Huskers Head to KC for Hall of Fame Classic

Game 4: NU vs. MISSOURI STATE HALL OF FAME CLASSIC POWERED BY SHOTTRACKER Date: Monday, Nov. 20 Time: 6:01 p.m.  Location: Kansas City, Mo.  Arena: Sprint Center No. -/25 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS 2018-19 Record: 3-0, 0-0 Big Ten Head coach: Tim Miles   Record at Nebraska: 100-97 (7th year)   Career Record: 383-317 (24th year) MISSOURI STATE BEARS 2018-19 Record: 3-0, 0-0 MVC Head coach: Dana Ford   Record at Missouri State: 3-0 (1st year)    Career Record: 60-65 (5th year) BROADCAST INFO Television: ESPNU Play-by-play: Clay Matvick Analysis: Jon Sundvold Internet Video: ESPN app Radio: Husker Sports Network, including 590 AM (Omaha), 1400 AM (Lincoln) and 880 AM (Lexington) Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka Analysis: Jake Muhleisen Online Radio: Available online at Huskers.com, on the Huskers App and on TuneIn Radio and the TuneIn Radio App.

The Nebraska men's basketball team visits an old stomping ground this week, as the Huskers head to Kansas City for the Hall of Fame Classic Powered by ShotTracker.

The Huskers will tip off against Missouri State in the Sprint Center Monday evening at 6 p.m. while the nightcap features Texas Tech and USC at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are available by visiting Sprintcenter.com or Ticketmaster.com. Tuesday's schedule includes the third-place game at 6 p.m. and the title game at 8:30 p.m.

Monday's game will be carried nationally on ESPNU with Clay Matvick and Jon Sundvold on the call. The game is also available on the ESPN app. 

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

The Huskers, who are 3-0 and 25th in the most recent USA Today coaches poll, used a strong second half in pulling away from Seton Hall, 80-57, in the Gavitt Tipoff Games last Wednesday. James Palmer Jr. led all scorers with 29 points, including 18 in the second half, as Nebraska outscored the Pirates, 36-15, after the visitors pulled within 44-42. Fellow seniors Isaac Copeland Jr. and Glynn Watson Jr. also enjoyed big performances, as Copeland had 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Watson has 14 points and eight assists. 

Palmer leads the Huskers and is sixth in the Big Ten in scoring at 21.0 ppg while also averaging 4.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Palmer is tied for the team lead in blocked shots (1.7) and second on the team in assists and steals (1.7 spg). Watson and Copeland are also averaging double figures at 16.3 ppg, and 13.0 ppg, respectively, as the Huskers come to Kansas City averaging 91 points per game through the first three games to rank third in the Big Ten through Thursday's games. 

Nebraska faces another up-tempo squad in Missouri State, as the Bears are also 3-0 with all three wins coming in double figures. Senior guard Jarred Dixon leads Missouri State with 18.7 points per game while junior guard KeAndre Cook is at 17.7 ppg, as the team is averaging 80.3 points per game under first-year coach Dana Ford.

OPENING NUMBER

4.67-1 - Assist-to-turnover ratio for Nebraska senior guard Glynn Watson Jr. over the first three games. Watson is also averaging 16.7 ppg on 61 percent shooting.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

1992- The last time Nebraska opened the year with three games of 80 or more points before 2018-19. That was also the last time the Huskers won their first three games by at least 20 points.

29- Points by James Palmer Jr. vs. Seton Hall. It was the second-highest mark of his career and the sixth time in his career he has scored at least 25 points. 

.917 - With Sunday's win, Nebraska is now 33-3 under Tim Miles when scoring 80-or-more points, including 18-1 in the past two-plus seasons. 

9 - The Huskers have had nine runs of at least 10-0 in the first three contests, including a 22-0 run against Southeastern Louisiana. 

106 - Nebraska's point total in the opener against Mississippi Valley State. It was the Huskers' highest total since scoring 107 against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 19, 2005, and was the 17th-highest total in school history. 

SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE First-year Coach Dana Ford has gotten Missouri State off to a fast start, as the Bears have wins over Oral Roberts (84-50), Robert Morris (74-60) and Stetson (83-70) before heading to Kansas City. Prior to taking the Missouri State job, Ford spent four years at Tennessee State where he took the school from a 5-26 mark in his first season to 20-11 the following year. In his final three seasons, Tennessee State was 52-39.

The Bears returned just three letterwinners from a team that went 18-16. Jarred Dixon, the brother of former Missouri guard Michael Dixon, is the Bears top returnee as he made 20 starts and averaged 9.1 points per game. Obediah Church started 31 games last season and led the MVC in blocked shots in each of the past two years. 

Series history: Nebraska and Missouri State have met only once, a 98-46 Husker win on Jan. 15, 1983. Terry Smith led four Huskers in double figures with 18 points, as Nebraska shot 63 percent from the field.

LAST TIME OUT James Palmer Jr. scored 18 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, as No. 25 (Coaches) Nebraska improved to 3-0 with an 80-57 victory over Seton Hall Wednesday night in the Gavitt Tipoff Games. 

Palmer shook off a slow start and shined in the second half, as his 3-pointer sparked the decisive 9-2 Husker run after Seton Hall pulled to within 44-42 with 13:32 remaining and helped build a nine-point lead, at 53-44, after a Thomas Allen 3-pointer. 

Seton Hall got to within 57-48 after a Michael Nzei basket with just under 10 minute remaining, but could not cut into the Husker lead, as Nebraska stretched out the margin in the final few minutes.  Behind the play of Palmer and fellow seniors Isaac Copeland Jr. (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Glynn Watson Jr. (14 points, eight assists), the Huskers outscored the Pirates 36-15 down the stretch to pick up their 14th straight win at Pinnacle Bank Arena. 

Nebraska shot 59 percent in the second half, while holding the Pirates to 33 percent shooting after halftime. On the night, NU kept Seton Hall (1-1) to 36 percent shooting, including 2-of-16 from 3-point range.

POSTGAME NOTES VS. SETON HALL

• James Palmer Jr. finished with a game-high 29 points, the second-highest total of his career and ninth career 20-point game. 
• Isaac Copeland Jr. posted his fifth career double-double and fourth as a Husker with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
• Nebraska has scored 80 or more points in each of the first three games, the first time the Huskers have done that since the 1992-93 season.
• Tim Miles won his 100th game at Nebraska, becoming the fifth Husker coach to reach the milestone.
• With the win, Nebraska snapped a seven-game losing streak to Big East teams.  It was also NU's first Gavitt Games win in three tries.
• Nebraska held Seton Hall to 2-of-16 shooting from 3-point range. Opponents are now 6-of-48 (12.5 percent) from beyond the arc this season.

WORTH NOTING

• Nebraska's games at the Sprint Center this week are the program's first since the 2011 Big 12 Tournament. 
• While Nebraska makes its debut in the Hall of Fame Classic, three members of the program have played or coached in the Sprint Center. NU assistant Armon Gates was on the Northwestern staff for the 2015 Hall of Fame Classic, while Head Coach Tim Miles brought his Colorado State team to play Kansas in the Sprint Center in 2010. CSU's starting point guard that day was current Husker graduate manager Dorian Green. 
• The Huskers are bidding for their third 4-0 start under Miles with the others coming in 2012-13 and 2016-17. 
• With a win on Monday, Tim Miles will match Doc Sadler for fourth on Nebraska's career victories list with 101. 

AN NCAA FIRST IN KANSAS CITY NEXT WEEK The four teams in Kansas City for the Hall of Fame Classic Powered by ShotTracker will have the use of the ShotTracker Team app on iPads. The NCAA granted a waiver making the Hall of Fame Classic the first set of games in Division I history where coaches will have access to real-time advanced analytics on a handheld device during live competition.  

