Huskers Travel to Northwestern

GAME 31: AT NORTHWESTERN Date: Sunday, March 6 Time: 1:06 p.m. Location: Evanston, Ill. Arena: Welsh-Ryan Arena NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS 2015-16 Record: 14-16, 6-11 Big Ten Head coach: Tim Miles Record at Nebraska: 61-65 (4th year) Career Record: 344-285 (21st year) NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS 2015-16 Record: 19-11, 7-10 Big Ten Head coach: Chris Collins Record at Northwestern: 48-47 (3rd year) Career Record: same BROADCAST INFO Television: BTN Play-by-play: Wayne Randazzo 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 (Northwestern feed): Sirius-84; XM-84 Also available online at Huskers.com, on the Huskers App and TuneIn Radio

The Nebraska men’s basketball team looks to build some momentum heading into next week’s Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, as the Huskers travel to Evanston for a matchup with the Northwestern Wildcats.

Tipoff at Welsh-Ryan Arena is set for 1:06 p.m. and the matchup between the Huskers and Wildcats will be televised nationally on BTN with Wayne Randazzo and Stephen Bardo on the call. The contest will also be available on BTN2Go on laptops, tablets and mobile devices.

Sunday’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 (14-16, 6-11 Big Ten) has a lot play for entering the final game of the regular season. The

Huskers would lock up a first-round bye for next week’s Big Ten Tournament with a victory on Sunday plus a win by either Michigan State, Purdue or Illinois, and potentially could be the ninth seed next week in Indianapolis. A loss would mean NU would be either the 10th seed - with an Illinois win over Penn State - or the 11th seed.

Nebraska looks to bounce back from a disappointing home finale against Purdue on Tuesday, when the Boilermakers scored an 81-62 victory. A 32-point effort by Shavon Shields was the highlight for the hosts, as Nebraska cut a 21-point first-half deficit to six before Purdue pulled away in the second half.

The 32-point performance marked a season high for the Husker senior forward, who has been outstanding since returning to action after a concussion suffered on Feb. 6. In his last two games, Shields is averaging 28.5 ppg while shooting 56 percent from the field.

Northwestern is 19-11 on the season following a 71-61 win at Penn State on Thursday. Tre Demps led all scorers with 23 points while Bryant McIntosh added 17 points and three assists for the winners.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
1 - Andrew White III needs one point to become the 14th Husker basketball player to score 500 points in a season. White was held to a season-low four points against Purdue on Tuesday.

1 - Michael Jacobson needs one rebound to move into a tie for 10th place on NU’s freshman rebounding list (126, Cookie Belcher, 1997).

1 - Ed Morrow Jr. needs one blocked shot to reach 20 for the season. It would mark the first time that NU had two freshmen with at least 20 blocks on the season, as Michael Jacobson leads the Huskers with 21.

10- Nebraska had 10 offensive rebounds against Pudue, becoming just the fourth Big Ten team to reach that mark against a Purdue team which is one of the nation’s best rebounding teams.

.737- Field goal percentage for Ed Morrow Jr. in Big Ten play, as he converted 28-of-38 field goal attempts. Morrow went 4-for-5 against No. 15 Purdue for eight points on Tuesday, the fourth time he has scored at least eight points in conference play.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
Northwestern comes into Sunday’s game playing for one of the first-round byes next week in Indianapolis. The Wildcats are 19-11 on the season and 7-10 in the Big Ten and are assured of finishing ninth in the standings, but could fall to the No. 11 seed with a loss on Sunday. Northwestern brings a two-game winning streak into Sunday’s contest following Thursday’s 71-61 win at Penn State. The Wildcats are led by third-year coach Chris Collins, who spent 13 seasons at Duke under Hall of Fame Coach Mike Krzyzewski before taking the Northwestern job prior to the 2013-14 season.

