Huskers Battle Red Raiders for Title

No. -/24 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS 2018-19 Record: 4-0, 0-0 Big Ten Head coach: Tim Miles     Record at Nebraska: 101-97 (7th year)     Career Record: 384-317 (24th year) TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS 2018-19 Record: 4-0, 0-0 Big 12 Head coach: Chris Beard     Record at Texas Tech: 49-24 (3rd year)     Career Record:145-54 (7th year) BROADCAST INFO Television: ESPN2    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 looks for its first in-season tournament title since 2000 on Tuesday evening, as the Huskers take on Texas Tech in the title game of the Hall of Fame Classic Powered by ShotTracker.

The Huskers and Red Raiders will tip off at 8:30 p.m. following the third-place game between Missouri State and USC.  Tickets are available by visiting Sprintcenter.com or Ticketmaster.com.

Tuesday's game will be carried nationally on ESPN2 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 (affiliate list on page 7 of the game notes).

The Huskers, who are 4-0 and 24th in Monday's USA Today coaches poll, got a strong performance from Isaac Copeland Jr. in the Huskers' 85-62 win over Missouri State. The senior forward led NU with 23 points and seven rebounds to pace four Huskers in double figures. Copeland is averaging 20.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg in the Huskers' last two contests.

Copeland is one of three Husker seniors averaging at least 15.0 points per game for the Big Red. James Palmer Jr. leads the Huskers at 17.8 ppg, while Glynn Watson Jr. is at 16.3 ppg, as Nebraska comes into Wednesday's game averaging 89.5 points per game. In all, the Huskers have four players averaging double figures and two more with at least 7.5 points per game, while the Huskers have averaged 20 assists per game in the first four contests.

The Huskers will face their stiffest test of the young season, as Texas Tech is 4-0 on the season following a 78-63 win over USC on Monday. The Red Raiders overcame a 13-point first-half deficit by shooting 80 percent in the second half. Tariq Owens and Jarrett Culver led the Red Raiders with 18 points apiece as four Texas Tech players finished in double figures.

The title game will feature a pair of stingy defenses, as Nebraska has allowed just 47.8 points per game on 30 percent shooting, while Texas Tech is at 48.0 ppg while holding opponents to a 33 percent clip.

OPENING NUMBER
2010-11
The last time Nebraska won four consecutive games by at least 20 points. NU had a four-game stretch between Dec. 18, 2010-Jan. 3, 2011 with a quartet of 20-plus point victories

NUMBERS TO KNOW

1992 - The last time Nebraska opened the year with four games of 80 or more points before 2018-19. Nebraska has never scored 80+ in five consecutive games to open a season.

.918 - With Monday's win, Nebraska is now 34-3 under Tim Miles when scoring 80-or-more points, including 19-1 in the past two-plus seasons.

47.8- Points per game allowed by the Huskers which is second in the Big Ten.

7.0- Nebraska has averaged 7.0 blocked shots per gameas four players (Isiaah Roby, James Palmer Jr., Isaac Copeland Jr. and  Brady Heiman) are averaging a block per game.

9 - The Huskers have had nine runs of at least 10-0 in the first four contests, including a 22-0 run against Southeastern Louisiana. The longest run vs. NU this year is seven points.

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. 

LAST TIME OUT
Isaac Copeland Jr. led four Huskers with 23 points, as No. 24 (coaches) Nebraska improved to 4-0 with an 85-62 victory over Missouri State in the Hall of Fame Classic Powered by ShotTracker.

Copeland hit 9-of-14 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers and added seven rebounds and four assists in posting his first 20-point game of the season and 10th of his collegiate career.

Glynn Watson Jr. added 16 points and four assists, while Isaiah Roby and Nana Akenten added 13 and 11 markers, respectively. Roby also had seven boards and four assists, while Akenten had a trip of 3-pointers in 18 minutes off the bench as Nebraska posted its fourth straight win by at least 20 points.

Nebraska shot 51 percent from the field, including 13 3-points, while blistering the nets at 59 percent after halftime to pull away down the stretch after the Bears kept it close for most of the first 30 minutes.

Missouri State got to 43-37 after a dunk by Obediah Church, but Nebraska rallied for seven straight points, the last coming off a steal and layup by Allen to make it 50-37 with 14:35 left.  The Bears (3-1) got to within 64-53 after a basket from Deandre Cook, but Nebraska used another 7-0 run to put the game out of reach, pushing the lead to 18, at 71-53 with 5:51 remaining.  Cook led MSU with 22 points, while Garred Dixon and Kabir Mohammed added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

WORTH NOTING

• Nebraska will be looking for its first in-season tournament title since the 2000 San Juan Shootout. 
• Kansas City has been the site of two of NU's tournament titles, as the Huskers won the Big Eight Tournament title in 1994 and the Big Eight Holiday Tournament in 1967.
• The Huskers will be looking for their first 5-0 start since opening the 2008-09 season with a 6-0 record.
• Nebraska Assistant Coach Michael Lewis served as a graduate assistant at Texas Tech from 2002 to 2004.
• Texas Tech basketball chief of staff Tim MacAllister is the husband of Nebraska rifle coach Ashley MacAllister. Before working at Texas Tech, he was on the Creighton staff.
• With a win tonight, Tim Miles will pass Doc Sadler for fourth on Nebraska's career victories list with 102 wins.

OLD CONFERENCE RIVALS MEET
Tonight's meeting with Texas Tech is the Huskers' first against the Red Raiders since the Huskers joined the Big Ten prior to the 2011-12 season. Nebraska is 16-10 all-time against the Red Raiders and the teams have met only one other time at a neutral site, a 69-50 Husker win at Kemper Arena on March 4, 1999.

HUSKERS DOING IT WITH DEFENSE
Nebraska has been stingy on the defensive end during the early portion of the year. NU has limited all four opponents to under 0.90 points per possession, including 0.47 against Mississippi Valley State and Southeastern Louisiana.

• The Huskers rank in the top two in the Big Ten in points allowed (47.8, second), field goal percentage defense (.302, 2nd) and 3-point defense (.181, 2nd).
• Nebraska has not allowed an opponent to shoot over 50 percent in 30 straight games dating back to last season, including 13 straight foes held to under 50 percent shooting.

ON THE WATCH

• Nebraska is looking to score 80 or more points for the fifth straight game which would mark the first time that’s happened since a 10-game stretch from Nov. 25-Dec. 29. That season, the first and last games of the streak were both against Oregon.
• Glynn Watson Jr. comes into tonight's game with 1,106 career points wh is 27th on NU's career list. He needs 10 points to tie Tai Webster (1,116, 26th) and 19 points to match Ryan Anderson (1,125, 25th).  Watson is also three steals away from eighth place on NU's steals list (Brandon Richardson, 145).
• James Palmer Jr. has typically bounced back well following poor performances. In the two games after being held out of double figures last year, Palmer averaged 23.0 ppg on 56 percent shooting in the Huskers' next contest.

 

AN NCAA FIRST in KANSAS CITY THIS 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.