
Broadcast Information Television: ESPN Play-by-play: Rece Davis Expert Analysis: Dan Dakich 

Online: WatchESPN

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: Jake Muhleisen

Satellite Radio (OSU Feed): Sirius (91), XM (91)

Live Stats: Huskers.com

Huskers Look to Bounce back at Ohio State

Nebraska hits the road looking for its first Big Ten win of the season, as the Huskers travel to Ohio State Thursday evening.

Tipoff from Value City Arena in Columbus is set for 6 p.m. and the contest will be televised nationally on ESPN with Rece Davis and Dan Dakich on the call. Thursday’s game is also available online and on mobile devices on the WatchESPN app.

The game will be broadcast across the state of Nebraska on the 37-station 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 Jake Muhleisen adding color commentary. The game can be heard for free on Huskers.com and is available on the Huskers’ app on iOS or android devices, as well as on TuneIn Radio and on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. 

Nebraska (13-14, 5-10 Big Ten) put together its poorest effort of the season in a 28-point home loss to Iowa Sunday afternoon. The Huskers allowed Iowa to shoot 50 percent from the floor, as the Hawkeyes became the first team in 38 games to shoot 50 percent from the field against Nebraska. The Hawkeyes put the game out of reach with a 21-2 run to close the first half in taking a 42-16 halftime lead. The loss put Nebraska in a tie for 10th with Minnesota in the Big Ten standings with two weeks left in the regular season. Nebraska has three Big Ten games left, including road trips to Ohio State and Illinois.

If the Huskers are to bounce back in the final two weeks of the regular season, they will need strong performances from Terran Petteway, Shavon Shields and Walter Pitchford. Petteway (18.1 ppg) and Shields (15.7 ppg) have been among the Big Ten’s top eight scorers throughout the season, while Pitchford has gotten into an offensive groove of late, averaging 13.7 points per game in NU’s last three games, including a 19-point effort at Maryland on Feb. 19. Pitchford has come off the bench for the Huskers in the last two contests. 

The Huskers face an Ohio State team which is 19-8 overall and 8-6 in the Big Ten following a 64-57 loss at Michigan on Sunday. The Wolverines held D’Angelo Russell to 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting on Sunday, becoming one of the few teams to slow down the talented freshman. The 6-foot-5 freshman guard, averages 19 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game and is one of three Buckeyes who average double figures.

Numbers 2 Know

8.5   Points per game for redshirt freshman Nick Fuller the last two games. Fuller had a career-high 12 points and five rebounds at Maryland and added five points and five boards in the loss at Iowa on Sunday in his first career start.

6  Rebounds that Shavon Shields needs to reach 500 for his career. He would become the 14th player with 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds at Nebraska.

50.0  Iowa shot 50 percent on Sunday, snapping a streak of 37 straight games where Nebraska had held an opponent under 50 percent.  When the streak ended, the second-longest streak in the Big Ten was 14 games (Purdue and MSU). 

1994-95  The last time that Nebraska had two players average more than 15.0 points per game in a season (Jaron Boone, 17.5; Erick Strickland, 16.3). That is the only time in the last 30 years that Nebraska has had two players average 15 points per game in the same season. 

Scouting Ohio State

Under Thad Matta, Ohio State comes into Thursday’s game at Minnesota with a 19-8 record and sits in a tie for sixth in the Big Ten standings. The Buckeyes are coming off back-to-back losses at Michigan State and at Michigan. OSU has been exceptional at home, going 16-1 with the lone loss coming in a 71-65 loss to Iowa on Dec. 30. 

Matta, who served as an assistant to former Nebraska Coach Barry Collier at Butler, is in his 11th season at OSU and has guided the Buckeyes to eight NCAA appearances, including an NCAA runner-up finish in 2007 and a Final Four appearance in 2012. OSU returned a pair of starters from a team that won 25 games and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Ohio State is a balanced squad which is second in the Big Ten in scoring offense (77.2 ppg) and third in scoring defense (61.2 ppg). OSU shoots nearly 50 percent from the field as a team and is holding opponents to 39 percent shooting. Freshman D’Angelo Russell is a frontrunner for national freshman of the year, as he leads OSU in scoring (19.0 ppg) and rebounding (5.8 rpg) while ranking third in the Big Ten with 5.4 assists per game.  