The Wildcats, who are averaging 72.3 points per game and shooting 36 percent from 3-point range, feature a strong backcourt in sophomore Bryant McIntosh and senior Tre Demps. McIntosh averages 13.8 points per game and is second in the conference with 6.7 assists per game. Demps is 12th in the Big Ten in scoring at 15.4 ppg and leads the Wildcats with 65 3-pointers. The Wildcats also have a solid post game with senior center Alex Olah, who averages 10.8 points and a team-high 5.2 rebounds per game.

SERIES HISTORY
Nebraska and Northwestern meet for the 11th time ever on Sunday, as the Huskers hold a 7-3 lead in a series that dates back to 1933. Nebraska saw its four-game win streak snapped in the first meeting on Dec. 30. NU is 2-2 all-time in Evanston, and makes its first appearance since a 53-49 Husker win on Feb. 8, 2014. The Huskers have won seven of the last nine meetings dating back to 1975.

LAST MEETING VS. NORTHWESTERN
Despite a career performance from senior Benny Parker, the Nebraska men’s basketball team fell to Northwestern, 81-72, in the Huskers’ Big Ten opener on Dec. 30. Parker put together the finest effort his Husker career, setting career highs in both points (17) and assists (seven), as the guard hit a career-high five 3-pointers in a losing effort.

Nebraska was unable to control Northwestern, as the Wildcats overcome a 12-point second-half deficit. Derek Pardon led the Northwestern comeback, scoring 23 of 28 points in the second half on 9-of-10 shooting, as the Wildcats shot 55 percent in the second half and put four players in double figures.

Andrew White III added 22 points, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range for the Huskers, as Nebraska used a 21-4 spurt to erase a five-point deficit and take a 51-39 lead after a steal and layup from Parker with 17:43 left.

Nebraska led 54-44 after White’s 3-pointer with 15:56 left, but the Wildcats would not go away. NU led 66-63 after White’s fifth 3-pointer of the game with 5:14 left, but Northwestern would take control, running off eight straight points, capped by a jumper with Tre Demps to make it 71-66 with 2:25 remaining.

LAST TIME OUT
Despite a season-high 32-point effort from Shavon Shields, Nebraska fell to No. 15 Purdue, 81-62, on Tuesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Shields was spectacular in his final regular-season home appearance. The 6-foot-7 senior hit 11 of 19 shots and went 6-for-6 from the line, but was the only Nebraska player to finish in double figures.

Purdue relied on a balanced attack as Vince Edwards’ 20 points led four Boilermakers in double figures. A.J. Hammons had 16 while Dakota Mathias and Caleb Swanigan added 11 and 10 points, respectively, as Purdue shot 56 percent from the field, including 7-of-15 from 3-point range.

Edwards scored 10 of his 12 first-half points in a decisive 23-4 spurt that gave the Boilermakers a 30-11 lead with 7:43 left in the half. Nebraska chipped away in the final eight minutes of the half behind the play of Shields, who scored 19 first-half points on 7-of-11 shooting. Shields had nine points in a 14-2 run the pulled NU within 32-23 after an Ed Morrow Jr. basket with 3:28 left in the half.

NU eventually whittled it down to six points, at 39-33, after a Tai Webster steal and layup with 11.3 seconds remaining before intermission, but Mathias was fouled with less than a second left and converted both free throws to push the lead back to 41-33 at the break.

In the second half, NU got the deficit to eight on several occasions, the last at 52-44 after a Glynn Watson Jr. basket with 12:38 left, but Purdue took over. The Boilermakers then took over, using a 10-2 spurt, including 3-pointers by Ryan Cline and Mathias, to extend the lead to 16, and NU was unable to get the deficit back into under 10 the rest of the day. Tai Webster had nine points and eight boards, while Ed Morrow Jr. had eight points on 4-of-5 shooting off the bench in a losing effort.

BIG TEN TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS
Nebraska can finish anywhere between 9th and 11th depending the final weekend of the season, as its game, along with the results from other games around the conference. Nebraska will know most of its possibilities by Sunday’s tipoff as two of the three other games which could affect Nebraska’s seeding (MSU-OSU and PSU-Ill.) will have been completed before Nebraska tips off. The only guarantee is that an Illinois win over Penn State would mean NU would get one of the first-round byes.

