Nebraska Postgame Notes/Quotes vs. South Dakota

Postgame Notes vs. South Dakota
*-Keisei Tominaga totaled a career-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench. The sophomore has now been in double figures in three of the past four games. Tominaga’s five 3-pointers were a season-high for a Husker and the most since Kobe Webster had seven at Northwestern on March 7, 2021.
*-Tominaga is the fourth different Husker to post a 20-point game this season, and second from a reserve (Kobe Webster vs. Creighton)
*-Derrick Walker made his first field goal against USD, which tied the school record with 15 consecutive field goals dating back to Nov. 21. Walker, who missed his second field goal attempt, tied the mark of Ade Dagunduro in 2008. 
*-Walker has now been in double figures in four consecutive games, the longest stretch of his career. Prior to this season, he had just three career double-figure games.
*-Bryce McGowens posted his third 20-point game of the season with 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists. McGowens tied his season high in assists with four.
*-Wilhelm Breidenbach posted a career-high five steals, the most by any Husker in a game in 2021-22. The last Husker with at least five steals in a game was Teddy Allen, who had five against North Dakota State on Nov. 28, 2020.  As a team, Nebraska had 10 steals, its highest total since having 10 against Rutgers on March 1, 2021.
*-Nebraska finished with multiple 20-point scorers for the second time this season (also vs. Western Illinois).
*-As a team, Nebraska had 18 assists for the fourth straight game. 
*-Nebraska’s 83 points was a season-high (previous best 82 vs. Southern).
 
Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg
On Keisei Tominaga:
“He is just a guy that puts so much time and effort and work into it. I have not said much to him just because of how good of a shooter he is. Sometimes human nature as a shooter is to try to get a little closer to the rim and to guide it in. I think we have a couple guys that were doing that. Just really trying to get him back out and shoot with confidence and trust the stroke. It is a thing of beauty. It is what has gotten him to this point. It was just a matter of time before he took the lid off and it was the perfect timing for us. It was great to see him get going like he did.”
 
On having the lead for 31 minutes of play:
“I thought it was a very entertaining game. I thought our guys really went out and shared it. I think that is four games in a row with 18 assists. I talked to our guys after the game. We are getting better. We are growing as a basketball team. They are starting to figure each other out. Much better than we were the first couple of games, and we had our best stretch of basketball. There is no doubt about it. We still have areas we need to get better absolutely, but to build that cushion and to do it with different guys. That is what we talked about all along with this group. It is not going to be the same person every night. Keisei (Tominaga) got it going tonight. C.J. (Wilcher) was the guy the other night. Bryce (McGowens) has obviously been very steady. It is great to see him growing in all areas. So just a really good total team effort.”
 
Sophomore Guard Keisei Tominaga
On his overall performance
“I just keep shooting in practice and stuff. It felt good today.”
 
On his celebrations
“I don't really know. When I was young, I watched the NBA and I learned how to celebrate.”
 
On the adjustment to this level of basketball
“It’s a higher level. I have to get more physical tough and energetic. I just have to continue to get better.”
 
Freshman Guard Bryce McGowens
On shots falling and the team's confidence growing
“It all starts with playing as a team and believing in each other and knowing that your teammate has your back and believes in you. It just gives you a lot of confidence to knock down your shots and removes the pressure.”
 
On why they are extra excited for Keisei
“He’s a big-time player. He’s not from here so it’s different having someone outside of the U.S. bring that type of energy. He’s an amazing player.”
 
On being in more playmaking situations
“We have a lot of people that can score the ball on this team. I feel comfortable knowing that the next player is going to make a play out of the play that I make. I am feeling really comfortable in the role.”
 
South Dakota Head Coach Todd Lee
On how Nebraska changed the game in the second half
“We were down eight at the half, and we didn’t execute defensively at all. That was disappointing. We turned it over 18 times in the game and that stands out. That’s too many. We got it to seven, and then we were zero of four from the line. It could have been a three-point game at that point which is big. We didn’t make our free throws, and we turned it over too much. The three ball did keep us in it.”
 
On defending Nebraska at the three-point line
“We let Keisei Tominaga get away from us. We did a good job on everybody else, but he got away from us and that was a big part of why we lost.”
 
On what they are going to work on moving forward
“Our defensive execution has got to improve. We were bad. We gave up four backdoor layups and too many threes. We’ve got to do a better job of chasing shooters. A lot of it is execution defense. We ended up minus eight in turnovers and plus three on offensive boards so we were minus five but the biggest thing is the 18 turnovers and the lack of defensive execution.”

NU Athletic Communications