• Each student-athlete will wear a ShotTracker sensor, and games will be played with a ShotTracker-enabled Wilson basketball. ShotTracker teamed up with Wilson Sporting Goods to ensure an embedded smart sensor will be undetectable in game play.
• Via the ShotTracker Team and Fan apps, ShotTracker’s technology will provide a wide array of resources to coaches, players and fans alike, including interactive shot charts, real-time lineup efficiencies and possession-based statistics. ShotTracker will also offer live analytics integration into Hall of Fame Classic telecasts on the ESPN networks, creating a never-before-seen experience for viewers at home.

DOING IT WITH DEFENSE

Nebraska’s biggest improvements came on the defensive end in 2017-18, going from 13th to 6th in the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense and from 14th to second in 3-point percentage defense. NU ranked in the top-75 nationally in both field goal defense (74th) and 3-point percentage defense (32nd) last season. That has continued in the early stages of the 2018-19 season. 

• Although it is early in the season, Nebraska is third nationally in scoring defense (43.0 ppg), second in field goal defense (.268), first in 3-point defense (.125) and 12th in blocked shots (7.3 bpg).
• Nebraska has not allowed an opponent to shoot over 50 percent in 29 straight games dating back to last season, including 12 straight foes held to under 50 percent shooting. 
• Under Miles, the Huskers are 46-5 (.902) when holding opponents under 60 points. 
• NU has limited all three opponents to under 0.85 points per possession. Mississippi Valley State and Southeastern Louisiana both were held to 0.47 points per possession, the lowest number in Tim Miles' seven years. 

WHAT'S BACK FOR THE BIG RED The Huskers welcomed back three starters and nine letterwinners from a team that went 22-11 and finished tied for fourth in the Big Ten with a 13-5 mark. The group includes All-Big Ten performers James Palmer Jr. and Isaac Copeland and three-year starter Glynn Watson Jr., all of whom averaged double figures in 2017-18. NU also returns junior forward Isaiah Roby, who started 13 of NU’s final 14 games - all but Senior Night -  and led NU in both rebounding (6.3 rpg) and blocked shots (2.0 bpg). 

• It is only the third time in the last 15 seasons that Nebraska returns at least 70 percent of its scoring from the previous season.
• Nebraska's 3,432 returning points ranks 13th nationally entering the 2018-19 season. Among Big Ten programs, only Iowa, which has 4,246 returning points, has more points returning than the Big Red. 
• Entering the season, Nebraska's returnees have combined for 160 career starts for the Big Red and 214 games at the Division I level. Copeland (49 starts at Georgetown) and Palmer (five starts at Miami) both cracked the starting lineups at their previous schools before coming to Nebraska. 

NEW NUMBER, SAME GAME FOR PALMER While senior guard James Palmer Jr. switched from No. 24 to No. 0 in the offseason, the All-American candidate continues to produce at a high level. The 6-foot-6 guard comes to the Hall of Fame Classic averaging 21.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. He comes off a strong performance against Seton Hall, finishing with 29 points and six rebounds. 

• He is first or second on the Huskers in scoring (first), blocks (first), assists (second) and steals (second).
• Palmer has scored his points in bunches with three halves of at least 15 points in Nebraska's first three games. He had 15 points by halftime of each of the first two games while he had 18 second-half points against Seton Hall. 
• Palmer has become a more efficient playmaker, raising his assist-to-turnover rate from 1.38-to-1 last year to 3.67-to-1 in 2018-19. 
• Palmer has shown the ability to get to the free throw line often, as he is second nationallly in both free throws made and attempted through Thursday's games. In fact, Palmer has been to the line (37) almost as many times as NU's first three opponents (40). 
• Palmer has reached double figures in 34 of 36 career games at Nebraska, including each of the last 17 dating back to Jan. 15, 2018.

Last season, Palmer averaged 17.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in leading the Huskers to a 22-11 record and an NIT berth.   Last year, Palmer reached double figures in 31 of 33 games in his first season at Nebraska, including eight 20-point efforts. Palmer’s junior year was highlighted by a career-high 34-point effort at Ohio State. Palmer joins Purdue's Carsen Edwards as returning first-team All-Big Ten selections by the conference coaches. 

