Huskers Head to No. 21 Purdue

GAME 22: AT PURDUE At No. 21 Purdue Date: Saturday, Jan. 30 Time: 3:31 p.m. (CT) Location: West Lafayette, Ind. Arena: Mackey Arena NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS 2015-16 Record: 12-9, 4-4 Big Ten Head coach: Tim Miles Record at Nebraska: 59-58 (4th year) Career Record: 342-278 (21st year) PURDUE BOILERMAKERS 2015-16 Record: 18-4, 6-3 Big Ten Head coach: Matt Painter Record at Purdue: 230-129 (12th year) Career Record: 255-134 (13th year) BROADCAST INFO Television: BTN Play-by-play: Tom Werme Expert Analysis: Shon Morris Online: BTN2Go and on BTN.com 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 Satellite Radio (Purdue feed): Sirius 135; XM-195 Also available online at Huskers.com, on the Huskers App and TuneIn Radio

The Nebraska men’s basketball team returns to action Saturday afternoon, as the Huskers travel to West Lafayette, Ind., for a Big Ten matchup with the Purdue Boilermakers.

Tipoff from Mackey Arena is set for 3:31 p.m. (central) and the contest will be televised nationally on BTN with Tom Werme and Shon Morris on the call. The contest will also be available on BTN2Go on laptops, tablets and mobile devices.

Saturday’s contest will also air across the state of Nebraska on the Husker Sports Network with Kent Pavelka and Matt Davison on the call, 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 Huskers have been off since falling at Michigan, 81-68, on Jan. 23, snapping Nebraska’s four-game win streak. The Huskers (12-9, 4-4 Big Ten) nearly erased an 18-point second-half deficit, pulling to within 66-64 with 3:11 left, but could not get closer, as the Wolverines went 10-for-10 from the line in the final three minutes. Nebraska, which shot 48 percent from the field, but just 6-of-22 from 3-point range, put four players in double figures, led by Andrew White III and Glynn Watson Jr., who both finished with 15 points.

The Huskers are looking for their fourth straight Big Ten road win on Saturday, which would match NU’s longest conference road streak in nearly a century. NU has won four straight conference road games six times since 1920, the last coming during the 1975-76 season.

Standing in the way is a Purdue team, which literally is one of the largest squads in the country. The No. 21/21 Boilermakers (AP/Coaches) are 18-4 on the season and 6-3 in the Big Ten following a 68-64 victory at Minnesota on Wednesday. In that game, Purdue got a game-high 24 points and eight rebounds from Vince Edwards and 16 points from A.J. Hammons to win their fourth game in the last five outings.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
16- Shavon Shields enters Saturday’s game with Purdue needing only 16 points to match Rich King (1,475) for 10th place on NU’s career scoring list. Shields has 1,459 career points at NU.

1- Tai Webster is the only Big Ten player averaging double figures in Big Ten play while not making a start in conference play. Webster is averaging 11.0 ppg in Big Ten play, and had 12 points, five rebounds and a career-high five steals vs. Michigan.

12.6 - Nebraska’s scoring average is 12.6 points higher than last year’s total. It is on pace to be the largest single-season increase in school history.

Season #1	PPG	Season #2	PPG	Increase
2014-15	61.5	2015-16	74.1	+12.6
1950-51	52.6	1951-52	62.3	+9.7
1964-65	68.2	1965-66	77.2	+9.0

2000-01 - The last time a Husker averaged at least 15.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 3.0 apg in a season (Cookie Belcher), numbers which Shavon Shields (15.8 ppg; 5.2 rpg; 3.0 apg) is threatening in 2015-16.

74.9 -  NU is averaging 74.9 points per game in Big Ten play after averaging 73.7 points per game in non-conference play. Entering the weekend, Nebraska is the only Big Ten team averaging more in conference play than in non-conference action.

