Huskers Open 2024-25 Season vs. UT Rio Grande Valley on Monday

Nov 1, 2024 / NU Athletics

The Nebraska men's basketball team opens the 2024-25 season this Monday, Nov. 4, when the Huskers take on Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). Tipoff between the Huskers and Vaqueros is set for 7 p.m. and tickets are available for the matchup by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets, calling 800-8-BIGRED during business hours (Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-4 p.m.) or at PBA beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Nebraska wrapped up the exhibition season with a 73-53 win over Grand Valley State on Oct. 27. Rutgers transfer Gavin Griffiths had a game-high 14 points, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, while Brice Williams added 13 in a balanced attack. The Huskers used a strong defensive effort to pull away, holding Grand Valley State to just 16 percent shooting in the second half, including 1-of-15 in the first nine minutes, to turn a five-point halftime lead into a 24-point cushion.

The Huskers enter the 2024-25 season looking to build off last season's 23-11 record and trip to the NCAA Tournament. NU brings back returning starters Williams (13.4 ppg; 5.5 rpg; 2.5 apg) and Juwan Gary (11.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg) for Big Ten Coach of the Year Fred Hoiberg, who begins his sixth season in Lincoln. In all, NU has seven returning letterwinners from a team that tied for third in the Big Ten a year ago, although All-Big Ten forward Rienk Mast (12.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3.0 apg) will miss the 2024-25 season after knee surgery in May.

The intrigue around the 2024-25 team focuses on a group of seven transfers who bring size and experience to the Husker roster. The group includes guards Rollie Worster (Utah), Ahron Ulis (Iowa), Connor Essegian (Wisconsin) and Griffiths (Rutgers), forwards Berke Büyüktuncel (UCLA), Andrew Morgan (North Dakota State) and center Braxton Meah (Washington). That group has combined for nearly 3,500 points and more than 1,700 rebounds and 750 assists in their respective college careers. They combined for 38 points and 26 rebounds in Sunday's exhibition win.

Texas Rio Grande Valley begins a new era, as Kahil Fennell takes over the program after spending the past two seasons as an assistant at BYU. Fennell helped lead BYU to 23 wins in 2023-24, its first in the Big 12, including four wins over ranked teams.

Numbers to Know
53 - Nebraska held Grand Valley State to 53 points in the exhibition game. In the regular season, Nebraska is 20-0 under Fred Hoiberg when holding opponents to 60 points or less.

148 - Brice Williams enters the 2024-25 season with 148 career 3-pointers. He is a career 39 percent shooter from beyond the arc and was second on the team in 3-point percentage in 2023-24 (.388).

2.13 to 1 - Combined career assist-to-turnover ratio for Ahron Ulis (2.19-to-1) and Rollie Worster (2.11-to-1). The pair have combined for 585 assists and 214 turnovers in their college careers. Against GVSU, the pair had just one turnover in a combined 36 minutes.

21.4 - Nebraska led the Big Ten in bench production last season, averaging 21.4 points per game. The Huskers had at least one reserve score 10-or-more points in 25 of 34 contests in 2023-24. NU got 37 points from its bench in the exhibition win over Grand Valley State.

Exhibition Recap
Nebraska used a 30-6 run over a 10-minute span, as the Huskers cruised to a 73-53 win over Grand Valley State at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Oct. 27. Nebraska broke open a 28-all deadlock late in the first half by scoring seven of the last nine points of the half before clamping down on the defensive end. The Huskers forced Grand Valley State into missing 14 of its first 15 shots from the floor in the first nine minutes of the half as Nebraska built a 58-34 lead after a Gavin Griffiths’ 3-pointer.

Griffiths led Nebraska with 14 points, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, while Brice Williams added 13 markers, as Nebraska shot 50 percent from the field and turned 19 GVSU turnovers into 21 points. Griffiths had 11 of his 14 points in the spurt to help break the game open.

Nebraska, which never trailed, had 13 steals, including three from Rollie Worster and two apiece from Juwan Gary and Berke Büyüktuncel, who led Nebraska with 12 rebounds in 19 minutes of work.

4 Things from the Exhibition Win

Nebraska had 13 steals in the exhibition win. The Huskers had three games with double-digit steals in 2023-24.
Nine of the 13 players who saw action in the exhibition were making their Husker debut.
Berke Büyüktuncel grabbed 12 rebounds in the win. His season high in caroms at UCLA last season was five against Maryland.
Nebraska improved to 64-7 all-time in exhibition games and has won 33 of 35 games dating back to 2001.

