Head coach Fred Hoiberg’s Nebraska Cornhuskers and star Brice Williams continued their hot start to the season on Christmas Day with a 78-66 victory over the Oregon State Beavers. Senior guard Brice Williams scored 11 of his 25 points in the game’s last six minutes as Nebraska ran away from the Beavers in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic championship game. 6’10” sophomore Berke Buyuktuncel added a career-high 16 points and 6 rebounds to the Huskers’ tally.
The Beavers kept things interesting in the second half, tying the game at 51-51 with ten minutes to play, but a pair of poor shooting streaks down the stretch doomed Oregon State’s chances. After Isaiah Sy’s equalizing layup with 10:20 left in the half, Oregon State went 0-3 from the field with two turnovers over the next five minutes of play before a Nate Kingz jumper with 5:16 to play.
The Beavers’ second cold streak came in the game’s final minutes. Forward Parsa Fallah made his only field goal of the night to bring the Beavers within four points with 3:51 left on the clock. Afterwards, Oregon State made only two of their final six shot attempts to close the game as Nebraska ended on a 14-6 run, icing the game with two trips to the free throw line in the game’s final minute.
Brice Williams paced the Cornhuskers in points (25) and rebounds (7) on an efficient 9-13 shooting from the floor. Nate Kingz and Damarco Minor led Oregon State with 19 and 16 points, respectively.
The win closed Nebraska’s dominant run through the Diamond Head Classic, where they outscored their opponents by an average of 14.3 points and shot 49.7% from the field and 38.9% from three-point range. The Huskers also put up a trio of stout defensive performances, limiting Oregon State, Hawai’i, and Murray State to a collective 37.4% shooting from the field.
A Look Back
Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg has his team off to a great start this season, they now sit at 10-2 heading into the bulk of conference play. Senior guard Brice Williams has paced the Cornhuskers with 19.7 points per game on 51.4% shooting from the field, 43.2% from three, and 91.0% from the free throw line. Williams currently ranks 3rd in the Big 10 in scoring and 22nd nationally. Through two games of Big Ten play, the Cornhuskers are 1-1 with a win against Indiana and a loss to Michigan State.
2024/25 is Fred Hoiberg’s sixth season running the show for the Nebraska Cornhuskers after previous stints with Iowa State and the Chicago Bulls. Hoiberg and guard Brice Williams led Nebraska to an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament last season, losing in the Round of 64 to Texas A&M.
Oregon State, in their debut season in the West Coast Conference, now sit at 10-3 heading into conference play. Junior forward Michael Rataj has lead the team in both scoring and field goal percentage over the team’s non-conference slate, averaging 15.5 points per game on 45.5% shooting.
Oregon State are in their eleventh season under head coach Wayne Tinkle and are hoping to finish with their first winning season since 2020/21, when they reached the Elite 8 in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Looking Ahead
The Nebraska Cornhuskers, currently 1-1 in the Big Ten, have one more non-conference game on the schedule against Southern University on December 30, followed by a January 4 bout against #22 UCLA at home. The Cornhuskers will hope to bolster their chances for an at-large bid in this season’s NCAA Tournament in Big Ten Conference play, as they are currently projected to be the first team out according to ESPN’s Bracketology despite ranking 38th in ESPN’s BPI.
Oregon State, meanwhile, kick off conference play at home against Portland on December 30. Currently ranked 80th in ESPN’s BPI, Beavers tournament hopes may hinge on winning the WCC Conference Tournament in March, as they currently sit at 0-3 against Quad 1 opponents this season after losses to Nebraska, Oregon, and North Texas. Their biggest tests of conference play will come against Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s, both of whom are currently projected to reach the NCAA Tournament per ESPN.
