2024-25 ITH Season Preview: Nebraska Cornhuskers

  • 09/12/2024 8:49 am in

With the start of college basketball season in early November, we’ll examine the conference as a whole and Indiana’s roster over the coming weeks.

Today, our team previews continue with Nebraska.

Previously: Penn State, Washington, Minnesota, USC, Northwestern

Fred Hoiberg finally broke through at Nebraska last season. After four uninspiring seasons, Hoiberg captained the Huskers to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014.

Nebraska finished with 23 wins, tied for third place in the Big Ten and No. 30 in the final KenPom ratings.

Hoiberg will now try to lead the program to its first back-to-back appearances in March Madness since 1994. The Huskers return a solid nucleus, including rotation regulars Brice Williams, Juwan Gary and Sam Hoiberg, Fred’s son.

Rienk Mast is also back in Lincoln but will miss the season with a knee injury that required surgery.

The 6-foot-7 Williams is the headlining returnee and has All-Big Ten potential. The North Carolina native transferred to Nebraska before last season from Charlotte and averaged 13.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals in 29.7 minutes per game. Williams, who shot 38.8 percent on 3s last season, is one of the best two-way wings in the Big Ten.

Gary is a 6-foot-7 forward who can guard multiple positions. He’ll attempt to improve his 3-point shooting percentage – 30.6 last season – and is the program’s leading returning rebounder. Gary averaged a solid line of 11.6 points and 6.1 rebounds in 27 minutes per game last season.

Hoiberg will likely come off the bench to provide energy and leadership on both ends. The 6-foot guard won’t stand out on the stat sheet, but he consistently hustles and his effort is contagious.

Iowa transfer Ahron Ulis will make his Nebraska debut after sitting out last season after a gambling investigation from his time in Iowa City. Ulis, a 6-foot-3 point guard, averaged 6.1 points back in the 2022-23 season for the Hawkeyes. He could have a leg up on some of the other newcomers, having spent all last season in Nebraska’s practices.

The rest of the rotation will consist primarily of transfers.

Two transfers from Big Ten schools figure to factor heavily into the rotation. Sophomore Gavin Griffiths arrives from Rutgers, while Connor Essegian, an Indiana native, played the last two seasons at Wisconsin.

Griffiths was a highly touted recruit out of high school who struggled with his perimeter shooting last season in Piscataway. Billed as one of the top shooters in the country as a prospect, the 6-foot-8 Griffiths shot just 28.3 percent from distance as a freshman.

Essegian was impressive as a freshman in Madison but saw his role diminish as a sophomore because of an injury and his defensive struggles. After shooting 69-for-192 as a freshman for the Badgers, Essegian made just 20 3s last season and shot only 30.3 percent from deep.

Griffiths and Essegian should have plenty of opportunities for in-rhythm looks from the perimeter in a Nebraska offense that prioritizes spacing and ball movement.

Utah transfer Rollie Worster battled an injury that kept him out of the final 21 games last season but was productive in the 16 games he did play (all starts). The 6-foot-4 point guard averaged 9.9 points, 5.5 assists and 4.9 rebounds in 31.4 minutes. He’ll likely get the first shot to start at the point.

With Mast out, Washington transfer Braxton Meah, a 7-foot-1 center, arrives along with North Dakota State transfer Andrew Morgan. Meah shot 77 percent from the field last season for the Huskies and averaged 5.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in just under 17 minutes per game. Morgan, a 6-foot-10 senior, was an All-Summit League second-team selection last season who averaged 12.9 points, five rebounds and shot 36.4 percent on 3s.

The Huskers also landed UCLA transfer Berke Buyuktuncel, a 6-foot-9 forward who could be another floor stretcher. Buyuktuncel has high major experience from his time with the Bruins last season and is looking to take a step forward after a disappointing freshman campaign that saw him shoot just 38.5 percent from the field and 29.7 percent on 3s.

Nebraska also added a pair of freshmen in guard Nick Janowski and forward Braden Frager. Given the depth of the guard and forward positions on the roster, both will likely have to wait their turn to crack the rotation.

The current Bart Torvik projections for next season have Nebraska at No. 47 nationally. After the program’s first taste of the NCAA tournament under Hoiberg, there’s hope the program will return to March Madness for a second consecutive season.

Bottom line: The Huskers won’t be able to replace the scoring of Keisei Tominaga, but they have the pieces to be a threat in the Big Ten race. Williams and Gary are solid building blocks and the hope is Griffiths and Essegian can bounce back from disappointing seasons to provide shooting. The point guard play of Worster and Ulis will be essential, along with Meah and Morgan being able to hold their own down low in a physical Big Ten.

Quotable: “With our history at the University of Nebraska, this is a special place for our family. We want to continue to build a program that our fans can embrace and one that represents the values of Nebraska. With phenomenal facilities and fan support in place, we are positioned to do things that have never been accomplished by the Husker men’s basketball program.” – Hoiberg last spring after earning a contract extension through the 2028-29 season.

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