Huskers Host Panthers Tuesday Evening

GAME 13: PRAIRIE VIEW A&M Date: Tuesday, Dec. 22 Time: 7:05 p.m. Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena Tickets: Huskers.com/Tickets MILITARY APPRECIATION NIGHT TICKET DETAILS NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS 2015-16 Record: 7-5 Head coach: Tim Miles Record at Nebraska: 54-54 (4th year) Career Record: 337-274 (21st year) PRAIRIE VIEW A&M PANTHERS 2015-16 Record: 0-10 Head coach: Byron Rimm II Record at Prairie View A&M: 114-184 (10th year) Career Record: 161-223 (13th year) BROADCAST INFO Television: None Online: BTN Plus (subscription required) Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka Expert Analysis: Matt Davison Radio: IMG Husker Sports Radio Network, including KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln, KXSP (590 AM) in Omaha and KRVN (880 AM) in Lexington. Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka Expert Analysis: Matt Davison Also available online at Huskers.com, on the Huskers App and TuneIn Radio SATELLITE RADIO Sirius: Ch. 157 XM: Ch. 195

After a disappointing loss to Samford, the Nebraska men’s basketball team looks to bounce back on Tuesday night, as the Huskers play host to Prairie View A&M.

Tipoff for the final non-conference game of the year is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. (central) and tickets are available for the contest by calling the NU Athletics Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED, visiting Huskers.com or at the Pinnacle Bank Arena box office beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday

Tuesday’s game will air across the state on the Husker Sports Network with Kent Pavelka and Matt Davison, including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, KXSP 590 AM in Omaha and KRVN 880 in Lexington and is also available on Huskers.com and the Huskers App.

The matchup will also be available online on BTN Plus, which will include the HuskerVision feed and audio from the Husker Sports Network.

Tuesday’s game is also Military Appreciation Night, as current military members and veterans with valid military/veteran identification will receive one free reserved seating while supplies last by calling 800-8-BIGRED.

Nebraska’s inability to deliver an early knockout punch provided costly in a 69-58 loss to Samford on Sunday. Nebraska shot 52 percent in the first half, but could manage only a four-point lead, committing 11 turnovers and going just 4-of-12 from the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes. Samford took advantage, using a 15-2 surge to open the second half and led the rest of the way.

The Huskers (7-5) squandered solid performances from Shavon Shields and Andrew White III in the loss. Shields led all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting and added seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. White collected his second double-double of the year with 17 points and 11 rebounds, but the rest of the team went just 4-of-20 from the field and combined for 13 turnovers.

Prairie View A&M has been off since a 62-44 loss to Texas State on Wednesday. The Panthers have faced a daunting slate with games against VCU, Wisconsin, Baylor and UNLV among others. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
.765 - Nebraska’s free throw percentage in the previous four games before going 10-of-20 from the line against Samford on Sunday.

.900 - Over the last 10 years, Nebraska is 81-9 in non-conference home games, including 18-4 since moving into Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2013.

2 - Double-doubles for Andrew White III this season, after his 17-point, 11-rebound effort against Samford. White has averaged 7.2 rebounds per game over the Huskers’ last five contests.

2.9- Freshman Glynn Watson has a team-best 2.9-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio this season, which is a team best. Watson is also fourth on the team in scoring at 7.9 ppg.

4 - Number of 20-point games that Shavon Shields has had in 2015-16 after his 25-point effort on Sunday.

7.7 - Nebraska’s steals per game, which is second in the Big Ten. The Huskers feature four players who average more than a steal per game.

19.8 - Shavon Shields’ scoring average over the past five games, as he is shooting 51 percent in that stretch. The senior is also averaging 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

SCOUTING PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
Prairie View A&M comes into Tuesday's game winless, but have played a challenging schedule with just one home game among their first 12 contests. Coach Bryon Rimm II, who is in his 10th year at the school, has faced a daunting schedule, taking on VCU, Houston, Wisconsin, Baylor, UNLV, TCU and Tulane already during non-conference action. The Panthers have been off since a loss to Texas State on Wednesday in their home opener. In that game, Prairie View held Texas State to 41 percent shooting, but struggled offensively, hitting just 27 percent from the field in a 62-44 loss. Junior guard Tevin Bellinger leads the Panthers, averaging a team-high 13.4 points along with a team-high 14 3-pointers. Bellinger had a season-high 21 points in the loss at Wisconsin. Admassu Williams provides an inside presence, as the 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward averages 12.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. He has been in double figures in each of the last three games, including a 19-point, 12-rebound effort against TCU earlier this month.

