Huskers Face FIU Saturday Afternoon

Huskers Face FIU Saturday Afternoon
The Nebraska men's basketball program continues its three-game homestand Saturday afternoon, as the Huskers take on Florida International. Tipoff for the afternoon matinee begins at Noon (central) and 300 Level tickets are available for the matchup by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets or at the PBA Ticket Office beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on B1G+, while the radio broadcast is available on the Husker Sports Network, as well as on Huskers.com and on the Huskers app. The men's game is part of a doubleheader at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday, as the Husker women host Samford at 5 p.m. 

The Huskers (1-0) are coming off an 86-53 win over West Georgia in the season opener Monday night. Braden Frager led four Huskers in double figures with 22 points off the bench in his debut while Jamarques Lawrence had 10 of his 18 points in a decisive 16-0 run that turned a one-point deficit into a double-figure lead. Nebraska broke open a 30-26 halftime lead with 65 percent shooting in the second half, including 7-of-18 from 3-point range in the final 20 minutes. 

Frager's 22-point effort vs. West Georgia marked only the sixth time in the last 50 years that a Husker scored 20 or more points in his debut. Frager, who hit 8-of-11 shots from the field, trailed only Bryce McGowens and Joe McCray among highest scoring debuts by Husker freshmen. Frager, a redshirt freshman who turns 19 next Monday, also added five rebounds, two assists and two steals in 22 minutes of work.

Florida International comes to Lincoln following a 101-49 win over Florida National on Monday night. Samford transfer Hamed Olayinka led FIU with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting and added seven rebounds and six steals to pace four Panthers in double figures.

Numbers to Know
81.5 - Nebraska is averaging 81.5 points per game on 48 percent shooting, including 39 percent from 3-point range, during its five-game win streak dating back to last season. 

2- Nebraska has had back-to-back games with at least 20 assists and 10 turnovers or less (UCF and West Georgia). It is the first time NU has done that in consecutive games in the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present).

.952 - Nebraska is 20-1 at home in non-conference play over the last three seasons and is 33-9 (.785) at home in non-conference action in Fred Hoiberg's first six-plus seasons at Nebraska.

401 - Nebraska's 2025-26 roster enters the season with 401 career starts at the Division I level. Rienk Mast has 111 starts in his career while Kendall Blue has started 89 times during his career at St. Thomas. A total of 10 Huskers have started at least once.

90.5 - Nebraska averaged 90.5 points per game in its two exhibition games, its highest scoring average in a season with multiple exhibition games since 1999-2000 (102.5 ppg).

3 - For just the third time in the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present), Nebraska returns multiple double-figure scorers with Rienk Mast (12.3 ppg in 2023-24) and Connor Essegian (10.7 ppg). In both previous instances (2018-19 and 2024-25), Nebraska has advanced to postseason play. 

Scouting Florida International
Florida International heads to Lincoln following a 101-49 win in its opener on Monday. The Panthers have only one returnee from last year (Ashton Williamson) from a team that went 10-23 in 2024-25.

The Panthers added 15 newcomers, including 12 transfers. Williamson averaged 7.3 points and a team-high 2.9 assists per game as he made 16 starts. Among the transfers, Corey Stephenson averaged 11.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game at Cal State Bakersfield, New Mexico State transfer Zawdie Jackson averaged 10.5 ppg and 3.1 assists per game last season and Julian Mackey averaged 15.0 ppg at Houston Christian last season.  The Panthers were picked to finish 10th in the Conference USA preseason poll. 

Saturday's meeting is the first for the Huskers against FIU. Nebraska is 12-7 all-time against the current members of Conference USA.  

West Georgia Recap
Braden Frager scored 22 points in his collegiate debut while Jamarques Lawrence had 10 of his 18 points in a decisive 16-0 run as Nebraska opened the season with an 86-53 win over West Georgia on Nov. 3. 

