Huskers Resume Big Ten Action on Tuesday

GAME 16: AT NORTHWESTERN Date: Tuesday, Jan. 2 Time: 8:01 p.m. Location: Rosemont, Ill. Arena: Allstate Arena NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS 2017-18 Record: 10-5, 1-1 Big Ten Head coach: Tim Miles Record at Nebraska: 85-91 (6th year) Career Record: 368-311 (23rd year) NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS 2017-18 Record: 10-5, 1-1 Big Ten Head coach: Chris Collins Record at Northwestern: 83-65 (5th year) Career Record: Same BROADCAST INFO Television: BTN Play-by-play: Brian Anderson Analysis: Jon Crispin Internet Video: BTN2Go and Fox Sports Go Radio: Husker Sports Network, including 590 AM (Omaha), 1400 AM (Lincoln) and 880 AM (Lexington) Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka Analysis: Matt Davison Online Radio: Available online at Huskers.com, on the Huskers App and on TuneIn Radio and the TuneIn Radio App

Nebraska rings in 2018 on Tuesday night, as the Huskers return to Big Ten action with a matchup at Northwestern. Tipoff from Allstate Arena just outside Chicago is set for shortly after 8 p.m. (central).

Tuesday's game will be televised nationally on BTN with Brian Anderson and Jon Crispin on the call. The game is also available on BTN.com, BTN2Go and the Fox Sports Go app.

Fans can follow all of the action across the state of Nebraska on the IMG Husker Sports Network with Kent Pavelka and Matt Davison on the call. The game will also be available on Huskers.com, on the Huskers app, on TuneIn Radio and on the TuneIn Radio app. The radio broadcast begins one hour prior to tipoff.

Nebraska (10-5) looks for its season-best fourth straight win following a 71-62 win over Stetson on Friday night. The Huskers overcame a rough shooting night with its depth, as the NU bench combined for 28 points, 19 rebounds and five blocked shots. Tanner Borchardt and Anton Gill keyed the Huskers reserves against the Hatters. Borchardt, a former walk-on who was put on scholarship on Dec. 22, had eight points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots in 14 second-half minutes, while Gill continued his string of solid performances with 12 points, including a team-high three 3-pointers.

Nebraska has relied on its balance during the first half of the season. The Huskers, whose 10-5 start is the program's best 15-game mark since 2010-11, have four players average double figures, led by James Palmer Jr's 15.1 points per game. Of NU's four top scorers, only Glynn Watson Jr. played in Big Ten action last year, as Anton GIll was out with a knee injury, while Palmer (Miami) and Isaac Copeland (Georgetown) were sitting out after transferring.

The Northwestern game begins a stretch where three of the Huskers' next four games are on the road, including a pair of games this week against 2017 NCAA Tournament teams.

Northwestern is 10-5 on the season following a 95-73 win over Brown on Saturday. Dererk Pardon's 18 points led five Wildcats in double figures, as Northwestern shot 57 percent in the second half. Scottie Lindsey's 14.7 points per game leads a Northwestern attack that features four Wildcats averaging at least 12 points per game.

OPENING NUMBER
2010-11 - The last time that Nebraska had 10 wins by the end of December. That year, NU won 13 of its first 15 games and was 10-2 at the end of December.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
1 - Anton Gill is the only player in the Big Ten averaging double figures (10.6 ppg) who has not started a game this season. Gill also leads the Huskers with 31 3-pointers.1 - Anton Gill is the only player in the Big Ten averaging double figures (10.6 ppg) who has not started a game this season. Gill also leads the Huskers with 31 3-pointers.

1.32 - Nebraska's assist-to-turnover ratio which is on pace to be NU's best in more than 20 years. Since 1997-98, the Huskers' best assist-to-turnover ratio was 1.24 in 2001-02.

5.0 - Nebraska is one of the most improved 3-point shooting teams among power conference programs. Entering this week, only five power conference teams have improved their 3-point shooting by at least five percent.   

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
Northwestern enters 2018 with a 10-5 record after a 95-73 victory over Brown on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats, who returned four starters from its first-ever NCAA Tournament team for Coach Chris Collins, got off to a slow start and split its first six games, including losses to Creighton, Texas Tech and Georgia Tech, before rounding into form. Northwestern has won five of its last six games with the only loss coming to No. 17 Oklahoma in Norman on Dec. 22. In that game, the Wildcats were without Vic Law, a factor in NU allowing 17 3-pointers and allowing the Sooners to shoot 61 percent.

Against Brown, Northwestern trailed in the second half before pulling away in the final minutes. Dereck Pardon led NU with 18 points and eight rebounds on Saturday, but the Wildcats were without Bryant McIntosh for a good portion of the second half with a knee injury. McIntosh is a four-year starter at point guard who has started 113 games for the Wildcats and ranks among the NCAA active leaders with 633 assists. Senior Scottie Lindsey leads the Wildcats in scoring at 14.7 point per game and earned All-Big Ten honors in 2017, while Vic Law averages 13.5 points per game and is shooting 46 percent from 3-point range. Pardon averages 12.1 points per game while shooting 64 percent from the field. He also has a team-high 22 blocked shots and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game.