WORTH NOTING

• Nebraska will be seeking its fourth conference road win of the season at Northwestern on Sunday, as the Huskers have not won four conference road games in a season since the 1998-99 season.
• Not even missing four games and part of another has showed Shavon Shields, as he is averaging 20.2 ppg on 50 percent shooting over his last five appearances dating back to Jan. 30. Shields now needs just 17 points to tie Tyronn Lue (1,577; 1996-97) for eighth place on NU's career scoring list. and
• Shields will look for his third consecutive 20-point game on Sunday at Northwestern. Before the last two games, Shields has had consecutive 20-point games four previous times, most recently against Miami and Abilene Christian back in December. Shields has never had three straight 20-point games in his career.
• Nebraska comes into Sunday's game needing only six 3-pointers to reach 200 for the year. It would mark just the seventh time NU has hit at least 200 3-pointers in a season.
• Nebraska’s scoring average is 10.7 points higher than last year’s total and 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	71.9	+10.4
1950-51	52.6	1951-52	62.3	+9.7
1964-65	68.2	1965-66	77.2	+9.0

 

 

 

• Both of Nebraska’s fall signees are playing postseaon basketball this week. Isaiah Roby and his Dixon (Ill.) team went 25-4 after losing in the regional final on Friday night, while Jeriah Horne and his Barstow (Mo.) team is 25-3 heading into the state quarterfinals on Saturday evening.
• Nebraska’s roster features a pair of Illinois natives in Glynn Watson Jr. (Bellwood) and Ed Morrow Jr. (Chicago). In their first return to their homestate on Jan. 16 at Illinois, Watson matched his career high with 17 points, while Morrow added six points and six rebounds.
• Nebraska’s Glynn Watson Jr. and Northwestern guard Jordan Ash were teammates at Westchester St. Joseph High School, winning the Illinois Class 3A title in 2015.
• Nebraska Coach Jim Molinari is no stranger to the Chicago area, as he was a longtime assistant coach at DePaul before serving as head coach at Northern Illinois, Bradley and Western Illinois in addition to his longtime stint as an assistant coach at DePaul.
• Nebraska has played nine ranked teams this season, one shy of the school record of 10 set three previous times, most recently in 2012-13. NU’s nine ranked opponents is second only to Iowa (10) among Big Ten teams in 2015-16.
• Andrew White III has more than filled in the offensive production that All-Big Ten performer Terran Petteway provided over the last two seasons. In Big Ten play, White is one of six players ranked in the top-12 in the Big Ten in both scoring and rebounding, joining Denzel Valentine (Michigan State), Jarrod Uthoff (Iowa), Malcolm Hill (Illinois), Brandon Taylor (Penn State) and A.J. Hammons (Purdue).

During Big Ten Play

Player	PPG	Reb	SPG	FG Pct.	3-Pt. Pct.	FT Pct.
White III (2015-16)	16.3	6.5	1.1	.473	.402	.776
Petteway (2014-15)	16.9	4.6	0.9	.380	.293	.678

• 12 of NU’s losses this season have come to teams currently rated in the top 50 in the KenPom rankings as of Friday
• Nebraska has played its share of close games, going 2-5 in games decided by five points or less this season after going 15-9 in those games over the past three seasons. In three of NU’s last four home losses, the Huskers had it within one possession in the final three minutes, including a game-tying attempt against Maryland and a go-ahead attempt against OSU.
• In research by Bradley University, Nebraska ranks fifth among all power conference teams in minutes played, as Husker freshman have combined for 2,286 minutes in 2015-16. NU trails only Washington, Boston College, Kentucky, and Duke among minutes played by freshmen in power conferences. In Big Ten play, 40 percent of Nebraska’s total minutes have been by freshmen with four in the Huskers’ top eight players.

