No. 21 Nebraska tips off season against Northern Kentucky

Lincoln, NE (SportsNetwork.com) – The Nebraska Cornhuskers are set to open one of the most highly-anticipated seasons in program history on Sunday, as they entertain the Norse of Northern Kentucky at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Northern Kentucky is facing its second straight Big Ten Conference opponent to open the campaign, as it was throttled at No. 3 Wisconsin on Friday night, 62-31. The Norse, who are eligible to compete in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament for the first time this season, are in their third season as a member of Division I. Prior to making the move, the Norse were one of the best programs at the Division II level, winning 20 or more games in five of its final six seasons.

Not only do the Cornhuskers return all five starters from a team that went 19-13 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998, but they are ranked in the AP preseason poll for the first time since 1992-93, beginning at No. 21. Nebraska opens the season with seven of its first nine games at home, so a fast start for coach Tim Miles squad is all but guaranteed.

This bout marks the first-ever meeting between these two schools in men’s basketball.

Northern Kentucky is hoping to improve upon the dismal 9-21 record it posted a season ago, and the hope is that the return of its top six scorers will certainly help in that regard. Unfortunately for the Norse, they had the unenviable task of opening this new campaign against one of the top teams in the country, and found it nearly impossible to get anything going offensively in netting a mere 31 points against Wisconsin. Reserve Daniel Camps scored eight points to lead NKU, matching the entire scoring output of all five starters. The team as a whole shot just 26.4 percent from the field, which included a woeful 2-of-16 performance from 3-point range, while allowing the Badgers to drain 48.9 percent of their total shots, easily win the rebounding battle (42-28), and more than double the Norse in points in the paint (34-16).

Nebraska’s Terran Petteway is a star in the making, and Miles couldn’t be happier that the 6-foot-6 junior is back to lead the Cornhuskers to what those in Lincoln hope is the team’s best showing since joining the Big Ten. Petteway led the team in scoring last season with 18.1 ppg, and he made nearly as many free throws (167) and his next closest teammate attempted (Shavon Shields, 179). Shields is back as well after netting 12.8 ppg and grabbing a team-high 5.8 rpg, but there aren’t many others expected to really elevate their games enough to dim Petteway’s star. One guy who could is former Florida Gator Walter Pitchford, who averaged 9.3 points and 4.7 boards per outing in his first season with the Huskers, all while shooting a team-best 41 percent from 3-point range.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball