Husker Head to Omaha for Matchup with Creighton

The Husker men's basketball team looks for its second straight win in the annual in-state matchup, as Nebraska makes the short trek up I-80 to take on the Creighton Bluejays Saturday afternoon. It is Nebraska's longest running non-conference series
and enters Saturday's game deadlocked at 26 wins apiece. 

Tipoff at the CHI Center in Omaha is set for 1:31 p.m., and the matchup between the Huskers and Bluejays will be televised on FS1 with Vince Welch and Nick Bahe on the call. The game will also be available on the Fox Sports app on tablets, computers and mobile devices.

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

Nebraska (4-4) could not overcome a poor shooting night in a 73-56 loss at Georgia Tech on Wednesday. The Huskers, playing their first road game, shot 32 percent from the field, including 25 percent in the second half, as the Yellow Jackets pulled away down the stretch. Georgia Tech's Michael Devoe led all players with 26 pointers. 
 

GAME 9: NEBRASKA AT CREIGHTON Date: Sat., Dec. 7 Time: 1:31 p.m.   Location: Omaha, Neb. Arena:CHI Health Center NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS 2019-20 Record: 4-4 Head coach: Fred Hoiberg     Record at Nebraska: 4-4 (1st year)     Career NCAA Record: 119-60 (6th year) CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS 2019-20 Record: 6-2 Head coach: Greg McDermott     Record at Creighton: 213-111 (10th year)     Career Record: 493-306 (26th year) BROADCAST INFO Television: FS1     Play-by-play: Vince Welch     Analyst: Nick Bahe Online Broadcast: Fox Sports App Radio: Learfield-IMG Husker Sports Network, including 590 AM (Omaha), 1400 AM (Lincoln) and 880 AM (Lexington)     Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka         Analyst: Jake Muhleisen Online Radio: Available on Huskers.com, Huskers App, TuneIn.com/Huskers and TuneIn App.  SiriusXM (Internet): Ch. 982

Senior guard Haanif Cheatham was a bright spot in a losing effort, as he posted his first career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds to lead four Huskers in double figures. It marked his fourth consecutive double-figure scoring effort, a stretch where Cheatham is averaging 18 points per game.

The Huskers' offense has been balanced during the early portion of the season with three players averaging over 12 points per game and a fourth in double figures, Much of that has been due to the play of point guard Cam Mack, as the sophomore is among the Big Ten leaders with 6.0 assists per game, while averaging 12.4 points per contest. Mack had 11 points and six assists in the loss at Georgia Tech. 

Creighton is 6-2 on the season following a 72-60 win over Oral Roberts on Tuesday. In that game, Christian Bishop's 17 points and eight boards led four Bluejays in double figures, as Creighton shot 49 percent, including 8-of-17 from 3-point range in building a 15-point halftime lead.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
Thorir Thorbjarnarson comes off an 11-point, seven-rebound effort in Wednesday's game at Georgia Tech. The 6-foot-6 guard is shooting 48 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3-point range this season after shooting just 35 percent from the floor in his first two seasons.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
4 - Double-digit scoring performances from Kevin Cross, which is the most by a Husker freshman since 2016-17 (5-Jeriah Horne and 4-Jordy Tshimanga). Cross is sixth among Big Ten freshmen in scoring at 8.5 ppg entering this week's action.

5.3 - Rebounds per game for freshman Ivan Ouedraogo, which is fourth among all Big Ten freshmen. His rebounds per game is on track to be the highest by a Husker freshman since Aleks Maric grabbed 6.3 rebounds per game in 2005-06.

6 - Three-pointers this season for Thorir Thorbjarnarson, as he is 6-of-14 from long range. In his first two seasons, he went a combined 6-of-28 behind the 3-point stripe.

6.0 - Assists per game for sophomore Cam Mack, which is on pace to be the highest average since Brian Carr averaged 6.7 assists per game in 1986-87. 

8 - Nebraska has had eight players score in double-figures during the first eight games of the season. Nebraska has five players averaging at least eight points per game, including four in double figures. 

