Huskers Look to Slow Down Red-Hot Badgers

GAME 25: AT WISCONSIN Date: Wednesday, Feb. 10 Time: 6:01 p.m. Arena: Kohl Center Location: Madison, Wis. NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS 2015-16 Record: 13-11, 5-6 Big Ten Head coach: Tim Miles Record at Nebraska: 60-60 (4th year) Career Record: 343-280 (21st year) WISCONSIN BADGERS 2015-16 Record: 14-9, 6-4 Big Ten Interim Head coach: Greg Gard Record at Wisconsin: 7-4 (1st year) Career Record: same BROADCAST INFO Television: BTN Play-by-play: Jeff Levering Expert Analysis: Stephen Bardo 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 (Wisconsin feed): Sirius 83; XM-195 Also available online at Huskers.com, on the Huskers App and TuneIn Radio

The Nebraska men’s basketball team looks for its fourth Big Ten road win of the season Wednesday evening, as the Huskers travel to Madison, Wis., for a tilt with the Wisconsin Badgers.

Tipoff from the Kohl Center is set for 6 p.m. and Wednesday’s game will be televised nationally on BTN with Jeff Levering and Stephen Bardo on the call. The game between the Huskers and Badgers will also be available on BTN2Go on laptops, tablets and mobile devices.

The tilt 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 (13-11, 5-6 Big Ten) posted an 87-63 win over Rutgers Saturday to snap a three-game losing streak. Nebraska took control of the game with an 18-1 spurt and led by double digits throughout the second half. Nebraska finished with 22 assists - the most by NU since the 2011-12 season - including a career-best nine by Glynn Watson Jr. Andrew White III led the Huskers with 21 points and eight rebounds to pace four Huskers in double figures. Shavon Shields added 17 points before leaving the game with an injury in the second half, while freshmen posts Michael Jacobson and Ed Morrow Jr. finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Jacobson comes off one of his best weeks as a Husker, as the freshman from Waukee, Iowa, averaged 11.5 points on 56 percent shooting and 6.0 rebounds against No. 4 Maryland and Rutgers.

The Huskers, who have won three of their last four road games in Big Ten play, will need another strong outing Wednesday to pick up their first win in Madison since 1990.
Wisconsin (14-9-17, 6-4 Big Ten) has been off since a 79-68 win over Ohio State on Thursday. In that game, Nigel Hayes had 21 points and four rebounds to pace four Badgers in double figures. The Badgers have won five straight since opening Big Ten play with a 1-4 mark.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

5 - Number of Huskers in program history with 1,500 points and 600 rebounds (Dave Hoppen, Eric Piatkowski, Andre Smith, Aleks Maric and Shavon Shields) after Shields reached that plateau on Saturday against Rutgers.

9.6 - Nebraska is second in the Big Ten committing 9.6  turnovers per game in conference play. The Huskers have committed 10 or fewer turnovers in each of the last six games.

63 - Three-pointers by Andrew White III this season, which is two away from 10th place on NU’s single-season list.

12.2 - Nebraska’s scoring average is 12.8 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	74.3	+12.8
1950-51	52.6	1951-52	62.3	+9.7
1964-65	68.2	1965-66	77.2	+9.0

 64 - Following his career-high nine assists on Saturday, freshmen Glynn Watson Jr. is now two assists away from 10th place on NU’s freshman assist list. Watson is also one steal away from fifth place on NU’s freshman steals chart.

SCOUTING WISCONSIN
Under interim coach Greg Gard, Wisconsin is playing its best basketball of the season. The Badgers have won five straight games after a 1-4 Big Ten start. Gard, who took over for Bo Ryan following Wisconsin’s win over Texas A&M Corpus-Christi on Dec. 13, has guided the Badgers to a pair of wins over ranked teams, including a one-point win over then-No. 5 Michigan State. 

The Badgers returned just two starters from a team that went 36-4 and lost to Duke in the national title game. Junior Nigel Hayes has been one of the Big Ten’s best frontcourt players, averaging a team-high 17.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Redshirt freshman Ethan Happ (12.3 ppg; 8.1 rpg) and junior Bronson Koenig (13.4 ppg; 2.2 apg) supplement Hayes’ offensive production.

SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday’s matchup is the 24th meeting between the two programs, and Wisconsin holds a 12-11 all-time lead. The series dates back to the 1903-04 season, as Nebraska won the first meeting, 25-22 over the Badgers in Lincoln before Wisconsin took five of the next six meetings from 1907 to 1955. Nebraska then won eight straight games before the Badgers won the next five meetings, including the first four in Big Ten play. Last season, the Badgers swept both meetings with the Huskers, including a 10-point win in Lincoln in the last meeting. NU is 1-6 against Wisconsin since joining the BIg Ten with the one win being a 77-68 over the ninth-ranked Badgers in the 2014 regular-season finale. Wisconsin has been ranked in five of the previous seven meetings.

Last Meeting (Wisconsin 65, Nebraska 55, Feb. 10, 2015): Nebraska’s second-half rally came up just short, as the Huskers fell to No. 5 Wisconsin, 65-55. The Huskers trailed 52-37 with 3:37 left before charging back behind the play of Tai Webster, as the sophomore scored all five of his points in a 10-2 spurt to pull NU within 52-45 after a Shavon Shields jumper with 2:37 left. Nebraska kept the pressure on, as All-Big Ten guard Terran Petteway scored 18 of his 23 points after halftime to help the charge. The junior scored six straight points for the Huskers to cut the Wisconsin lead to 58-53 with 1:04 left. Unfortunately, Nebraska would get no closer, as Wisconsin went 7-of-8 from the foul line in the final minute to stifle the Huskers’ comeback hopes. Wisconsin went 24-of-31 from the foul line, including 22-of-27 in the second half to keep Nebraska at bay. Sam Dekker led Wisconsin with 21 point and eight rebounds, while Frank Kaminsky and Bronson Koenig added 13 apiece for the winners. Petteway finished with 23 points and eight rebounds, while Shavon Shields added 12 in a losing effort.

LAST TIME OUT 
Shavon Shields scored seven of his 17 points in an 18-1 spurt, as Nebraska broke a three-game losing streak with an 87-63 win over Rutgers on Saturday.

The Huskers clamped down on the defensive end, holding Rutgers without a field goal for the final 7:35 of the half, as Nebraska turned a 33-27 deficit into an 11-point lead just before the half. Consecutive 3-pointers by Shields and Michael Jacobson started the run before Shields’ layup with 4:25 left in the half gave the hosts the lead for good.

While Shields, who later left the game with an injury and was taken to a local hospital before being released, helped with the run, it was NU’s balance which keyed the win. Four Huskers finished in double figures, including 21 points from Andrew White III, while freshmen posts Michael Jacobson (13 points, five boards) and Ed Morrow Jr. (10 points, seven rebounds). Glynn Watson Jr. nearly joined them in double figures, as he finished with eight points while dishing out a career-high nine assists.

In all, Nebraska shot 51 percent from the floor and had 22 assists, the most by NU in five seasons, while forcing 14 Rutgers turnovers as the Scarlet Knights were held to 41 percent shooting.

WORTH NOTING

• The Huskers feature one player from Wisconsin in sophomore guard/forward Nick Fuller (Sun Prairie). Fuller, who has appeared in 18 games, had two points and three rebounds in a season-high 18 minutes against Rutgers on Saturday, his first action since Jan. 12.
• Nine of the Huskers’ 11 losses have come to teams currently rated in the top 50 in the KenPom rankings, including four to teams in the top 15. In fact, five of NU’s losses are to teams in the top-12 of this week’s AP poll.
• Nebraska’s 75.0 ppg in Big Ten play is not only a 18-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 is also the only team in the conference to raise its scoring average in Big Ten play compared to non-conference action.
• The Huskers have been much better handling the basketball in Big Ten play. In conference action, NU is second in the Big Ten with 9.6 turnovers per game. In non-conference action, NU averaged 14.5 turnovers per game.
• Nebraska has scored 70+ points seven times in Big Ten play, which is already the best since joining the Big Ten (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’ five wins, opponents are shooting 31 percent from long distance, while that number jumps to 48 percent in the Huskers’ six Big Ten losses.
• Since moving Glynn Watson Jr. into the starting lineup and shortening the rotation on Dec. 22, Nebraska has been efficient, averaging 75.5 ppg while shooting 47.4 percent from the floor. Watson has flourished as well, averaging 9.3 points, 2.7 assists 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 8.6 ppg and 2.7 apg while his 2.78 assist-to-turnover ratio is the best by a Husker since Brian Carr had a 3.04 assist-to-turnover ratio in 1985-86.

