Postgame Notes

•-With the win, Nebraska improved to 7-0 for the fifth time in school history and the first time since the 1992-93 season

*-Nebraska’s seven-game win streak is the longest since an 11-game win streak during the 2010-11 season.

*-Nebraska finished the game 19-of-20 from the foul line, marking the second straight game NU shot at least 90 percent from the line (min. 10 att.). It is NU’s best performance (min. 10 att.) since going 12-of-12 at Minnesota on March 3, 2012. For 20 attempts or more, it is NU’s best foul shooting performance since going 20-21 against Minnesota on Nov. 26, 1995. 

*-Nebraska has scored 80-or-more points in each of the last four games and in six of seven games this season. NU has now won its last 13 games when scoring 80+ points. 

*-It is Nebraska’s best foul shooting effort inside Pinnacle Bank Arena, breaking the mark of .923 (12 of 13) against Penn State on Feb. 13, 2016.

•-Nebraska hit a season-high 12 3-pointers in the win, the third time the Huskers have hit 10-or-more in a game this season.

•-Nebraska put five players (Rienk Mast, Brice Williams, Juwan Gary, Keisei Tominaga, Jamarques Lawrence) in double figures for the second time this season and the first since the season opener against Lindenwood.

*-Jamarques Lawrence dished out a season-high six assists without a turnover and finished with a season-high 11 points. He is the ninth Husker to post a double-figure game this season.  Lawrence’s previous career high in assists was four, set three other times, and he 12 assists and no turnovers in the last three games.

*-Rienk Mast led NU with 19 points, as he is the first NU player to lead the team in scoring more than once this season.

*-Nebraska had 18 assists and nine turnovers, the third straight game posting a 2-to-1 or better assist-to-turnover ratio.

•-Keisei Tominaga tallied 17 points on just field goal attempts. Tominaga was 5-of-5 from the field (4-of-4 from 3) and was 4-of-4 from the foul line. HE also tied his career high with four rebounds. 

*-Juwan Gary had 13 points off the bench, as NU has had at least one double-figure scorer off the bench in all seven games.

 

Nebraska Head Coach Fred Hoiberg
On what jumped out from the game
“Well, we have a lot to work on in our off week here and it’s an important week for us and first of all for recovery, we have a couple guys dealing with some nagging injuries. We played a lot of games in a short amount of time in the early portion of this season. Now it’s about getting back to what we were doing earlier, especially on the defensive end. I just feel like we’ve lost our edge a little bit on that side of the floor. We have to get back to rebounding, we have to get back to hitting, we have to get our physicality back. I thought our first-shot defense was better in the second half than it was in the first but then too many second-chance opportunities with 15 offensive rebounds. We cannot continue that trend. I think it was 11 the other night and we have to get that fixed here. The week, the way it will play out with the next few weeks with our schedule, we have to take two days off this week so we’ll be off tomorrow, come in for a good hard physical workout on Tuesday, off on Wednesday and then get three days to prepare for one of the top teams in the country. We have to get that fixed if we’re going to have any success moving forward. There certainly were some positives, especially on the offensive end. We’re sharing the ball well, we’re taking care of it for the most part, I think nine turnovers tonight to 18 assists. We have to get back to our hard-nosed defensive mentality. I think that was our identity early on in this season. We have to get back to that. I love how we’re getting to the free throw line. Another good night there, that’s important, we need to continue on in that, we need to get those opportunities and I thought our efficiency for the most part, especially early when they were scoring, it was back and forth too much but our offense was in a pretty good rhythm tonight.”

On how the team has evolved after players returning from injuries
“The thing that I’ve been really pleased with, and a big emphasis tonight, was making simple plays. We knew they were going to swarm the ball, similar to the last game. Anytime you put the ball on the floor, if you took an extra dribble, they were going to be on top of you. Making simple plays, and our guys have done a solid job with that where we’re reading the defense a lot better than we were early in the season. It’s a read-and-react system, and our guys did a great job finding Rienk stepping out and hitting shots, getting him the ball on the block. Kesei’s efficiency, with five shots and 17 points, stands out. Brice (Williams) had a nice little rhythm going on out there as well, so for the most part I was pleased on that end. Obviously, we’ll know more after we go back and watch the tape, but for the most part, I was pleased with our effort on that end and the way that we’re moving in the right direction on offense.”

On Jamarques Lawrence’s Play
“I was really pleased with Jamarques (Lawrence)’s pace tonight. I didn’t think we ran with him well enough in the first half but we talked about getting some transition baskets and I thought we could have exposed them a little bit in transition. We did get some good looks when we got the ball down the floor. I thought we ran better in the second half even though we had a bit of a lull around the 10-minute mark. Overall I’ve been really pleased with Jamarques. His shift from off-the-ball mentality to now having to get us into an offensive, I’ve been really impressed with how he’s handled all that.”

Nebraska Forward Rienk Mast
On the team’s rebounding
“I think after the first couple of games we got complacent, we were outrebounding everybody pretty easily. We didn’t hit anybody anymore, so we have to get back to hitting and making sure we box out, because if we play athletic teams and we just let them fly in, they’re going to get a couple. (CSF) was athletic too, and we saw that especially at the end, they just came flying in and we didn’t box out.”

On how he fits in Hoiberg’s offense
“There’s a lot of flow in the offense, a lot of freedom. Especially with me being able to handle the ball and know what to look for. Today we played against a team where the bigs mostly dropped, so I knew there was some space on top, and I think most of my threes were within the elbows at the top. Coach (Hoiberg) is really good at creating openings where different guys can play to their strengths. I guess today was my day where I could get a couple open looks, and luckily, I knocked them down.”

On picking up another win to stay perfect
“Coach said in the locker room to never apologize for winning. I’d rather win ugly than lose and play well. Today, it’s just good that we got the win, but we have to realize that we’re definitely not there. Seven and 0 looks nice, but we’re definitely not there where we need to be heading into these tough games in conference play. Just staying hungry, like (Lawrence) said in the locker room after Coach got done talking, we have a day off now on Monday, and then Tuesday we’re practicing, so we have to come in ready to practice.”

Cal State Fullerton Coach Dedrique Taylor:
On trying to slow Nebraska down from behind the arc
“We tried to, but they just do it so well. The one thing that stands out is they understand who they are, and they fight and execute just like that. They’re going to shoot threes, that’s who they are, but the thing is, they understand the pace. They understand creating good threes, and they did a good job of that today.”

On Max Jones health and leading the team in scoring
“He’s feeling okay, he’ll be sore, but just again his relentlessness in terms of his attack and understanding when he’s being guarded by more than two people getting off the basketball and trusting his teammates. I thought that he was really good today, and I thought his teammates did a good job of spacing the floor and taking advantage of what the Nebraska defense gave us. They were super aggressive, and they challenged our decision making, and I thought for the most part our guys were okay in that department.”

On playing in a Power 5 environment
“I thought they were fine. I thought we got experience when we played at San Diego State and Central Florida. So coming here today was nothing new. The atmosphere is that of a Big 10 (school) but it wasn’t anything unique, and I thought our guys just handled the moment and they performed and gave it everything they had.”

On expectations for the upcoming season
“We got to get healthy and just continue to grow, and learn, and understand how hard we have to play to give ourselves a chance and understand the importance of details for our ballclub. But getting healthy and maintaining a level of health always will dictate our future but also understanding how hard you have to play.”