Huskers Take on No. 21 Maryland Thursday Afternoon

GAME 33: vs. No. 21/21 MARYLAND Date: Thurs., March 14 Time: 1:30 p.m. (CT)  or 25 minutes following OSU/Indiana game Arena: United Center Tickets: Ticketmaster.com NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS 2018-19 Record: 17-15, 6-14 Big Ten Head coach: Tim Miles   Record at Nebraska: 114-112 (7th year)   Career Record: 397-332 (24th year) NO. 21/21 MARYLAND TERRAPINS 2018-19 Record: 22-9, 13-7 Big Ten Head coach: Mark Turgeon   Record at Maryland: 179-90 (8th year)   Career Record: 429-249 (21st year) BROADCAST INFO Television: BTN   Play-by-play: Brian Anderson   Analysis: Stephen Bardo    Sideline: Mike Hall Internet: Fox Sports app and BTN2Go 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. Satellite Radio: SiriusXM: Ch. 84 and Ch. 372

The Husker men's basketball team looks to continue its Big Ten Tournament Thursday afternoon, as the Nebraska takes on No. 21 Maryland.

Tipoff from the United Center is set for 1:30 p.m. (central) or 25 minutes following the end of the Ohio State/Indiana game and the game will be televised nationally on BTN with Brian Anderson, Stephen Bardo and Mike Hall on the call. The matchup will also be available on the Fox Sports App and BTN2Go with cable authentication.

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 both Sirius and XM 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 (17-15) look for a third straight win following a 68-61 victory over Rutgers on Wednesday in the first round. The Huskers got a career-high 34 points from James Palmer Jr., Nebraska overcame an early eight-point deficit and eventually took control with an 15-0 spurt late in the second half to put away the Scarlet Knights.
Palmer put together one of the finest performances of his career, scoring 27 of his 34 points in the second half en route to posting the second-highest total by a Husker in a conference tournament game.

Nebraska, which dressed just eight players because of injuries, got some unexpected performances in the win over Rutgers. Walk-on Johnny Trueblood sparked the bench effort, with three points, a team-high four steals and two assists in 20 minutes. Trueblood helped the Huskers force 22 Scarlet Knight turnovers.  The trio of Palmer, Glynn Watson Jr. (11 points, five assists) and Isaiah Roby (10 points, six rebounds, four blocked shots) accounted for 55 of the Huskers' 68 points.

Maryland (22-9) is the fifth seed and has been off since a 69-60 win over Minnesota on Friday evening. First-team All-Big Ten selections Bruno Fernando (14.0 ppg, 10.5 rpg) and Anthony Cowen (15.9 ppg, 4.3 apg) key a Maryland attack which averages 71.7 points per game and is among the nation's best in rebounding margin.

The winner of Thursday's game will play fourth-seeded Wisconsin Friday at 1:30 p.m. or 25 minutes following the conclusion of the Michigan State game against the winner of the Ohio State/Indiana game.

OPENING NUMBER
4 - Career 30-point games for James Palmer Jr. at Nebraska following his 34-point effort against Rutgers. Only four players in school history have had more 30-point games (Dave Hoppen - 7; Tyronn Lue - 7; Aleks Maric -6 and Jerry Fort - 5).

NUMBERS TO KNOW
6- Number of Huskers who have scored 600 points in a season, as James Palmer Jr. went over that total on Wednesday. Palmer now has 629 points, the most by a Husker since Tyronn Lue had 678 points in 1997-98.

27 - Number of 20-point games for Husker players in 2018-19. James Palmer Jr. has 16 while Isaac Copeland Jr. (three), Isaiah Roby (four) and Glynn Watson Jr. (four) also enjoyed 20-point games this season.

+38 - Johnny Trueblood's plus/minus over the last two games, which spans 52 minutes of action. Prior to the Iowa game last Sunday, Trueblood had played just 32 minutes all season and 61 minutes in his collegiate career..

69 - Number of 3-pointers for Glynn Watson Jr., which is eighth on NU's single-season list. He is one away from seventh place (Jaron Boone, 70, 1994-95).

