Huskers Host Gardner-Webb on Sunday

GAME 11: VS. GARDNER WEBB Date: Sunday, Dec. 18 Time: 1:05 p.m. Arena: Pinnacle Bank Arena Tickets: Huskers.com/Tickets NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS 2016-17 Record: 5-5 Head coach: Tim Miles Record at Nebraska: 68-72 (5th year) Career Record: 351-292 (22nd year) GARDNER-WEBB RUNNIN' BULLDOGS 2016-17 Record: 5-5 Head coach: Tim Craft Record at Gardner-Webb: 60-51 (4th year) Career Record: Same BROADCAST INFO Television: ESPNU Play-by-play: Drew Fellios Expert Analysis: Sean Harrington Online: WatchESPN 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 Also available online at Huskers.com, on the Huskers App and on TuneIn Radio and the TuneIn Radio App.

After a break for final exams, the Husker men's basketball team returns to action with a two-game homestand at Pinnacle Bank Arena, beginning Sunday with a matchup against Gardner-Webb.

Tipoff between the Huskers and Runnin' Bulldogs is set for 1:05 p.m. and tickets for Sunday's game are available by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets or calling the NU Athletics Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED during business hours. In addition, any remaining tickets will be available for sale at Pinnacle Bank Arena 90 minutes before tipoff.

Sunday's game will be carried nationally on ESPNU with Drew Fellios and Sean Harrington on the call. It will also be available on the WatchESPN app.

Fans can listen to Sunday's game and all of the action throughout the 2016-17 season on the Husker Sports Network with Kent Pavelka and Matt Davison on the call, including on Huskers.com and the Huskers app. The broadcast starts 60 minutes before tipoff and a complete list of HSN affiliates is on page 5 of the release.

The Huskers (5-5) have run the gauntlet of a schedule which is the toughest in the country according to the NCAA RPI. Five of the Huskers' first 10 opponents are in the top-50 of the RPI, while the Huskers enter Sunday's game ranked 57th in the latest RPI. Nebraska's five games against the top-50 in the RPI ties for the national lead.

The Huskers look to bounce back from an 89-72 loss against No. 3 Kansas last Saturday. The Huskers ran into a hot-shooting Jayhawk club that shot 59.6 percent from the field, including 64.7 percent in the opening half.

While Tai Webster continued his sterling play with 22 points and five assists, NU also received a pair of solid performances from their bench. Junior Evan Taylor scored a career-high eight points and added a pair of assists and a steal in 19 minutes, while freshman Jordy Tshimanga established career bests in points (10), rebounds (eight) and blocked shots (two) against the Jayhawks. Tshimanga is averaging 6.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game over his last three contests.

Gardner-Webb comes into the weekend with a 5-5 mark heading into a Friday night game against Warren Wilson. The Runnin' Bulldogs have been tested early with games against SMU and Pittsburgh and average 77.0 points per game and shoot 47 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range.

OPENING NUMBERS
5 - Nebraska has played five teams currently in the top-50 in the RPI (through Wednesday), a total which ties Rhode Island and Georgetown for the most in the nation. 

.393/.552 - Nebraska allowed its first eight opponents to combine for 39.3 percent shooting from the field. Kansas and Creighton combined to shoot 55.2 percent against the Huskers.

.783 - Nebraska's team free throw percentage which is 13th nationally as of Wednesday. The Huskers have been even better at home, shooting 84.9 percent from the line at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

5 - Number of 20-point games by Tai Webster this season. The senior is seeking to become the first Husker to record three straight 20-point games since Shavon Shields from Dec. 25,
2014-Jan. 5, 2015). Only two Huskers have accomplished the feat under Miles (Shields and Terran Petteway, twice
in the 2013-14 season).

8.8- Steals per game by the Huskers over the last five games. NU averaged just 4.4 steals per game during its first five contests.

