Huskers Travel to No. 16 Oregon on Sunday Night

The Nebraska men's basketball team begins a two-game West Coast swing on Sunday, as the Huskers travel to Eugene, Ore., to face No. 16 Oregon. Tipoff from Matthew Knight Arena is set for shortly after 6:30 p.m. (central) and the contest will be televised on BTN and carried on the Huskers Radio Network, as well as on Huskers.com and the Huskers app. The game will also be available on the Fox Sports App.  

Nebraska (13-8, 3-7 B1G) comes off a gritty 80-74 overtime win over No. 18 Illinois on Thursday, snapping a nine-game losing streak to the Fighting Illini. It also marked NU's third ranked win of the season. 

Senior guard Brice Williams scored eight of his game-high 27 points in the overtime period, including eight straight to help snap Nebraska's six-game losing streak. Williams, who also had team-highs in rebounds (eight) and assists (four) was one of three Huskers in double figures. Connor Essegian added 14 while Juwan Gary finished with 13 points and tied for team highs in rebounds (eight), steals (three) and blocked shots (two). The Husker defense held Illinois to 35.6 percent shooting, its second-lowest percentage of the season, and forced 17 turnovers which led to 17 Husker points.

Williams comes into the contest as one of the Big Ten's top scoring threats, as the senior is averaging a team-high 18.6 points per game and has been in double figures in 19 of 21 contests.  The 6-foot-7 guard has nine 20-point games and is on pace to set career bests in both assists and steals. 
Oregon (16-5, 5-5 B1G) looks to snap a two-game losing streak following a 78-52 loss at red-hot UCLA on Thursday night. The Bruins shot 56 percent from the field, including 11-of-23 from 3-point, while holding the Ducks to 41 percent shooting, including 4-of-23 from long distance. Nate Bittle had 13 points and five rebounds to pace Oregon in the loss.

Nebraska will stay out west after Sunday's game, traveling to Washington for a matchup with the Huskies on Wednesday evening. 

Numbers to Know
1998-99: Nebraska will look for its fourth ranked win of the season at No. 16 Oregon. The last time NU won four games against ranked teams was in 1998-99.

31: Fred Hoiberg has 31 wins over ranked opponents, including 11 career wins against top-10 teams, in his collegiate coaching career. In addition, his four road wins against ranked opponents is second only to Danny Nee's seven all-time among NU men's basketball coaches.

.607 - Over the last three seasons, Nebraska has played some of its best basketball down the stretch. NU is 17-11 in Big Ten games after Feb. 1 over the last three seasons, including 6-2 in 2022-23 and 7-3 last season.

25.7 - Nebraska has gotten great production from its bench, averaging 25.7 points per game this season.  Nebraska has gotten 21 double-figure efforts from its bench this season (Morgan-10, Essegian-10, Ulis-1). The Huskers led the Big Ten in bench production last season, averaging 21.4 points per game.

2 - A pair of former Huskers will be in action during All-Star Weekend in San Francisco. Bryce McGowens will be the Castrol Rising Stars on Friday, Feb. 14, while Keisei Tominaga is part of the NBA G League Up Next Game on Sunday, Feb. 16. McGowens is currently second in the G League in scoring at 27.7 ppg.

Worth Noting
• With Thursday's win over No. 18 Illinois, Nebraska has now won at least three games against ranked teams in a season for just the 10th time in school history and the first time since 2013-14. With a win at No. 16 Oregon on Sunday, Nebraska can match the school record for ranked wins in a season with four, set three previous times (1998-99, 1993-94, 1990-91). 

• Nebraska has won multiple games against ranked foes in three of the past four years and is now 8-9 in its last 17 games against ranked teams dating back to March 1, 2022. 

• Nebraska is 5-7 (.417) all-time against teams ranked No. 16 in the AP Poll. The Huskers most recent win in the series was an overtime win over the No. 16 Ducks in Omaha on Dec. 5, 2007.  

• Sunday's game wraps up a string of three straight games against ranked opponents. This will mark the first time since Dec. 4-10, 2022, where NU will face three straight ranked foes. 

• The Huskers will be looking for their third road win of the season and second against a ranked team after defeating No. 14 Creighton in November. It would be just the second time in the Big Ten era that NU won multiple road games against ranked teams (also 2021-22).  Of the Big Ten's four true road wins in non-conference action, Nebraska posted two of them (at Creighton, at Hawai'i). 

• While this marks the first meeting with Oregon since 2012, four members of the Husker roster have played against the Ducks at their previous schools (Rollie Worster, Braxton Meah, Berke Büyüktuncel and Connor Essegian). 

• Of the six games in NU's recently ended losing streak, Nebraska has been within three points in the final 10 seconds of regulation four times.

• On Jan. 26, Brice and his father, Henry, became the seventh father-son duo to combine for 4,000 career points at the college level. Brice now has 1,646 career points and is now only 155 points away from reaching 1,000 as a Husker. Henry Williams, who passed away in 2018, was Charlotte's all-time leading scorer with 2,383 career points.

• Nebraska is No. 57 in the NET on Jan. 31 and has plenty of opportunities to jump in the coming weeks. Five of the Huskers’ next six games are against Quad 1 opponents, including Sunday's game at No. 34 Oregon. Eight teams are currently in the top 30 of the NET while all 18 teams are inside the top 100 as of Jan. 31. 

• Connor Essegian has been one of the Big Ten's best sixth men, as the junior guard enters Sunday's game at No. 16 Oregon averaging 11.5 points per contest. Essegian had 14 points off the bench in Thursday's win over No. 18 Illinois, and he is one of only three Big Ten reserves currently averaging double figures while making five or fewer starts.

• Following his 27-point night against USC on Jan. 22, Juwan Gary has as many 20-point games in his last 11 games (three) as in he did in his first 114 games of his career. 

• Nebraska put together one of its best defensive efforts of the season, holding No. 18 Illinois to 0.94 points per possession in Thursday's win. It marked the first time NU held an opponent under 1.0 PPP since Jan. 4.  NU is 11-0 when holding opponents to under one point per possession, but 2-8 when opponents are above 1.0 PPP. Nebraska has won its last 28 games dating back to the 2022-23 season when holding an opponent under 1.0 PPP.

• Over the last 25 games dating back to last season, Brice Williams is averaging 18.8 points per game on .468 shooting and has 12 20-point efforts in that span, including 27 in Thursday's win over Illinois. He has been in double figures in 23 of the last 25 contests. Williams averaged just 12.5 ppg over his first 30 games at Nebraska in 2023-24.

• Nebraska comes into Sunday's game at Oregon averaging 75.6 points per game.  NU has scored 70+ points in 13 of 21 games, including eight games with at least 80 points. Last season, NU averaged 77.7 points per game for 34 games, its highest offensive total since the 1995-96 season. 

• With its 13-8 record in 2024-25, Nebraska is 42-22 over the last 63 games dating back to the start of February 2023. NU's .656 winning percentage ranks fourth among Big Ten programs in that stretch.  NU went just 33-80 from the start of the 2019-20 season until Feb. 1, 2023.

• NU has relied on its depth with six players averaging at least 7.0 points per game. Eight players have posted double-figure efforts, while three players (Brice Williams, Connor Essegian and Juwan Gary) have recorded 20-point games.  Williams is the only Husker in the top 30 of the Big Ten in scoring as of Jan 31.

• A pair of Huskers eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for their career on Jan. 19 at Maryland. Andrew Morgan reached the mark in the first half on his way to a season-high 17-point effort, while Juwan Gary reached the milestone late in the second half. NU's roster now has five career 1,000-point scorers (Brice Williams, Rienk Mast, Rollie Worster, Andrew Morgan and Juwan Gary). 

• When Brice Williams and Juwan Gary both went over 20 points against Rutgers on Jan. 16, it marked the 15th time in Fred Hoiberg's tenure that Nebraska had multiple players score 20+ points in a game. 

• Ahron Ulis dished out a career-high 10 assists on Jan. 19 at Maryland. It more than tripled his previous season high of three and marked the first time a Husker had 10 assists in a game since Alonzo Verge Jr. in 2022.  It also marked the first 10-assist game by a Husker reserve since Tom Wald had 11 in a win over Appalachian State on Dec. 31, 1994.  According to Stathead.com, Ulis became the first Big Ten player to come off the bench and have 10 assists in a Big Ten game since A.J. Huggard had 10 assists against Purdue in the 2022 Big Ten Tournament. 

• Brice Williams is just the sixth Husker in the Big Ten era to have multiple 30-point games.  He had 30 points in the win over Indiana on Dec. 13 and tied his career high with 32 points against Hawai’i on Dec. 23. He is one of eight Big Ten players with multiple 30-point games this season.

• For most of the season, Nebraska was one of the most prolific teams in the Big Ten in getting to the foul line. Nebraska averaged 26.8 attempts per game during the first 14 contests but has been to the free throw line an average of 16.3 times per game over the last seven contests. NU was just 3-of-8 from the foul line in Sunday's loss at Wisconsin.

• Nebraska is averaging 7.9 steals per game to rank fifth in the Big Ten as of Jan. 31. Fiver Huskers average at least one steal per game led by Sam Hoiberg, who is 15th in the conference with 1.3 spg. Of the 44 Big Ten players averaging at least one steal per game as of January 27, Hoiberg is one of two players who averages less than 20 minutes per game. 

• The Huskers are 37-6 over the last two seasons when out-rebounding opponents. NU had won 27 straight games when out-rebounding opponents before the streak was snapped against Saint Mary's on Nov. 17. Nebraska has been out-rebounded just five times in 21 games this season, and Thursday's win over Illinois marked the first time NU has been out-rebounded and won since Feb. 21, 2021 at Indiana.

• NU went 10-1 in non-conference action, only the seventh time since WWII that NU finished its non-con slate with one loss (also 10-1, 2023-24; 10-1, 2018-19; 10-1, 2003-04; 12-1, 1991-92; 15-1, 1990-91; 11-1, 1977-78).

• Nebraska's 2024 Diamond Head Classic title marked the program's first MTE event title since the 2000 San Juan Shootout. With the win, Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg became the first coach to win multiple Diamond Head Classic titles, as he coached Iowa State to the 2013 championship.

• Brice Williams earned MVP honors at the Diamond Head Classic, as he averaged 22.0 points per game on 56 percent shooting, 3.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Williams averaged 19.3 ppg on 57 percent shooting in seven December games following his 11-point, seven-rebound effort against Southern. 

• Nebraska is 38-7 (.844) inside Pinnacle Bank Arena over the last three seasons. The Huskers had a school-record 20-game home win streak snapped against Rutgers on Jan. 16. 

• Nebraska comes off one of its most successful seasons in program history. The Huskers went 23-11 in 2023-24 and tied for third in the Big Ten standings before reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013-14. The Huskers’ 23 wins were the most since setting a school-record with 26 wins in 1990-91, while NU’s 12 conference wins also ranked second in school history.

• Over the past two seasons (2022-23 and 2023-24), NU has won 21 conference games, the highest two-year total since the 1965-66 and 1966-67 teams won 22 conference tilts. The last two seasons under Fred Hoiberg mark just the fourth time in school history that Nebraska has won 20 or more conference games in a two-year span.

About Oregon
Oregon comes into the contest with a 16-5 record following Thursday's loss at UCLA. The Ducks were a perfect 11-0 in non-conference action, including wins over Oregon State, Texas A&M, San Diego State, Alabama and Stanford. Oregon was 12-1 and climbed to ninth in the AP poll before losing against Illinois on Jan. 2. Oregon is 3-2 on the road in Big Ten action with wins at Ohio State, Penn State and at USC, but just 2-3 in its five conference home games with losses to Illinois, UCLA and Purdue. Sunday's game with Nebraska is the only home game in a five-game stretch, as the Ducks travel to Michigan and Michigan State next week.

Dana Altman is in his 15th season in charge of the Ducks program and has guided Oregon to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2017 Final Four. He has won 20-or-more games in all 14 of his seasons at Oregon. Before that, the Wilber, Neb., native spent 16 seasons at Creighton, four seasons at Kansas State and one year at Marshall. Nebraska is 13-15 against Altman in his coaching career. 

The Ducks are a veteran team with four senior starters and eight players averaging at least six points per game. Nate Bittle leads Oregon in scoring (12.9 ppg), rebounding (7.4 rpg) and blocks (2.0 bpg), ranking in the top 11 of the Big Ten in rebounds and blocks.  Preseason All-Big Ten guard Jackson Shelstad is averaging 12.1 points and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 37.4 percent from 3-point range.  Villanova transfer TJ Bamba is the third Duck in double figures at 10.4 ppg while also averaging 2.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  

Series History: Oregon leads the all-time series, 7-6, that dates back to the 1941-42 season. Oregon won the first three matchups before Nebraska won six straight in the series from 1966 to 1995. The schools played a pair of neutral-site games in 2006 (Portland) and 2007 (Omaha) with the home team winning both contests, while Oregon won consecutive matchups in 2011 and 2014. Sunday's meeting is the first matchup between the teams since Dec. 15, 2012, when the Ducks recorded a 60-38 win in Tim Miles' first season at Nebraska.