Game Thread Nebrasketball Exhibition Game #1 - BYU: Saturday, October 18, 12:00pm CT (B1G+)

[V-Doub]

Are we switching places with Indiana?

Well, that would require a final 4ish type finish this season. Fuck yeah I’ll take that.

Spoiler

Also fuck you Indiana; you’re a fidget spinner, enjoy your 15 🖕🏼

 

[Alum-Ni]

Mast Shoots Huskers Past BYU
Huskers.com
Rienk Mast made his return to action a memorable one, finishing with a game-high 31 points, including 7-of-8 from 3-point range, as Nebraska topped No. 8 BYU 90-89 in a Saturday afternoon exhibition game at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Mast, who had not played since the 2024 NCAA Tournament following knee surgery, hit 11-of-15 shots from the field, including his first seven 3-pointers, on the afternoon while adding five rebounds and three assists. The 6-foot-10 senior steadied the Huskers, scoring 16 straight for Nebraska, which overcame an early double-figure deficit and withstood a BYU comeback in the final minutes.

On the day, the Huskers shot 50 percent from the field, including 16-of-34 from 3-point range, had 24 assists, including nine from senior Jamarques Lawrence, and just 10 turnovers. NU also held BYU, which was picked second in the Big 12 preseason poll, to just 45 percent shooting.

In addition to Mast, Connor Essegian added 10 points, including five 3-pointers, while Pryce Sandfort added 12 in the win.

Nebraska trailed 50-46 at the break before opening the half with seven straight points to take a 53-50 lead after a Mast 3-pointer. NU opened the second half with a 17-4 spurt over the first 5:03 as Sandfort and Essegian five points apiece as the Huskers built a 63-54 advantage.

Nebraska, which never trailed again, led by as many as 13 and built a 87-76 lead with 5:09 left after Essegian’s fifth 3-pointer of the day.

BYU chipped away behind AJ Dybantsa, who led the Cougars with 30 points, as he had seven of his points in a 9-1 spurt that pulled BYU within 88-85 with 2:25 left.

A pair of Hoiberg free throws stopped the run, but BYU continued to battle, getting to within one after a pair of free throws by Khadim Mboup with 16.8 seconds left. Berke Buyuktuncel missed the front end of a 1-an-1 with 14.4 seconds to give BYU one last chance for the win.

Aleksej Kostic missed a well-guarded 3-point attempt before Jared McGregor got the rebound, but his attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.

The Big Red will host another exhibition game against Midland University on Monday, Oct. 27. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. (CT), and tickets are available by visiting Huskers.com/tickets. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network, with audio coverage from the Huskers Radio network.

 

[Alum-Ni]

1st	2nd	TOTAL
BYU	50	39	89
Nebraska	46	44	90

BYU	STATS	NEBRASKA
29-64 (45.3%)	FG	32-64 (50.0%)
10-31 (32.3%)	3FG	16-34 (47.1%)
21-24 (87.5%)	FT	10-15 (66.7%)
39	Rebounds	34
16	Fouls	20
12	Assists	24
10	Turnovers	10
5	Steals	2
2	Blocks	5
8	Pts off Turnovers	15
34	Pts in Paint	32
21	2nd Chance Pts	14
15	Fast Break Pts	6
26	Bench Pts	35

SCORING

BYU
AJ Dybantsa - 30
Khadim Mboup - 12
Richie Sanders - 11
Aleksej Kostic - 11
Kennard Davis Jr. - 9
Robert Wright III - 8
Keba Keita - 5
Mihailo Boskovic - 3
TOTAL - 89

NEBRASKA
Rienk Mast - 31
Connor Essegian - 20
Pryce Sandfort - 12
Berke Buyuktuncel - 6
Sam Hoiberg - 5
Jared Garcia - 5
Jamarques Lawrence - 4
Kendall Blue - 3
Cale Jacobsen - 2
Leo Curtis - 2
TOTAL - 90

 

[Seaofred92]

Full highlights from yesterday here:

 

[redzoner]

Full game minus the first 4 minutes is available as well,

 

[Seaofred92]

 

[redzoner]

Thoughts after watching the replay online.

Mast completely changes the game with his ability to spread teams out. I really hope he physically holds up a whole season because he could have a big year. Essegian will probably benefit the most from playing with him.

Good to have Lawrence back. We would have been better last year with him still on the team. He's just a really good glue guy that does a lot of little things to help us win.

I like the slimmed down Berke. Hopefully he continues to improve his shooting.

I love what Cale did in the Vegas tournament but I think we will be better with him and Sam coming off the bench for energy and toughness instead of starting.

Sandfort look comfortable in the offense and should get a lot of threes.

Kendall Blue isn't Bryce or Gary but I think he will need to play a role this year for us to succeed.

I liked what Frager did. Not sure how much offense we will get out of him but it looks like he could be a good option for D and toughness.

Jared Garcia was an unknown for me but it looks like he could provide some quality minutes.

Leo Curtis has some tools but I don't think he's grown into his body enough yet to have a big impact.

There is a lot of solid players on this roster but some of these guys will get phased out of the rotation as the season progresses. It will be interesting to see who the top 8 or 9 end up being.

 

[Seaofred92]

 

[Seaofred92]

 

[Seaofred92]

Thoughts after watching the replay online.

Mast completely changes the game with his ability to spread teams out. I really hope he physically holds up a whole season because he could have a big year. Essegian will probably benefit the most from playing with him.