Marc Loving and Sam Thompson join Russell to give OSU three scorers, as Loving averages 10.9 points per game, including 51 percent from 3-point range, while Thompson is at 10.3 points per game. Senior point guard Shannon Scott paces the Big Ten in assists at 6.1 per game, while Jae’Sean Tate averages 8.4 points per game on 58 percent shooting. OSU has 10 players who play at least double figures in minutes.

Nebraska-Ohio State Series History

Ohio State leads the all-time series, 11-3, in a series that dates back to 1936. The Buckeyes had won nine straight meetings - including the first six meetings in Big Ten play - before the Huskers upset No. 18 Ohio State, 68-62, last season in Lincoln. Ohio State gained revenge, knocking the Huskers out of the Big Ten Tournament with a 71-67 win. Thursday’s matchup will be the first time in nine meetings where OSU is not ranked at game time. 

Last Meeting vs. Ohio State

The Nebraska basketball team let a golden opportunity slip by as the Huskers fell to No. 24 Ohio State, 71-67, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. OSU came back from an 18-point second-half deficit to stun the Huskers in the final minutes of the Big Ten quarterfinals. 

NU trailed for most of the first half, before using a 23-2 spurt, including a 17-2 run to open the second half, to build a 48-30 lead with 13:45 left. However, the Buckeyes responded with a quick 12-2 run over the next three minutes to cut the deficit to eight with 11 minutes to play. OSU regained the lead with a 9-0 run, capped by Aaron Craft’s layup with 17 seconds left to take a 67-63 lead. 

Nebraska cut it to two twice in the final 20 seconds but Amedeo Della Valle kept the Huskers at bay by going 4-for-4 from the line for OSU. Terran Petteway led Nebraska with 20 points before fouling out to lead three Huskers in double figures. 

Last Time Out

Iowa silenced a sellout crowd on Husker Legends Weekend with a 21-2 run to close the first half in posting a 74-46 victory over the Huskers Sunday afternoon.

The Hawkeyes (17-10, 8-6 Big Ten) led wire to wire, shooting 50 percent from the field and placing three players in double figures. Aaron White led Iowa with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Peter Jok and Jarrod Uthoff chipped in 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Iowa’s 50 percent shooting not only was a season high, but snapped a streak of 37 straight games holding an opponent under 50 percent shooting dating back to last February. The Hawkeyes also committed just eight turnovers and enjoyed a 38-30 advantage on the glass.

Iowa jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead before the Huskers came back, pulling to within 10-5 after a Shavon Shields free throw with 14:41 left in the half. The Hawkeyes used an 8-0 run to extend the lead to 18-5 after consecutive Jok 3-pointers and forced a Husker timeout.

Terran Petteway, who led Nebraska with 16 points, then got going after a slow start, as his putback and 3-point on the next possession keyed a 9-3 Husker run that pulled the Huskers within 21-14 after a Tai Webster layup.  

That would be as close as Nebraska would get, as Aaron White took over from there. The Hawkeye senior scored seven straight points, as Iowa pushed the lead back to 14, at 28-14. After a David Rivers basket, the visitors closed the half on a 14-0 surge, as Anthony Clemmons had all six of his first-half points in the final three minutes as Iowa shot 52 percent from the floor, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, in the opening 20 minutes.

Notes from the Iowa Game

• Iowa shot 50 percent, becoming the first Husker opponent in 38 games to shoot over 50 percent. The 37-game streak was the longest streak in the Big Ten.

• The 28-point defeat was the largest of the season, as the previous largest loss was 18 at Minnesota on Jan. 31.

• Terran Petteway led NU with 16 points, the 25th time this season he has been in double figures.

• Walter Pitchford finished with 10 points off the bench, reaching double figures for the third straight game.

• Shavon Shield was held to three points, snapping a career-long streak of nine straight games in double figures.

• Nick Fuller and Tarin Smith both started, marking the first time since Jan. 9, 2013, that Nebraska had two freshman starters. Fuller had five points and five rebounds in his first career start. 

Worth Noting 

• Nebraska has the toughest schedule remaining in the Big Ten and the 12th-toughest in the nation. The Huskers’ three remaining regular-season opponents (Ohio State, Illinois and Maryland) are a combined 59-23 (.719) and are all in the top 60 of the latest RPI released Tuesday. 

• The biggest culprit of Nebraska’s offensive struggles have been at the 3-point line, where the Huskers are last in the Big Ten and 336th nationally in 3-point percentage (.287). Last year, NU was seventh in the conference at .333 from long range. In Big Ten play, the Huskers have made five 3-pointers or less 10 times in 15 games and have a 2-8 record in those games. 