260 - Number of free throws James Palmer Jr. has shot this year, a total that ranks fourth nationally as of March 13. Palmer set NU conference tournament records in both free throws made (14) and attempted (22) against Rutgers.

2007- The last time Nebraska had three players with 20+ points in a game before it happened against Iowa with James Palmer Jr. (27), Isaiah Roby (23) and Glynn Watson Jr. (23).

LAST NIGHT: NEBRASKA 68, RUTGERS 61
Behind an opportunistic defense and a big second half from James Palmer Jr., a depleted Nebraska men’s basketball team rallied for a 68-61 victory over Rutgers Wednesday night in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament at the United Center in Chicago.

Palmer scored 27 second-half points, including five points during a game-changing 15-0 run that turned a five-point Husker deficit with six minutes to play into a 61-51 lead with 1:30 remaining. Palmer finished with 34 points, tying his career high and finishing one point shy of the Big Ten Tournament scoring record.

While Palmer’s career night stole the headlines, it was Nebraska’s defense that keyed the victory. The Huskers forced 22 Rutgers turnovers, a season high for the Scarlet Knights and the third-most turnovers by any team in Big Ten Tournament history. NU recorded 12 steals – its second-highest total of the year – and scored 24 points off Rutgers turnovers.

Nebraska's defense keyed big runs in both halves. NU trailed for nearly all of the first half before holding Rutgers to just one field goal over the final six minutes of the half, allowing the Huskers to go on a 12-2 run to take a lead into the locker room. The Scarlet Knights then led for much of the second half, but Nebraska held Rutgers scoreless for nearly six minutes, during which time the Huskers mounted their game-changing 15-0 run.

WORTH NOTING

• Six of the eight all-time meetings against Maryland have been decided by five points or less.
• According to Kenpom, Nebraska's strength of schedule is sixth nationally as of March 13, as six of the 10 toughest schedules are by Big Ten teams.
• Since joining the Big Ten in 2011-12, this year will mark the fifth time in eight years that Nebraska has had a top-20 schedule according to the Kenpom rankings.
• Maryland will be the Huskers' 10th ranked opponent this season, matching a school record set four other times (1991-92, 1994-95, 2012-13 and 2015-16).
• Since returning from his grandfather's funeral following the Michigan game on Feb. 28, James Palmer Jr. is averaging 30.3 ppg on 45 percent shooting over the last three games.
• Palmer repeated as a first-team USBWA all-district pick on Tuesday, as he leads the Huskers in scoring (19.6 ppg) and assists (3.0 apg).
• Glynn Watson Jr. has been playing some of his best basketball down the stretch, averaging 18.8 ppg on 44 percent shooting over the last five games dating back to Feb. 23. Watson is also shooting 45 percent from 3-point range (18-of-40) in that stretch.
• Watson will match a school record on Thursday when he plays in his 131st game. He will tie Cookie Belcher, who played between 1997 and 2001 on top of the Husker record book
• Nebraska has a 1.32 assist-to-turnover ratio on the season, a total which ranks 34th nationally. It is on pace to be the Huskers' best assist-to-turnover ratio since the 1985-86 season (1.64-to-1).
• Nebraska is 36th nationally in offensive efficiency according to Kenpom through March 13. Only the 2003-04 team (25th) has had a more efficient offense in the Kenpom's rankings since the site began tracking data in 2000-01.
• Nebraska is 15-7 when averaging at least one point per possession this season, but 2-8 when held under one point per possession following Wednesday's win against Rutgers
• Nebraska will likely have just eight players available on Thursday against Maryland as Amir Harris (knee) and Thomas Allen (ankle) did not suit up against Rutgers. NU's limited bench of Brady Heiman and Johnny Trueblood stepped up against Rutgers with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting, five rebounds, two assists and four steals in a combined 32:35.
• Isaiah Roby has nine blocked shots in his last two Big Ten Tournament games (5 vs. Michigan, 4 vs. Rutgers) and is six blocks shy of Venson Hamilton's NU conference tournament record of 15 in six games (1996-99).
• James Palmer Jr. needs three assists to become the fifth player in school history to have 500 points and 100 assists in a season.