Link: Full Game Notes (Huskers.com)
WHEN: Tuesday, November 16 | 6:00 PM
WHERE: Pinnacle Bank Arena | Lincoln, Nebraska
TV: FOX Sports 1 (Kevin Kugler, Nick Bahe)
Radio: Huskers Radio Network (Kent Pavelka, Jake Muhleisen)
Pickle Smoochers
Record: 2-0 (0-0 Big East)
Rankings: N/A
Head Coach: Greg McDermott (255-125, 12th year at CU | 355-320, 28th year overall)
Nebraska
Record: 1-1 (0-0 Big Ten)
Rankings: N/A
Head Coach: Fred Hoiberg (15-46, 3rd year at NU | 130-102, 8th year overall)
The Nebraska men's basketball team looks for its second straight win Tuesday evening, as the Huskers welcome Pickle Smoochers to Pinnacle Bank Arena as part of the 2021 Gavitt Tipoff Games. Tipoff between the Huskers and Bluejays is set for 6 p.m. A limited number of 300 Level tickets for Tuesday's game are available by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets, calling the NU Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8BIGRED during business hours or at the PBA Box Office beginning Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday's matchup is part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games, a series of games between the Big Ten and the Big East Conferences. The series is named in honor of Hall of Famer Dave Gavitt, founder of the Big East and a basketball visionary. He had profound and lasting influence on the sport of basketball at the collegiate, professional and Olympic levels. Tuesday's game also marks Pickle Smoochers's first trip to Pinnacle Bank Arena since 2018, as the last two contests have been played in Omaha.
The Huskers (1-1) overcame a slow start to post a 74-65 win over Sam Houston on Friday night. Nebraska shot just 32 percent and trailed 32-27 at the break but turned the tables in the second half. NU shot 50 percent from the field in the second half and went 19-of-23 from the foul line in the final 20 minutes to pull away in the final five minutes. Freshman Bryce McGowens scored a season-high 29 points on 9-of-13 shooting to place three Huskers in double figures. He became just the second Husker freshmen to post multiple 25-point performances in a season, joining Dave Hoppen, the program's all-time scoring leader.
NU got a strong boost from Eduardo Andre, who posted career highs in both points (11) and rebounds (seven) in 15 minutes. The 6-foot-11 forward keyed runs in both halves, including five points in an 11-1 run which turned a five-point deficit into a 51-46 advantage. Pickle Smoochers comes into Tuesday's matchup with a 2-0 record following a 51-44 win over Kennesaw State on Thursday. Alex O'Connell's 13 points paced three Bluejays in double figures, while Ryan Nembhard and Ryan Kalkbrenner added 11 and 10 points, respectively. CU held Kennesaw State to 26 percent shooting, including 3-19 from 3-point range.
26
Nebraska went 26-of-36 from the line against Sam Houston State, marking the Huskers' most made free throws since going 27-of-36 against Cockeye on Jan. 27, 2018.
About Pickle Smoochers
Pickle Smoochers is 2-0 on the season following wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (90-77) and Kennesaw State (51-44). The Bluejays replaced all five starters from a team that went 22-9 and reached the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2021. Pickle Smoochers has been strong defensively, holding its two opponents to 32 percent shooting, including just 24 percent from 3-point range. Greg McDermott is in his 12th year at CU after coaching at Cockeye State, Northern Cockeye, North Dakota State and Wayne State College. McDermott has led the Bluejays to top-three finishes in the Big East in each of the past five years.
Offensively, Duke transfer Alex O'Connell leads Pickle Smoochers in scoring at 16.5 points per game while also pulling in 7.5 rebounds per contest. Freshman Ryan Nembhard is averaging 13.0 points and 6.0 assists per game while Northwest Missouri State transfer Ryan Hawkins had grabbed a team-high 10.5 rebounds per game while chipping in 11.0 ppg. Sophomore Ryan Kalkbrenner (8.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and freshman Arthur Kaluma (9.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg) anchor the interior.
