Huskers Face FIU Saturday Afternoon
The Nebraska men's basketball program continues its three-game homestand Saturday afternoon, as the Huskers take on Florida International. Tipoff for the afternoon matinee begins at Noon (central) and 300 Level tickets are available for the matchup by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets or at the PBA Ticket Office beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on B1G+, while the radio broadcast is available on the Husker Sports Network, as well as on Huskers.com and on the Huskers app. The men's game is part of a doubleheader at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday, as the Husker women host Samford at 5 p.m.
The Huskers (1-0) are coming off an 86-53 win over West Georgia in the season opener Monday night. Braden Frager led four Huskers in double figures with 22 points off the bench in his debut while Jamarques Lawrence had 10 of his 18 points in a decisive 16-0 run that turned a one-point deficit into a double-figure lead. Nebraska broke open a 30-26 halftime lead with 65 percent shooting in the second half, including 7-of-18 from 3-point range in the final 20 minutes.
Frager's 22-point effort vs. West Georgia marked only the sixth time in the last 50 years that a Husker scored 20 or more points in his debut. Frager, who hit 8-of-11 shots from the field, trailed only Bryce McGowens and Joe McCray among highest scoring debuts by Husker freshmen. Frager, a redshirt freshman who turns 19 next Monday, also added five rebounds, two assists and two steals in 22 minutes of work.
Florida International comes to Lincoln following a 101-49 win over Florida National on Monday night. Samford transfer Hamed Olayinka led FIU with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting and added seven rebounds and six steals to pace four Panthers in double figures.
Numbers to Know
81.5 - Nebraska is averaging 81.5 points per game on 48 percent shooting, including 39 percent from 3-point range, during its five-game win streak dating back to last season.
2- Nebraska has had back-to-back games with at least 20 assists and 10 turnovers or less (UCF and West Georgia). It is the first time NU has done that in consecutive games in the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present).
.952 - Nebraska is 20-1 at home in non-conference play over the last three seasons and is 33-9 (.785) at home in non-conference action in Fred Hoiberg's first six-plus seasons at Nebraska.
401 - Nebraska's 2025-26 roster enters the season with 401 career starts at the Division I level. Rienk Mast has 111 starts in his career while Kendall Blue has started 89 times during his career at St. Thomas. A total of 10
Huskers have started at least once.
90.5 - Nebraska averaged 90.5 points per game in its two exhibition games, its highest scoring average in a season with multiple exhibition games since 1999-2000 (102.5 ppg).
3 - For just the third time in the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present), Nebraska returns multiple double-figure scorers with Rienk Mast (12.3 ppg in 2023-24) and Connor Essegian (10.7 ppg). In both previous instances (2018-19 and 2024-25), Nebraska has advanced to postseason play.
Scouting Florida International
Florida International heads to Lincoln following a 101-49 win in its opener on Monday. The Panthers have only one returnee from last year (Ashton Williamson) from a team that went 10-23 in 2024-25.
The Panthers added 15 newcomers, including 12 transfers. Williamson averaged 7.3 points and a team-high 2.9 assists per game as he made 16 starts. Among the transfers, Corey Stephenson averaged 11.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game at Cal State Bakersfield, New Mexico State transfer Zawdie Jackson averaged 10.5 ppg and 3.1 assists per game last season and Julian Mackey averaged 15.0 ppg at Houston Christian last season. The Panthers were picked to finish 10th in the Conference USA preseason poll.
Saturday's meeting is the first for the Huskers against FIU. Nebraska is 12-7 all-time against the current members of Conference USA.
West Georgia Recap
Braden Frager scored 22 points in his collegiate debut while Jamarques Lawrence had 10 of his 18 points in a decisive 16-0 run as Nebraska opened the season with an 86-53 win over West Georgia on Nov. 3.
Frager was efficient offensively, hitting 8-of-11 shots from the field and had five rebounds to pace four Huskers in double figures. Lawrence tallied 18 points, including five 3-pointers to match a career high, and dished out six assists. Connor Essegian (12 points) and Rienk Mast (10) also finished in double figures.
Nebraska trailed 25-24 with less than three minutes remaining in the first half before Frager’s jumper ignited a 16-0 run. Lawrence scored the final four points of the half to push the lead to 30-25 before the Huskers opened the second half with 10 straight points, capped by consecutive 3-pointers from Lawrence to push the lead to 40-25. Nebraska held West Georgia without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes as Nebraska outscored the Wolves 26-2 to build a 50-27 lead on a Frager slam with 13:13 left. Nebraska held West Geogia to 29.2 percent shooting and enjoyed a 49-37 lead on the glass.
Worth Noting from Monday's Win
• Nebraska improved its record in season openers to 89-41 and have won 23 of the past 25 season openers.
• Frager's 22-point effort was the third-highest scoring debut by a Husker freshman and the most by a Husker freshman in his debut since Bryce McGowens had 25 against Western Illinois in 2021.
• Frager’s 22 points marked the 12th time under Hoiberg a player had at least 20 points off the bench
• Rienk Mast posted his 27th career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds in his first regular-season game since the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
• Jamarques Lawrence tied a career high with five 3-pointers. It marked the fourth time in his career that he had at least five 3-pointers. Lawrence also had six of the Huskers’ 20 assists.
• Sam Hoiberg tied his career high with seven rebounds. He also on two other occasions, most recently against Arizona State in the College Basketball Crown.
• Nebraska went on three double-figure runs, including a 16-0 run spanning the end of the first half and the start of the second half.
From a Distance
One trend which continued from NU's two exhibition games is solid shooting from 3-point range. Including the two exhibition games, NU has averaged 13.7 3-pointers per game, including 16 in the one-point exhibition win over No. 8 BYU.
• Five different players have hit at least four 3-pointers in a game (including the exhibitions): Rienk Mast (7 vs. BYU), Braden Frager (6 vs. Midland), Jamarques Lawrence (5 vs. West Georgia) and Pryce Sandfort (4 vs. Midland)
• Dating back to last year, NU has had a player hit four or more 3-pointers in the last four contests dating back to the College Basketball Crown. (Brice Williams-Georgetown; Juwan Gary-Boise State; Connor Essegian-UCF; Jamarques Lawrence-West Georgia).
• Two years ago, Nebraska led the Big Ten with 9.4 3-pointers per game on its way to hitting a school record 319 3-pointers.
Bench Support
Nebraska relied on its depth in Monday's win over West Georgia, getting 46 points from its bench as the Husker reserves nearly matched the Wolves' team output.
• Braden Frager's 22 points off the bench tied for the fifth-highest output by a Husker reserve in Fred Hoiberg's six-plus seasons at Nebraska.
• The 46 points marked the seventh time under Fred Hoiberg that Nebraska got at least 40 points from its bench and the first time since the Southern game last season. The others under Hoiberg included: Doane (61, 2020-21), South Dakota (51, 2024-25), South Carolina State (47, 2023-24); South Dakota (43, 2021-22); Creigton (42, 2021-22) and Southern (40, 2024-25)
• Frager and Connor Essegian (12 points) both reached double figures on Monday.
• Last year, Nebraska got 31 double-figure efforts from its bench, including 16 from Connor Essegian, and averaged 23.0 ppg from its bench.
Mast Doubles Up
Mast picked up his 27th career double-double in Monday's opener against West Georgia. He now has 27 double-doubles, which is ninth among active players as of Nov. 5. Mast's six double-doubles in 2023-24 was the most by a Husker since the 2007-08 season.