50- Returning point total from last season, all by Thorir Thorbjarnarson. That is the lowest by any power conference team since the 2009-10 season.

SCOUTING CREIGHTON
The Bluejays come into Saturday's game with a 6-2 mark following a 12-point win over Oral Roberts Tuesday evening. The Bluejays returned nine letterwinners and four starters from a team that went 20-15 and reached the quarterfinals of the NIT. Creighton is 5-0 at home and 1-2 away from the CHI Health Center in 2019-20. Creighton's two losses came at Michigan in the Gavitt Games and against San Diego State in Las Vegas last weekend. 

Creighton's strength is an offensive attack that averages 75.1 points per game and averages 9.4 3-pointers per game. Sophomore guard Marcus Zegarowski leads the Bluejays with 17.9 points and 4.3 assists per game, while shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor. He is one of three Bluejays averaging double figures, joining Ty-Shon Alexander (15.9 ppg) and Mitch Ballock (12.6 ppg). Creighton has seven players averaging at least five points per game. 
Greg McDermott is in his 10th year at CU after coaching at Iowa State, Northern Iowa, North Dakota State and Wayne State.

Series History: Nebraska and Creighton are meeting for the 53rd time in series history on Saturday, as the teams have tied at 26 wins apiece. It is the longest non-conference series on the Huskers' schedule. The home team has won 11 of the last 14 years, while Nebraska snapped a seven-game losing streak in the series with its win at Pinnacle Bank Arena last season.  The Huskers' last win in Omaha was a 71-70 win in the 2004 NIT.

LAST SEASON'S MATCHUP
All five starters scored in double figures as No. 24/25 Nebraska used a balanced and efficient offensive attack to cruise to a 94-75 victory over Creighton. Nebraska scored 47 points in each half while putting up the third-highest point total in its 52 all-time meetings with Creighton. The Huskers, who led by as many as 22, were up 13 at the half and Creighton never got closer than nine in the second half. James Palmer Jr. paced the Husker offense with 30 points, hitting 9-of-12 shots from the field, including a career-high six 3-pointers, and he was a perfect 6-of-6 from the line. Thomas Allen added a career-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Isaiah Roby chipped in 15 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. 

LAST TIME OUT
Haanif Cheatham produced his first career double-double for the Huskers, but Georgia Tech's Michael Devoe flirted with a triple-double to lead Georgia Tech to a 73-56 victory in a Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchup.

Cheatham paced the Huskers with 14 points and 11 rebounds, the first double-figure rebounding game of his career. Cam Mack, Jervay Green and Thorir Thorbjarnarson all added 11 points for Nebraska, but the Huskers shot just 32 percent from the field – including 25 percent in the second half – and were 8-of-18 from the free throw line. Nebraska (4-4) also committed a season-high 18 turnovers which led to 18 Yellow Jacket points.

Devoe, the ACC's leading scorer, put up 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Georgia Tech (4-2), reaching the 20-point plateau for the fifth time in six games. Moses Wright added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Yellow Jackets, who trailed by four late in the first half before outscoring Nebraska 21-6 over the final four minutes of the opening period and the first four minutes of the second half to pull away for the win.

DID YOU KNOW
• Saturday's game will be the second head coaching matchup between Nebraska's Fred Hoiberg and Creighton's Greg McDermott. The first came on Nov. 21, 2010, when Iowa State beat Creighton, 91-88, at the Global Sports Hy-Vee Challenge in Des Moines, Iowa.

• Hoiberg was hired to replace McDermott when he took the Creighton job after four seasons in Ames in April of 2010, and took the Cyclone program to new heights. In Hoiberg's first season, ISU won 16 games which was the most since the 2005-06 season before beginning a string of four straight NCAA appearances with the Cyclones. 

• Thorir Thorbjarnarson is the only Husker with experience in the Nebraska-Creighton series, as he played the final minute of last year's win in Lincoln. Senior Haanif Cheatham has taken on Creighton four times, averaging 4.5 ppg and 4.0 rpg. Cheatham had his best game vs. Creighton in his last game in Omaha, scoring 11 points and grabbing seven rebounds in a 102-94 win over No. 7 Creighton during the 2016-17 season. 

