How to Watch Nebraska Men's Basketball vs. Bethune-Cookman: Preview, Breakdown, TV Channel

The Huskers look to move to 2-0 with a Saturday night battle in Lincoln.

Geoff Exstrom | 0 Minutes Ago

Nov 4, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Connor Essegian (0) celebrates after a three point basket against the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

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The Nebraska men’s basketball team ran out to a season-opening win over Texas Rio Grande Valley on Monday in a 87-67 victory at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Despite a meager six-point lead at halftime over a program that has a first-year head coach, the Huskers pulled away in the final 20 minutes as returning guard Brice Williams popped off for 27 points on 8-for-18 shooting including a 10-for-11 showing at the charity stripe.

Three other Huskers reached double digits: Utah transfer 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 may come back to be viewed as a solid win with the Vaqueros pushing No. 15 Creighton Wednesday night in a 99-86 loss in which Bluejay center Ryan Kalkbrenner had to score a CHI Health Center record 49 points.

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

Here’s all you need to know as the Huskers battle the Wildcats Saturday night.

How to Follow Along

Matchup: Nebraska (1-0, 0-0 B1G) vs. Bethune-Cookman (0-1, 0-0 SWAC)
When: 7 p.m. CST Saturday, Nov. 9
Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, NE
Watch: B1G+
Listen: Huskers Radio Network and affiliates

Bethune-Cookman Scout

Head Coach: Reggie Theus | 4th Season | 38-59 (.392) School Record | He acts as the MBB Head Coach and Athletic Director of Bethune-Cookman | Previous HC of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings as well as Cal State Northridge and New Mexico State.

2023-2024 Record: 17-17 (11-7 SWAC, T-5th) | 1x All-SWAC First Team, 1x All-SWAC Second Team | L, 86-85 to Arkansas State in the First Round of Ro College Basketball Invitational.

All-Time Series: Nebraska Leads 1-0 (2004 last matchup, 70-26 NU).

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

Key Returners: Reggie Ward Jr., F, Sr. | Seneca Willoughby, G, Jr.

Bethune-Cookman's head coach Reggie Theus

Nov 6, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Bethune-Cookman Wildcats head coach Reggie Theus reacts during the first half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Williams Arena. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

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) looking to improve on last season’s 17-17 overall record, which was the program’s best since the 2019-20 season when they finished 16-14.

Despite the success, out of the nine players who played at least 28 games last season, only two return to the team with the others either transferring or running out of eligibility. 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 its two centers with seven-footer Elijah Hulsewe moving back to his hometown at UCF while James Henderson Jr. transferred to Niagara.

The only two to return 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 failed to score any points, going 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 fill out the roster. Senior and Coastal Carolina transfer Brayon Freeman made the biggest impact on Tuesday with 12 points. Trey Thomas scored nine in his Wildcat debut after coming over from Bowling Green where he played in 28 of the BGSU’s 34 games last season.

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

This team will most likely take some time to gel and find its groove, 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 go through the SWAC in which they were projected to finish eighth of 12, despite one first-place vote.