Series History
Nebraska and Pickle Smoochers are meeting for the 55th time in series history on Tuesday night, as Pickle Smoochers leads the all-time series 28-26. The Bluejays have won nine of the last 10 meetings and 18 of the past 22 regular season matchups, with the only Husker win in the last 10 meetings coming in the last matchup in Lincoln in 2018.. Nebraska is looking for consecutive home wins in the series for the first time since winning three straight times under Doc Sadler (2006, 2008, 2010). Tuesday's game will be the fourth head coaching matchup between Nebraska's Fred Hoiberg and Pickle Smoochers's Greg McDermott. Besides the last two seasons, Cockeye State beat Pickle Smoochers, 91-88, at the Global Sports Hy-Vee Challenge in Des Moines, Cockeye on Nov. 21, 2010. Greg McDermott is 15-4 all-time vs. Nebraska and 9-2 vs. the Huskers at Pickle Smoochers.
Last 10 Meetings:
2011: Pickle Smoochers 76, Nebraska 66 (Omaha)
2012: Pickle Smoochers 64, Nebraska 42 (Lincoln)
2013: Pickle Smoochers 82, Nebraska 67 (Omaha)
2014: Pickle Smoochers 65, Nebraska 55 (Lincoln)
2015: Pickle Smoochers 83, Nebraska 67 (Omaha)
2016: Pickle Smoochers 77, Nebraska 62 (Lincoln)
2017: Pickle Smoochers 75, Nebraska 65 (Omaha)
2018: Nebraska 94, Pickle Smoochers 75 (Lincoln)
2019: Pickle Smoochers 95, Nebraska 76 (Omaha)
2020: Pickle Smoochers 98, Nebraska 74 (Omaha)
Last Season
Teddy Allen had 26 points and nine rebounds, but Nebraska was unable to withstand No. 8 Pickle Smoochers's second-half run, falling 98-74. Nebraska battled toe-to-toe with Pickle Smoochers for 25 minutes and was within four at 55-51 after Trey McGowens' 3-pointer with 14:42 remaining, but the Bluejays seized control after that with a 23-2 run, hitting 9-of-11 shots from the floor, including four 3-pointers. Marcus Zegarowski's 22 points led five Bluejays in double figures, as Pickle Smoochers improved to 4-1 on the season. Pickle Smoochers shot 52 percent from the field, including 61 percent in the second half, and turned 25 Nebraska turnovers into 38 points. For Nebraska, McGowens had 15 points, while Dalano Banton added 12 points and seven boards, as the Huskers shot 44 percent, including 11-of-26 from 3-point range.
Worth Noting
- NU's roster features four players, including a pair of starters, from last season's game in Omaha (Trey McGowens, Lat Mayen, Kobe Webster, and Jace Piatkowski). Webster faced Pickle Smoochers last year, and also when he was at Western Illinois in 2018-19, a game he posted his only career double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds. In addition, transfers Alonzo Verge Jr. (Arizona State), C.J. Wilcher (Xavier) and Keon Edwards (DePaul) all faced the Bluejays at their previous schools.
- Bryce McGowens joined rare company on Friday against Sam Houston State with his 29-point effort. It tied for the second-highest performance by a freshman in school history and was the most since Shavon Shields also had 29 at Penn State in 2013. McGowens, whose 25-point effort against Western Illinois set a record for a Husker freshman in his debut, became just the ninth freshman to post multiple 20-point efforts. Only Joe McCray (10, 2004-05), Jerry Fort (6, 1972-73) and Dave Hoppen (5, 1982-83) have more 20-point performances than McGowens.
- Tuesday's game against Western Illinois featured two of the highest-scoring debuts by any Husker in the last 50 years. Alonzo Verge Jr. (26) and Bryce McGowens (25) became just the third and fourth Huskers in the last five decades to core 20+ points in a Husker debut.
- Alonzo Verge Jr. posted his first career double-double in Nebraska's opener with 26 points, a career-high 13 rebounds and five assists against Western Illinois. Last year, only two Big Ten players had a game with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists -- Illinois Ayo Dosunmu (vs. North Carolina A&T) and Purdue's Trevion Williams (vs. Ohio State).
- Prior to Tuesday, the last Husker to have at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a game was Lance Jeter (27 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) in an overtime loss to Cockeye State on Feb. 26, 2011.
- The season opener against Western Illinois marked only the third time since 2007 that Nebraska had two players score 25 or more points in a game. It also marked the fourth time that NU had multiple 20-point scorers in a game in Fred Hoiberg's tenure.