SCOUTING PURDUE
The Boilermakers come into Saturday’s game with an 18-4 record and a 6-3 Big Ten mark. Purdue, which returned four starters and 11 letterwinners from a team that went 21-13 before losing to Cincinnati in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers opened the season with 11 straight wins and were ranked as high as ninth in the country in December, but have remained in the polls throughout the year. Two of the four losses for Coach Matt Painter’s team have been to Iowa, which is ranked third in this week’s AP poll.

Purdue’s strength is its frontcourt with the duo of A.J. Hammons (13.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg) and Caleb Swanigan (10.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg), although Swanigan missed Wednesday’s game at Minnesota with an ankle injury. In addition, 7-foot-2 sophomore Isaac Hass comes off the bench and adds 10 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Purdue is one of the national leaders in rebounding margin at +12.1 per game while holding opponents to 38 percent shooting. 

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday’s game between the Huskers and Purdue will be the 16th all-time meeting between the two programs in a series that dates back to 1947.  Saturday’s game will mark only the second time in the series - and first since 1979 - where either team is ranked.  

Purdue holds an 11-4 lead in the all-time series, as Purdue won the only meeting last season in West Lafayette.  The two teams will square off in Lincoln on March 1. The Boilermakers are 5-2 against Nebraska since the Huskers joined the Big Ten prior to the 2011-12 season (4-1 in regular season; 1-1 in Big Ten Tournament). The Huskers are winless in six meetings in West Lafayette.

LAST MEETING
Purdue 66; Nebraska 54 (Feb. 15, 2015):  Despite a game-high 19 points from junior forward Shavon Shields, Nebraska was unable to get its first Big Ten road win of the season, as the Huskers fell at Purdue, 66-54. 

Shields hit 7-of-13 shots from the field to lead three Huskers in double figures, as Nebraska fell to 13-12 on the season and 5-8 in Big Ten play.  Terran Petteway and Walter Pitchford added 13 and 12 points, respectively, as a lapse early in the second half proved costly. 

Vince Edwards led Purdue with 15 points to lead three Boilermakers in double figures. Kendall Stephens came off the bench for 12 points, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range while Dakota Mathias had all 10 of his points in the second half, as Purdue shot 50 percent in the second half, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range. 

The Huskers were hurt on the boards, as Purdue enjoyed a 44-29 advantage on the glass, while 18 offensive boards led to 23 Purdue points, including all seven in a run after Nebraska cut a 16-point deficit to 49-38. Purdue also got to the foul line 30 times, compared to just nine for the Huskers.

LAST TIME OUT
Andrew White III and Glynn Watson Jr. led four Huskers in double figures with 15 points apiece, but Nebraska’s second-half rally fell short, as the Huskers fell to Michigan 81-68 on Jan. 23. 

White scored 13 points in the second half to total 15 for the game, while Watson also contributed 15 points for the Huskers (12-9, 4-4 Big Ten). Tai Webster pitched in 12 points, five rebounds and five steals, and Shavon Shields added 11 points. Ed Morrow Jr. led the Huskers on the glass with six rebounds.

Michigan opened the second half on a 16-3 run and led by 18 with 13:30 left, only to see the Huskers claw back. Watson and White led NU on a 10-0 spurt over the next two minutes, combining for eight straight points before a putback from Morrow made it 54-46 with 11:29 left.

Nebraska, which forced 14 Michigan turnovers, kept clawing back, as 3-pointers from Webster and Shields made it a six-point game. Michigan, which shot 68 percent in the second half, led 66-59 before Webster took over on the defensive end. The junior recorded steals on consecutive possessions, the last pulling Nebraska within 66-64 with 3:11 left.

From there, Michigan’s poise took over, as the Wolverines went 10-of-10 from the line, as the visitors outscored NU 15-4 to close out the win.