Category	Overall	B1G
Percentage of Minutes	38%	40%
Percentage of Points	32%	34%

• Nebraska has relied on its youth down the stretch, as a freshman has led the Huskers in either points, rebounds or assists in each of the last seven games.
• With only three returning players who averaged double-figures in minutes played, the Huskers had some growing pains, especially on the defensive end early in conference action. NU has played better defensively of late, holding three of its last five opponents under 40 percent after holding just two of the first 12 to that number.
• Nebraska’s 70.5 ppg in Big Ten play is not only a 13-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 five years ago. The previous high was six in 2013-14.
• NU enters the Northwestern game sixth in the conference in rebounding margin at +2.6 per game. NU has not finished with a positive rebounding margin since joining the Big Ten in 2011-12.
• Glynn Watson Jr. has been one of the Big Ten’s best newcomers at point guard this season. The Bellwood, Ill., product is averaging 8.7 ppg and 2.5 apg while his 2.47 assist-to-turnover ratio is on pace to be the best by a Husker since Charles Richardson Jr. had a 2.57 assist-to-turnover ratio in 2006-07.

NU’s Best Assist-to-Turnover Ratios (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
2.47	Glynn Watson Jr.	74-30	2015-16

minimum 2 assists/gm

GETTING OFFENSIVE
With the departure of four players 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 71.9 points per game entering Sunday’s game at Northwestern is the highest after 30 games since the 1997-98 season, the final season for former Husker great Tyronn Lue.

• 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.
• Entering the Northwestern game, more than 73 percent of Nebraska’s offense has come from underclassmen.
• Nebraska has scored 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.
• Ten Huskers have reached double figures at least once, while three players (Shields, Webster and White) have also recorded multiple 20-point efforts, marking the first time in 10 years that NU had three players with multiple 20-point games.

SHIELDS REPEATS AS ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
Shavon Shields was recognized for his efforts in the classroom on March 3, as he was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America™ team.

Shields, who carries a 3.72 GPA in biological sciences, was selected as a first-team Academic All-American for the second straight year. He joins Beau Reid, who was a third-team Academic All-American in 1989 and 1991, as the only two-time Academic All-Americans in program history.
With the selection, Shields becomes Nebraska’s 321st Academic All-American across all sports, a total which leads the nation. The Big Ten Conference featured two of the first five-team Academic All-Americans in Shields and Iowa’s Jarrod Uthoff.

SHIELDS CONTINUES TO CLIMB CHARTS
One of two seniors on the 2015-16 roster, Shavon Shields is putting the finishing touches on one of the best careers in program history. The 6-foot-7 forward has 1,560 points to rank ninth in scoring and is 13th in career rebounds with 639.

On the season, the 6-foot-7 senior is averaging 16.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Shields is fifth in the Big Ten in scoring and sixth in steals, and is first or second on the team in scoring, rebounding and assists.

Shields comes off a season-high 32-point effort against No. 15 Purdue on Tuesday, his third career 30-point game. Shields returned to action on Feb. 25 with 25 points and three rebounds in a one-point loss at Penn State.

• Shields is one of only five Huskers to total 1,500 points and 600 rebounds, as he reached the plateau on Feb. 6 vs. Rutgers.
• He has reached double figures 23 times this season, 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.
• Shields has 78 career games in double figures, including 22 career 20-point performances and a trio 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 two-time 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.
• Shavon was one of five Division I players named to the NABC Allstate Good Works Team for his work 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.

AW3 IS ON A ROLL
Junior Andrew White III has become a solid candidate for All-Big Ten honors in 2015-16. The 6-foot-7 wing is sixth in the Big Ten in scoring at 16.6 points per game. He is also 14th in rebounding (6.1 rpg) in his first season after transferring from Kansas.

• White is one of the Big Ten’s top 3-point shooters, ranking sixth in 3-pointers per game (2.6) while shooting 40.8 percent from long range. His 75 3-pointers already ranks sixth in school history.
• White has been in double figures a team-high 24 times, including eight 20-point efforts.
• He has two 30-point games in 2015-16, becoming just the 10th Husker to post multiple 30-point games in a year.
• 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).
• He scored a career-high 35 points against Penn State on Feb. 13, the 10th-highest total in school history. White added a career-high six 3-pointers and had 10 of his points in a 12-2 run to open the second half.
• 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.