Nebraska defeats Murray State to advance to Diamond Head Classic semifinals
The rout began as soon as Braxton Meah won the first board.
The Nebraska men’s basketball team is in Honolulu, Hawaii to compete in the 2024 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic over the holidays. The Huskers took on the Murray State Racers in a quarterfinal game Sunday night, and it was all Big Red from the jump.
Behind a team-high 15 points and five 3-pointers from Connor Essegian and a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds from Andrew Morgan, NU rolled to a 66-49 victory to improve to 8- 2 in total.
Fred Hoiberg’s team (8-2, 1-1 in the Big Ten) advances to a semifinal matchup against the winner of host Hawaii and Charlotte, which will be played late Sunday night. The Huskers’ semifinal game is scheduled to begin Monday night at 9:30 p.m. Central Time. MSU fell to 6-5 this season.
NU won the game in the first half and cruised to victory in the second. The Huskers led 34-14 at the break and shot 50% from the field while playing excellent defense, holding MSU to 14% shooting. The Racers made just 4 of 28 from the field in the first half.
“I think we got off to a really good start after a long absence,” Hoiberg told Huskers Radio Network after the game. “With guys coming out of finals, you always worry about that, plus there’s the long trip. We got there a day later than all the teams here, I think, and we had to bounce back and get out with a lot of effort. I thought we did that.
Seven different Huskers players found the goal column in the first half, which included a 16-0 Huskers run. Essegian came off the bench to score 9 points on three 3s and did his best Keisei Tominaga imitation with this 3 near the logo:
Juwan Gary set the tone early with physical drives to the hoop that helped him score seven points in the first half, including three from the free throw line. He finished with nine points and three rebounds.
Both Berke Buyuktuncel and Morgan were problems for the small MSU team. Each player added six points in the first half and combined for 14 rebounds (Morgan with eight, Buyuktuncel with six).
Before leaving the game late due to injury, Buyuktuncel had six points, nine rebounds (two offensive), one block and one steal.
It was a very strong first half for NU. One thing to nitpick though: the turnovers. NU had 10 in the first 20 minutes and finished with 15. To the credit of the Husker defense, they only allowed the Racers to score seven points off those 15 turnovers.
Part of NU’s dominance in the first half was its play near the rim, where the Huskers used their larger bodies to gain a 20-2 advantage in the paint.
According to the ESPN broadcast, Murray State’s 14 points scored in the first half against Nebraska are the fewest in Diamond Head Classic history.
“It became a little bit of an ugly game in the second half, and we held on. Guys made big plays for us down the stretch,” Hoiberg said. “But overall, I think our effort was really good considering the last eight or nine days off.”
Morgan’s double-double was his first as a Husker. The 6-foot-10 transfer from North Dakota State took advantage of his size and strength against the Racers’ smaller defenders. He was effective offensively, shooting 6 of 7 from the field while showing off some nice footwork in the post.
“He was outstanding. I loved his effort on the glass. He was everywhere, he was eating up rebounds,” Hoiberg said of Morgan. “When we needed a basket, he was the one we went to.”
Morgan has now scored in double figures coming off the bench in the last four games and in six total games this season.
At one point early in the second half, NU’s lead was 23 points, 39-16. But MSU never quite cut its deficit to 12 points with 3:33 left. Once again, to NU’s credit, the Huskers sealed the victory thanks to defense and did not allow the Racers to score another point.
NU was without backup point guard Ahron Ulis against MSU. After the game, Hoiberg said Ulis sprained his ankle during Saturday’s practice. Ulis was seen on the bench wearing a protective medical boot.
FOLLOWING
Either Hawaii or Charlotte.
If it’s Charlotte, it will be notable because it’s where Brice Williams spent his first four seasons of college basketball and where his late father, Henry, is the all-time leading scorer.
Regardless of which team it is, Hoiberg said his team will be ready on short notice.
“Both of these teams have shown quite a bit of zone this year, so we have to be ready for that,” Hoiberg said. “We’ll pick them up, flush them out, do another film session and hopefully come back and play well again tomorrow.”
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