SUITS AND SNEAKERS AWARENESS WEEK

• For Saturday’s game at Purdue, the Husker coaches will wear adidas shoes with a multi-colored mesh, representing all of colors of awareness for cancer. 
• Coaches and staff will also wear special laces called Princess Lacey’s Laces, which were created in honor of Lacey Holsworth, an 8-year old who was a friend of the Michigan State basketball program. Proceeds from the laces will benefit the American Cancer Society and Princess Lacey’s Legacy (a foundation to fight pediatric cancer). For more info on Lacey’s Laces, visit shoecarnival.com/lacey. 
• Coach Miles will also wear a special limited edition Scott Barber sweater which proceeds are going to the American Cancer society. For more information on the sweater, visit scottbarber.com.
• The Huskers hosted #AveryStrong Day on Jan. 23, as part of the National Association of Basketball Coaches Suits and Sneakers Awareness Week. The event raised awareness for the National Bone Marrow Registry, as 211 people were signed up for the registry. During the first three years of #AveryStrong Day, which is named for Avery Harriman, the son of former Husker assistant Chris Harriman, over 500 people have been added to the registry and at least two matches have been found.  
• On Saturday, the Huskers will wear their #AveryStrong shooting shirt with the gold symbolizing pediatric cancer while the orange lettering respresents leukemia awareness.

WORTH NOTING

• Seven of the Huskers’ nine losses this season have come to teams rated in the top 45 in the KenPom rankings. 
• Nebraska will be looking for its fourth straight conference road win on Saturday. The current three-game streak is the Huskers’ longest since 1998. A win on Saturday would match the Huskers’ longest streak since rejoining the Missouri Valley Conference in 1920-21. 
• Nebraska looks to pick up its second straight win over a ranked opponent on the road on Saturday at Purdue. The last time NU won consecutive games against ranked teams on the road came in 1999 (at No. 25 Oklahoma; No. 24 Kansas). 
• Nebraska shot 48.3 percent against Michigan, snapping a stretch of four straight games shooting over 50.0 percent. Prior to UM, NU’s four straight games above 50 percent shooting marked the first time since the 2007-08 season and the third time in the last 25 years that the Huskers shot 50 percent or better in three straight conference games.
• Nebraska was out-rebounded by Michigan, but still has the advantage of nearly five rebounds per game entering Saturday’s game at Purdue. It puts NU on pace to have its first positive rebounding margin since joining the Big Ten. The MSU game snapped a three-game stretch where the Huskers out-rebounded its opponents by double figures, the first time NU has done that in conference play in more than 35 years. 
• The Huskers have been much better handling the basketball in Big Ten play. In conference action, NU is tied for second in the Big Ten with 10.1 turnovers per game. In non-conference action, NU averaged 14.5 turnovers per game. 
• Much of Nebraska’s inconsistency can be attributed to youth, as freshmen account for 37 percent of the Huskers’ minutes in 2015-16. The 37 percent is the most in the Big Ten. In conference action, the number jumps to 40 percent of the Huskers’ total playing time and 34 percent of NU’s offense.
• Nebraska has scored 70+ points in five of its eight Big Ten games in 2015-16. The most times NU has reached 70 points in the Big Ten era is six, which occurred during the 2013-14 campaign. 
• Since moving Glynn Watson Jr. into the starting lineup and shortening the rotation on Dec. 22, Nebraska has been efficient, averaging 75.6 ppg while shooting 49.2 percent from the floor. Watson has flourished as well, averaging 9.1 points and 1.4 steals per game. 
• Glynn Watson Jr. has been one of the Big Ten’s best newcomers at point guard this season. The Bellwood, Ill., product is averaging 8.1 ppg and 2.6 apg while his 2.52 assist-to-turnover ratio is the best by a Husker since Charles Richardson had a 2.57-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in 2006-07. 