Series History: Tuesday’s meeting will be the first between the two schools. NU is 20-1 all-time against schools from the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

DID YOU KNOW
Nebraska is the only school in the country with multiple players averaging at least 16.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.25 steals per game, as both Andrew White and Shavon Shields have reached that plateau. Entering the week, only 24 players in Division I have averaged that in 2015-16.

LAST TIME OUT
Shavon Shields became the 13th Husker to join the 1,300-point club and Andrew White III recorded his second double-double of the season, but it was not enough as Nebraska fell to Samford, 69-58, Sunday night.

Shields scored 14 first-half points on the way to a game-high 25 and White contributed 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, but the Bulldogs (8-4) used an 15-2 run to start the second half to take the lead and did not look back.

Nebraska cut a 13-point deficit to five on two occasions, the last coming at 58-53 after a Shields’ 3-pointer with 2:05 left, but would get no closer. Matt Rose hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final three minutes, while Samford went 8-of-8 from the foul line in the final two minutes to remain in control.

In all, Samford went 21-of-26 from the foul line, including 19-of-23 in the second half, while the Huskers went just 10-of-20 from the line, including 4-of-12 in the first half.

Christen Cunningham led three Bulldogs in double figures with 20 points. Darius Jones-Gibson contributed 15 points, while Wyatt Walker chipped in 14.

MILITARY APPRECIATION NIGHT SET FOR TUESDAY
The Nebraska men’s basketball program will show its support for our nation’s military veterans when the Huskers take on Prairie View A&M Tuesday night.

Tip-off between the Big Red and Prairie View A&M is set for 7 p.m., and all current military members and veterans with valid military/veteran identification will receive one free reserved seating for the game at Pinnacle Bank Arena, WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. Veterans/active military personnel must call the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED during business hours to reserve their ticket and may purchase up to two (2) additional tickets in advance while supplies last (tickets cost $20 each).

Tickets must be picked up by the military person at the game with the ticket office opening at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 22. Military personnel/Veterans must show valid military ID (Active Duty Military, Reserve Military, Retired Military photo i.d. cards; VA Medical ID card, Legion or VFW card; DD214 Form.) to pick up complimentary tickets at the Pinnacle Bank Arena Firestone Farm Tires Ticket Office (south side of PBA)

Veterans/military members must buy additional tickets for extended family or friends in advance at Huskers.com or by calling 1-800-8-BIG-RED.

Highest Scoring Average (Last 2 Decades) Year 1st 12 Games PPG 1995-96 89.9 1997-98 74.8 1996-97 73.7 2015-16 73.1 2013-14 72.2

IMPROVED OFFENSE
With the departure of three starters who are playing professionally, including two in the NBA D-League (Terran Petteway and Walter Pitchford), the biggest question entering the season was who could fill the scoring void for the Huskers. Nebraska’s newcomers have shown the ability to provide offense in the early going, as Nebraska’s 73.1 points per game is nearly six points per game higher last year’s average through 12 contests

• Even after scoring a season-low 58 points on Sunday, NU’s 73.1 average is the highest scoring average since the 1997-98 team averaged 74.8 points per game through the first 12 games of the season.
• Ten different Huskers have reached double figures at least once, a total which ties for second nationally, while three players (Shields, Webster and White) have also recorded 20-point efforts.
• Nebraska has two 90-point games, the first two times in Miles’ four seasons that Nebraska has scored at least 90 points in a game.
• The biggest improvement has come from the 3-point line, as the Huskers were 340th in that category last season (.284) and are 110th (.361) entering Tuesday’s game with Prairie View A&M.
• Four of Nebraska’s top-six scorers are in their first year of competition as a Husker, as newcomers have accounted for 52.8 percent of NU’s total offense in the first 11 games.
• Five of NU’s newcomers have already posted double-digit efforts, including a team-high nine by Andrew White III and five by Glynn Watson Jr.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
With only five returning players who saw time for the Huskers last year, Nebraska is one of the youngest teams in the country in 2015-16. Nebraska’s 10 newcomers, which includes Andrew White III, who did not play last year, ties for third most nationally. The Huskers also have seven freshmen, which ties for fourth nationally. Of the nine programs with seven or more freshmen in 2015-16, three (Nebraska, Ohio State and Wisconsin) are in the Big Ten.