SCOUTING GARDNER-WEBB
Gardner-Webb enters the weekend with a 5-5 record after falling to Furman, 68-65, on Saturday. The Runnin' Bulldogs are coached by Joe Craft, who is in his fourth season at the school after serving as an assistant at East Carolina and Auburn. Gardner-Webb was picked to finish fourth in the Big South Conference by both the coaches and media as the team returned a pair of starters from a team that went 17-16 in 2016-17. The team has been tested in non-conference play with three of their five losses coming to SMU, Pittsburgh and Georgia. Following Sunday's game with the Huskers, they will travel to Kansas State on Wednesday. Sophomore guard LaQuincy Rideau leads the Bulldogs in both scoring (13.8 ppg), and assists (4.4 apg) and is one of three players who averages double figures. Sophomore guard David Efianayi averages 13.7 points off the bench and shoots 57 percent, while Tyrell Nelson, who was runner-up for the Big South Player of the Year in the preseason, averages 12.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

SERIES HISTORY
Sunday's game is the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The Huskers are 4-0 all-time against the Big South, but have not faced a current Big South Conference opponent since a 67-52 win over Presbyterian in the 2007-08 season opener. It marks the fifth opponent that NU has played for the first time this season (also Mary, Dayton, Virginia Tech and Clemson).

LAST TIME OUT
Despite a game-high 22 points from Tai Webster, Nebraska ran into a hot-shooting Jayhawk squad, as the Huskers fell 89-72 to No. 3 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansas shot 59 percent for the day, including a blistering 65 percent in the first half.

Webster finished with 22 points and five assists to pace three Huskers in double figures. Ed Morrow Jr. added 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and seven rebounds while Jordy Tshimanga added career bests of 10 points and eight rebounds in a losing effort.

Frank Mason III led five Jayhawks in double figures with 18 points and seven assists, while Josh Jackson added 17 points and six rebounds for Kansas in the first meeting between the schools since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011-12.

TAKING ON A CHALLENGING SCHEDULE
Nebraska has faced a daunting 2016-17 non-conference schedule. The Huskers are 5-5 on the season and have played the toughest schedule in the country according to the NCAA's RPI as of Dec. 14.

• Nebraska is one of only three teams in the country to play five games against teams in the top-50 of the RPI so far this season. Half of NU's 10 games have been against top-50 teams.
• The five teams Nebraska has lost to are a combined 46-4 as of Wednesday, including three of the top-10 teams in the AP poll.
• Nebraska is one of only two Big Ten teams who have played a top-50 non-conference schedule through Wednesday's games (Penn State, No. 40).
• Nebraska just completed a week where they played consecutive top-10 teams in non-conference play for the first time in program history.
• The 2016-17 season marks the third time Nebraska has faced multiple top-10 teams prior to the start of conference play. In both of the other two instances (1950-51 and 1954-55), NU played a conference opponent as part of the Big Seven Holiday Tournament in Kansas City.
• It is the second straight season that NU will face multiple ranked teams during non-conference action. Prior to last season, it has not happened since the 2002-03 season.
• The Big Ten currently has 12 of its 14 teams in the top-100 of the RPI through Dec. 14.

YOUTH IS SERVED
With seven freshmen and sophomores in the Huskers' current 10-man rotation, it is not surprising that most of the scoring and minutes have come from the underclassmen. Through the first 10 games, 68 percent of NU's minutes and 65 percent of the Huskers' points have come from the freshmen and sophomore classes.

TAI'S TAKING OVER
Last season, Tai Webster was one of the most improved players in the Big Ten, and the 6-foot-4 guard has taken another leap as a senior. Webster comes into the weekend third in the Big Ten in scoring at 17.7 points per game and also chipping in 5.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

• Webster is the only Big Ten player - and one of 16 players nationally - averaging at least 17 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
  Since 1993-94, only 10 Big Ten players have finished the season at those thresholds, a list which includes Jalen Rose, Evan Turner, Denzel Valentine, D'Angelo Russell and Michael Finley among others.
• Webster's 17.7 points per game is on pace to be the highest by a Husker senior since Eric Piatkowski in 1994.
• Webster cracked NU's top-60 scoring list against Creighton on Dec. 7, and has quickly climbed into a tie for 52nd place with 765 points (also Bus Whitehead and Jorge Brian Diaz). Webster needs 11 points to pass Stan Cloudy for 51st place and 26 points to tie Ray Gallegos for 50th place (791).
• He has been exceptional against NU's best foes, as he is averaging 20.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game in NU's three games against ranked opponents this season.
• He is the only Husker to score double figures in each of NU's 10 contests in 2016-17 and has been in double figures in 12 of his last 13 games dating back to the 2016 Big Ten Tournament (the other game was a nine-point effort in the win over Wisconsin).
• Webster comes off his fifth 20-point game of the season, a 22-point, five-assist effort at No. 3 Kansas on Dec. 10. He has five 20-point games (also Sacramento State, Virginia Tech, Louisiana Tech and Creighton) after reaching that mark twice in his first three seasons, including a career-high 23 points against both Virginia Tech and Louisiana Tech.
• He turned in a strong performance at the Wooden Legacy, averaging 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists in three games. Webster had 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists vs. No. 14 UCLA and had 23 points and eight rebounds against Virginia Tech.
• As a junior, Webster put together one of the largest one-season scoring jumps by a Husker in recent years during the 2015-16 season. He improved his scoring average from 3.9 ppg to 10.1 ppg from his sophomore to junior campaigns, marking the largest one-season jump by a Husker in nine seasons. Webster reached double figures 16 times in 2015-16 after accomplishing the feat just seven times in his first two seasons and closed the year by averaging 14.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game at the Big Ten Tournament.

TRAVELS WITH TAI: SUMMER EDITION
Senior guard Tai Webster spent the summer helping New Zealand qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics. In the FIBA Qualifying Tournament in Manila, he averaged 16.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, ranking in the top six in all three categories. Webster also had a pair of double-doubles, matching current New York Knicks forward Maurice Ndour for the most in the tournament. Webster spent all of June and the first week of July with the New Zealand program, as the team trained in Japan, China, Latvia and Lithuania. In addition, he served as a counselor at the adidas Nations Camp in Los Angeles.

WATSON IS POINT OF IT ALL
Glynn Watson Jr. has continued his emergence as one of the best young guards in the Big Ten. The 6-foot sophomore enters the Gardner-Webb game averaging 12.4 points, 2.8 assists and a Big Ten-best 2.1 steals per game. Watson comes from a basketball family, as his older brother Demetri McCamey was a first-team All-Big Ten performer at Illinois, but has quickly made his own name at Nebraska.

• Watson is second on the team in scoring and assists and ranks among the conference leaders in scoring (22th) and steals (first).
• Has already posted four 20-point games after not scoring more than 17 points in any game as a freshman.
• Paced NU with 20 points, matched his career high with six rebounds and added four steals and four assists at Clemson.
• He played well at the Wooden Legacy, averaging 16.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.3 steals and 3.0 assists per game.
• Established a career high with 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting against No. 14 UCLA, scoring 21 of his 27 points in the second half as Nebraska rallied back and cut a 15-point deficit to two.
• Keyed NU's win over Dayton with 20 points, a career-high five steals and three assists while hitting a pair of game-winning free throws with 8.8 seconds left when the Huskers trailed 78-77.
• He opened the season with a then-career-high 23 points along with six assists and five rebounds in NU's win over Sacramento State on Nov. 13.
• Prior to Watson's effort in the opener, Shavon Shields was the last Husker with a 20-point, six-assist effort as he had 21 points and seven assists against Delaware State on Nov. 19, 2015. The last Husker guard to do that was Jamel White against Western Kentucky during the 2006-07 season.
  

