Nebraska Men's Basketball Preview: UT Rio Grande Valley

The new-look 2024-25 Huskers kick off their season Monday night against a program breaking in a new coach and being part of a new conference.

Geoff Exstrom | Nov 3, 2024

Nebraska's head coach Fred Hoiberg watches his team during the first round game between Texas A&M and Nebraska in the 2024 NCAA Tournament at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, March 22, 2024. / Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Fresh off the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in over a decade and a third-place finish in the Big Ten, the Nebraska men’s basketball team begins its new season Monday with a goal to reach consecutive tournament appearances for the first time since going there four straight times from 1991 through 1994.

Entering his seventh season in Lincoln, head coach Fred Hoiberg revamped his roster through the transfer portal once again, looking to strike gold and continue the momentum created from last season’s postseason appearance. Electric three-point scorer Kesei Tominaga and Lincoln native Josiah Allick are both gone, along with Jarron Coleman, who all exhausted their eligibility.

Dutch forward Rienk Mast will medically redshirt for 2024-25 due to knee surgery. Guard C.J. Wilcher transferred to the very team that defeated NU in the tournament, Texas A&M. Plus, Eli Rice (Penn State), Blaise Keita, Ramel Lloyd Jr., Jamarques Lawrence (Rhode Island), and Matar Diop (Loyola Marymount) all transferred or left the program.

The assumed leaders of this 2024-25 squad for the Huskers is second-year Charlotte transfer Brice Williams and impact forward Juwan Gary. They both return with Henry Burt, Cale Jacobsen and Sam Hoiberg. Iowa transfer Ahron Ulis is back in the Scarlet and Cream as well, but he was absent last season due to his involvement with a gambling scandal.

Aside from Williams, Gary and Hoiberg, playing time was sparse between the other returners, prompting Hoiberg to grab five upperclassman transfers. Those include Connor Essegian (Wisconsin), Jeffrey Grace III (Arizona State), Andrew Morgan (North Dakota State), Rollie Worster (Utah), and Braxton Meah (Washington). Other transfers include Berke Büyüktuncel (UCLA), Gavin Griffiths (Rutgers) and Justin Bolis (Southeast CC). Plus, two freshmen come into the fold with 6-4 guard Nick Janowski from Wisconsin and Lincoln native Braden Frager, who stands at 6-7.

The Huskers came together for a solid 73-53 exhibition win over Grand Valley State by shooting 50% from the field and causing 19 turnovers. Sharp-shooting Griffiths was 4-for-6 from deep to finish with a team-high 14 points, while Williams added 13 points for the only two players to be in double-digits.

Now, the real action begins Monday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena, where NU went 18-1 a year ago, against UT Rio Grande Valley.

How to Follow Along

Matchup: Nebraska (0-0, 0-0 B1G) vs. UT Rio Grande Valley (0-0, 0-0 Southland)
When: Monday, November 4
Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, NE
Time: 7 p.m. CST
Watch: B1G+
Listen: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

Texas Rio Grande Valley Scout

Head Coach: Kahil Fennell | 1st Season | 1st Season as Head Coach | Previous assistant coaching stops at BYU, Louisville, Portland State and UT Permian Basin.

2023-’24 Record: 6-25 (2-18 WAC, 11th) | Did not qualify for postseason play.

All-Time Series: Nebraska Leads 1-0 (2009 last matchup, 81-53)

Fun Fact: The Huskers' lone matchup against UT Rio Grande Valley came in 2009 when the school was named Texas-Pan American. Nebraska is 9-1 all-time against members of the Southland Conference.

Key Returners: J.J. Howard, Guard, Soph. | Hasan Abdul Hakim, Guard, Sr.

Outlook: UT Rio Grande Valley begins its two-game trip to the Cornhusker state in taking on Nebraska Monday night. Following its contest against the Huskers, UTRGV will head to Omaha to take on No. 15 Creighton on Wednesday.

It’s an official rebuild for the Vaqueros who mutually parted ways with previous coach Matt Figger, who compiled a 29-65 record over three seasons. In comes Kahil Fennell who spent the past couple seasons as an assistant coach at BYU where the Cougars put together a pair of 20+ win seasons.

Only five players return from a Rio Grande Valley squad that went 6-25 a season ago. Guards Hasan Abdul Hakim and J.J. Howard are the two key returners as Abdul Hakim averaged 13.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while Howard added 10 points per contest as a freshman. Of the 12 schools in the Southland Conference, the Vaqueros were picked eighth, so a year of building up the program seems to be in the cards.

Fennell dipped heavily into the transfer portal with nine transfers. Former DePaul guard K.T. Raimey will aim to lead that group after averaging 6.8 points per 29 games last season. Graduate guard DK Thorn will look to go out with a bang after coming over from Alcorn State after he averaged 8.3 points per game in 14 starts and 29 games overall. He also shot 36% from beyond the arc.

Kwo Agwa (Texas A&M-Commerce), Marshal Destremau (Clarendon College), Tommy Gankhuyag (Treveca Nazarene), and Mustafo Vanjov (Curry College) will all scramble for time in the frontcourt as they aim to make their names known in Division I.

The Huskers should take care of business on opening night as they start to feel out its rotations against a UT Rio Grande Valley team who’s beginning a new era both on the court in a new coach while starting its first season as part of the Southland Conference.