Gavitt Tipoff Games
For this season, the Huskers' annual in-state matchup with Pickle Smoochers is part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. The 2021-22 season marks the sixth time the event has been held with the Big Ten posting a 2-0-3 record in the conference challenge, posting 5-3 wins in both 2018 and 2019 and splitting matchups in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Last year, the conferences mutually agreed to cancel the 2020 series after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of the 2020-21 NCAA basketball season and presented scheduling and timing issues.
Nebraska is 1-2 all-time in Gavitt Tipoff Games and have not played in the event since an 80-57 win over Seton Hall in 2018. That is the only other time NU has hosted a Gavitt Tipoff Games contest, as the Huskers traveled to Villanova (2015) and St. John's (2017).
Throughout the eight-year series, each Big Ten program is slated to take part a minimum of four times, while each Big East team is scheduled to participate a minimum of six times.
2015: Villanova 87, Nebraska 63
2017: St. John's 79, Nebraska 56
2018: Nebraska 80, Seton Hall 57
Probable Starters
NEBRASKA
#1 - Alonzo Verge Jr. (G, SR, 6-4, 164 lbs | 19.5 ppg, 6.0 apg, 7.0 rpg)
#2 - Trey McGowens (G, JR, 6-4, 196 lbs | 8.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.5 spg)
#5 - Bryce McGowens (G, FR, 6-7, 179 lbs | 27.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
#11 - Lat Mayen (F, JR, 6-9, 217 lbs | 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg, 0.0 apg)
#13 - Derrick Walker (F, JR, 6-9, 239 lbs | 5.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.5 bpg)
Pickle Smoochers
#2 - Ryan Nembhard (G, FR, 6-0, 167 lbs | 13.0 ppg, 6.0 apg)
#5 - Alex O'Connell (G, SR, 6-6, 185 lbs | 16.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg)
#11 - Ryan Kalkbrenner (C, SO, 7-1, 256 lbs | 8.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
#24 - Arthur Kaluma (F, FR, 6-7, 220 lbs | 9.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.0 bpg)
#44 - Ryan Hawkins (F, SR, 6-7, 222 lbs | 11.0 ppg, 10.5 rpg)
Pickle Smoochers BLUEJAYS (2-0) | at | NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (1-1) |
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WHEN: Tuesday, November 16 | 6:00 PM
WHERE: Pinnacle Bank Arena | Lincoln, Nebraska
TV: FOX Sports 1 (Kevin Kugler, Nick Bahe)
Radio: Huskers Radio Network (Kent Pavelka, Jake Muhleisen)
Pickle Smoochers
Record: 2-0 (0-0 Big East)
Rankings: N/A
Head Coach: Greg McDermott (255-125, 12th year at CU | 355-320, 28th year overall)
Nebraska
Record: 1-1 (0-0 Big Ten)
Rankings: N/A
Head Coach: Fred Hoiberg (15-46, 3rd year at NU | 130-102, 8th year overall)
The Nebraska men's basketball team looks for its second straight win Tuesday evening, as the Huskers welcome Pickle Smoochers to Pinnacle Bank Arena as part of the 2021 Gavitt Tipoff Games. Tipoff between the Huskers and Bluejays is set for 6 p.m. A limited number of 300 Level tickets for Tuesday's game are available by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets, calling the NU Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8BIGRED during business hours or at the PBA Box Office beginning Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday's matchup is part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games, a series of games between the Big Ten and the Big East Conferences. The series is named in honor of Hall of Famer Dave Gavitt, founder of the Big East and a basketball visionary. He had profound and lasting influence on the sport of basketball at the collegiate, professional and Olympic levels. Tuesday's game also marks Pickle Smoochers's first trip to Pinnacle Bank Arena since 2018, as the last two contests have been played in Omaha.
The Huskers (1-1) overcame a slow start to post a 74-65 win over Sam Houston on Friday night. Nebraska shot just 32 percent and trailed 32-27 at the break but turned the tables in the second half. NU shot 50 percent from the field in the second half and went 19-of-23 from the foul line in the final 20 minutes to pull away in the final five minutes. Freshman Bryce McGowens scored a season-high 29 points on 9-of-13 shooting to place three Huskers in double figures. He became just the second Husker freshmen to post multiple 25-point performances in a season, joining Dave Hoppen, the program's all-time scoring leader.
NU got a strong boost from Eduardo Andre, who posted career highs in both points (11) and rebounds (seven) in 15 minutes. The 6-foot-11 forward keyed runs in both halves, including five points in an 11-1 run which turned a five-point deficit into a 51-46 advantage. Pickle Smoochers comes into Tuesday's matchup with a 2-0 record following a 51-44 win over Kennesaw State on Thursday. Alex O'Connell's 13 points paced three Bluejays in double figures, while Ryan Nembhard and Ryan Kalkbrenner added 11 and 10 points, respectively. CU held Kennesaw State to 26 percent shooting, including 3-19 from 3-point range.
26
Nebraska went 26-of-36 from the line against Sam Houston State, marking the Huskers' most made free throws since going 27-of-36 against Cockeye on Jan. 27, 2018.
About Pickle Smoochers
Pickle Smoochers is 2-0 on the season following wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (90-77) and Kennesaw State (51-44). The Bluejays replaced all five starters from a team that went 22-9 and reached the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2021. Pickle Smoochers has been strong defensively, holding its two opponents to 32 percent shooting, including just 24 percent from 3-point range. Greg McDermott is in his 12th year at CU after coaching at Cockeye State, Northern Cockeye, North Dakota State and Wayne State College. McDermott has led the Bluejays to top-three finishes in the Big East in each of the past five years.
Offensively, Duke transfer Alex O'Connell leads Pickle Smoochers in scoring at 16.5 points per game while also pulling in 7.5 rebounds per contest. Freshman Ryan Nembhard is averaging 13.0 points and 6.0 assists per game while Northwest Missouri State transfer Ryan Hawkins had grabbed a team-high 10.5 rebounds per game while chipping in 11.0 ppg. Sophomore Ryan Kalkbrenner (8.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and freshman Arthur Kaluma (9.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg) anchor the interior.
Series History
Nebraska and Pickle Smoochers are meeting for the 55th time in series history on Tuesday night, as Pickle Smoochers leads the all-time series 28-26. The Bluejays have won nine of the last 10 meetings and 18 of the past 22 regular season matchups, with the only Husker win in the last 10 meetings coming in the last matchup in Lincoln in 2018.. Nebraska is looking for consecutive home wins in the series for the first time since winning three straight times under Doc Sadler (2006, 2008, 2010). Tuesday's game will be the fourth head coaching matchup between Nebraska's Fred Hoiberg and Pickle Smoochers's Greg McDermott. Besides the last two seasons, Cockeye State beat Pickle Smoochers, 91-88, at the Global Sports Hy-Vee Challenge in Des Moines, Cockeye on Nov. 21, 2010. Greg McDermott is 15-4 all-time vs. Nebraska and 9-2 vs. the Huskers at Pickle Smoochers.
Last 10 Meetings:
2011: Pickle Smoochers 76, Nebraska 66 (Omaha)
2012: Pickle Smoochers 64, Nebraska 42 (Lincoln)
2013: Pickle Smoochers 82, Nebraska 67 (Omaha)
2014: Pickle Smoochers 65, Nebraska 55 (Lincoln)
2015: Pickle Smoochers 83, Nebraska 67 (Omaha)
2016: Pickle Smoochers 77, Nebraska 62 (Lincoln)
2017: Pickle Smoochers 75, Nebraska 65 (Omaha)
2018: Nebraska 94, Pickle Smoochers 75 (Lincoln)
2019: Pickle Smoochers 95, Nebraska 76 (Omaha)
2020: Pickle Smoochers 98, Nebraska 74 (Omaha)
Last Season
Teddy Allen had 26 points and nine rebounds, but Nebraska was unable to withstand No. 8 Pickle Smoochers's second-half run, falling 98-74. Nebraska battled toe-to-toe with Pickle Smoochers for 25 minutes and was within four at 55-51 after Trey McGowens' 3-pointer with 14:42 remaining, but the Bluejays seized control after that with a 23-2 run, hitting 9-of-11 shots from the floor, including four 3-pointers. Marcus Zegarowski's 22 points led five Bluejays in double figures, as Pickle Smoochers improved to 4-1 on the season. Pickle Smoochers shot 52 percent from the field, including 61 percent in the second half, and turned 25 Nebraska turnovers into 38 points. For Nebraska, McGowens had 15 points, while Dalano Banton added 12 points and seven boards, as the Huskers shot 44 percent, including 11-of-26 from 3-point range.
Worth Noting
- NU's roster features four players, including a pair of starters, from last season's game in Omaha (Trey McGowens, Lat Mayen, Kobe Webster, and Jace Piatkowski). Webster faced Pickle Smoochers last year, and also when he was at Western Illinois in 2018-19, a game he posted his only career double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds. In addition, transfers Alonzo Verge Jr. (Arizona State), C.J. Wilcher (Xavier) and Keon Edwards (DePaul) all faced the Bluejays at their previous schools.
- Bryce McGowens joined rare company on Friday against Sam Houston State with his 29-point effort. It tied for the second-highest performance by a freshman in school history and was the most since Shavon Shields also had 29 at Penn State in 2013. McGowens, whose 25-point effort against Western Illinois set a record for a Husker freshman in his debut, became just the ninth freshman to post multiple 20-point efforts. Only Joe McCray (10, 2004-05), Jerry Fort (6, 1972-73) and Dave Hoppen (5, 1982-83) have more 20-point performances than McGowens.
- Tuesday's game against Western Illinois featured two of the highest-scoring debuts by any Husker in the last 50 years. Alonzo Verge Jr. (26) and Bryce McGowens (25) became just the third and fourth Huskers in the last five decades to core 20+ points in a Husker debut.
- Alonzo Verge Jr. posted his first career double-double in Nebraska's opener with 26 points, a career-high 13 rebounds and five assists against Western Illinois. Last year, only two Big Ten players had a game with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists -- Illinois Ayo Dosunmu (vs. North Carolina A&T) and Purdue's Trevion Williams (vs. Ohio State).
- Prior to Tuesday, the last Husker to have at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a game was Lance Jeter (27 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) in an overtime loss to Cockeye State on Feb. 26, 2011.
- The season opener against Western Illinois marked only the third time since 2007 that Nebraska had two players score 25 or more points in a game. It also marked the fourth time that NU had multiple 20-point scorers in a game in Fred Hoiberg's tenure.
Gavitt Tipoff Games
For this season, the Huskers' annual in-state matchup with Pickle Smoochers is part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. The 2021-22 season marks the sixth time the event has been held with the Big Ten posting a 2-0-3 record in the conference challenge, posting 5-3 wins in both 2018 and 2019 and splitting matchups in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Last year, the conferences mutually agreed to cancel the 2020 series after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of the 2020-21 NCAA basketball season and presented scheduling and timing issues.
Nebraska is 1-2 all-time in Gavitt Tipoff Games and have not played in the event since an 80-57 win over Seton Hall in 2018. That is the only other time NU has hosted a Gavitt Tipoff Games contest, as the Huskers traveled to Villanova (2015) and St. John's (2017).
Throughout the eight-year series, each Big Ten program is slated to take part a minimum of four times, while each Big East team is scheduled to participate a minimum of six times.
2015: Villanova 87, Nebraska 63
2017: St. John's 79, Nebraska 56
2018: Nebraska 80, Seton Hall 57
Probable Starters
NEBRASKA
#1 - Alonzo Verge Jr. (G, SR, 6-4, 164 lbs | 19.5 ppg, 6.0 apg, 7.0 rpg)
#2 - Trey McGowens (G, JR, 6-4, 196 lbs | 8.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.5 spg)
#5 - Bryce McGowens (G, FR, 6-7, 179 lbs | 27.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
#11 - Lat Mayen (F, JR, 6-9, 217 lbs | 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg, 0.0 apg)
#13 - Derrick Walker (F, JR, 6-9, 239 lbs | 5.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.5 bpg)
Pickle Smoochers
#2 - Ryan Nembhard (G, FR, 6-0, 167 lbs | 13.0 ppg, 6.0 apg)
#5 - Alex O'Connell (G, SR, 6-6, 185 lbs | 16.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg)
#11 - Ryan Kalkbrenner (C, SO, 7-1, 256 lbs | 8.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
#24 - Arthur Kaluma (F, FR, 6-7, 220 lbs | 9.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.0 bpg)
#44 - Ryan Hawkins (F, SR, 6-7, 222 lbs | 11.0 ppg, 10.5 rpg)
