Huskers Look to Extend Win Streak Thursday Night
Two of the hottest teams in the Big Ten will match up on Thursday night, as the Huskers welcome No. 25 Maryland to Lincoln. Tipoff between the Huskers and Terrapins from Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for shortly after 7:30 p.m. and the contest will be televised on BTN and carried on the Huskers Radio Network, as well as on Huskers.com and the Huskers app. The game will also be available on the Fox Sports App. A limited number of 300 Level tickets are available for purchase for Thursday’s matchup by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets or at the PBA box office beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Nebraska (16-8, 6-7 B1G) has won four straight following a 79-71 win over Ohio State on Sunday afternoon. The Huskers shot 52 percent from the field and put three players in double figures while overcoming an eight-point second-half deficit. Brice Williams led NU with 24 points and a season-high 10 rebounds en route to his first double-double of the season, while Juwan Gary (19 points, five rebounds) and Berke Büyüktuncel (15 points, six rebounds) both made major impacts in the victory. Nebraska used an 11-0 run to take the lead for good and closed out the Buckeyes by going 15-of-17 from the line after halftime.
Nebraska’s senior leaders have led the charge during the Huskers’ win streak. Williams is averaging 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game and has four straight 20-point efforts while Gary is averaging 18.0 ppg on 57 percent shooting and 6.3 rebounds per contest in that span.
The Huskers will be looking for their sixth Quad 1 win of the season on Thursday, while Maryland is up to 16th in the NET entering the week. The Huskers are also gunning for their school-record fifth ranked win of the season, as the Terps are ranked 25th in this week’s AP poll.
Maryland (18-6, 8-5 B1G) comes to Lincoln winning five of their last six dating back to the first meeting with the Huskers. The Terps dispatched Rutgers, 90-81, on Sunday, putting four players in double figures. Freshman Derik Queen had 29 points, 15 rebounds and five assists to pace the Terps, while Rodney Rice (19) and Selton Miguel (17) combined for 36 points.
Numbers to Know
12 – Brice Williams leads Nebraska with 12 20-point games this season. He is now tied for third for 20-point games by a Husker in the Big Ten era, trailing only Terran Petteway (13, 2014-15) and James Palmer Jr. (18, 2018-19).
32- Fred Hoiberg has 32 wins over ranked opponents, including 11 career wins against top-10 teams, in his collegiate coaching career. In addition, his five road wins against ranked opponents is second only to Danny Nee (seven) all-time among NU men’s basketball coaches.
1.76 – Nebraska’s assist-to-turnover ratio over the last four contests, as the Huskers have averaged just 8.5 turnovers per game during the four-game win streak. For the first 20 games, NU posted a 1.13-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
.645 – Over the last three-plus seasons, Nebraska has played some of its best basketball down the stretch, and NU is already 3-0 in the month this season. Since the start of the 2021-22 season, NU is 20-11 in Big Ten games after Feb. 1.
24.5 – Nebraska has gotten great production from its bench, averaging 24.5 points per game this season to rank fourth in the Big Ten. Nebraska has gotten 23 double-figure efforts from its bench this season (Morgan-10, Essegian-11, Ulis-1; Worster-1). The Huskers led the Big Ten in bench production last season, averaging 21.4 points per game.
Worth Noting
• Nebraska enters the week ranked No. 49 in the NET and Thursday’s game at Maryland is the middle of an eight-game stretch where NU plays seven Quad 1 games that dates back to Jan. 30. NU is currently 4-0 in that stretch with three Quad 1 wins (Illinois, at Oregon and Ohio State).
Maryland is No. 16 in the NET as of Feb. 10, one of seven Big Ten teams in the top 25 of the NET. All 18 teams are currently in the top 100 of the NET, including 16 in the top 75. Nebraska is currently 8-8 against the top 2 Quads (5-6 vs. Q1, 3-2 vs. Q2) and a combined 8-0 vs. Q3 and Q4 teams.
• Nebraska has shot over 50 percent from the field in each of the past three games, the first time that has happened since Nov. 19-23, 2021, and for the first time in Big Ten play since a four-game stretch during the 2015-16 season.