• Palmer averaged 18.8 points per game in Big Ten play last year, which is the highest average in conference play since Aleks Maric averaged 18.9 ppg in 2006-07. It is also the most by a returning Big Ten player since Tim Frazier in 2012-13.
• Palmer is one of only five returning power conference players who averaged 17.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 3.0 apg last season

WATSON KEYS HUSKER ATTACK For Coach Tim Miles, senior Glynn Watson Jr. is a luxury, as he begins his fourth year as Nebraska's starting guard. Watson moved into the role midway through his freshman year and has made his mark in the Husker program.  Watson comes into Monday's game averaging 16.3 points per game on 61 percent shooting, including 9-of-15 from 3-point range.He also is averaging 4.7 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. He turned in a solid performance in the win over Seton Hall with 14 points and a season-high eight assists. 

• Watson enters Monday's game needing 27 points to tie Tai Webster for 26th place on NU's scoring list. He is also four steals away from matching Brandon Richardson for eighth place on NU's career chart.
• Watson's return marks the 10th time in program history that the Huskers had a returning 1,000-point scorer and the first since Shavon Shields in the 2015-16 campaign. 
• With 1,090 points, Watson is one of two Huskers with 1,000 career points, as Isaac Copeland has 1,092 career points between his time at Georgetown and Nebraska. James Palmer Jr. is 111 points away from reaching 1,000 for his career.
• Watson has a career 2.12-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and has more steals (141) than turnovers (134) in his career. 
• Watson's older brother Demetri McCamey was an All-Big Ten guard at Illinois during the 2009-10 season.
• Watson is one of three alumni of St. Joseph to reach 1,000 points at Nebraska, joining Carl Hayes (1,136, 1990-92) and Clifford Scales (1,136, 1988-91). All three played for legendary high school coach Gene Pingatore, who is in his 50th year as coach at St. Joseph and has won over 1,000 games at the school. 

ISAAC MAKES IT TOUGH FOR OPPONENTS TO COPE Isaac Copeland Jr. is back to make the most of his senior year. The 6-foot-9 forward joined the program in January of 2017, but then was unable to practice because of a herniated disc that eventually required surgery. Despite not being able to practice until school started, Copeland finished second on the team scoring (12.9 ppg), rebounding (6.1 rpg) and blocked shots (1.0 bpg), setting personal bests in all three areas and earning honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors in his first season at Nebraska. 

Copeland is averaging 13.0 points on 58 percent shooting, along with 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game in the early going, as he has been in double figures all three games. He had his best game of the young season against Seton Hall with 18 points and 10 rebounds in leading NU to an 80-57 win. 

• Copeland collected his fifth career double-double against the Pirates, as he had one during his redshirt year (2016-17) and three in 2017-18. 
• He has nine career 20-point games (5 at Nebraska, 4 at Georgetown), including a pair of 30-point games. Copeland had 30 points on 12-of-14 shooting against North Dakota last year and a career-high 32-point night against Marquette during his sophomore year at Georgetown. 
• A top-20 recruit coming out of high school, his 2014 Brewster Academy team also featured Donovan Mitchell (Utah), Devonte' Graham (Charlotte) and Jonah Bolden (Philadephia).
• Copeland earned his undergraduate degree in sociology last May and is working on his Master's Degree. He comes from a basketball family, as his father (Ike) played collegiately at East Carolina. As a senior, he helped East Carolina make the NCAA Tournament. 

ROBY'S 50-50 CLUB Junior forward Isaiah Roby is one of only two returning power conference players to total 50 blocks and 50 assists last season, joining Missouri’s Jontay Porter, who will miss the 2018-19 season with a torn ACL. Last year, Roby led the Huskers in blocked shots and was fourth in assists despite starting just 13 contests. He moved into the starting lineup during the second half of the season, as the Huskers won 10 of their last 12 Big Ten contests.

Roby is also one of four Huskers to ever have 50 blocks and 50 assists in a season, joining Aleks Maric, Venson Hamilton and Rich King. Roby's 63 blocked shots last season ranked 10th in school history and was the most by a Husker since Kimani Ffriend in 2000-01.