Frager was efficient offensively, hitting 8-of-11 shots from the field and had five rebounds to pace four Huskers in double figures. Lawrence tallied 18 points, including five 3-pointers to match a career high, and dished out six assists. Connor Essegian (12 points) and Rienk Mast (10) also finished in double figures. 

Nebraska trailed 25-24 with less than three minutes remaining in the first half before Frager’s jumper ignited a 16-0 run. Lawrence scored the final four points of the half to push the lead to 30-25 before the Huskers opened the second half with 10 straight points, capped by consecutive 3-pointers from Lawrence to push the lead to 40-25.  Nebraska held West Georgia without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes as Nebraska outscored the Wolves 26-2 to build a 50-27 lead on a Frager slam with 13:13 left. Nebraska held West Geogia to 29.2 percent shooting and enjoyed a 49-37 lead on the glass.

Worth Noting From Monday's Win
• Nebraska improved its record in season openers to 89-41 and have won 23 of the past 25 season openers.
•  Frager's 22-point effort was the third-highest scoring debut by a Husker freshman and the most by a Husker freshman in his debut since Bryce McGowens had 25 against Western Illinois in 2021.
• Frager’s 22 points marked the 12th time under Hoiberg a player had at least 20 points off the bench
• Rienk Mast posted his 27th career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds in his first regular-season game since the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
• Jamarques Lawrence tied a career high with five 3-pointers. It marked the fourth time in his career that he had at least five 3-pointers. Lawrence also had six of the Huskers’ 20 assists.
• Sam Hoiberg tied his career high with seven rebounds. He also on two other occasions, most recently against Arizona State in the College Basketball Crown.
• Nebraska went on three double-figure runs, including a 16-0 run spanning the end of the first half and the start of the second half. 

From a Distance
One trend which continued from NU's two exhibition games is solid shooting from 3-point range. Including the two exhibition games, NU has averaged 13.7 3-pointers per game, including 16 in the one-point exhibition win over No. 8 BYU.  

• Five different players have hit at least four 3-pointers in a game (including the exhibitions): Rienk Mast (7 vs. BYU), Braden Frager (6 vs. Midland), Jamarques Lawrence (5 vs. West Georgia) and Pryce Sandfort (4 vs. Midland)

• Dating back to last year, NU has had a player hit four or more 3-pointers in the last four contests dating back to the College Basketball Crown. (Brice Williams-Georgetown; Juwan Gary-Boise State; Connor Essegian-UCF; Jamarques Lawrence-West Georgia).

• Two years ago, Nebraska led the Big Ten with 9.4 3-pointers per game on its way to hitting a school record 319 3-pointers. 

Bench Support 
Nebraska relied on its depth in Monday's win over West Georgia, getting 46 points from its bench as the Husker reserves nearly matched the Wolves' team output.

• Braden Frager's 22 points off the bench tied for the fifth-highest output by a Husker reserve in Fred Hoiberg's six-plus seasons at Nebraska.

• The 46 points marked the seventh time under Fred Hoiberg that Nebraska got at least 40 points from its bench and the first time since the Southern game last season. The others under Hoiberg included: Doane (61, 2020-21), South Dakota (51, 2024-25), South Carolina State (47, 2023-24); South Dakota (43, 2021-22); Creigton (42, 2021-22) and Southern (40, 2024-25)

• Frager and Connor Essegian (12 points) both reached double figures on Monday.

• Last year, Nebraska got 31 double-figure efforts from its bench, including 16 from Connor Essegian, and averaged 23.0 ppg from its bench. 
 
Mast Doubles Up
Mast picked up his 27th career double-double in Monday's opener against West Georgia. He now has 27 double-doubles, which is ninth among active players as of Nov. 5. Mast's six double-doubles in 2023-24 was the most by a Husker since the 2007-08 season. 

