Off to its best start in 15 years, Nebraska can add a preseason tournament title to its resume when it hosts Duquesne on Wednesday night in Lincoln, Neb.
This is the final of the Cornhusker Classic, a four-team round-robin event including Rider and Stony Brook. Nebraska (5-0) and Duquesne (4-1) have won their previous games in the competition.
The Cornhuskers posted an 84-63 neutral-site victory over Oregon State on Saturday in Sioux Falls, S.D.
It was their fourth win by at least 20 points, and Nebraska averaged 79.4 points per game so far this season. That’s 11 points per game better than a year ago and the best of any team under fifth-year coach Fred Hoiberg.
“I think we’ve had five different leading scorers, so I think that shows you the versatility that we have on this team,” Hoiberg said.
Brice Williams averages 15.4 points per game for Nebraska and Rienk Mast is supplying 14.8 points and 11.2 rebounds.
Duquesne, whose only loss came by three points to Princeton, is averaging 79.6 points per game. The Dukes are more top-heavy with their scoring, with senior guards Dae Dae Grant and Jimmy Clark averaging 20.2 and 17.8 points per game, respectively.
“We are about 60 percent of what we can be,” Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot said after a 77-58 win over Rider last Friday. “We’ve got a long way to go yet. We’re just trying to survive and advance.”
Expect a lot of perimeter shots in this game, as both teams take nearly half their attempts from 3-point range. Duquesne is making 36.9 percent of its 3-pointers, with three players making at least two per game, while Nebraska takes 28.0 triples per game but is shooting 32.9 percent.
A win for Nebraska would equal the program’s longest win streak to start a season since beginning 6-0 in 2008-09 as a member of the Big 12 Conference.
–Field Level Media