ANDREW IS WHITE HOT
Junior Andrew White III has become one of the Big Ten’s top newcomers in 2015-16. The 6-foot-7 wing is fifth in the Big Ten in scoring at 16.9 points per game, which leads all conference newcomers. He is also 11th in steals (1.4 spg) and 20th in rebounding (5.4 rpg).

• White is one of the Big Ten’s top 3-point shooters, ranking fifth in 3-pointers per game (2.5) while shooting 41.1 percent from long range.
• White has been in double figures in 10 of NU’s 12 games, including a trio of 20-point efforts.
• White recorded his first career 30-point effort against Abilene Christian on Dec. 5, finishing with 30 points, including 14-of-16 from the foul line, seven rebounds and four steals.
• He now has two double-doubles on the year, posting them against Creighton (28 points and 10 rebounds) and Samford (17 points and 11 rebounds).
• He made an impressive debut against Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 14, totaling 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting in just 16 minutes. It was the most points by a Husker making his debut since Andre Almeida’s 20 point effort in his debut in 2010-11.
• White looks to continue a trend of high-impact transfers under Miles who have gone on to first-team all-conference honors, including Terran Petteway (2014) at NU and Andy Ogide (2011) and Wes Eikmeier (2012) during Miles’ tenure at Colorado State. White was ranked as one of 20 Impact Transfers by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports prio­r to the start of the season.

SHIELDS IS HUSKERS' JACK OF ALL TRADES
For the first time since 2007, Nebraska returns a 1,000-point scorer to the lineup, as Shavon Shields now has 1,295 points to rank 14th on NU’s career scoring list. Shields has jumped from 24th to 12th during the first month of the 2015-16 season, jumping into sole possession of 12th place on Sunday.

On the season, the 6-foot-7 senior is averaging 16.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Shields ranks sixth in the Big Ten in both scoring and steals. He is first or second on the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.

• Shields is one of only 12 players nationally averaging 16.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.75 apg and 1.25 spg, a list that also features Kris Dunn of Providence, Ben Simmons of LSU, Malcolm Hill of Illinois and Gary Payton III of Oregon State.
• He has reached double figures in 10 of NU’s 12 games, including a season-high 28-point, five-rebound effort against No. 21 Miami on Dec. 1.
• Shields has four 20-point games, including a 25-point effort against Samford on Dec. 29 and 21 points against Delaware State (Nov. 19) and Abilene Christian (Dec. 5).
• He turned in a strong performance against Rhode Island with 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in the 70-67 win.
• Shields has 64 career games in double figures, including 17 career 20-point performances and a pair of 30-point efforts. He scored a career-high 35 against Omaha (11/25/14) and had 33 points against Illinois (2/14/14). Shields is one of just 14 players in school history with multiple 30-point games
• Shields is just the second player in school history to be a three-year captain and is a returning first-team Academic All-American. In 2014, he was also one of 16 national finalists across all of Division I athletics for the 2014 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award.

As a junior, he may have been one of the most underrated players in the Big Ten, as the 6-foot-7 wing averaged 15.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He led NU in rebounding for the second straight year and was second on the team in both scoring and assists. He ranked among the Big Ten leaders in scoring (ninth), rebounding (14th) and free throw percentage (.827, fifth).

• Shields was one of only three players from a power conference to average 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in 2014-15, joining National Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin) and Tyrone Wallace (Cal).
• Shavon is also a nominee for the Senior Class Award and the NABC Good Works Team and is active in the community. That should be no surprise as his father, Will, is a former NFL Man of the Year for his efforts in the Kansas City Community. The elder Shields was enshrined into the NFL Hall of Fame last August and was already a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.