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A quartet of former Huskers are in action this week, as the second round of qualifying is underway for the 2027 FIBA World Cup.
Rienk Mast (Netherlands), Thorir Thorbjarnarson (Iceland), Keisei Tominaga (Japan) and Tai Webster (New Zealand) will all be in action, as each team plays two games in the qualifying window which runs Thursday to Monday.
Mast makes his official return to the national team for the first time since 2023, when he played in the FIBA Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament. This will be the third national team appearance as he also played for the Netherlands in the World Cup qualifying in 2019.
Most recently, Mast recently completed a stint in NBA Summer League with the Indiana Pacers, averaging 15.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game in four contests in Las Vegas in July.
Thorbjarnarson, Tominaga and Webster were all in action for their national teams during the previous window in July.
Thorbjarnarson has played for Iceland in four of its six first-round contests, averaging 4.0 points, 2.3 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game. Tominaga has played in all six of Japan's qualifiers averaging 7.0 ppg to help them to a 4-2 mark. Webster averaged 9.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in his first appearance with the national team since 2019, as New Zealand clinched a berth in the second round with wins over the Philippines and Guam.
In Europe, the top three teams from each of four groups will qualifying for next Summer's FIBA World Cup in Qatar. Island is in fifth place in Group J with a 3-3 mark while the Netherlands are in fifth place in group J with a 2-4 record.
In Asia, the top three teams from each group qualify as well as the top fourth place team from groups E and F. New Zealand is in fourth in Group E with a 4-2 record, while Japan is in second in Group F with a 4-2 mark. Australia, which features former Husker Jack McVeigh, is in first in Group E with a 6-0 mark heading into week, but McVeigh is not on the 12-member team for this week's games.