• Saturday's game is the fourth consecutive game away from Lincoln for the Huskers and the middle of a three-game road trip. In all, NU will play six straight games away from Lincoln - the longest stretch since the 1997-98 season - before returning home to take on Purdue on Dec. 15. In all, Nebraska will go 24 days between home games.

• Through the first eight games, 76.4 percent of the Huskers' offense has come from players who were added in the offseason, including six of Nebraska's top seven scorers. 

• The Big Ten won both of its challenges for the first time, going 5-3 against the Big East in the Gavitt Tipoff games and posting an 8-6 mark to win the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Big Ten has won the last two Gavitt Tipoff Games, while the Big Ten's win over the ACC was the first by the conference since 2015.

• One of the biggest points of emphasis for Hoiberg and his staff has been to shoot better from 3-point range, and that work has paid off in recent games despite Wednesday's performance at Georgia Tech. Over the last five games, NU is shooting nearly 40 percent from 3-point range and averaging 8.6 3-pointers per game after shooting just 23 percent in the first three games of the season. 

Huskers' 3-Point Improvement

Category	First 3 Games	Last 5 Games
3 Pt. Pct.	.231	.394
3-Pointers/Gm	6.0	8.6
Att./Gm	26.0	21.8

 
• As a team, the Huskers have shot 49 percent or better from the floor in four of their last six contests after shooting 34 percent in the first two games of the year. In that stretch, the Huskers are shooting 47.1 percent from the field. 

• Nebraska put together one of its best rebounding performances of the season against Georgia Tech, as it was out-rebounded just 47-44. NU limited the Yellow Jackets to just seven second-chance points, which was a season-low for a Husker opponent. 

• Nebraska has put at least four players in double figures in seven of the last eight games dating back to Nov. 9. The only time it didn't occur was against South Florida on Nov. 27, when the Huskers had a pair of 20-point scorers in Haanif Cheatham (26) and Dachon Burke Jr. (21).  The Huskers put five players in double figures against Washington State on Nov. 25, the first time Huskers accomplished the feat since a win over Creighton last December. 

• The Huskers have averaged 77 points per game since the opening night loss to UC Riverside, including 90+ points in consecutive games against South Dakota State (90) and Southern (93). That marked the first time that the Huskers have scored 90 or more points in consecutive games since the 1999-2000 season. 

• Senior guard Haanif Cheatham earned a spot on the Cayman Islands Classic All-Tournament team last week, as he averaged 19.0 ppg on 70 percent shooting, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, in helping the Huskers to a 2-1 mark. Cheatham had 19 points and seven boards in the win over Washington State and a career-high 26 point night against South Florida. He needs just 59 to reach 1,000 points for his career.

• Nebraska enters Saturday's game fourth in the Big Ten in turnover margin at +3.0 per game despite a season-high 18 turnovers against Georgia Tech. It marked the only time this season NU had more than 15 turnovers in a game. During his tenure at Iowa State, Hoiberg's teams ranked in the top three in fewest turnovers per game in four of his five seasons at the school. 

• Nebraska's 14 first-year players on the roster matches TCU for the most in the nation in research done by the Utah SID John Vu. Only four teams (TCU-14, Nebraska-14, East Carolina-13 and Utah-12) have at least 12 newcomers on their 2019-20 rosters. Nebraska returns a national-low 1.9 percent of its scoring from last season and the 50 returning points is the lowest by any power conference team since 2009 according to noted statistician Ken Pomeroy.

• Nebraska has already played two overtime games in the first month of the season. The school record for OT games is four, set most recently during the 2007-08 campaign. 

• Cam Mack's 13-point, 11-assist performance vs. Southern Utah on Nov. 9 marked just the sixth time in the last 30 years that a Husker has had a points-assist double-double. Mack is third in the Big Ten with 6.0 assists per game and has three games with at least seven assists.

Husker Points/Assists Double-Doubles (Last 30 years)

No.	Pts.	Asst.	Opponent
Cam Mack	13	11	vs. Southern Utah, 11/11/19
Glynn Watson Jr.	10	10	vs. Cal State Fullerton, 12/20/18
Lance Jeter	10	10	vs. Kansas, 2/5/11
Lance Jeter	12	12	at Kansas State, 2/7/10
Sek Henry	11	11	at TCU, 11/21/09
Tom Wald	11	11	vs. Appalachian State, 12/31/94

SETTING A FAST PACE
Not only are the Huskers adjusting to a whole new roster, but playing at a significantly faster pace than in previous years. The Huskers are 18th nationally in offensive tempo, as their average possession is 15.1 seconds, which leads to NU ranking 41st nationally in adjusted tempo, averaging 73.3 possessions per 40 minutes. NU is second in the Big Ten in tempo after ranking eighth in the Big Ten and 238th nationally in 2018-19. 

• In his five seasons as a college coach, Hoiberg's teams have ranked in the top 20 in offensive tempo four times, including top-10 rankings in both 2014 and 2015. 

• Hoiberg's first Iowa State team in 2010-11 jumped from 93rd to 34th nationally in tempo and ranked in the top 40 nationally in tempo in four of his five seasons in Ames, including top-15 nationally in his last two campaigns.

• In the KenPom era (1997-present), only one Husker team has ranked among the top 100 nationally in tempo - the 1999-2000 Huskers under Danny Nee.

JUCO ADDITIONS AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
Two of the cornerstones of the Huskers' recruiting class were junior college transfers Cam Mack and Jervay Green. Mack (third) and Green (eighth) were both ranked in the top 10 nationally by JUCORecruiting.com in the 2019 recruiting class and have played a crucial role for the Huskers early in 2019-20.  

Mack, who was listed as the top JC point guard recruit in the country, enters the Creighton game averaging 12.4 points per game while leading the Huskers in assists (6.0), steals (1.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2-to-1). He is also second in rebounding at 4.9 caroms per game. 

• Mack enters the weekend as the only Big Ten player who ranks in the top 10 in both assists (fourth) and steals (eighth) 

• His 6.0 assists per game is on pace to rank third in school history, trailing only Brian Carr, who averaged 7.9 assists per game in 1984-85 and 6.7 assists per game in 1985-86. 

• He has reached double figures six times, including a season-high 24-point performance against South Dakota State on Nov. 15. 

• Mack made a run at the first triple-double in school history against Southern on Nov. 9, finishing with 13 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. His 11 assists against the Thunderbirds were the most by a Husker since the 2009-10 campaign.

• Last season at Salt Lake CC, Mack averaged 19.1 points, 7.6 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game, ranking fifth nationally in assists per game. He totaled nine double-doubles and three triple doubles as a freshman and dished out 10-or-more assists nine times. 

Green was rated as the No. 2 combo guard nationally after a stint at Western Nebraska CC, has been a jack-of-all-trades for the Big Red, averaging 10.4 points along with 4.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He ranks on the top three on the squad in rebounding, assists, steals, blocks and 3-pointers. 

• Against Georgia Tech, Green finished with 11 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, and five rebounds.

• He nearly posted a double-double against Washington State with 16 points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes.

• Green turned in his best performance of the year against Southern on Nov. 22, scoring 22 points and dishing out six assists in the win overtime win. His two 3-pointers helped key a 10-0 spurt in overtime to seal the win. 

• He nearly had a double-double against Southern Utah with 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds, as he sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer at the buzzer. 

• Green garnered NJCAA All-America honors at WNCC in 2019, averaging 23.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. He was eighth nationally in scoring and had six 30-point games, including a school-record 51-point outburst.  

CHEATHAM MAKES IMPACT ON BOTH ENDS
Fifth-year senior Haanif Cheatham has been one of the leaders for a young Husker team. The guard from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is NU's most experienced player, as he played in 80 games between Marquette and Florida Gulf Coast before transferring to Nebraska for his final year. Cheatham's biggest impact has been on the defensive end, where he has the ability to guard multiple spots. Cheatham, who had not played since last December following shoulder surgery that ended his 2018-19 season after 10 games, has playing some of the best basketball of his career in the last 10 days, averaging 18.0 points and 5.5 rebounds over the last four games. 