• With 494 rebounds, Shields is only six boards away from 500 for his career and would become only the 14th player with 1,000 points and 500 career rebounds. 

• Petteway enters the Ohio State game needing only nine points to reach the 500-point plateau for the second straight year. Only six Huskers (Dave Hoppen, Eric Piatkowski, Jerry Fort, Aleks Maric, Erick Strickland and Tyronn Lue) have posted back-to-back 500-point seasons.

• Terran Petteway (1,070) and Shavon Shields (1,061) rank 25th and 26th, respectively, on Nebraska’s career scoring list and are within striking distance of 24th place (1,081 by Cary Cochran, 1999-02).

• The Husker bench has had more scoring punch since moving Leslee Smith and Tarin Smith to the starting lineup the last two games. NU's reserves are averaging 25.5 points per game and had a season-high 36 at No. 16 Maryland on Feb. 19. 

• Nebraska has been better with the basketball in Big Ten play, averaging just 11.1 turnovers per game after averaging 15.0 in non-conference action. In Big Ten play, NU is sixth in turnover margin at +0.7 per game. NU has had 10 or fewer turnovers in Big Ten play in eight of 15 games.

• The Huskers are 5-3 in Big Ten play when shooting over 40 percent from the field, but are winless (0-7) when shooting at or below that percentage.

• Walter Pitchford’s first point against Ohio State will be his 500th of his career. The 6-foot-10 junior has been in double figures in each of the last three games, averaging 13.7 points per game on 47 percent shooting, including 7-of-16 from 3-point range.

• Nebraska had two players reach 1,000 points at Nebraska earlier this month in Shavon Shields (vs. Northwestern) and Terran Petteway (at Penn State). It marked the first time since the 1998-99 season (Cookie Belcher and Venson Hamilton) that two Huskers have reached 1,000 points in the same season. The other seasons are 1967-68 (Stuart Lantz and Tom Baack), 1978-79 (Carl McPipe and Brian Banks), 1990-91 (Rich King and Clifford Scales) and 1994-95 (Erick Strickland and Jaron Boone).

• Nebraska is 10th nationally in average attendance with an average of 15,550 per game. With one home game left, the Huskers are on track to break their single-season attendance average for the second straight year after averaging 15,419 in 2013-14.

Petteway and Shields Carry Husker Attack

NU features two of the Big Ten’s most dynamic wing players in juniors Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields. The pair has been a prolific scoring duo in 2014-15, combining for 33.5 points per game and ranking among the Big Ten’s top eight scorers entering Thursday’s game with Ohio State.

• They are the Big Ten’s top scoring duo, just ahead of Indiana’s Yogi Ferrell and James Blackmon Jr. (32.2 ppg).

• It could be the first time since 1994-95 that Nebraska has had two players average more than 15 points per game in a season, and the highest average by a Husker duo since Dave Hoppen (23.5 ppg) and Curtis Moore (13.5 ppg) since 1984-85.

• According to Stats Inc., the pair is threatening to become the first Big Ten duo to average 16.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game since Michigan’s Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose in 1993-94.

• In Nebraska’s 119-year history, only five duos have combined to average more than 35 points per game for a season and none since the 1983-84 season. 

Hanging Their Hat On Defense

One of the keys to Nebraska’s success the last two seasons has been an emphasis on improved defense. Last year’s midseason turnaround was keyed on the defensive end, as a team that was last in field goal defense entering Big Ten play finished second in the conference in field goal percentage. 

Despite an offense that is close to 300th in offensive efficiency, the defense has kept Nebraska in most games this season. NU is fifth in scoring defense (62.0 pgg) and fourth in field goal defense (.397). In Big Ten action, the Huskers are fourth in scoring defense (62.4) and field goal defense (.412).

• NU is 17th nationally and first in the Big Ten in defensive efficiency according to KenPom.com entering the Ohio State game. 

• Nebraska’s field goal defense is on pace to be one of the best in recent history. In fact, NU has finished a season with a field goal defense under 40 percent one other time in the last 50 years (.389 in 2010-11).

• Under Miles, NU is 30-10 over the past three seasons when holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting.  

• Nebraska is 11-3 this season when holding opponents to under a point per possession and 2-11 when an opponent is above the mark. 