Roby has been efficient offensively in the opening three games, averaging 7.7 points per game on 70 percent shooting, as he has taken just 10 shots. He is also 8-of-10 from the line and leads NU in steals (2.0 spg) while ranking third in rebounding (5.3 rpg) and blocked shots (1.3 bpg).

• His dunk on Wednesday against Seton Hall marked the fourth time he's had a top-10 play on SportsCenter during his career, including highlight dunks vs. Rutgers (2018) and at Indiana (2016). 
• Nebraska is 15-4 since moving Roby into the starting lineup midway through Big Ten play last season. Roby has all four of his career double-doubles in that stretch.

HUSKERS LOOK TO CONTINUE BLOCK PARTY Nebraska's length has caused problems for opponents over the last two seasons. Last season, the Huskers were seventh nationally in blocked shots with 5.5 blocks per game and are currently 12th nationally with 7.3 blocks per game entering the Hall of Fame Classic. 

• Nebraska has had at least six blocked shots in each of the first three games. Currently, four Huskers are averaging at least 1.0 block per game. 
• Palmer blocked a career-high three shots in the win over MVSU on Nov. 6, while Isaac Copeland had three blocks in NU's win over Seton Hall on Nov. 14.
• The 5.5 blocks per game in 2017-18 were the highest total since the 1996-97 team blocked a school-record 6.1 shots per game. 
• Nebraska returns a pair of players who averaged at least one block per game last year in Isaiah Roby (2.0 bpg) and Isaac Copeland (1.0 bpg). Roby’s 63 blocked shots were the most by a Husker since 2001.

IT (DOUBLE) FIGURES Nebraska returns three double-figure scorers (James Palmer Jr., 17.2, Isaac Copeland Jr., 12.9 and Glynn Watson Jr. 10.5) for the first time since the 1992-93 season (Eric Piatkowski, 14.3; Derrick Chandler, 12.3; Jamar Johnson, 11.2). Prior to last Tuesday, that was also the last season that Nebraska scored 100 or more points in an opener.  During the 1992-93 season, the Huskers won 20 games and finished tied for second in the Big Eight Conference.

• In Tim Miles' first six seasons, the Huskers returned a total of six double-figure scorers.  
• With the return of junior Isaiah Roby, Nebraska brings back its top-four scorers for the first time since 2003-04. 

FILLING UP PINNACLE BANK ARENA Pinnacle Bank Arena will be full once again in 2018-19, as the NU Athletic Ticket Office announced on September 25 that general public season tickets are sold out for the upcoming season. It is the fourth time in the past six seasons that the Huskers have sold out their entire season allotment of tickets at Pinnacle Bank Arena. In all, nearly 15,000 season tickets have been sold for the 2018-19 season, including the Red Zone student section. Most of the available single-game tickets for the entire season have been sold as well.  

Since moving into PBA in 2013-14, the Huskers have ranked in the top-15 in attendance nationally all five years, and are one of only nine schools in the country to average 15,000+ fans per contest in that span.  

PROTECTING THE VAULT The Huskers have been strong at protecting its home court at Pinnacle Bank Arena since it opened in 2013-14. 

• NU has won its last 14 games at home following the 80-67 win over Seton Hall on Nov. 14. The 14-game win streak is the longest among power conference schools and sixth-longest home win streak nationally. It is NU's longest home win streak since winning 14 straight to open the 2010-11 campaign.
• NU has posted a 62-24 (.721) record in Pinnacle Bank Arena since it opened in 2013. Against non-conference foes, NU is 34-7 in PBA (.829).
• Nebraska went 16-1 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2017-18 with the only loss coming in a one-point setback against then-No. 13 Kansas on Dec. 16.  NU's .941 home winning percentage was the best since the 1982-83 campaign, while the 16 home wins was one shy of the school record. 
• Nebraska went a perfect 9-0 at home in Big Ten play in 2017-18 and won its two Big Ten home games against ranked teams by an average of 15.0 points per game. NU's 9-0 mark - the only unbeaten mark in the Big Ten - marked the first time the Huskers went unbeaten in conference play at home since the 1965-66 season.