• Cheatham comes off his first career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds at Georgia Tech on Dec. 4.

• He was in double figures all three games of the Cayman Islands Classic, averaging 19.0 ppg including a career-best 26-point effort against South Florida to garner all-tournament honors.

A former top-100 recruit out of high school, he was named Marquette's top defensive performer in each of his two full seasons at Marquette.

OUEDRAOGO ADDS NAME TO SHORT LIST OF TRUE FROSH
Freshman Yvan Ouedraogo became the first true freshman to start a season opener at Nebraska since 2013 when he started against UC Riverside on Nov. 5. 

• Ouedraogo, who became the first true freshman to start in the frontcourt since Brandon Ubel in 2009, had nine points, three rebounds and a pair of steals and a blocked shot in 21 minutes of action. 

• He is just the 11th true freshman and 13th freshman overall to start a season opener in the last 25 years at Nebraska, joining a group which includes 1,000-point scorers Tai Webster, Ryan Anderson, Cookie Belcher and Tyronn Lue. 

• Ouedraogo has started all eight games for the Huskers, averaging 5.4 points and a team-high 5.3 rebounds per game in just under 20 minutes per game.

• He has grabbed five or more rebounds in each of his last three games, including seven at Georgia Tech on Dec. 7. 

• He could become just the third freshman to lead NU in rebounding in a season, joining Aleks Maric (2005-06) and John Turek (2001-02). 

• He enjoyed his offensive effort of the season with 11 points, including six in overtime, and four rebounds against Southern on Nov. 22. He snared a team-high 12 rebounds against South Dakota State on Nov. 15.
Ouedraogo, who doesn't turn 18 until after the 2020 Big Ten Tournament, played for the French U-18 squad at the 2019 European Championships in July, averaging 4.0 points, 3.6 rebounds per game as France went 6-1 and finished fifth in the competition.

BURKE SHOWS SCORING TOUCH
The other returnee from the 2018-19 season, Dachon Burke Jr. waited in the wings after transferring from Robert Morris. A 6-foot-4 guard, Burke has quickly shown the skills to flourish in Fred Hoiberg's attack, averaging a team-high 12.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Burke has reached double figures five times, including a 17-point, seven-rebound effort against South Dakota State on Nov. 15 and a 21-point performance against South Florida on Nov. 27.  Two years ago, Burke was one of the best players in the Northeast Conference, averaging 17.6 points per game while adding 5.8 rebounds and a conference-best 2.1 steals per contest. 

CROSS LIFTS BENCH PRODUCTION 
Freshman Kevin Cross has been an early contributor for the Huskers. The 6-foot-8 freshman from Little Rock, Ark., has been the first Husker off the bench in all eight games and ranks fifth on the team in scoring at 8.5 points per game while chipping in 3.8 rebounds per game. 

• Cross has found his shooting touch in recent games, shooting 51 percent (27-of-53) in his last seven contests. He had shot 50 percent or better from the field in five straight games before being held scoreless against South Florida on Nov. 27. He had two points in Wednesday's loss at Georgia Tech.

• He played a complete game in the win over Washington State, scoring 14 points, grabbing a season-high eight rebounds and blocking two shots in 27 minutes 

• Cross played a big role in NU's comeback against Southern, scoring all eight of his points in the second half as the Huskers overcame an eight-point deficit. 

• He was efficient against South Dakota State, finishing with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and two blocked shots.

• Against Southern Utah, he had a team-high 19 points, becoming the first freshman in 73 games to pace the Huskers in scoring. His 19 point effort was the highest by a Husker rookie since Shavon Shields in 2013.

• Cross has lost nearly 20 pounds since arriving on campus this summer, and showed glimpses of his potential during NU's trip to Italy, reaching double figures twice in four contests.