Huskers Travel to Rutgers

GAME 17: AT RUTGERS Date: Saturday, Jan. 9 Time: 4:05 p.m. (CT) Location: Piscataway, N.J. Arena: Rutgers Athletic Center NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS 2015-16 Record: 8-8, 0-3 Big Ten Head coach: Tim Miles Record at Nebraska: 55-57 (4th year) Career Record: 338-277 (21st year) RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS 2015-16 Record: 6-10, 0-3 Big Ten Head coach: Eddie Jordan Record at Rutgers: 28-52 (3rd year) Career Record: same BROADCAST INFO Television: ESPNU Play-by-play: Clay Matvick Expert Analysis: Sean Harrington Online: WatchESPN app and WatchESPN.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 (Rutgers feed): Sirius-135; XM-195 Also available online at Huskers.com, on the Huskers App and TuneIn Radio

The Nebraska men’s basketball team looks for its first Big Ten win of the season Saturday afternoon, as the Huskers travel to Rutgers.

Tipoff from the Rutgers Athletic Center is slated for 4 p.m. (Central) and will be televised nationally on ESPNU with Clay Matvick and Sean Harrington on the call. The game between the Huskers and Scarlet Knights will also be available on the WatchESPN app 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, 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 (8-8, 0-3 Big Ten) look to bounce back from a 77-66 loss at No. 19 Iowa on Tuesday night. The Huskers played well at times, holding Iowa to 43 percent shooting, but 12-0 Hawkeye run at the end of the first half proved to be costly in NU’s upset bid

Nebraska, which shot 59 percent in the second half against the Hawkeyes, was led by junior guard Tai Webster, who came off the bench for a career-high 22 points. Webster, who went 7-of-11 from the floor and added five rebounds, gave the Huskers some offense on a rare off night from Andrew White III, who was held to nine points on 3-of-10 shooting.

Webster has provided a veteran scoring threat to the Husker bench since being moved into that role on Dec. 22. He is averaging 11.3 points per game on 60 percent shooting over the last four contests while leading a bench rotation that includes two freshmen and a sophomore. Webster has reached double figures eight times in NU’s last 13 games after doing it just seven times in his first 65 career outings. 

Rutgers (6-10, 0-3 Big Ten) looks to bounce back after falling at No. 3 Maryland, 88-63, Wednesday evening. Freshman Corey Sanders led four Scarlet Knights in double figures with 16 points, while Bishop Daniels added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
3 - Tai Webster’s 22-point performance at Iowa Tuesday marked the third consecutive game a Husker has set a career high in points (Benny Parker 17 vs. Northwestern; Jack McVeigh 16 vs. Indiana).

9 - Nebraska has scored 70+ points nine times this season, which matches the number of times the Huskers did it during the entire 2014-15 season.

9.7 - Number of turnovers that Nebraska has averaged in Big Ten action, well under the 14.5 turnovers the Huskers averaged in non-conference play.

10 - Number of 20-point games by the Huskers in 2015-16 (4-White III and Shields; 2-Webster). Prior to this season, the last time NU had three players with multiple 20-point games in a season was 2005-06.

13-to-1 - Assist-to-turnover ratio for senior guard Benny Parker over the last four games. In Big Ten play, his 9-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio leads the conference.

24.0- Nebraska’s bench scoring average over the past four games. In the previous four contests, NU averaged just 10.5 ppg from its bench.

SCOUTING RUTGERS
Rutgers enters Saturday’s game with a 6-10 record coming off a 88-63 loss at No. 3 Maryland on Wednesday night.

Third-year head coach Eddie Jordan was one of the greatest players in program history, helping Rutgers to a Final Four in 1976. He finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in both assists (585) and steals (220) and was an honorable-mention All-American in 1977. Jordan, who was a former assistant at Rutgers and Boston College, did most of his coaching in the NBA, and coached nine years in the league with stints in Sacramento (1996-98), Washington (2003-09) and Philadelphia (2009-10).

The Scarlet Knights have shown the ability to be competitive, including a one-point loss to Wake Forest, a six-point loss to Monmouth and a seven-point loss to Indiana. Injuries have hampered the Scarlet Knights, as Deshawn Freeman (13.1 ppg) has been out since mid-December with a knee injury while Jonathan Laurent (6.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg) didn’t play in Wednesday’s loss at Maryland.

Freshman guard Corey Sanders leads RU in both scoring (13.5 ppg) and assists (3.5 apg) and has started 12 games although he came off the bench on Wednesday. Sophomore guard Mike Williams also averages double figures with 11.6 ppg while hitting 22 3-pointers.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday’s matchup will be the fifth all-time meeting with the Scarlet Knights and the second Big Ten meeting between the programs. The series is tied at two wins apiece following Nebraska’s 65-49 win last year in Lincoln. Prior to the Scarlet Knights joining the Big Ten, the two teams split a home-and-home series in 2006 and 2007, including a 63-51 win at the Devaney Center on Dec. 9, 2006. The only other meeting was a 19-point Rutgers win at the 1999 Hoop and Quill Classic in St. Charles, Mo.

Last year: Terran Petteway had a game-high 20 points and five assists as Nebraska’s defense was the story in a 65-49 win over Rutgers. The Huskers forced 19 Scarlet Knights turnovers and harassed Rutgers to shoot 35 percent from the field, including 2-of-13 from 3-point range. Shavon Shields, Benny Parker and Walter Pitchford combined for 29 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, as all three finished with between nine and 11 points.

