The Nebraska men’s basketball team cruised to a season-opening victory over Texas Rio Grande Valley in an 87-67 victory on Monday Pinnacle Bank Arena. Despite a measly six-point halftime lead on a program with a first-year head coach, the Huskers pulled away in the final twenty minutes as a returning guard. Brice Williams scored 27 points on 8-for-18 shooting, including a 10-for-11 showing at the charity stripe.

Three other Huskers reached double figures: transfers to Utah Rollie Worster (18 points), former Wisconsin guard Connor Essegian (13) and big man Andrew Morgan (10). NU shot 49.1% from the field while going 6-for-19 from beyond the arc. The 20-point win over UTRGV can be viewed as a solid victory, with the Vaqueros pushing No. 15 Creighton on Wednesday night in a 99-86 loss that saw Bluejay center Ryan Kalkbrenner score a CHI Health Center-record 49 points.

Nebraska will look to improve to 2-0 on the season when it returns to Lincoln to host Bethune-Cookman on Saturday at PBA.

Here’s everything you need to know as the Huskers take on the Wildcats on Saturday night.

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Head Coach: Reggie Theus | 4th season | 38-59 (.392) School Record | He serves as MBB head coach and athletic director at Bethune-Cookman | Previous HC of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, as well as Cal State Northridge and New Mexico State.

Record year 2023-2024: 17-17 (11-7 SWAC, T-5th) | 1x full SWAC first team, 1x full SWAC second team | L, 86-85 to Arkansas State in the first round of the Ro College Basketball Invitational.

All-time series: Nebraska leads 1-0 (last game of 2004, 70-26 NU).

Fun fact: Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg and Theus are two of 19 Division I coaches to have played in the NBA this season. Additionally, Theus’ time as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves (2009-’11) overlapped with Hoiberg’s stint in the Timberwolves’ front office.

Main returns: Reggie Ward Jr., F, Sr. | Seneca Willoughby, G, Jr.

Most important additions: Brayon Freeman, G, Sr. (Coast Carolina) | Gianni Hunt, G, Gr. (Cal State Northridge) | Daniel Rouzan, F, Jr. (Manhattan College) | Antwann Jones, G, Gr. (UCF) | Jesus Carralero Martin, F, Gr. (Missouri) | Trey Thomas, G, Jr. (Bowling Green) | Jerome Beya, F, Jr. (Tennessee Tech) | Jarrell Love, F, Jr. (Baton Rouge CC) | David Onanina, C, R-Soph. (Eastern Kentucky).

Key starting points: Jakobi Heady, G/F, Sr. (Central Michigan) | Zion Harmon, G, Jr. (Seton Hall) | Dhashon Dyson, G (eligibility) | Derrick Carter-Hollinger Jr, F/C, (Eligibility) | Elijah Hulsewe, C, Jr. (UCF) | Damani McEntire, G (Eligibility) | James Henderson Jr., C, Jr. (Niagra) |

Outlook: Former NBA player and Sacramento Kings head coach Reggie Theus enters his fourth season as Bethune-Cookman’s men’s basketball coach (and athletic director) and is looking to improve on last season’s 17-17 overall record, which was the program’s best since the season 2019-2020, when they finished 16-14.

Despite the success, of the nine players who played at least 28 games last season, only two return to the team, while the others transfer or become ineligible. That includes the two Wildcast all-conference performers in Jakobi Heady (Central Michigan) and Zion Harmon (Seton Hall) who moved on to bigger programs. The Wildcats also lost their two centers when 7-foot-1 Elijah Hulsewe returned to his hometown at UCF, while James Henderson Jr. transferred to Niagara.

The only two returning were forward Reggie Ward Jr. and guard Seneca Willoughby. Ward Jr. was the leading scorer in Bethune-Cookman’s season-opening loss to Texas Tech with a team-high 15 points. Seneca played 14 minutes but scored no points and went 0-for-3 from the field and 0-for-2 from three.

Theus is no stranger to the equivalent of free agency and he had to do so through the transfer portal, bringing in nine new bodies to supplement the squad. Senior and Coastal Carolina transfer Brayon Freeman made the biggest impact Tuesday with 12 points. Trey Thomas scored nine in his Wildcat debut after transferring from Bowling Green, where he played in 28 of BGSU’s 34 games last season.

Eleven players saw playing time for the Wildcats on opening night, but only four had 20 or more minutes. Guard Gianni Hunt, a graduate transfer from Cal State Northridge, had a tough outing with no points, while Missouri transfer Jesus Carralero Martin added just three points in 21 minutes.

This team will most likely take some time to settle in and find its feet, but with 13 players on the roster with at least three years of college basketball experience, this group will be interesting to watch as they progress through the SWAC they were projected into. to finish eighth out of twelve, despite one first-place vote.

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