As a freshman, Watson played in all 34 games and made 16 starts for the Huskers. He averaged 8.6 points per game and was in double figures 15 times.

• Watson was one of five Husker freshmen to finish his initial campaign on NU's top-10 list for both freshmen points and assists, joining Eric Piatkowski (1991), Tyronn Lue (1996), Cookie Belcher (1997) and Jake Muhleisen (2002).
• Finished fourth among Big Ten freshmen in both assists and steals per game in 2015-16.
• His 2.44-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in 2015-16 was the best by a Husker guard in nearly a decade and the fourth-best over the last 30 years.

THIEVERY IS ELEMENTARY FOR WATSON
Sophomore guard Glynn Watson has been a defensive terror as of late. Over the last seven games, he has averaged 2.4 steals per game, including three games of at least four steals.

• He leads the Big Ten in steals at 2.1 per game and is one of only two Big Ten players averaging at least two steals per game entering the weekend.
• Watson has two of the four highest single-game totals in the Big Ten this year, as he had five against Dayton (Nov. 24) and Virginia Tech (Nov. 27).
• If Watson can keep up this pace, he can become only the sixth Husker to average at least two steals per game, joining Cookie Belcher, Erick Strickland, Eric Johnson, Venson Hamilton and Brian Carr.

MORROW ENJOYS BREAKOUT SEASON
Sophomore Ed Morrow Jr. has enjoyed a breakout season. One of the "Five Most Improved" players in the Big Ten by BTN analyst Shon Morris, Morrow has raised his scoring average from 4.1 points to 10.7 points per game on 58 percent shooting, while ranking among the Big Ten leaders with 8.0 rebounds per game. Morrow comes into Sunday's game with Gardner-Webb sixth in rebounding and 11th in field goal percentage.

• Turned in a strong effort at No. 3 Kansas, finishing with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and seven rebounds.
• Snagged a career-high 13 rebounds against No. 10 Creighton on Dec. 7, matching the highest rebound total by a Husker in seven years.
• Reached double figures six times in Nebraska's 10 games after reaching double figures just four times as a freshman.
• Earned his second career double-double at Clemson on Nov. 30, grabbing a then-career-high 12 rebounds and adding 10 points and a season-high three blocked shots.
• Collected his first career double-double against Dayton, scoring 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting and grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds in the 80-78 win.
• Reached double figures in the loss to Virginia Tech, scoring 13 points and grabbing seven boards, as he averaged 13.3 points and 8.0 rebounds during the three games at the Wooden Legacy.
• Morrow's mother, Nafeesah Brown, was a standout basketball player for the Huskers in the mid-1990s, as she averaged 16.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game during her Husker career. As a senior, she averaged 20.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game in earning first-team All-Big Eight honors.

RETURNING TO DEFENSIVE ROOTS
Some of the biggest strides Nebraska has made have come on the defensive side of the ball in 2016-17. Nebraska allowed 69.0 points per game last year, but are allowing 66.6 points per game entering Sunday's game.

• According to KenPom, NU's adjusted defensive efficiency is 39th nationally, which is impressive considering that NU has already faced six of the top 50 most efficient offenses in the country through Wednesday's games: UCLA (third); Kansas (fourth); Creighton (ninth), Virginia Tech (26th); Clemson (22nd) and Dayton (43rd).
• Nebraska has held three teams (Louisiana Tech, Clemson and Creighton) to season lows, while three other teams (UCLA, Virginia Tech and South Dakota) were limited to their second-lowest totals of the year.
• The Huskers have held six of their nine Division I opponents to 10 or more points below their season average and six teams to 1.00 point per possession or less.
• Nebraska has held five of their 10 opponents to under 40 percent shooting while only three teams (Kansas, UCLA and Creighton) has shot over 45 percent this season.
• Under Miles, NU is 42-14 over the past four-plus seasons when holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting.