How to Watch Nebraska Men’s Basketball vs. Fairleigh Dickinson: Preview, Breakdown, TV Channel

The Huskers return to action Wednesday night in hopes of sparking more of an offensive charge.

Geoff Exstrom | Nov 12, 2024

Nov 9, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Bethune-Cookman Wildcats guard Brayon Freeman shoots the ball against Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Berke Buyuktuncel. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

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One word could describe Nebraska’s 63-58 win over Bethune-Cookman Saturday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena: Ugly.

Despite leading by five, the Huskers shot a putrid 25.8% in the first half against the Wildcats. An 11-for-24 showing in the second half saved face from that perspective, but it wasn’t nearly enough to put away Bethune-Cookman, who kept hanging around due to its nine three-pointers as compared to the Huskers’ lowly four. NU committed 18 turnovers despite forcing 22 from the Wildcats.

Compared to the last few years under coach Fred Hoiberg where free throw shooting would struggle at times, that is what pushed Nebraska to a 2-0 start as the Huskers shot 80.8% (21-26) from the charity stripe. Juwan Gary (11) and Brice Williams (10) were two of only three players from either side to reach double digits while big man Braxton Meah added nine points and Wisconsin transfer guard Connor Essegian chipped in eight, including four key free throws in the late stages.

The offense will need to get fixed in a hurry as Nebraska turns around to face off against Northeast Conference contender Fairleigh Dickinson, who’s only two years removed from topping No. 1 seed Purdue in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

How to Follow Along

Matchup: Nebraska (2-0, 0-0 B1G) vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (1-2, 0-0 NEC)
When: 7 p.m. CST Wednesday, Nov. 13
Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, NE
Watch: B1G+
Listen: Huskers Radio Network and affiliates

FDU Scout

Head Coach: Jack Castleberry | 2nd Season | 16-19 (.457) FDU Record | FDU Assistant Coach during 2022-2023 season | Previous assistant coach stops at Queens (N.C.), The Citadel, Siena (WBB), VMI and UTM.

‘23-’24 Record: 15-17 (9-7 NEC, T-4th) | 1x All-NEC First Team, 1x All-NEC Second Team, 1x All-NEC Rookie Team | Did not qualify for the postseason.

All-Time Series: Nebraska Leads 1-0 (2003 last matchup, 80-64 NU)

Fun Fact: Nebraska is 15-1 at home in non-conference play over the last two-plus seasons and is 28-9 (.757) at home in non-conference action in Hoiberg's six seasons at NU.

Key Returners: Jo’el Emanuel, F, Jr. | Terrence Brown, G, Soph. | Brayden Reynolds, G, Jr.

Key Additions: Dylan Jones, G, Jr. (Snow CC) | Ahmed Barba-Bey, G, Gr. (Jefferson, DII) | Bismarck Nsiah, F, Gr. (Jefferson, DII).

Key Departures: Ansley Almonor, F, Sr. (Kentucky) | Sean Moore, F, Gr. (UNC Wilmington) | Joe Munden Jr., G, Gr. (Northern Illinois) | Heru Bligen, G (Eligibility) | DeVante Jamison, G (Eligibility).

Nov 10, 2024; Omaha, Nebraska, USA; Fairleigh Dickinson Knights guard Terrence Brown dribbles against Creighton Bluejays guard Pop Isaacs. / Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

Outlook: FDU enters the new season in the second year under new head coach Jack Castleberry, who took over for Tobin Anderson, who left the Knights after leading the program to a win over No. 1 seed Purdue in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. FDU went a pedestrian 15-17 in year one of the new regime, but lost a few key starters over the offseason.

Leading scorer and Ansley Almonor (16.4 PPG) had an offer he couldn’t refuse in going to Kentucky while second-leading scorer Sean Moore (11.9 PPG) also departed, transferring to UNC Wilmington. Plus, Joe Munden Jr. (10.1 PPG) took his talents to the MAC and Northern Illinois.

Castleberry returns a pair of starters in Terrence Brown and Jo’el Emanuel who are two of three players averaging double-digits through three games in the new season. Brown has been the Knight in shining armor with a team-leading average of 20.3 points with outputs of 18, 24 and 19 points. Emanuel, a 6-6 forward, scored 13 and 16 points in his first two games, but faltered with six points in a 96-70 loss to No. 15 Creighton on Sunday.

To replace the departed transfers, Castleberry went the unconventional route and scooped up players from the Division II and JUCO levels. Junior Dylan Jones spent two seasons at Snow CC and his play has translated to 13.3 points per game in his first three Division I contests. Ahmed Barba-Bey and Bismarck Nsiah are a pair of graduate student transfers from Division II Jefferson who have cracked the lineup. Nsiah leads the duo with 9.0 points per game while Barba-Bey has seven.

Coming off a bad offensive performance, the Huskers will need to watch themselves against a Knights squad who was picked to finish third in the NEC coming into 2024. FDU is also dangerous from beyond the arc, going 35-for-80 (43.8%) from three early in the season. Nebraska should still win this one, but never count out an NU letdown to keep this one close.

Postgame: Head to the I-80 Club and HuskerMax YouTube pages after the game to join Jack Mitchell, Kaleb Henry, and Jacob Bigelow for the new postgame show, After Nebrasketball.

HuskerMax and the I-80 Club will go live after the Nebraska vs. Fairleigh Dickinson game with After Nebrasketball. / Josh Peterson

And check out the Nebrasketball Brunch Show every Friday at 11 a.m. CST on those same YouTube pages. Jack and Kaleb break down what they've seen, what's coming up, and debate their confidence ratings for Nebrasketball getting back to the NCAA Tournament.