Huskers Host Buckeyes Saturday Night

GAME 28: VS. OHIO STATE Date: Saturday, Feb. 20 Time: 6:06 p.m. (CT) Arena: Pinnacle Bank Arena Tickets: Huskers.com/Tickets (if available) NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS 2015-16 Record: 14-13, 6-8 Big Ten Head coach: Tim Miles Record at Nebraska: 61-62 (4th year) Career Record: 344-282 (21st year) OHIO STATE BUCKEYES 2015-16 Record: 17-10, 9-5 Big Ten Head coach: Thad Matta Record at Ohio State: 315-104 (12th year) Career Record: 417-135 (16th year) BROADCAST INFO Television: BTN Play-by-play: Kevin Kugler Expert Analysis: Shon Morris Online: BTN2GO 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: Sirius 93; XM-195 Also available online at Huskers.com, on the Huskers App and TuneIn Radio

The Nebraska men’s basketball team returns home for a crucial matchup Saturday night, as Ohio State visits Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Tipoff is set for 6:06 p.m. and a very limited number of returned tickets are available by visiting Huskers.com, calling 800-8-BIGRED or at the Pinnacle Bank Arena box office Saturday afternoon beginning at 4:30 p.m.

The game will be televised nationally on BTN with Kevin Kugler and Shon Morris on the call. It is also available on BTN2GO on mobile devices.

Saturday’s game 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.

Nebraska (14-13, 6-8 Big Ten) ran into a hot-shooting Indiana team on Wednesday, falling 80-64 at Assembly Hall. Freshman Jack McVeigh led three Huskers in double figures with a career-high 17 points, but Indiana shot 52 percent from the field, including 9-of-19 from 3-point range in pulling away in the second half.

McVeigh has been the biggest beneficiary to Shavon Shields’ injury, as he is averaging 9.3 ppg over the last three games, well above his 5.4 ppg for the year. McVeigh has already cracked NU’s top-10 freshman list in 3-pointers with 28 and could challenge for a spot in the top five before his freshman campaign concludes.

With four games to go, Nebraska needs to put together a couple of wins to solidify their place in the Big Ten standings and avoid playing in the opening round on March 9.

Ohio State (17-10, 9-5 Big Ten) comes to Lincoln riding a three-game winning streak following a 76-66 win over Michigan on Tuesday. In that game, the Buckeyes held the Wolverines to 39 percent shooting and put five players in double figures, led by Marc Loving and Jae’Sean Tate’s 13 points.

NUMBER TO KNOW

4 - A freshmen has led NU in scoring, rebounding or assists in each of the last four games. Against Indiana, Jack McVeigh (17 points), Glynn Watson Jr. (4 assists) and Michael Jacobson (5 rebounds) all tied or led NU in their respective categories.

5 - Andrew White III is five points away from 10th place on NU’s junior scoring list (Shavon Shields, 478, 2015). In addition, he is 27 points away from being the 21st Husker with 500 points in a season.

2005 - The last time a Husker freshman averaged at least 10.0 ppg in conference play (Joe McCray, 15.8 ppg). Glynn Watson Jr. is currently averaging 10.0 ppg in Big Ten play.

41% - In Big Ten play, 41 percent of NU’s total minutes have come from freshmen. In fact, only five schools (Neb., Minn., Ohio State, Rutgers and Illinois) have had freshman account for at least 30 percent of the team’s minutes in Big Ten play.

11.8 - Nebraska’s scoring average is 11.8 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	73.3	+11.8
1950-51	52.6	1951-52	62.3	+9.7
1964-65	68.2	1965-66	77.2	+9.0

SCOUTING OHIO STATE
Ohio State comes to town with a 17-10 record and riding a three-game winning streak. The Buckeyes, who replaced four starters including All-American D’Angelo Russell, were 4-5 in mid-December before running off a seven-game win streak. The Buckeyes are coming off their best win in Big Ten play, topping Michigan, 76-66 on Tuesday. Under Thad Matta, OSU has been one of the Big Ten’s best defensive teams, holding foes to 39 percent from the field, including just 33 percent from 3-point range. OSU has held six of its last seven opponents under 70 points.

The Buckeyes are balanced with four players averaging double figures while also featuring one of the Big Ten’s best reserves in Kam Williams (8.1 ppg). Junior Marc Loving leads OSU at 12.6 points per game while Keita Bates-Diop is at 11.9 points and 6.6 boards per game. OSU has four players averaging at least five rebounds per game and are second in the conference with 5.4 blocked shots per game. In Big Ten play, the Buckeyes’ top six scorers average at least 7.5 points per game while eight players average double-figure minutes.

SERIES HISTORY
Ohio State leads the all-time series, 12-3, in a series that dates back to 1936. The Buckeyes are 8-1 against the Huskers since Nebraska joined the Big Ten, but NU’s only win came in the last meeting in Lincoln, a 68-63 victory over the No. 18 Buckeyes on Jan. 20, 2014. OSU has won the last two matchups, including a 24-point win in Columbus last season. OSU has been ranked in eight of the last 10 matchups, including Saturday’s game.