No.	Player (2025-26 School)	Double-Doubles
1.	Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan	45
2.	Caleb Van De Griend, Idaho St.	33
	Alex Steen, Florida State	33
4.	Lassina Traore, Texas	32
	Graham Ike, Gonzaga	32
6.	JT Toppin, Texas Tech	31
7.	Brandon Noel, Ohio State	29
8.	Carson Towt, Notre Dame	28
9.	Rienk Mast, Nebraska	27
1.	Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan	45

A Look at Nebraska 
The Huskers begin their quest for a third straight postseason appearance, bringing back four players who have made at least 15 starts in NU careers. The Huskers will be led by All-Big Ten forward Rienk Mast, who returns after missing all last season following knee surgery. Two years ago, Mast averaged 12.3 points and led NU in both rebounding (7.5 rpg) and assists (3.0 apg). NU also brings back returning starters Berke Büyüktuncel (6.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg) and Sam Hoiberg (3.9 ppg; 1.9 apg) and regains the services of Jamarques Lawrence, who started 23 games on NU’s 2023-24 NCAA Tournament and started 31 games at Rhode Island last season. The Huskers also return senior guard Connor Essegian, who averaged 10.7 ppg, including 38 percent from 3-point range, as the team’s sixth man last season and Cale Jacobsen, who played in 24 games, including the final three rounds of the CBC. NU also added eight newcomers (six transfers and two freshman) to help offset the loss. 

Huskers Bidding for Third Straight Postseason Appearance
The Huskers will be shooting for a third straight postseason appearance in 2025-26. It would be the first time since a nine-year stretch between 1990-91 and 1998-99 and just the third time in program history. NU also made five straight postseason appearances between 1982-83 and 1986-87. 

Back-to-Back 20 Win Seasons
Nebraska finished with 21 wins in 2024-25, a total which tied for seventh on the Huskers’ single-season list. It marked the 15th 20-win season in program history and second straight under Fred Hoiberg. 

• NU has 44 wins over the past two seasons, which is the second-highest consecutive two-year total in program history. NU won 45 games spanning the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons.
• Nebraska posted consecutive 20-win seasons for the third time in school history and the first since the late 1990s. Fred Hoiberg joined Danny Nee (twice) as the only Husker men’s basketball coaches in school history to accomplish the feat. Hoiberg would be the first Husker coach to ever accomplish the feat at Nebraska if the Huskers can eclipse the 20-win mark in 2025-26.

Return of Mast Anchors Husker Post
The biggest addition of the offseason is the healthy return of Rienk Mast to the Husker lineup. Mast earned all-conference recognition from both the coaches and media in 2023-24, but missed all of last season following left knee surgery. Mast, who averaged 12.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, began limited practice work last July and has been full go during practice.

• Mast opened the season with a double-double in Monday's win over West Georgia with 10 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. It was his first double-double since Feb. 29, 2024, at Ohio State.  On Oct. 31, Mast was one of 20 players named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar watch list for the nation's top center. 

• He averaged 19.5 points and 6.0 assists during NU's two exhibition games, including a 31-point outburst against BYU on Oct. 18. In that game, he went 7-of-8 from 3-point range, which is one shy of NU's single-game record.

• Mast is a three-time all-conference pick, as he was also a two-time All-Missouri Valley selection at Bradley in 2022 and 2023. 

• In 2023-24, Mast led Nebraska in both rebounds and assists, becoming just the third player in school history to lead the team in both assists and rebounds in the same season. He finished the year ranked in the top 15 in the Big Ten in both rebounds (sixth) and assists (14th) per game.

• Mast's 7.53 rebounds per game was the rebounds per game by a Husker since 2007-08 (Aleks Maric, 10.2). Ed Morrow Jr. also averaged 7.50 rebounds per game in 2016-17 but played just 24 games. 

• His six double-doubles in 2023-24 were the most by a Husker since Aleks Maric had 15 during the 2007-08 season. Mast and Maric are the only Huskers in the last two decades with at least six double-doubles in a season. 

• He had the best game of his career against Ohio State on Jan. 23, setting highs in points (34), field goals (13) and 3-pointers (six) while adding 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. 