Scouting Texas Rio Grande Valley
UTRGV begins is two-game swing through Nebraska with Monday's opener. The Vaqueros take on No. 15 Creighton on Wednesday evening. First-year coach Kahil Fennell arrives after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at BYU. Last season, the Cougars went 23-11 and reached the NCAA Tournament after being picked 13th in the preseason poll. Prior to being on the BYU staff, he was at Louisville for four seasons, serving as an assistant coach during the 2021-22 campaign. He also served as an assistant at Portland State (2017-18) and UT Permian Basin (2015-17).

The Vaqueros have just five returning players from a team that went 6-25 last year. UTRGV will look to build around returning starters Hasan Abdul Hakim and J.J. Howard. Abdul Hakim averaged 13.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in 2023-24, while Howard chipped in 10.0 points per game as a freshman. UTRGV is picked to finish eighth in the Southland Conference preseason poll.

Nebraska is 1-0 against UTRGV but faced the school when it was Texas-Pan American back in 2009. In 2015, the University of Texas-Pan American was renamed the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and in 2016 the former campus of the University of Texas at Brownsville was added. Nebraska is 9-1 all-time against the current members of the Southland Conference.

A Quick Look at the 2024-25 Huskers
Nebraska enters the 2024-25 season with a solid returning group despite the loss of Rienk Mast to a season-ending surgery. The Huskers return six players - not including Mast - who saw action a season ago including starters Brice Williams and Juwan Gary. In addition, junior guard Sam Hoiberg was one of three Huskers who played in all 34 games in 2023-24.

Nebraska will feature one of the oldest rosters in the country. Of the 17 players on the 2024-25 roster, nine have played at least three seasons of college basketball. Juwan Gary, Brice Williams and Rienk Mast are all in their sixth year of college while Braxton Meah, Ahron Ulis and Rollie Worster are beginning their fifth season of college basketball. According to research by Chris Kowalczyk at VCU, Nebraska is one of 10 programs nationally with at least six players who are in their fifth year or greater in college basketball.
Nebraska's active roster for this season features three players who have started a combined 72 games at Nebraska: Juwan Gary (37); Brice Williams (34) and Sam Hoiberg (1), but that tells only part of the story. The 16 active players have combined to start 380 career games at the Division I level. That list includes Rollie Worster (101); Brice Williams (61); Andrew Morgan (59); Juwan Gary (55); Braxton Meah (47); Ahron Ulis (27); Connor Essegian (19); Berke Büyüktuncel (8) and Gavin Griffiths (3). In addition, Rienk Mast has 111 career starts, including 32 games last season at Nebraska.
After having one active player with previous NCAA Tournament experience last season (Juwan Gary), the 2024-25 Huskers have nine players who have played in the NCAA Tournament. All seven of Nebraska's returnees saw action in the Huskers' game against Texas A&M last spring, while Ahron Ulis played in three tournaments as part of the Iowa program from 2021-23. NU also added Rollie Worster who started for Utah State in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. In addition, Connor Essegian was on Wisconsin's NCAA Tournament team last spring, but did not play against James Madison in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Williams Looks to Build on Postseason Success
Senior guard Brice Williams looks to build in his postseason success as he begins the 2024-25 campaign. He proved to be a go-to scorer in the Huskers' postseason run, averaging 23.3 points per game during the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments.

His 23.3 ppg after the end of the regular season is the highest by a returning Big Ten player entering 2024-25. Of the seven players who averaged 20+ ppg in the postseason, he is the only one back at a Big Ten school this season.
Williams has more 20-point games in three postseason games (three) than in 31 regular-season games (two)
That continues Williams’ trend of playing his best basketball under the brightest lights, as he is averaging 16.6 points in nine career postseason games (conference tournaments, 2023 CBI and 2024 NCAA), well above his career scoring average of 10.3 points per game. Over the last two years, that number jumps to 18.5 ppg after his 24-point effort in the 2024 NCAA Tournament against Texas A&M.
Williams' father, Henry, was the MVP of the Metro Conference Tournament in 1992, averaging 26.6 ppg in helping Charlotte to an NCAA Tournament berth.

Tracking Williams in 2023-24

Games	PPG	RPG	APG	FG Pct.	3Pt Pct.	FT Pct.
Regular Season	12.4	5.6	2.5	.436	.377	.835
Postseason	23.3	4.3	2.7	.500	.467	.885

Gary Looks to Make 3rd Year Jump
One player who could make a big jump in 2024-25 is senior Juwan Gary. Under Fred Hoiberg, the other seniors who were third-year players made significant jumps in their final year at Nebraska, as Keisei Tominaga and Derrick Walker both earned All-Big Ten honors in their third year at Nebraska after transferring into the program.