• Nebraska is one of two programs in the nation (joining Florida State) with multiple players averaging at least 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game, as both Andrew White and Shavon Shields have reached that plateau. As of Thursday’s games, only 61 players in Division I have reached those averages.
• Nebraska's 3-point shooting has jumped from 28.4 percent to 35.7 percent this season, which is on track to be the second-highest increase for the Huskers since the 3-point line was instituted in the 1986-87 season. NU jumped from 27.6 percent to 38.9 percent between the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. 
• Nebraska is 1-5 all-time against teams ranked 21st in program history, as the only win came against Oklahoma State in 1993-94. 
• Six of Nebraska’s 1,000-point scorers hail from the state of Indiana (Carl McPipe-Hammond; Tom Baack-Fort Wayne; Jack Moore--Muncie; Brian Carr-Muncie; Brian Banks-Hammond; Herschell Turner-Indianapolis).

WHITE IN RARE COMPANY
Junior guard Andrew White III is one of only 14 playes in the country averaging at least 15 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 75 percent from the foul line through Thursday’s games. More impressively, only four Big Ten players have finished the season with those marks over the last 20 seasons. 

Player	School	Season	FG%	3P%	FT%	PPG
Andrew White III	Nebraska	2015-16	.513	.423	.789	16.9
Frank Kaminsky	Wisconsin	2014-15	.547	.416	.780	18.8
Adreian Payne	Michigan State	2013-14	.503	.423	.790	16.4
Jared Sullinger	Ohio State	2011-12	.519	.400	.768	17.5
Evan Turner	Ohio State	2008-09	.503	.440	.788	17.3

 

MARKING MILESTONES...

During the month of January, the Huskers have hit several milestones after snapping an 11-game conference losing streak on Jan. 9.

• The 34-point win at Rutgers on Jan. 9, marked the Huskers’ largest road win in conference play and the Huskers’ largest margin of victory in a road game since 1920.
• Nebraska's 20+ victories over Rutgers and Minnesota marked the first time since 1971 that NU won consecutive conference games by at least 20 points. Against Minnesota, NU led by 38 with seven minutes left before clearing the bench.
• The win at Illinois on Jan. 16 was the Huskers’ first in Champaign since 1921, ending a nine-game losing streak there. 

IMPROVED OFFENSE
With the departure of three starters who played professionally, including Terran Petteway, who is with Fort Wayne in the NBA D-League, the biggest question entering the season was about the Huskers’ offensive production.

NU’s offense has been efficient, as NU’s average of 74.1 points per game entering Saturday’s game at Purdue is its highest total after 21 games since the 1996-97 season.  

• At this pace, it would be Nebraska’s highest scoring average since the 1995-96 team averaged 80.2 points per game. Since 2000, only the 2003-04 (70.5 ppg) and 2000-01 (71.1 ppg) teams have eclipsed the 70-points per game mark. 
• Nebraska’s scoring increase of 12.6 ppg matches Michigan for the largest increase in the Big Ten this season. 
• In Big Ten play, Nebraska leads the conference in field goal percentage (.491) and is fourth in scoring offense (74.9 ppg).
• Ten Huskers have reached double figures at least once, while three players (Shields, Webster and White) have also recorded multiple 20-point efforts. It marks the first time in 10 years that NU had three players with multiple 20-point games.
• Nebraska has three 90-point games and three others with at least 80 points.
• The biggest improvement has come from the 3-point line, as the Huskers were 340th in that category last season (.284) and are 133rd (.357) entering Saturday’s game at Purdue.
• Five of Nebraska’s top-eight scorers are in their first year of competition as a Husker, as newcomers have accounted for 54 percent of NU’s total offense.
• Five of NU’s newcomers have already posted double-digit efforts, including a team-high 17 by Andrew White III and nine by Glynn Watson Jr.

AW3 IN ON A ROLL
Junior Andrew White III has become one of the Big Ten’s top newcomers in 2015-16. The 6-foot-7 wing is sixth in the Big Ten in scoring at 16.9 points per game, which leads all conference newcomers. He is also 14th in rebounding (6.0 rpg), pacing the Huskers in scoring and rebounding.