LAST TIME OUT
Despite a career-high 22 points from Tai Webster, Nebraska fell at No. 19 Iowa, 77-66, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena Tuesday night.

Webster hit 7-of-11 shots from the floor in posting his third 20-point of the season, but the Iowa duo of Mike Gesell and Jarrod Uthoff combined for 47 points for the host Hawkeyes (12-3, 3-0 Big Ten).

Uthoff carried Iowa with 25 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots while Gesell scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half and added 10 assists. The senior guard went 11-of-13 from the foul line, as Iowa went 24-of-32 from the charity stripe, while Nebraska was just 9-for 16 from the line.

Nebraska, which led by as many as 10 in the first half, was done in by a scoring drought which spanned 7:33, as the Hawkeyes erased a 22-19 deficit and took a nine-point lead into the locker room. Nebraska cut the lead to eight points at 52-44 and 10 points on several other occasions, but the Hawkeyes never led the Huskers make it a two-possession game down the stretch.

DID YOU KNOW
*-Saturday’s game features the top-two scoring newcomers in the Big Ten in Nebraska junior transfer Andrew White (16.8 ppg) and Rutgers freshman Corey Sanders (13.5 ppg). They are the only newcomers in the top-20 in scoring in the Big Ten in 2015-16.

*- Andrew White III is one of only 19 players nationally 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 entering this weekend’s action.

*-Nebraska is the only school in the Big Ten 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. Entering the week, only 63 players in Division I have averaged that in 2015-16.

*-Nebraska’s ball movement has been better since putting freshman Glynn Watson Jr. into the starting lineup four games ago. NU has averaged 13.5 assists per game over the last four games, as compared to 12.1 for NU’s first 12 contests. Benny Parker and Watson have combined for 22 assists and just seven turnovers in that span, while Shavon Shields is averaging 4.0 assists per game.

*-Much of Nebraska’s inconsistency can be attributed to youth, as freshmen account for 35 percent of the Huskers’ minutes in 2015-16. In Big Ten action, that number jumps to 37 percent of the Huskers’ total playing time.

*-Nebraska's 3-point shooting has jumped from 28.4 percent to 36.5 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.

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 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 72.5 points per game entering Saturday’s game at Rutgers is nearly seven points higher than NU’s average through its first 15 games of 2014-15 (65.9 ppg)

*-NU’s 72.5 average is the highest scoring average after 16 games since the 1997-98 season (74.8 ppg).

*-At this pace, it would be Nebraska’s highest scoring average since the 1996-97 team averaged 72.9 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.

*-Ten different Huskers have reached double figures at least once while three players (Shields, Webster and White) have also recorded multiple 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, and two 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 93rd (.365) entering Saturday’s game at Rutgers.

*-Five of Nebraska’s top-eight scorers are in their first year of competition as a Husker, as newcomers have accounted for 52.0 percent of NU’s total offense in the first 16 games.

*-Five of NU’s newcomers have already posted double-digit efforts, including a team-high 13 by Andrew White III and five by Glynn Watson Jr.

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 sixth in the Big Ten in scoring at 16.8 points per game, which leads all conference newcomers. He is also 20th in rebounding (5.5 rpg), pacing the Huskers in scoring and rebounding.

• White is one of the Big Ten’s top 3-point shooters, ranking fifth in 3-pointers per game (2.6) while shooting 42.4 percent from long range.
• White has been in double figures in 13 of NU’s 16 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 has two double-doubles on the year, posting them against Creighton (28 points and 10 rebounds) and Samford (17 points and 11 rebounds).
• White has four games with at least four 3-pointers, including a career-high five 3-pointers against Northwestern on Dec. 30.
• 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
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 1,371 points to rank 12th on NU’s career scoring list. Shields has climbed from 24th to 12th during his senior year and sits in 18th place with 601 career rebounds.

On the season, the 6-foot-7 senior is averaging 15.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Shields ranks 11th in the Big Ten in scoring and seventh in steals, and is first or second on the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.

• He became the eighth Husker to total 1,300 points and 600 rebounds at Iowa on Jan. 5.
• Shields is one of only 13 players nationally averaging 15.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.0 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 13 of NU’s 16 games, including a season-high 28-point, five-rebound effort against No. 21 Miami on Dec. 1.
• Shields has 68 career games in double figures, including 18 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 has four 20-point games this season, including a 25-point effort against Samford on Dec. 20 and 21 points against Delaware State (Nov. 19) and Abilene Christian (Dec. 5).
• 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.

TAI’S TAKING CHARGE
After a slow start, junior Tai Webster has played some of the best basketball of his career over the last six weeks. The 6-foot-4 guard has averaged 11.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game over the last 12 games after averaging just 3.0 points in NU’s first three games.

• Webster has been in double figures eight times in his last 13 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 11.3 points per game on 60 percent shooting over the last four games, adding an experienced scorer to the Huskers’ second unit.
• 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 had 10 points, three steals and two assists in 21 minutes off the bench against Prairie View A&M and had 11 points against Northwestern.
• He had 15 points and three assists at Creighton on Dec. 9.
• Webster scored all 10 of his points in the second half against Abilene Christian on Dec. 5 while adding five boards and a pair of blocked shots.
• 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.

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.