• Nebraska held Loyola Marymount to 42 points in the overtime win on Dec. 23. It was the lowest point total allowed by the Husker defense since the 2010-11 season.

• The Huskers limited Illinois to 43 points on 27.3 percent shooting. It was the lowest field goal percentage by a Husker defense since 2010 and the lowest against a conference opponent since Kansas State shot 23.4 percent on Jan. 11, 2006. 

• Nebraska held Rutgers (49) and Illinois (43) under 50 points per game in consecutive conference games, the first time that has happened since Feb. 23-25, 1963, (Kansas and Oklahoma State).

• Against No. 5 Wisconsin on Feb. 10, the Huskers held Wisconsin to 39.1 percent shooting, marking only the third time they had been held to under 40 percent shooting all season.

Petteway Is Among Nation’s Best

Junior wing Terran Petteway entered the season as one of the best players in the country and has played at a high level for the Huskers in 2014-15. The 6-foot-6 junior has raised his numbers across the board, as he averages 18.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest. He is third in the Big Ten in scoring and ranks among the Big Ten leaders in 3-pointers per game (seventh), blocked shots (14th) and assists (14th).

• Petteway was one of 15 players selected to the Julius Erving Award, presented to the nation’s top small forwards, last week.  

• Petteway is one of only seven players nationally - and one of two from a power conference - averaging 18 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in 2014-15. OSU’s D’Angelo Russell is the other power conference player putting up those numbers this season. 

• Petteway’s 18.2 points per game is on pace to be the highest by a Husker since Aleks Maric averaged 18.5 points per game in 2006-07.

• Petteway has 12 20-point games in 2014-15, including a season-high 32 points against Michigan State on Jan. 26, and 24 20-point games for his career. He has five 20-point efforts in Big Ten play, most recently against No. 5 Wisconsin on Feb. 10.

• Petteway has been in double figures in 55 of 59 games as a Husker, including 30 of 33 Big Ten games in that span.

• Petteway was one of 25 players selected to the Lute Olson Award mid-season watch list last month.

• Petteway saw his streak of double-figure games reach 30 before it was snapped at Michigan on Jan. 22. It was the longest streak by a Husker since 1998 NBA first-round pick (and current Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach) Tyronn Lue posted 36 consecutive double-figure efforts spanning the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons. 

• He went over 1,000 points at Nebraska at Penn State on Feb. 7, reaching the plateau in just 55 games. Petteway was the fastest Husker to reach 1,000 points at Nebraska, eclipsing the previous mark of 58 games by Dave Hoppen. Petteway and Hoppen are the only Huskers to reach 1,000 points in their second season at Nebraska.

• Petteway’s career scoring average of 18.2 points per game at NU is second only to Dave Hoppen (19.5 ppg).

• He leads the Huskers with two double-doubles in 2014-15 (20 points, 12 rebounds vs. Omaha; 22 points, 10 rebounds vs. Ohio) and has four double-doubles in his NU career. 

• Petteway was held to eight points at No. 16 Maryland, but dished out a career-high nine assists - the most by a Husker since the 2011-12 season.

• Petteway is bidding to become the first player since Ohio State’s Evan Turner (2009-10) to lead the Big Ten in scoring in consecutive seasons. Over the last 30 years, only three players - Turner, Purdue’s Glenn Robinson (1993-94) and Michigan’s Glen Rice (1988-89) - have accomplished the feat. 

• He was chosen for the Wooden Award Men’s Preseason Top 50 and was the first Husker on the list since Aleks Maric in the 2007-08 season. 

• Petteway is bidding to become the first Husker to earn All-America honors since Carl McPipe during the 1977-78 season.

Throughout the season Petteway has been dealing with the health of his mother Joetta, who has been battling a rare form of bone cancer (follicular dendritic cell sarcoma). Terran talked to the team and the media about her ongoing battle late before the Purdue game earlier this month. 

Last season, Petteway became the first player to earn unanimous first-team all-conference honors since Venson Hamilton in 1999, and also earned first-team all-district honors by the NABC (coaches) and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (writers). Petteway finished Big Ten play as the conference scoring leader, averaging 18.6 points per game. He became the fifth Husker in the last century to lead a conference in scoring in conference games and first since former Big Eight Player of the Year Andre Smith in 1980-81.  He also led the conference at 18.1 points per game in all games, becoming the first Husker since 1950 (first year the Big Seven Conference kept records) to ever lead the league in scoring for all games.

