Nebraska Men's Basketball Runs Away from Fairleigh Dickinson, 86-60

Nebrasketball improves to 3-0 with a no-doubter win over FDU.
Nov 13, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Juwan Gary (4) drives against Fairleigh Dickinson Knights guard Ahmed Barba-Bey (8) during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Nov 13, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Juwan Gary (4) drives against Fairleigh Dickinson Knights guard Ahmed Barba-Bey (8) during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The poor shooting continued for Nebraska men's basketball Wednesday night, but so did the winning.

Nebraska beat Fairleigh Dickinson 86-60. The Huskers stay undefeated at 3-0 while the Knights fall to 1-3.

NU did not make a shot for the first 3:24 of the game. The shooting stayed cool for most of the half but eventually improved enough to go into the break at 44% with a 45-25 lead.

Fairleigh Dickinson Knights guard Terrence Brown (2) dribbles against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Nov 13, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Fairleigh Dickinson Knights guard Terrence Brown (2) dribbles against Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Ahron Ulis (2) and guard Sam Hoiberg (1) during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The defense showed up, as it has needed to in the early part of the season. FDU cut the deficit to nine at one point in the second half, but NU answered with a 13-2 run to put the game away for good.

Nebraska shot 43.1% for the game, including 7-of-28 from 3. Fairleigh Dickinson shot 40.4% overall, making 7-of-23 3s.

The Huskers got to the line at-will once again, shooting 28 free throws and making 23 of them.

Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Juwan Gary (4) shoots a three point basket against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights.
Nov 13, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Juwan Gary (4) shoots a three point basket against Fairleigh Dickinson Knights forward Cameron Tweedy (21) during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Juwan Gary poured in a team-high 19 points, dishing out a game-high five assists. Berke Buyuktuncel (12) and Brice Williams (10) also scored in double figures, while Connor Essegian, Rollie Worster, Ahron Ulis, and Gavin Griffiths all scored eight points.

Nebraska leaves Lincoln for the next game, taking on St. Mary's in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at the Sanford Pentagon on Sunday.

Box score

Nebraska Athletics Notes

  • Nebraska extends its home win streak to 15 games following tonight’s win over FDU.
  • Juwan Gary recorded season highs in points (19), assists (five), blocked shots (two), free throws made (seven) and attempted (eight). Gary’s assists and free throws were both career highs.
  • Nebraska finished with a season-high 20 assists and a season-low eight turnovers. Its 20 assists marked NU’s highest assist total since the 2024 Big Ten Tournament against Indiana.
  • Nebraska went on a 10-0 run in the first half, its second double-digit run of the season.  (11:49-8:53) 
  • Berke Büyüktuncel finished with a season-high 12 points and matched career bests in both rebounds (seven) and assists (three). It is the third straight game he has grabbed at least six rebounds.
  • Brice Williams finished with 10 points and has now been in double figures in seven straight games, which matches the longest stint of his career. 
  • Cale Jacobsen saw his first action of the season and set career bests in rebounds (four) and assists (assists) in a stint of 5:04 in the first half. Jacobsen finished with a +12 in 6:44 of game time.
  • Nebraska’s bench outscored FDU 29-5 and had half of NU’s 20 assists.
  • Nebraska converted 17 FDU turnovers into 28 points.
  • Nebraska went 23-of-28 from the foul line and has gotten to the foul line at least 25 times in all three contests. 
  • Nebraska held FDU to 60 points, well under its 84.7 ppg average in its first three games. 
  • Sam Hoiberg led NU with three steals, the second straight game with three steals. 
  • Nebraska has now won 24 straight games when holding an opponent under 70 points, including 30-2 over the last two-plus seasons. The time Nebraska lost a game when holding an opponent under 70 points was against Purdue in 2022.

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.