Last meeting: Tarin Smith had a career-high 13 points, but a hot-shooting Buckeye squad was too much, as Nebraska fell 81-57. Smith hit 5-of-6 shots from the field, including a trio of 3-pointers, to pace a trio of Huskers in double figures. David Rivers had his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds while Terran Petteway had 12 points for Nebraska. Ohio State shot 53 percent from the field, including 11-of-19 from 3-point range. Jae’Sean Tate led all players with 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting and seven rebounds to pace four Buckeyes in double figures. Sam Thompson added 15 points, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range, while Shannon Scott and D’Angelo Russell chipped in 13 and 11 points, respectively.

LAST TIME OUT
Despite a career-high 17 points from Jack McVeigh, Nebraska was unable to become the first visiting team to win in Assembly Hall this season, as the Huskers fell, 80-64, to No. 22 Indiana.
McVeigh led NU with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, as he topped his personal best set twice before including the first matchup with the Hoosiers in January to pace three Huskers (14-13, 6-8 Big Ten) in double figures.

The Hoosiers used a 20-2 spurt spanning the end of the first half and start of the second half to take control. Indiana shot 53 percent from the field and was led by Troy Williams, who had a game-high 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting.

Nebraska, which led for most of the first half, built a 30-24 lead after a McVeigh 3-pointer with 5:09 left in the half, but the Hoosiers closed the half on a 17-4 spurt to take a seven-point lead into the locker room. Indiana opened the second half with a 13-2 spurt to put NU into a hole.

Nebraska rallied midway through the second half, using a 9-0 surge to pull within 57-47 after a Glynn Watson Jr. jumper and eventually whittled the deficit to 62-54 after a bucket from Tai Webster with 9:13 left. Webster finished with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting for NU. 

That would be as close as Nebraska would get, as Indiana used a 7-0 run to take a 71-54 lead and held a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

WHITE IN RARE B1G COMPANY
Junior guard Andrew White III is one of only eight players 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 entering this weekend’s action. The list includes Buddy Hield (Oklahoma) and White’s former Kansas teammate Perry Ellis III.

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	.431	.793	17.5
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

• Among power conference schools, only one player in the last five years has averaged 15.0 ppg while posting splits of .500/.400/.800. That was Creighton’s Doug McDermott in 2013-14. This season, White joins Buddy Hield (Oklahoma) as players with a chance to join that list.

Player	School	FG%	3P%	FT%	PPG
Buddy Hield	Oklahoma	.505	.488	.890	25.2
Andrew White III	Nebraska	.513	.431	.793	17.5

WATSON JR. EARNS BIG TEN HONOR
Nebraska freshman Glynn Watson Jr. was honored Monday, as he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week. Watson is the first Husker freshman to earn the award since Shavon Shields captured it twice during the 2012-13 season.

Watson averaged 12.5 points and 1.5 steals per game during a 1-1 week for the Huskers. He shot 44 percent from the field, including 50 percent from 3-point range. Watson led NU with 16 points against Wisconsin on Wednesday and had nine points, including a 3-pointer to beat the first-half buzzer, and three steals in Saturday’s 70-54 win over Penn State.

WORTH NOTING

• 11 of the Huskers’ 13 losses have come to teams currently rated in the top 50 in the KenPom rankings as of Thursday. In fact, four of NU’s losses are to teams in the top-11 of this week’s AP poll.
• Nebraska’s 72.9 ppg in Big Ten play is not only a 15-point improvement on NU’s conference scoring average (57.1 ppg), but is the first time NU has averaged at least 70 points in conference action since the 2001-02 campaign.
• Nebraska has scored 70+ points eight times in Big Ten play, which is already the best since joining the Big Ten. The previous high was six in 2013-14.
• One of the biggest differences between the Huskers’ wins and losses in Big Ten play has been defending the 3-point line. In the Huskers’ six wins, opponents are shooting 30 percent from long distance, while that number jumps to 49 percent in the Huskers’ eight Big Ten losses.
• Glynn Watson Jr. has been one of the Big Ten’s best newcomers at point guard this season. The Bellwood, Ill., product is averaging 8.8 ppg and 2.6 apg while his 2.50 assist-to-turnover ratio is on pace to be one of the best ratios by a Husker in the last 30 years.

Huskers with 2.5 Assist-to-Turnover Ratio (Last 30 Years)

Ratio	Player	Asst.-TO’s	Year
3.04	Brian Carr	201-66	1985-86
2.73	Jamar Johnson	123-45	1993-94
2.57	Charles Richadson Jr.	179-71	2006-07
2.54	Glynn Watson Jr.	70-28	2015-16

minimum 2 assists/gm

• Nebraska is one of three programs in the nation (joining Florida State and Tulsa) 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 61 players in Division I have reached those averages.
• NU enters the Ohio State game sixth in the conference in rebounding margin at +3.3 per game. NU has not finished with a positive rebounding margin since joining the Big Ten in 2011-12.
• Much of Nebraska’s inconsistency can be attributed to youth, as freshmen account for 38 percent of the Huskers’ minutes in 2015-16. The 38 percent is the most in the Big Ten. In conference action, the number jumps to 41 percent of the Huskers’ total playing time and 35 percent of NU’s scoring.
• In research by Bradley University, Nebraska ranks fifth among all power conference teams in minutes played, as Husker freshman have combined for 2,053 minutes in 2015-16. NU trails only Washington, Boston College, Kentucky, and Duke among minutes played by freshmen in power conferences.
• 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 has played eight games against ranked teams, which ties for second in the Big Ten (Iowa-9; Nebraska and Michigan-8).