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
2.78	Glynn Watson Jr.	64-23	2015-16
2.73	Jamar Johnson	123-45	1993-94
2.57	Charles Richadson Jr.	179-71	2006-07

minimum 2 assists/gm

• Nebraska is one of three programs in the nation (joining Washington 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 Wisconsin game sixth in the conference in rebounding margin at +3.9 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 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's 3-point shooting has jumped from 28.4 percent to 35.3 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.

WHITE IN RARE B1G COMPANY
Junior guard Andrew White III is one of only 11 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. 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	.505	.420	.795	17.2
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

SHIELDS NAMED TO GOOD WORKS TEAM
Shavon Shields was became the first Husker men’s basketball student-athlete named to the Allstate NABC Good Works Teams® announced on Feb. 9. The award, which is in its fourth year, honors college basketball athletes that have dedicated themselves to bettering the lives of others through giving back to their communities.

In addition to his on-court and academic exploits, Shields has been active in the community throughout his time at Nebraska Shavon has served as a keynote speaker for the Sportsmanship Pep Rally, as well as volunteer for Husker Heroes, Ollie Webb and Nebrasketball Buddies Kids Clinics among other activities. Shields has also used his platform to raise awareness for the National Bone Marrow Registry. In 2015, he was named to the Tom Osborne Citizenship team for his work in the community.

The NABC team is comprised of 10 male student-athletes; five from NCAA® Division I and five from NCAA Divisions II, III and the NAIA. Members of the Allstate NABC Good Works Team® will be invited by Allstate to be recognized at the 2016 NABC Convention and 2016 NCAA Men’s Final Four®, and will participate in a community service project to benefit the host city of Houston.

GETTING OFFENSIVE
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 74.3 points per game entering Wednesday’s game at Wisconsin is the program’s highest total after 24 games since the 1995-96 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 12.8 ppg is the largest in the Big Ten.
• In Big Ten play, Nebraska is third in the conference in field goal percentage (.472) and fifth in scoring offense (75.0 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 scoed 80 or more points seven times, including three games of at least 90 points.
• Five of Nebraska’s top-eight scorers are in their first year of competition as a Husker, as newcomers have accounted for 55 percent of NU’s total offense.
• Five newcomers have posted double-digit efforts, including 20 by Andrew White III and 11 by Glynn Watson Jr.

AW3 IS 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 fifth in the Big Ten in scoring at 17.2 points per game. He is also 14th in rebounding (6.1 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 42.0 percent from long range.
• White has been in double figures in 20 of NU’s 24 games, including seven 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 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 CLIMBS 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 1,503 points to rank 10th in scoring and is 13th in career rebounds with 634.

On the season, the 6-foot-7 senior is averaging 15.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Shields ranks 10th in the Big Ten in scoring and sixth in steals, and is first or second on the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.

• Shields is the only Big Ten player - and one of 12 players nationally - averaging 15.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.75 apg and 1.25 spg, a list that also features Kris Dunn of Providence, Ben Simmons of LSU and Gary Payton III of Oregon State. No Husker has finished the year with those numbers since Cookie Belcher in 2000-01.
• He has reached double figures in a team-high 21 games, including a 28-point, five-rebound effort against No. 21 Miami on Dec. 1 and a 28-point performance in a win at No. 11 Michigan State on Jan. 20
• Against Rutgers on Feb. 6, he became the fifth Husker to score 1,500 points and grab 600 rebounds as a Husker during his 17-point effort.
• Shields has 76 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 ranks third in school history with 106 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, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 49 percent from the field and 37 percent from 3-point range.

• Webster has been in double figures 12 times in his last 21 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 10.7 points per game on 52 percent shooting over the last 12 games, adding an experienced scorer to the Huskers’ second unit. He has reached double figures seven times in NU’s last 12 contests, including 17 points at No. 21 Purdue on Jan. 30.
• 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). One day later against Tennessee, he added 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting against Tennessee.