Ground Report

Link to Radio, Live Stats and Video (as well as Coach Miles’ presser when its posted on Friday)

http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=209815099

Game #10 at Hawaii (Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic)
Date: Mon., Dec. 22
Time: 11:59 p.m. (CT)
Arena: Stan Sheriff Center
Capacity: 10,300

Nebraska Cornhuskers
2014-15 Record: 6-3, 0-0 Big Ten
Head coach: Tim Miles
Record at Nebraska: 40-34 (Third year)
Career Record: 323-254 (20th year)

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors *
2014-15 Record: 7-3, 0-0 Big West
Head coach: Benjy Taylor
Record at Hawaii: 7-3 (First year)
Career Record: 74-112 (Seventh year)
*-Prior to Friday’s game with Chaminade
Broadcast Information
Television: ESPNU
Announcers: Roxy Bernstein and Dino Gaudio

Online: WatchESPN.com

Radio: IMG Husker Sports Radio Network, including KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln, KFAB (1110 AM) in Omaha and KRVN (880 AM) in Lexington. Also available online at Huskers.com, on the Huskers App and on TuneIn Radio and the TuneIn Radio App.
Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka
Expert Analysis: Matt Davison

Satellite Radio: Sirius (TBA); XM (TBA)

Live Stats: Huskers.com

Probable Starters

Huskers Head to Hawaii for Diamond Head Classic

After a break for final exams, the Nebraska basketball team concludes the non-conference portion of the schedule at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu.

The Huskers open tournament play against the host Rainbow Warriors on Dec. 22, with tipoff scheduled for just prior to midnight central time. It is the second game of the session, as Loyola Marymount takes on No. 11 Wichita State at 10 p.m. (central). Tipoff is slated for 20 minutes at the conclusion of the the LMU-WSU contest.

Monday’s contest will be nationally televised on ESPNU with Roxy Bernstein and Dino Gaudio on the call. The contest, along with all of the Diamond Head Classic games, is also available online at WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.

The game will be broadcast across the state of Nebraska on the IMG Husker Sports Radio Network, including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, 1110 KFAB in Omaha and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington with Kent Pavelka calling the action and Matt Davison adding color commentary. The game can be heard for free on Huskers.com and available on the Huskers’ app on iOS or android devices, as well as on TuneIn Radio and SiriusXM Satellite Radio.

The Huskers are 6-3 on the season following a 56-55 double overtime win over Cincinnati on Dec. 13. In that game, Nebraska held the Bearcats to 32 percent shooting and allowed just one field goal in the second overtime to earn a hard-fought victory. Benny Parker was the hero, as his floater with 1:14 left in the second OT gave Nebraska the lead for good.
While All-Big Ten performers Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields have led the Huskers through most of the year, the contributions of Walter Pitchford and Tai Webster carried the Huskers on Saturday. Pitchford played 48 of 50 minutes and finished with a season-high 10 rebounds and nine points, while Webster scored all nine of his points in the final eight minutes of regulation and in the extra sessions, while his offensive rebound with 1:18 left set up Parker’s game-winner.

While the Huskers have been off for finals, Hawaii’s last game before break was a loss at BYU on Dec. 6. The Rainbow Warriors are 7-3 on the year heading into Friday’s game with Chaminade and are led by Aaron Valdes, who averages 16.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Hawaii’s best win was a 74-70 win over Pittsburgh on Nov. 21.
The winner of Monday’s game will play the Wichita State/Loyola Marymount winner Tuesday at 8 p.m. (central) on ESPN2, while Monday’s losers will play at 10:30 p.m. on ESPNU Tuesday evening.
Numbers 2 Know
1 –  Nebraska played consecutive one-point games last week for the first time since the 2000-01 season.

0.73 – The Huskers held Cincinnati to 0.73 points per possession in Saturday’s win, the Huskers’ best mark under Tim Miles.

1.9 –  Steals per game for Benny Parker this season, as he had a pair of steals on Saturday. Parker’s 1.9 steals per game is on pace to be the Huskers’ highest total since Cookie Belcher averaged 3.2 steals per game in 1999.

48 –  Walter Pitchford’s 48 minutes against Cincinnati was the most minutes by a Husker in nearly a decade, as Jake Muhleisen also played 48 minutes of a double OT win over Kansas State on Jan. 8, 2005.

1998 – The last time a Husker averaged at least 20 points per game (Tyronn Lue). Only six Husker players have averaged at least 20 ppg in a season.

Scouting Hawaii
Hawaii comes off final exams with a 7-3 record heading into a Dec. 19 game against Chaminade. The Rainbow Warriors won 20 games in 2013-14 – the program’s highest total in a decade – but have endured a tough offseason. Head Coach Gib Arnold was removed in late October, and Benjy Taylor, who was an assistant for the past four seasons, was named acting head coach. The Rainbow Warriors also lost junior Isaac Fotu in the fall, as he signed a professional contract. Fotu, a teammate of Tai Webster’s on New Zealand’s national team, was an All-Big West performer who averaged 14.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in 2013-14.

This season, the Rainbow Warriors have gotten off to a solid start with wins in seven of their first 10 games, including a 74-70 win over Pittsburgh in Maui on Nov. 21. Hawaii is averaging 72.9 points per game while holding opponents to 69.1 points per game. The team is led by sophomore Aaron Valdes, who is averaging team bests in both points (16.2) and rebounds (7.4) while shooting 58 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range. Senior guard Garrett Nevels joins Valdes in double figures with 12.8 points per game. Roderick Bobbitt has been a factor in his first season averaging 9.7 points while pacing the ‘Bow in assists (5.7 per game) and steals (2.8 per game). As a team, Hawaii is averaging 9.0 steals per game. This week, Hawaii also gains the services of Stefan Jankovic, a 6-foot-11 forward, who had to sit out the first semester after transferring from Missouri.

Series History: Hawaii leads the series, 6-2, as all eight previous matchups have taken place in Honolulu. Seven of the meetings have been in the month of December, including three times in the Rainbow Classic (1979, 1997 and 2006).

Last Time Out
Benny Parker’s floater in the lane with 1:14 remaining in the second overtime lifted Nebraska to its first-ever win over Cincinnati, 56-55, on Dec. 13.

Cincinnati scored the first three points of double overtime on a Kevin Johnson 3-pointer 1:18 into the period. But that would be the Bearcats’ only points of the second overtime. The Bearcats had a final chance to win it in the closing seconds, but Johnson missed a 3-pointer and Shavon Shields corralled the rebound as time expired.

The Huskers overcame a three-point deficit in both overtime periods to snap a two-game losing streak. NU trailed 51-48 with 26 seconds remaining in the first overtime following a pair of Troy Caupain free throws. But Tai Webster hit two free throws of his own to trim the deficit to one with 16 seconds left. Cincinnati then converted 1-of-2 at the line before Shields was fouled and converted both attempts to knot the score at 52.

Nebraska went 8-of-8 from the free-throw line in the two overtime periods, helping the Huskers to the victory despite making just two field goals in the two overtimes combined. Cincinnati also scored only two buckets in the two overtimes periods, but the Bearcats were 6-of-10 at the line.

While free throws made the difference down the stretch, it was the Huskers’ defensive effort that defined the game. Nebraska held Cincinnati to 31.7 percent shooting, including 3-of-17 from beyond the arc, and forced 18 turnovers.

The outstanding defensive effort helped Nebraska overcome a season-high 22 turnovers, which led to 22 of the Bearcats’ 55 points. The Huskers were also outscored 20-9 in bench points, with Webster accounting for all nine of Nebraska’s points off the bench, including six of the Huskers’ 12 points in the two overtime periods.

Nebraska led by as many as 13 points in the first half, and the Huskers were on top 23-21 at halftime. In the second half, Nebraska went more than eight minutes without a field goal, allowing Cincinnati to claim its first lead, 34-33, on a pair of Deshaun Morman free throws with 9:08 to play. Webster knocked down two free throws of his own a minute later as Nebraska regained the lead. Cincinnati came back to take a one-point lead with 4:00 remaining in regulation, before Webster came up big again with a 3-pointer that gave Nebraska a 42-40 lead with 2:57 remaining. Cincinnati twice erased two-point deficits, forcing overtime on a Gary Clark dunk with 39 seconds remaining.

Terran Petteway and Shields led NU with 13 points apiece, while Walter Pitchford just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. Caupain paced the Bearcats with 13 points.

Notes from the Cincinnati Game

• The game with Cincinnati was the Huskers’ first OT game at Pinnacle Bank and the Huskers’ first double OT game since a 64-61 double OT win at USC on Nov. 14, 2011.
• Nebraska has now won its last five multiple overtime games dating back to the start of the 1999-2000 season.
• Nebraska picked up its first-ever win against Cincinnati in five games.
• Walter Pitchford’s 10 rebounds was a season high and the third time in his career he grabbed 10 or more rebounds in a game.
• Nebraska held Cincinnati to 31.7 percent shooting, which is a low by a Huskers opponent this season. The previous low was 32.8 percent shooting by Central Arkansas on Nov. 18.
• Terran Petteway finished with 13 points, his 20th straight game in double figures. It is the longest stretch by a Husker since the 1998-99 season.
• David Rivers finished with eight rebounds, the fourth straight game he has grabbed at least six rebounds.
• Nebraska’s 22 turnovers against UC is a high in Tim Miles’ three seasons at Nebraska.

Husker Diamond Head Classic Story Lines

• This marks the Huskers’ sixth trip to the islands for a tournament and the first since the 2006 Rainbow Classic. Nebraska made four previous appearances in the Rainbow Classic and one appearance in the Chaminade New Year’s Classic.
• Nebraska is the first Big Ten school to participate in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic’s six-year history.
• The Huskers have a 90-88 record against the other teams in the 2014 tournament, including a 77-71 mark against former Big 12 rival Colorado. NU has not played any of the other seven teams in the field since the 2010-11 season.
• Tai Webster’s father, Tony, was a first-team All-WAC perfomer at Hawaii in 1983 and ranks fourth on Hawaii’s career steals list. He also held UH’s single-game record for steals until this season. Tai comes off one of his best games at Nebraska, scoring nine points and grabbing three rebounds in 28 minutes against Cincinnati.
• Nebraska assistant Jim Molinari began his coaching career as an assistant at DePaul for Ray Meyer and spent 10 years at the school, helping the Blue Demons to nine NCAA Tournament appearances and an NIT runner-up finish from 1979 to 1989. In addition, his youngest son, David, is a junior guard on the basketball team.
• Ohio Head Coach Saul Phillps worked for Nebraska Coach Tim Miles for three seasons at North Dakota State and succeeded him when Miles left for Colorado State in 2007. Phillips is one of four former Miles assistants coaching in the Division I ranks.
• A potential Nebraska-Colorado matchup would be Nebraska’s first regular-season matchup against any of the former Big 12 schools since the Huskers and Colorado left the conference in 2011.

Petteway and Shields Carry Husker Attack
Nebraska features two of the Big Ten’s most dynamic wing players in juniors Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields. The pair has been a prolific scoring duo, combining for 37.5 points per game and ranking among the Big Ten’s top five scorers. In Nebraska’s 119-year history, only five duos have combined to average more than 36 points per game.

Defense Keys Husker Turnaround
Nebraska’s turnaround last year was keyed by an emphasis on the defensive end of the court and that has continued during the early portion of the 2014-15 season.

The Huskers entered Big Ten play last in field goal defense and eighth in scoring defense, but dramatically improved during conference action. Over the final 16 games of the 2013-14 season, NU held 10 opponents below 40 percent shooting from the field, including eight straight foes in one stretch. The eight consecutive foes under 40 percent was the longest streak by a Husker defense in at least four decades. The Huskers finished Big Ten play second in conference games in field goal percentage (.415) and third in scoring defense (63.4).

In 2014-15, the Huskers got off to a strong start, holding their first six opponents to 38 percent shooting from the floor, but Creighton and Incarnate Word have combined to shoot 47 percent over a two-game stretch. The Huskers then put together their best defensive effort in Tim Miles’ three seasons, holding Cincinnati to 55 points in the double overtime win. NU is now 32nd nationally in defensive efficiency according to KenPom.

• Nebraska is 25-6 over the past three seasons when holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting.
• Nebraska is 6-1 this season when holding opponents to under a point per possession and 0-2 when an opponent is above the mark.
• Nebraska has been stout at home over the last two seasons, as only five teams have shot over 45 percent against the Huskers, while 12 of 23 opponents have been held to under 40 percent shooting.

Petteway Leads Husker Returnees
Junior wing Terran Petteway comes into 2014-15 as one of the nation’s premier players. The 6-foot-6 junior wing is a candidate for every major award and was chosen as a second-team preseason All-American by The Sporting News and CBSSports.com.

As a sophomore, he led the Big Ten in scoring at 18.1 points per game while adding 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per contest, while starting all 32 contests. Not only did he lead the Huskers in scoring, but also was second on the team in rebounding and third in assists.

Early on, Petteway has been a force for the Huskers, ranking second in the Big Ten in scoring at 19.8 points per game, while also adding 5.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. In addition to his scoring average, he is ninth in the Big Ten in 3-pointers per game (2.3 per game), 13th in blocked shots (1.2 per game) and 18th in rebounding.

He opened the season with the best long-distance shooting of his career, hitting 6-of-9 from 3-point range on his way to scoring a game-high 25 points against Northern Kentucky on Nov. 15. He followed up with a 23-point effort against Central Arkansas and collected his third career double double with 20 points and a career-high 12 rebounds against Omaha. Petteway had 18 points and dished out a career-high eight assists against Tennessee-Martin before scoring a game-high 25 points at Florida State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Petteway had 21 points against Creighton and totaled 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists against Incarnate Word. He was held to 13 points before fouling out against Cincinnati, but grabbed nine rebounds and led NU with a pair of assists.

• Petteway is one of only seven players in the country averaging at least 19 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in 2014-15.
• Petteway has been in double figures in 20 consecutive games dating back to last year and 39 of 41 career games at Nebraska. That streak is the longest streak for a Husker since Venson Hamilton had 24 straight games in double figures during the 1998-99 season.
• He has five 20-point games in 2014-15, including a season-high 25 points against both Northern Kentucky and at Florida State, and now has 17 career games at NU with 20 or more points.
• With 757 points over the last two years at Nebraska, his career scoring average of 18.6 points per game is second only to Dave Hoppen (19.5 ppg).
• Petteway looks to become the first player since Ohio State’s Evan Turner (2009-10) to lead the Big Ten in scoring in consecutive seasons. Over the last 30 years, only three players – Turner, Purdue’s Glenn Robinson (1993-94) and Michigan’s Glen Rice (1988-89) – have accomplished the feat.
• On Nov. 16, he was chosen for the Wooden Award Men’s Preseason Top 50. Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the sport’s most prestigious honor. Petteway is the first Husker on the list since Aleks Maric in the 2007-08 season. He is also a candidate for the Naismith Trophy and on the Oscar Robertson and Lute Olson Player of the Year watch lists.

Nebraska has had eight All-Americans in program history, most recently Carl McPipe during the 1977-78 season.

Last season, Petteway became the first player to earn unanimous first-team all-conference honors since Venson Hamilton in 1999, and also earned first-team all-district honors by the NABC (coaches) and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (writers). Petteway finished Big Ten play as the conference scoring leader, averaging 18.6 points per game. He became the fifth Husker in the last century to lead a conference in scoring in conference games and first since former Big Eight Player of the Year Andre Smith in 1980-81. He also led the conference at 18.1 points per game in all games and became the first Husker since 1950 (first year the Big Seven Conference kept records) to ever lead the league in scoring for all games.

Shields Keys Husker Attack
While Petteway was one of the best players in the Big Ten last season, Shavon Shields may be one of the most underrated players in the Big Ten. The 6-foot-7 wing started all 32 games and averaged 12.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game to earn honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and media.As a sophomore, Shields was second on the team in scoring and led Nebraska in rebounding.

This season, Shields has continued his emergence, averaging 17.7 points on 54 percent shooting and 7.2 rebounds per game heading into the Diamond Head Classic. He is fifth in the Big Ten in scoring and rebounding and sixth in free throw percentage (.877).

Shields has scored 20 or more points three times this season, including a career-high 35 points against Omaha on Nov. 22. He also had 25 points and nine rebounds at Rhode Island and 21 points and eight boards at Florida State. Shields nearly had another 20-point effort against Incarnate Word, finishing with 19 points and nine rebounds.

• He is one of four players in the top 10 in both scoring and rebounding and the only Big Ten player in the top five of both categories.
• Over his last 13 games dating back to last year, Shields is averaging 17.6 points per game on 52 percent shooting along with 6.9 rebounds per game.
• His 35-point effort against Omaha on Nov. 22 tied for the most in a Big Ten game this year and ties for 10th in school history. It was his second career 30-point game, as Shields had 33 against Illinois in 2013-14.
• With his 35-point game against UNO, he became one of only 14 players in school history – including Petteway – with multiple 30-point games in school history.
• Collected his fourth career double-double against Central Arkansas with 16 points – all in the first half – and 11 rebounds while dishing out four assists.
• Scored 18 points on just four field goal attempts, hitting all four shots from the floor while going 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. It was the third time in his career he has gone 10-of-10 or better from the foul line in a game.
• Shields is one of nine players in the country who is averaging at least 17 points, seven rebounds and two assists per game heading into this weekend’s games.

Pitchford Poses Problems for Opponents
Walter Pitchford became one of the focal points to the Huskers’ attack in Big Ten play last season. The 6-foot-10, 237-pounder is one of the toughest matchups in college basketball, as he is a skilled shooter who hit 41 percent from 3-point range. Last season, Pitchford averaged 9.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while starting 31 games.
An outstanding athlete with a 42-inch vertical leap, Pitchford played some of his best basketball of the season over the Huskers’ second-half surge, averaging 11.0 points per game on 53 percent shooting over the last 14 games. Pitchford reached double figures 11 times in that stretch including a career-high 18-point effort along with five rebounds and a pair of steals in a win at No. 9 Michigan State on Feb. 16.

Pitchford, who was averaging just 3.5 points per game on 21 percent shooting in his first four games, is starting to break out of his early-season struggles. He is averaging 9.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game over NU’s last five games, including 42 percent from 3-point range. The junior set personal bests in both points (19) and 3-pointers (six) against Tennessee-Martin on Nov. 28, and had 10 points in Wedneday’s loss to Incarnate Word. Pitchford may have played his most complete game of the year against Cincinnati with nine points and a career-high 10 rebounds while playing 48 minutes.

Old Man Rivers
Senior forward David Rivers has been through a lot during his Nebraska career. The 6-foot-7 forward signed when Nebraska was still a member of the Big 12 Conference back in the fall of 2010, and has quietly developed during the last three seasons under Tim Miles. This season, Rivers is averaging 6.1 points per game on 51 percent shooting and 5.6 rebounds per game, posting career best in all three categories.

Rivers has grabbed at least six rebounds in each of the last five games, including a season-high eight caroms against Creighton (Dec. 7) and Cincinnati (Dec. 13). He scored a season-high 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the season opener against Northern Kentucky on Nov. 16.

Point Guard by Committee
The Huskers have looked to find the right combination at lead guard early in 2015, as Tai Webster, Benny Parker and Tarin Smith have shared the spot. Currently, Parker and Smith handle most of the work, while Webster has become a scoring combo guard off the bench.

Parker, who has started NU’s last six games is averaging 6.7 points, 2.3 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game on the season, topping the Huskers in steals and ranking second in assists. Parker, who averaged just 2.6 points over his first two years, has scored six or more points in seven of the last eight games. He matched his career high with nine points against Tennessee-Martin on Nov. 28 and had eight points and three assists against Creighton on Dec. 7. In Saturday’s win over Cincinnati. Parker had six points, including the game-winner with 1:14 left, a career high five rebounds and two steals.

Smith comes in off the bench and is averaging 3.2 points per game while posting a 1.6-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He made two big plays in the final two minutes at Florida State on Dec. 1, finding David Rivers for a layup after the Seminoles cut the deficit to one and then draining a 3-pointer – just the second of the season – on the following possession to make it a six-point game. He dished out a season-high three assists at Rhode Island on Nov. 22. Smith was a two-year starter at St. Anthony (N.J.) High School, one of the premier high school basketball programs in the country playing for Hall of Fame Coach Bob Hurley. As a senior, he was a first-team all-state pick by the AP and a third-team honoree by the Newark Star-Ledger, as he averaged 15 points, four rebounds and four assists per game, as St. Anthony finished with a 25-5 record and a state runner-up finish.

Webster, who is the first guard off the bench, has seen his scoring average jump from 3.9 points to 6.7 points per game, while chipping in 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He has been in double figures twice this season, including a season-high 13 points and four steals against Central Arkansas on Nov. 18, and 10 points against Omaha on Nov. 25. Webster played one of his best games against Cincinnati with nine points and three rebounds, scoring all nine points in the final 10 minutes of regulation and the two overtime periods.

Huskers Look for Healthy Post Players
The Huskers have battled the injury bug at the post positions, as Leslee Smith suffered a knee injury over the summer and is expected to be out until Big Ten play in January, while Moses Abraham is out until late December with a broken metacarpal suffered in practice on Dec. 9.

• Abraham, who played in NU’s first eight contests, was the Huskers first post player off the bench. He was averaging 5.4 rebounds and 2.9 points per game, while playing just 15.3 minutes per game. Abraham has grabbed five or more rebounds in seven of NU’s first eight games. His best effort of the season came against Tennessee-Martin on Nov. 28, when he had seven points and five rebounds. Against Omaha, he had seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots in 17 minutes. He also grabbed seven rebounds and blocked a shot in 15 minutes at Rhode Island.

  Last year, Abraham averaged 1.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game while ranking second on the team with 23 blocked shots. The 6-foot-9, 252-pound forward earned his degree from Georgetown in May and has one year of eligibility remaining. He is the first graduate transfer the Huskers have added since the rule went into effect.

• Smith, who suffered a torn ACL in July, was NU’s first forward off the bench last season, averaging 5.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. He led NU with three double-doubles as a junior and had five games with at least 10 rebounds. Smith finished second among all Big Ten reserves in rebounding in 2013-14.

In the wake of the injuries, true freshman Jake Hammond and redshirt freshman Nick Fuller are seeing more action.

• Hammond is a 6-foot-10, 230-pound forward who averaged 26.2 points, 14.8 rebounds, 5.7 blocks and 3.1 steals per game as a senior at Comanche (Okla.) High School. He was rated as the No. 2 prospect in the state of Oklahoma by both ESPN.com and 247Sports as a senior, and was considered one of the top 150 seniors in the country by Hoop Scoop. Hammond has played in five games, including at Florida State on Dec. 1 when the Huskers were in foul trouble. He played six minutes against Incarnate Word on Dec. 7.
• Fuller saw the most extensive action in his career against Incarnate Word on Dec. 10, totaling six points, two rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes of work. Prior to that the redshirt freshman had seen spot duty in NU’s first seven contests. During his prep career, he totaled 1,940 points at Sun Prairie High School and was a finalist for Mr. Basketball in Wisconsin as a senior. He averaged 25.0 points and 11.2 rebounds per game as a senior and was a two-time Madison State Journal Area Player of the Year.