• White is one of the Big Ten’s top 3-point shooters, ranking fourth in 3-pointers per game (2.6) while shooting 42.3 percent from long range.
• White has been in double figures in 17 of NU’s 21 games, including six 20-point efforts. 
• He has three double-doubles on the year, posting them against Creighton (28 points and 10 rebounds), Samford (17 points and 11 rebounds) and at Illinois (21 points and 13 rebounds). 
• 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. 
• White has five games with at least four 3-pointers, including a career-high five 3-pointers against Northwestern on Dec. 30 and at Rutgers on Jan. 9.
• 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 MAKING CLIMB TO TOP-10
One of the most efficient players in school history, senior Shavon Shields has a chance to finish his career on NU’s top-10 list in both points and rebounds. The 6-foot-7 forward has 1,459 points to rank 11th on NU’s career scoring list and is now 15th in career rebounds (623). 

On the season, the 6-foot-7 senior is averaging 15.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Shields ranks eighth in the Big Ten in scoring and 11th in steals, and is first or second on the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. 

• Shields is one of only 22 players nationally averaging 15.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.75 apg and 1.0 spg, a list that also features Kris Dunn of Providence, Denzel Valentine of Michigan State, Ben Simmons of LSU, Malcolm Hill of Illinois and Gary Payton III of Oregon State. No Husker has finished the year with those numbers since Cookie Belcher in 2000-01.
• Shields willed the Huskers to a win at No. 11 Michigan State, finishing with a season-high 28 points on 12-of-20 shooting.
• He has reached double figures in a team-high 18 games, including a 28-point, five-rebound effort against No. 21 Miami on Dec. 1 and a 28-point effort at No. 11 Michigan State on Jan. 20
• Against Minnesota on Jan. 12, Shields became just the seventh Husker to score 1,400 points and grab 600 rebounds as a Husker, as he celebrated his 100th consecutive start with 24 points and a season-high eight rebounds.
• Shields has 72 career games in double figures, including 20 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) and 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.

DURIBILITY IS SHIELDS’ STANDARD
Shavon Shields joined an exclusive club for Nebraska on Jan. 12, as he started his 100th consecutive game against Minnesota. He joined Dave Hoppen as the only Huskers to reach that plateau, as Hoppen started all 111 games of his career before suffering a knee injury late in his senior year. 

• Shields became the sixth Husker basketball player to start 100 career games, and is fourth all time at Nebraska with 103 career starts. 
• Shields’ father, Will, started a Kansas City Chiefs’ franchise record 223 straight games in his career, a streak which is the fifth-longest in NFL history. 

TAI’S TAKING CHARGE
Tai Webster has blossomed into one of the Big Ten’s most improved players in 2015-16. Webster, who averaged 3.9 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in his first two seasons, has emerged into one of the Big Ten’s best sixth men as a junior. Webster is averaging 10.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range. 

• Webster has been in double figures 11 times in his last 18 games after reaching it a total of seven times in his first 65 games at Nebraska.
• He has been effective as a scoring guard off the bench, averaging 10.9 points per game on 55 percent shooting over the last nine games, adding an experienced scorer to the Huskers’ second unit. He has reached double figures six times in NU’s last nine contests.
• Webster had a career high five steals - the most by a Husker since 2012 - along with 12 points and five rebounds vs. Michigan on Jan. 24. 
• His contributions against No. 11 Michigan State were vital, finishing with 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists, keeping NU in the game late in the first half while Shavon Shields and Andrew White III were out of the game. 
• Webster provided a spark in NU's win at Illinois, finishing with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and six rebounds.
• He collected his second 20-point game of the year at No. 19 Iowa on Jan. 5, finishing with a career-high 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting and five rebounds. 
• Webster earned all-tournament honors at the Barclays Center Classic in November, averaging 19.5 points on 56 percent shooting and 5.0 rebounds per game against No. 24 Cincinnati and Tennessee.
• He enjoyed his breakout performance in the loss to No. 24 Cincinnati on Nov. 27, posting a then-career highs in points (21) and rebounds (eight) while battling a stomach virus that kept him out of shootaround earlier that day. One day later against Tennessee, he added 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting against Tennessee.