Good to have Lawrence back. We would have been better last year with him still on the team. He's just a really good glue guy that does a lot of little things to help us win.

I like the slimmed down Berke. Hopefully he continues to improve his shooting.

I love what Cale did in the Vegas tournament but I think we will be better with him and Sam coming off the bench for energy and toughness instead of starting.

Sandfort look comfortable in the offense and should get a lot of threes.

Kendall Blue isn't Bryce or Gary but I think he will need to play a role this year for us to succeed.

I liked what Frager did. Not sure how much offense we will get out of him but it looks like he could be a good option for D and toughness.

Jared Garcia was an unknown for me but it looks like he could provide some quality minutes.

Leo Curtis has some tools but I don't think he's grown into his body enough yet to have a big impact.

There is a lot of solid players on this roster but some of these guys will get phased out of the rotation as the season progresses. It will be interesting to see who the top 8 or 9 end up being.

Excellent write up. I agree about Curtis but he will be a player for us down the line. This team will go as far as the three pointer takes us but having Mast back I truly don’t know if we can overstate how impactful it will be

 

[Cornicator]

Thoughts after watching the replay online.

Mast completely changes the game with his ability to spread teams out. I really hope he physically holds up a whole season because he could have a big year. Essegian will probably benefit the most from playing with him.

Good to have Lawrence back. We would have been better last year with him still on the team. He's just a really good glue guy that does a lot of little things to help us win.

I like the slimmed down Berke. Hopefully he continues to improve his shooting.

I love what Cale did in the Vegas tournament but I think we will be better with him and Sam coming off the bench for energy and toughness instead of starting.

Sandfort look comfortable in the offense and should get a lot of threes.

Kendall Blue isn't Bryce or Gary but I think he will need to play a role this year for us to succeed.

I liked what Frager did. Not sure how much offense we will get out of him but it looks like he could be a good option for D and toughness.

Jared Garcia was an unknown for me but it looks like he could provide some quality minutes.

Leo Curtis has some tools but I don't think he's grown into his body enough yet to have a big impact.

There is a lot of solid players on this roster but some of these guys will get phased out of the rotation as the season progresses. It will be interesting to see who the top 8 or 9 end up being.

I thought Frager was a bit too excited and played a bit out of control on the offensive end. But when he reigns that in, he will have an impact. He got to the rim easily. Just has to finish.

Also, what's wrong with Oogie?

 

[Baron Winnebago]

I thought Frager was a bit too excited and played a bit out of control on the offensive end. But when he reigns that in, he will have an impact. He got to the rim easily. Just has to finish.

Also, what's wrong with Oogie?

I think it's back stuff, which can definitely linger for a dude his size

 

[Seaofred92]

 

[redzoner]

Excellent write up. I agree about Curtis but he will be a player for us down the line. This team will go as far as the three pointer takes us but having Mast back I truly don’t know if we can overstate how impactful it will be

I think Curtis will slowly get more minutes this year and be a solid rotation player next year.

He definitely looks like the most promising freshman post under Hoiberg.

 

[Cornicator]

I think Curtis will slowly get more minutes this year and be a solid rotation player next year.

He definitely looks like the most promising freshman post under Hoiberg.

I don't even care about scoring. The dude looked competent with the ball away from the hoop. They've signed a lot of big men over the years who look completely overwhelmed by level.

 

[Seaofred92]

 

[Baron Winnebago]

I don't even care about scoring. The dude looked competent with the ball away from the hoop. They've signed a lot of big men over the years who look completely overwhelmed by level.

I think he will have to play. I don't think there's another credible rim protector on the roster

 

[PonyBoy]

I think he will have to play. I don't think there's another credible rim protector on the roster

Assuming he's healthy, Oogie will get the minutes before Curtis*.

Last season, it seemed our offense flowed better with Meah (rim protector) on the bench.

I do agree with you and Corn about his potential and excited to see him.

 

[Baron Winnebago]

Assuming he's healthy, Oogie will get the minutes before Curtis*.

Last season, it seemed our offense flowed better with Meah (rim protector) on the bench.

I do agree with you and Corn about his potential and excited to see him.

I agree that Oogie will get minutes first and that probably the offense will be better with him on the floor if Mast sits, but I can't figure out how they keep teams off the rim without someone they can put out there who can at least plausibly block shots.

Curtis looks light years beyond Meah as a distributor and while he is no where close to a finished product, either game wise or physically, I can still see a role for him right now

 

[PonyBoy]

I agree that Oogie will get minutes first and that probably the offense will be better with him on the floor if Mast sits, but I can't figure out how they keep teams off the rim without someone they can put out there who can at least plausibly block shots.

Curtis looks light years beyond Meah as a distributor and while he is no where close to a finished product, either game wise or physically, I can still see a role for him right now

I see the concern because it's been like that under Fred since he arrived in Lincoln. I will say though, our overall length & athleticism continues to get better. Size wise, we're not much different than last season - maybe a tad bit longer? Lose the dawg in Gary, but gain more efficiency on the other end of the court with Sandfort?

That will be very beneficial for us, but I can't see more than a few minutes here & there for him.

9 man rotation:
Lawrence, Hoiberg, Essegian, Sandfort, Berke, Mast, Oogie, Blue, Garcia.

This doesn't even include Jacobsen, Frager or Curtis. Good problem to have.