• His performance against OSU was the first 30-point, 10-rebound game by a Husker since 2008. Mast, Maric and Eric Piatkowski are the only Huskers with 30-point, 10-rebound games in the last 30 years.

• He keyed Nebraska's upset of No. 1 Purdue with 18 points, including 14 in the first half while helping limit two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey to 15 points.
• Against Florida A&M on Nov. 9, he became the first Husker in the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present) to have a game with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds, and first since Aleks Maric in 2008.

Essegian Flourishes as Husker Sixth Man
Nebraska's top returning scorer from 2024-25 is senior Connor Essegian, who emerged as one of the Big Ten's top sixth men a year ago. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 10.7 points per game while pacing the Big Red with 78 3-pointers.  He finished ninth in the Big Ten in 3-pointers per game (2.2/gm) and 11th in 3-point percentage (.377).

• He opened the year with 12 points off the benchin 18 minutes vs. West Georgia. 
• Essegian finished second in Big Ten scoring among reserves, as he was one of three Big Ten players to average double figures while starting 10 or fewer games.
• He tied for sixth on NU’s single-season 3-point list with 78, the most by a Husker since Glynn Watson Jr. had 82 in 2019.
• Essegian totaled five 20-point games, including a 21-point effort against UCF in the title game of the College Basketball Crown.
• Essegian scored a career-high 29 points in NU’s win over South Dakota on Nov. 27. In that game, he set personal highs in points (29), assists (five) and 3-pointers (six).

Adding Punch from the Portal
Nebraska has relied on the transfer portal under Fred Hoiberg, getting players such as All-Big Ten performers Derrick Walker (2023) Rienk Mast (2024) and Brice Williams (2025) in his six years at Nebraska. The Huskers’ six-member transfer class this season enters 2025-26 with over 200 combined starts and nearly 3,400 points and 1,500 rebounds. Lawrence, who spent two years at Nebraska before starting 31 games at Rhode Island last year, Blue and Jarusevicius all started at their previous institutions last season. Sandfort was one of the Big Ten's leading bench scorers while Garcia started at Tulsa in 2023-24.

Husker Portal Additions

Player	2024-25 School	GP	Starts	Pts.	Reb.	Asst.
Lawrence	Rhode Island	93	66	682	222	190
Blue	St. Thomas	100	89	1,013	395	185
Cooper	Air Force	21	0	112	37	8
Jarusevicius	Central Michigan	69	25	640	294	25
Garcia	Tulsa	88	31	573	335	59
Sandfort	Iowa	65	2	365	129	57
Total		436	213	3,385	1,412	524

A Trio of Hoibergs
Fans watching Husker basketball will see a trio of Hoiberg family members in 2025-26.

• Head Coach Fred Hoiberg begins his seventh season at the helm of the program after guiding the Huskers to back-to-back postseason appearances.
• Senior guard Sam Hoiberg returns for his fifth season, as he has played in every game the past two seasons. Last season, he started 15 of the Huskers' final 16 contests and topped the Big Red with 1.4 steals per game.
• Charlie Hoiberg begins his first season as a graduate manager for the Huskers after earning his undergraduate degree at TCU last May. Charlie, who is Sam's twin brother, was a manager for TCU last season.

Huskers Making Mark with National Teams
Connor Essegian and Leo Curtis spent part of the summers representing their countries in international action.

Essegian played with the Armenian National Team for the third straight summer. He helped Armenia to a two-game sweep of Costa Rica in June, averaging 16.0 points and 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. Essegian had 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting, six boards and three steals in the finale.

Curtis spent part of the summer training with the Iceland U20 team, as they played in the 2025 U20 EuroBasket Championships in Greece. He finished the seven-game tournament leading all players in blocked shots (2.7 per game) and ranking in the top three in both rebounding (8.1 rpg, third), and minutes played (31.6, second).  Curtis topped the team in scoring (14.6 ppg), rebounding, blocked shots and minutes.

Home Sweet Home
The Huskers have made Pinnacle Bank Arena a formidable home court in recent seasons under Fred Hoiberg. In 2024-25, NU was 10-6 at home with six wins coming by double figures and is an impressive 41-11 (.784) over the last three seasons following Monday's win over West Georgia. 

• Nebraska finished the season ranked 13th nationally in attendance with 14,964 fans per game.
• NU has ranked in the top-15 nationally in attendance 10 times since Pinnacle Bank Arena opened in 2013-14.

What's New a PBA This Season
Fans will see a number of upgrades at Pinnacle Bank Arena this season, as ASM Globel and PBA completed $10 million in capital improvements to help continue a first-class experience for fans and teams earlier this fall.

• Center court features a new center hung scoreboard. The 37' 6" tall by 32' 6" wide scoreboard features a resolution of 29.9 million pixels. For comparison, the previous board had 6.5 million pixels. The board has fully integrated video screen capability, including the underbelly.
• A new 900 feet ribbon board was added inside the arena, expanding from 2' 7" tall to 3' 1" tall. The resolution doubled from 1.3 million pixels to 2.6 million pixels.
• The arena wi-fi network was upgraded throughout the PBA. The access points went from 250 to 600, tripling coverage and improving performance 5x, as a new 10 GB fiber pipe was added. Access points are in the seating areas with each access point supporting 70 seats.

Other enhancements included new LED lighting enhancements on the roof and in the concourses, along with new seats in the suite area around the arena.

Replacing the Class of 2025
Nebraska looks to replace a trio of starters who have moved on to the professional ranks in Brice Williams, Juwan Gary and Rollie Worster.

• Williams, who helped NU to a pair of postseason appearances, put together one of the best single-season performances in school history in 2024-25. A first-team All-Big Ten performer, he averaged 20.4 points per game the highest average since Tyronn Lue in 1997-98. A three-time national player of the Week, Williams set a school-record with 713 points, including a school-record 43-point effort at Ohio State. He is currently in camp with the Detroit Pistons.
• Gary was a three-year starter who totaled nearly 1,000 points in his three-year Husker career. Last season, Gary averaged a career-best 14.6 points per game while adding 5.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. He was named "King of the Crown" as he averaged 19.0 points on 52 percent shooting and 8.0 rebounds per game in four games. Gary is playing for Charleroi in Belgium this season.
• Worster started 26 of 31 games before a foot injury ended his season. He averaged 7.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game after playing previously at Utah and Utah State. He is playing professionally for Team FOG Naestved in Denmark.

World Wide Huskers
 NU’s roster has had an international flavor in recent seasons and that trend continues in 2025-26 with Berke Büyüktuncel (Türkiye), Leo Curtis (Iceland), Ugnius Jaruševičius (Lithuania) and Rienk Mast (Netherlands) on the Husker roster. During Fred Hoiberg’s seven seasons, NU has had players on the roster from 12 international countries, including Australia, Canada, England, France, Iceland, Japan, Lithuania, Mali, Senegal and Slovenia.

Starting 5 Plan and Single-Game Tickets on Sale
Husker men’s basketball fans have some options to purchase tickets for the 2025-26 season. In addition to single-game tickets which are on sale, fans can customize their tickets with the Starting 5 mini plan. 

For just $80, which includes all fees, Husker fans can buy 300 Level seats for some of the biggest games at Pinnacle Bank Arena at an affordable price.  The $80 cost for the Starting 5 mini plan is a savings of up to $50 compared to purchasing select single-game tickets separately. There is a limit of six packages per customer. 

The Starting 5 mini plan features one game from Group 1 (Creighton, Michigan State, Illinois or Purdue), two games from Group 2 (Oregon, Washington, Northwestern, Penn State, Maryland or Iowa) and two games from Group 3 (West Georgia, Florida International, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Winthrop, South Carolina Upstate, North Dakota or New Hampshire). 

Fans can purchase their Starting 5 mini plan by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets or calling the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED during business hours (Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-4 p.m.).