• Brice Williams looks for his fifth consecutive 20-point game on Thursday against Maryland, as he bids to be just the second Husker to post five consecutive 20-point games (Keisei Tominaga in 2022-23). Williams has 25.5 points during NU’s four-game win streak and his four straight 20-point games matches the longest streak of his career.
• Nebraska looks for its school-record fifth top-25 win of the season on Thursday night against No. 25 Maryland. The Huskers have won four games vs. ranked teams in a season on four previous occasions, most recently 1998-99.
• Nebraska has won multiple games against ranked foes in three of the past four years and is now 9-9 in its last 18 games against ranked teams dating back to March 1, 2022.
• The Huskers are 3-8 all-time against teams ranked 25th in the AP poll with wins at No. 25 Indiana (2018-19), vs. Texas Tech (2003-04) and at No. 25 Oklahoma (1998-99).
• Over the last 28 games dating back to last season, Brice Williams is averaging 19.5 points per game on .478 shooting and has 15 20-point efforts in that span. He has been in double figures in 26 of the last 28 contests. Williams averaged just 12.5 ppg over his first 30 games at Nebraska in 2023-24.
• Nebraska nearly had its fifth double 20-point game against Ohio State, as Brice Williams finished with 24 points while Juwan Gary added 19. NU has has multiple players score 20+ 15 times in Fred Hoiberg’s six seasons.
• Nebraska has overcome halftime deficits in each of the last two games, including 10 points at Washington and five against Ohio State. The comeback over Washington marked the sixth time in Hoiberg’s six seasons that NU has overcome a double-figure deficit.
• Nebraska has been better defensively in its three-game win streak, holding Illinois (0.94 ppp), Oregon (1.02 ppp) and Ohio State (1.06 ppp) in check offensively. NU is 11-0 when holding opponents to under one point per possession, but 5-8 when opponents are above 1.0 PPP. Nebraska has won its last 28 games dating back to the 2022-23 season when holding an opponent under 1.0 PPP.
• On Jan. 26, Brice and his father, Henry, became the seventh father-son duo to combine for 4,000 career points at the college level. Brice now has 1,721 career points and is now only 80 points away from reaching 1,000 as a Husker. Henry Williams, who passed away in 2018, was Charlotte’s all-time leading scorer with 2,383 career points.
• Nebraska comes into Thursday’s game with Maryland averaging 76.1 points per game. It is on pace to be NU’s second-highest scoring average since joining the Big Ten in 2011-12. NU has scored 70+ points 16 times, including nine games with at least 80 points. Last season, NU averaged 77.7 points per game for 34 games, its highest offensive total since the 1995-96 season.
• Of the six games in NU’s losing streak in January, NU was within three points in the final 10 seconds of regulation four times, including the first matchup with Maryland.
• Connor Essegian has been one of the Big Ten’s best sixth men, as the junior guard enters Thursday’s game with Maryland averaging 11.0 points per contest. Essegian is one of only two Big Ten reserves currently averaging double figures while making five or fewer starts.
• NU has relied on its depth with six players averaging at least 7.2 points per game. Eight players have posted double-figure efforts, while three players (Brice Williams, Connor Essegian and Juwan Gary) have recorded 20-point games. Williams is the only Husker in the top 25 of the Big Ten in scoring as of Feb. 10.
• With its 16-8 record in 2024-25, Nebraska is 45-22 over the last 67 games dating back to the start of February 2023. NU’s .667 winning percentage ties for second among Big Ten programs in that stretch. It would also rank second if you add in the four new Big Ten programs in that stretch. NU went just 33-80 from the start of the 2019-20 season until Feb. 1, 2023.
• Nebraska is 39-7 (.848) inside Pinnacle Bank Arena over the last three seasons heading into Thursday’s game with Maryland. The Huskers had a school-record 20-game home win streak snapped against Rutgers on Jan. 16.
• Ahron Ulis dished out a career-high 10 assists on Jan. 19 at Maryland. It more than tripled his previous season high of three and marked the first time a Husker had 10 assists in a game since Alonzo Verge Jr. in 2022. It also marked the first 10-assist game by a Husker reserve since Tom Wald had 11 in a win over Appalachian State on Dec. 31, 1994.
• Brice Williams is just the sixth Husker in the Big Ten era to have multiple 30-point games. He had 30 points in the win over Indiana on Dec. 13 and tied his career high with 32 points against Hawai’i on Dec. 23. He is one of eight Big Ten players with multiple 30-point games this season.
Scouting Maryland
Maryland heads into Thursday’s game with a 18-6 record following a 90-81 win over Rutgers on Sunday. Maryland has won five of their last six games with the only loss coming after losing a 17-point lead at Ohio State. The Terrapins went 10-1 during non-conference play, posting wins over Villanova and Syracuse, with their only loss being a four-point setback to Marquette. In conference play, Maryland is 6-0 at home and posted road wins at Illinois and Indiana.
Kevin Willard is in his third season as head coach of the Maryland program after spending 12 seasons at Seton Hall. After winning 22 games and making the NCAA Tournament in his first year at Maryland, the Terps were 15-17 last season before a strong start to 2024-25. During his tenure at Seton Hall, Willard led the Pirates to seven 20-win seasons, five NCAA Tournament appearances, and a share of the Big East regular-season title in 2019-20.
Maryland features a strong inside game with the duo of Derik Queen and Julian Reese. Queen, a freshman, leads the Terrapins in scoring with 15.5 ppg on 53 percent shooting and 8.5 rebounds per game. Reese is at 13.7 ppg on 58 percent shooting while topping Maryland in rebounding (9.0 rpg) and blocked shots (1.5 bpg). They are the main reasons why Maryland out-rebounds its opponents by more than four rebounds per game. Belmont transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie has been a playmaker in the backcourt, averaging 14.3 ppg on 45 percent shooting, including 40 percent from 3-point range, while leading Maryland in both assists (4.6 apg) and steals (1.8 spg) per game.
Series History: Thursday’s meeting is the 18th between the two teams, all since the Terrapins joined the Big Ten in 2014-15. Maryland leads the series 13-4, with nine of the 17 meetings decided by five points or fewer. Maryland won the first meeting, 69-66, on Jan. 19 in College Park, and this is Maryland’s first trip to Lincoln since Feb. 19, 2023. In that game, Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s layup with 40 seconds left broke a 66-all tie, as Maryland won 69-66. Andrew Morgan led NU with 17 points, while Brice Williams added 14 in the loss.
Williams Builds All-Big Ten Resume
Brice Williams is putting together a strong case to be the first Husker since 2018 to be a first-team All-Big Ten selection. The 6-foot-7 senior enters the Maryland game averaging a career-best 19.4 points per game along with 2.8 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 steals per contest.
• He ranks in the top three in the Big Ten in both scoring and free throw percentage and also leads the Huskers in assists per game.
• Williams’ 19.4 ppg average is the highest by any player in Fred Hoiberg’s 10-year college coaching career and is currently 10th on NU’s single-season scoring list. The last Husker to finish a season averaging at least 18 points per game was James Palmer Jr. (19.7 in 2018-19).
• He has reached double figures 22 times, including a pair of 30-point games and nine 25-point performances.
• Williams is a three-time USBWA National Player of the Week and a two-time Big Ten player of the Week. He is the only Husker to win the USBWA national award since it began in 2010 and just the second Husker to be a multiple Big Ten Player of the Week.
• His most recent Big Ten and national honor came on Feb. 3 when he averaged 27.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 4.0 apg in wins over No. 18 Illinois and No. 16 Oregon. He captured national honors from the AP and USBWA and Big Ten honors. In the win over Illinois, he took over in OT, scoring NU’s final eight points to snap a six-game losing streak.
• He was the MVP of the Diamond Head Classic, averaging 22.0 points per game on 56 percent shooting, along with 3.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He tied a career high with 32 points in the semifinal win over Hawai’i and had 25 points, seven boards and four assists against Oregon State.
• Williams has five career 30-point games including his time at Charlotte. This season, he tied his career high with 32 points at Hawai’i on Dec. 23 and had 30 points against Indiana on Dec. 13.
• He is shooting a career-best 90.1 percent from the foul line to rank third in the Big Ten in free throw percentage. He is bidding to become the third player in school history to shoot 90 percent from the foul line (Jack Moore, 1980-81 and 1981-82; Cary Cochran, 2001-02).
Gary Returns as Huskers’ Glue Guy
As one of the senior leaders, Juwan Gary has made an all-around impact on the Husker lineup. He is averaging a career-best 13.1 points per game while adding 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game.
• He ranks second on the team in scoring, rebounds, blocks and steals while guarding the opponent’s top frontcourt scorer. Gary is also shooting a career-best 76.5 percent from the line after not shooting above 68 percent in any of his first four seasons.
• Over the last 14 contests since Dec. 22, Gary is averaging 14.8 ppg and 5.4 rpg with four 20-point games in that stretch. He has been in double figures 11 times.
• He has been rebounding at a high rate, averaging 6.5 rebounds per game over the last 190 contests, including nearly three offensive rebounds per outing.
• During the Huskers’ four-game win streak, Gary is averaging 18.0 points on 57 percent shooting and 6.3 rebounds per game. He comes off a 19-point, five-rebound effort in Sunday’s win over Ohio State and had 17 points, including 14 in the second half, along with seven rebounds at Washington.
• His most recent 20-point game came at No. 16 Oregon, when he finished with 23 points, including a career best 10-of-12 from the foul line.
• Gary put together a strong all-around effort against No. 18 Illinois with 13 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks while helping limit the Illini to its second-lowest shooting night of the season.
• Gary had a career-high 27-point game against USC on Jan. 22, going 11-of-19 from the field.
• He posted his first double-double of the season at Iowa with 13 points and a season-high 13 rebounds.
• Gary helped Nebraska to the Diamond Head Classic title, averaging 14.7 points on 50 percent shooting while helping limit NU’s three opponents to just a combined 37 percent shooting.
• He keyed NU’s win over No. 14 Creighton on Nov. 22 with 16 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, seven boards and a pair of steals in the 74-63 win.
Essegian Flourishes as Sixth Man
Connor Essegian has proved to be an impact transfer for the Huskers. The 6-foot-4 guard is averaging 11.0 points per game on 42 percent shooting while pacing the Huskers with 58 3-pointers.
• He is second in the Big Ten in 3-pointers per game (2.4/gm) and fifth in 3-point percentage (.408) as of Feb. 10.
• Essegian is 11 3-pointers away from moving into 10th on Nebraska’s single-season chart (68, Terran Petteway, 2014-15).
• He is one of the leading bench scorers in the Big Ten and anchors a reserve unit that gives NU an average of 24.5 ppg off the bench. 11 of his 12 double-figure efforts in 2024-25 have come off the bench this season.
• Essegian’s numbers compare favorably to his freshman season at Wisconsin, when he was on the All-Big Ten Freshmen team and set a school freshman record with 69 3-pointers.
• After a slow start in Big Ten play, Essegian is averaging 10.6 ppg on 41 percent shooting over the last nine contests dating back to Jan. 12. That includes a team-high 17 points in the loss at Purdue on Jan. 12 and 16 points at Washington on Feb. 5.
• He has three 20-point performances, highlighted by a career-high 29 point effort off the bench in NU’s win over South Dakota on Nov. 27. In that game, he set career highs in points (29), assists (five) and 3-pointers (six).
• His 29-point performance was the highest-scoring effort by a Husker reserve in the last 50+ seasons. Over the last 30 years, only two Husker reserves (Jamel White vs. Missouri, 1/28/06; Erick Strickland vs. Missouri, 1/30/93) had scored 28 points off the bench.
• Essegian followed up with a 22-point effort against North Florida on 8-of-10 shooting, as he matched his career high with six 3-pointers.
• With six 3-pointers against both South Dakota and North Florida, Essegian joined Cary Cochran as the only Huskers in program history with consecutive games with at least six 3-pointers.
• He was instrumental in NU’s win at No. 14 Creighton on Nov. 22 with 15 points in 21 minutes off the bench and had 13 points in the win over Indiana on Dec. 13.
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