SERIES HISTORY
Nebraska and Northwestern meet for the 14th time on Tuesday, as the Huskers hold a 7-6 lead in a series that dates back to 1933. The Huskers are 4-5 against the Wildcats since joining the Big Ten, as Nebraska won four in a row from 2013-15 before Northwestern swept the last four matchups. Nebraska's last win in Evanston was a 53-49 win on Feb. 8, 2014.

LAST TIME VS. NORTHWESTERN
Despite a game-high 23 points from Tai Webster, Northwestern pulled away down the stretch for 73-62 victory over the Huskers on Jan 26, 2017. Webster tallied 23 points and six rebounds, while Glynn Watson Jr. added 14, but the Huskers shot just 37 percent and saw Northwestern pull away with a 16-1 spurt late to open up a close game.Dererk Pardon led Northwestern with 19 points and 22 rebounds to pace three Wildcats in double figures. Vic Law led Northwestern with 20 points, while Isiah Brown had 10 points off the bench. 

LAST TIME OUT
Isaac Copeland and James Palmer Jr. had 13 points apiece to pace four Huskers in double figures, but it was the performance of junior forward Tanner Borchardt that sparked the Huskers to a 71-62 win over Stetson Friday night. Borchardt, who was put on scholarship a week ago, had eight points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in the second half, setting personal bests in all three categories, as Nebraska held Stetson to just 36 percent shooting in the second half.

Borchardt keyed a strong performance by the Husker bench in a decisive 10-0 spurt that wrestled control of the contest, grabbing four rebounds in the spurt and hitting a pair of free throws after the Hatters tied the score at 48. Thomas Allen started the run with four straight points, including a steal and layup that gave NU the lead for good. Palmer then closed the run with four points to extend the Huskers’ lead to 10, at 58-48.Stetson closed to within 58-52 before Copeland’s 3-point play with 2:56 remaining keyed a 5-0 NU run that pushed the lead back to 63-54. The visitors stayed within striking distance down the stretch and was within 68-62 on a Divine Myles basket with 16 seconds left, but would get no closer, as Gill split a pair of free throws before Palmer’s steal and dunk sealed Nebraska’s ninth non-conference win. 

ABOUT NEBRASKA
*-Nebraska comes into Tuesday's game with a 10-5 record with all five losses coming to teams in the top 65 of the RPI.

*-The Huskers are averaging 75.8 points per game entering Tuesday's contest, the highest scoring mark through 15 games since the 1995-96 averaged 87.5 points per game in that stretch. The Huskers are 10-1 when scoring at least 70 points, including six games of at least 80 points. 

*- Nebraska's biggest strength has been a balanced attack with four players averaging double figures, led by James Palmer Jr., who averages a team-high 15.1 points per game. Eight Huskers have reached double figures while four players have enjoyed 20-point outings in 2017-18. The last time NU had four-or-more players average double figures was during the 1993-94 campaign.

*-Nebraska relies on a pair of transfers in James Palmer Jr. (Miami) and Isaac Copeland (Georgetown), as the pair combines for more 27 points per game. Palmer has reached double figures 14 times in 15 contests, including a season-high 25 points against UTSA on Dec. 20. Copeland leads the Huskers in rebounding at 6.7 per game and is second in both scoring (12.1) and blocked shots (1.1 bpg). Copeland posted first double-double of the season at Creighton on Dec. 9 with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

*- Junior Glynn Watson Jr. is in his third season guiding the Husker offense and is among NU's leaders in both scoring (12.0 ppg, third), assists (3.3, first) and steals (1.7, first). The 6-foot guard will make his team-high 61st career start on Tuesday and has 2.2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio this season. Watson also is quickly climbing NU's career scoring list and needs just 24 points on Friday to reach 900 for his career.

*- Nebraska has been getting strong performance from its bench throughout the season, averaging 24.4 points per game from its bench, including 33.6 over the last three games.  Senior guard Anton Gill tops all Big Ten reserves at 10.6 points per game while sophomore Isaiah Roby averages 6.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. 

*- Anton Gill ranks third among all power conference players who have not started a game in 2017-18. Gill has been in double figures in each of the last three games, averaging 15.7 points per game along with 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists.

*- One of the main emphasis for Tim Miles and his staff in the offseason was improving the Huskers' 3-point efforts on both ends of the court. Last year, NU was in 300th or worse in both 3-point shooting and 3-point defense. This season, the Huskers are in the upper half of the Big Ten in both 3-point percentage and 3-point defense. NU has six players with at least 10 3-pointers, and that does not include Jack McVeigh, who was second on the team in 3-pointers last year. In 2016-17, NU had just four players hit 10-or-more 3-pointers in 31 games. 

*- Glynn Watson Jr. and Northwestern guard Jordan Ash were teammates at Westchester St. Joseph High School, winning the Illinois Class 3A title in 2015. St. Joseph High School has also produced two of NU's 27 1,000-point scorers in Clifford Scales and Carl Hayes. 

*- Watson is one of three Illinois natives on the Husker roster, joining Nana Akenten (Bolingbrook) and Isaiah Roby (Dixon). 

*- 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. As an assistant at DePaul, the Blue Demons played in Allstate Arena.