Last season, Gary averaged a career-best 11.6 points per game on nearly 50 percent from the floor. He tallied 16 double-doubles after posting 20 during his first four collegiate seasons. Gary was second on the team in rebounding at 6.1 rpg.

Trio of Huskers Looking for 1,000 Career Points
Nebraska enters the 2024-25 season with a pair of 1,000-point scorers in Rienk Mast and Brice Williams, while three other Huskers could reach the 1,000-point mark for their career in 2024-25. Seniors Juwan Gary, Rollie Worster and Andrew Morgan are all on pace to reach that mark this season.

Portal Additions Aplenty
Nebraska loaded up in the transfer portal, adding six Division I transfers in the offseason, including five from power conference programs. In addition, the Huskers regain the services of Iowa transfer Ahron Ulis, who sat out the 2023-24 season. In all, the seven newcomer transfers have combined for nearly 3,500 points and over 1,750 rebounds and 750 assists in their collegiate careers.

Husker Transfer Additions

Player	Previous Schools	GP	Starts	Points	Rebounds	Assists
Büyüktuncel	UCLA	26	8	118	65	11
Essegian	Wisconsin	68	19	515	158	34
Griffiths	Rutgers	32	3	185	71	20
Meah	Washington/Fresno St.	118	47	577	515	32
Morgan	North Dakota St.	85	59	860	402	77
Worster	Utah/Utah State	103	101	890	408	425
Ulis*	Iowa	84	27	333	134	160
Total		516	264	3,478	1,753	759

*-Sat out 2023-24 season

Worth Noting

Nebraska enters the 2024-25 season coming off one of its most successful seasons in program history. The Huskers went 23-11 in 2023-24 and tied for third in the Big Ten standings before reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013-14. The Huskers’ 23 wins were the most since setting a school-record with 26 wins in 1990-91, while NU’s 12 conference wins also ranked second in school history.
Nebraska has increased its win total in each of the past three years, marking the first time NU has done that since the mid-1960s (1963-64 to 1965-66). If Nebraska can improve its win total this year, it would mark the first time since a four-year stretch from 1945-46 to 1948-49 that the Huskers improved their win total in four consecutive seasons. According to BTN Research, Nebraska is one of four teams nationally and the only team in a power conference to improve its win total by at least six games in each of the past two seasons. The others are James Madison, Lamar and South Florida. In addition, the Huskers have also improved their conference win percentage in each of the past four seasons, culminating with a 12-8 mark in 2023-24.
Over the past two seasons, NU has won 21 conference games, the highest two-year total since the 1965-66 and 1966-67 teams won 22 conference tilts. The last two seasons under Fred Hoiberg mark just the fourth time in school history that Nebraska has won 20 or more conference games in a two-year span.
Nebraska was one of 24 teams nationally that finished in the top 50 both in offensive and defensive efficiency in KenPom. NU was one of four Big Ten programs to accomplish that in 2023-24, joining Purdue, Wisconsin and Michigan State. It marked the first time that Nebraska has been ranked in the top 50 in both offensive and defensive efficiency in the KenPom era (1996-97).
Nebraska made its biggest jump on the offensive end in 2023-24, averaging 77.7 points per game. It was an increase of nearly nine points per game from the 2022-23 campaign and NU’s highest scoring average since 1995-96 (80.2 ppg). NU climbed from 149th to 32nd nationally in offensive efficiency in KenPom. Prior to last season, NU’s highest average since joining the Big Ten was 73.3 ppg in 2021-22. The Huskers are 25-8 under Fred Hoiberg when scoring at least 80 points, including 20-5 over the last three seasons.
Nebraska looks to continue its strong work from the foul line in 2024-25. Last season, Nebraska shot 76.0 percent from the line, its highest percentage from the charity stripe since the 2011-12 team set a school record with a .766 free throw percentage. NU ranked 32nd nationally in free throw percentage in 2023-24.

Big Red Olympians
Nebraska was one of just nine programs nationally with multiple players in men's basketball at the 2024 Olympics, as former Huskers Keisei Tominaga (Japan) and Jack McVeigh (Australia) represented their countries. It marked the second straight Olympics for Tominaga, who played 3x3 at the Tokyo Games. In addition, former Husker great Tyronn Lue served as an assistant coach for Team USA, which won its fifth consecutive gold medal in Paris.

In all, NU has had four Olympic basketball players since 2012, including Aleks Maric (2012, Australia), Ade Dagunduro (2012, Nigeria), Tominaga (2020, 2024, Japan) and McVeigh (2024, Australia).

College Programs w/Multiple 2024 Olympians

No.	School	Players
1.	Kentucky	7
2.	Iowa State	5
3.	Gonzaga	4
4.	Duke	3
	Saint Mary's	3
6.	Nebraska	2
	LSU	2
	Michigan	2
	Stanford	2

Essegian, BüyüktunceL: Representing in International Play
In addition to the Olympians, two other Huskers spent part of their summer playing for their national teams.

Connor Essegian spent part of the summer of 2024 playing for the Armenian National Team, averaging 13.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game as Armenia won the LA International Cup Title. He tallied 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting along with six rebounds and three steals in the win over Ireland in the title game.

Berke Büyüktuncel spent the summer playing for his native Türkiye at the European U20 Championships, averaging 12.0 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds in seven games. He shot 51 percent from the field, including 54 percent from 3-point range and posted two double-doubles in the tournament.

Huskers From Around the World
Nebraska's roster has had an international flavor in recent seasons and that trend continues in 2024-25 with Berke Büyüktuncel (Bursa, Türkiye) and Rienk Mast (Groningen, Netherlands) on the Husker roster. During Fred Hoiberg's six seasons, NU has had players on the roster from 13 countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada, England, France, Iceland, Japan, Lithuania, Mali, Senegal and Slovenia.

Home Sweet Home
The Huskers finished with an 18-1 record inside Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2023-24, setting a single-season mark for home wins in a season.

The .947 mark was NU’s best home mark by winning percentage since 1965-66 when NU went 11-0 at home. NU went a perfect 10-0 at home in Big Ten Conference play, marking the third time NU has posted an unblemished home conference mark since World War II (also 1965-66, 2017-18).
Nebraska filled up Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2023-24, averaging 14,597 fans per game to rank 15th nationally. Nebraska has ranked in the top 15 nationally in every season but one since Pinnacle Bank Arena opened in 2013-14. In all, seven of the top 25 school in average attendance came from the BIg Ten Conference.

Tall Tales
Braxton Meah gives the Huskers the luxury of a seven-footer on the roster. At 7-foot-1, the Washington transfer is the tallest Husker on the roster since Sergej Vucetic during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons. Meah led the Huskies in field goal percentage (.770) and blocked shots (27) last season.

Tallest Huskers (since 1951)

No.	Player	Ht.	Years
1.	Rich King	7-2	1988-91
2.	Braxton Meah	7-1	2025
	Sergej Vucetic	7-1	2013-14
3.	Kelly Lively	7-0	1989-91
	Dave MacFarlane	7-0	1980
	Oleg Kojenets	7-0	2022-23

Long Range Success
NU led the Big Ten and finished 26th nationally with 9.4 3-pointers per game in 2023-24. Nebraska set a school record with 319 3-pointers, shattering the previous mark of 270 set in 2018-19. NU’s 9.4 3-pointers per game was the program’s highest per-game average since setting a school mark with 9.5 3-pointers per game in 2001-02. A Hoiberg-coached team has led its conference in 3-pointers per game five times in 10 years, while three of NU's four highest per-game totals in program history have come during Hoiberg’s five seasons at Nebraska.

Tickets on Sale Now
Husker fans can now purchase individual game tickets for the 2024-25 Nebraska men’s basketball season. The Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office announced that 300 Level Tickets for all 17 matchups are now on sale. The Big Ten Conference games are priced at $17 apiece (including fees), while the non-conference games are priced at $12 per game (including fees). Tickets can be purchased by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets or calling the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIG-RED during business hours (9 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday).

The home schedule includes 10 Big Ten Conference matchups, including games against defending Big Ten Tournament champion Illinois, postseason qualifiers Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio State. Indiana (17), UCLA (22) and Rutgers (25) were all in the AP Preseason Top 25, while Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan and Maryland received votes in the preseason AP poll.
In addition to single-game tickets, a pair of other options are currently available for the 2024-25 season. Season tickets start at $153 for all 17 contests, while the Starting 5 Mini Plan is on sale for $50. The Starting 5 Plan allows fans to pick any two conference games and three of the non-conference games.

Game Notes vs UTRVG.pdf