Shields Keys Husker Attack

Shavon Shields may have been one of the most underrated players in the conference in 2013-14. The 6-foot-7 wing started all 32 games and averaged 12.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game to earn honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and media. As a sophomore, Shields was second on the team in scoring and led Nebraska in rebounding.

This season, Shields has continued his emergence, averaging 15.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, ranking eighth in scoring, 11th in rebounding and sixth in free throw percentage (.823).

• Shields is one of only 24 players in the country - including five from power conferences - averaging at least 15.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.  The others are Frank Kaminski (Wisconsin), Tyron Wallace (Cal), Anthony Brown (Stanford) and Rayvonte Rice (Illinois)

• He has been in double figures in 23 of 27 contests this season, which already topped his entire 2013-14 total of double-figure games.

• Shields has seven 20-point games this season, which already topped his entire career total entering the 2014-15 season, most recently a 21-point effort vs. Michigan State on Jan. 24. It was his third 20-point effort in Big Ten play, as he had 20 points against Indiana on Dec. 31 and 25 points at Iowa on Jan. 5.

• His 35-point effort against Omaha on Nov. 22 is the second-highest total in the Big Ten this season and is 10th in school history. In that game, Shields went 12-of-15 from the field, including 4-of-4 from 3-point range. 

• With his 35-point game against UNO, he became one of only 14 players in school history - including Terran Petteway - with multiple 30-point games in school history. Shields scored 33 points against Illinois on Feb. 14, 2014.

• Picked up his fourth career double-double against Central Arkansas with 16 points - all in the first half - and 11 rebounds while dishing out four assists. He also nearly had a double-double at Rhode Island with 25 points and nine rebounds. 

• Shields showed a well-rounded game against Northwestern with 11 points and a career-high eight assists.

• Shields also excels off the court, carrying a 3.73 GPA in biological sciences and is a two-time first-team Academic All-District selection (2014-15) and is a strong candidate for Academic All-America honors when they are released later this week. Last year, Shields was also one of 16 national finalists across all of Division I for the 2014 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award.  

• Despite the loss at Minnesota, Jan. 31 was a memorable day for Shields, as his father, Will, was chosen to be a member of the Class of 2015 for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The elder Shields will become the third Husker (joining Bob Brown and Guy Chamberlain) to be in both the Pro Football and College Football Hall of Fames when he is enshrined in August.

Pitchford Poses Problems for Opponents

Walter Pitchford gives the Huskers an intriguing matchup at center, as the 6-foot-10, 237-pounder is a skilled shooter who hit 41 percent from 3-point range in 2013-14. An outstanding athlete with a 42-inch vertical leap, Pitchford played some of his best basketball of the season over the Huskers’ second-half surge in 2013-14, averaging 11.0 points per game on 53 percent shooting over the last 14 games. 

This season, Pitchford is averaging 7.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, ranking third on the team in both scoring and rebounding. He has been in double figures nine times this season, matching his career high with 19 points at No. 16 Maryland on Feb. 19. He also had 19 points, including six 3-pointers, against Tennessee-Martin on Nov. 28. Pitchford has been in double figures in each of the last three games, the first time he has done that in 2014-15.

 He enjoyed a solid performance in Nebraska’s win over Northwestern on Feb. 3 with 14 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, and had 12 points at Purdue on Feb. 15.  He played his most complete game of the year against Cincinnati on Dec. 13 with nine points and 10 rebounds, while playing 48 minutes - the most minutes in a game by a Husker in more than a decade.

• Nebraska is 11-4 over the last two seasons when Pitchford scores at least 12 points, including 2-2 this season.

• Pitchford has three double-doubles in his career, most recently a 10-point, 10-carom effort at Hawaii on Dec. 22.

• He has reached double figures in rebounds three times, including a season-high 11 vs. Minnesota on Jan. 20. 

2015-16 Big Ten Opponents Announced

The Big Ten Conference announced the double and single-play opponents for the 2015-16 men’s basketball season on Feb. 22.

With 14 teams and an 18-game schedule, schools play five teams home-and-home and face the other eight teams on a single-play basis.  The 2015-16 season is the second of a three-year rotation where each school will play all 13 teams a minimum of four times (one single-play home, one single-play away and one home-and-home).  Nebraska’s opponents for 2015-16 are listed as follows:

• Home-and-Home: Indiana, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers

• Single-Play Home: Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State

• Single-Play Away: Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State, Wisconsin