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Nebraska Hoops Game Day: Kansas State

Robin Washut profile picby: Robin Washut1 hour agoRobinWashut
Fred Hoiberg Nebraska basketball
Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg talks to an official against the New Mexico Lobos during the first half of the game at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images

With an 84-72 win over New Mexico, Nebraska advanced to the championship game of the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City tonight against Kansas State.

Here is what you need to know going into the Huskers’ latest rematch with their former Big Eight/Big 12 rival Wildcats at T-Mobile Center…

Who, What, Where, When

Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-0) vs. Kansas State Wildcats (5-0)

Friday, Nov. 21, 2025 – 8:30 p.m. CT

T-Mobile Center (18,972)

TV: Peacock/NBC Sports Network (YouTube TV)

Radio: Huskers Radio Network

Internet/Streaming: Peacock

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Nebraska projected starters

Jamarques LawrenceGSr.6-3/185He scored a career-high 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting with four assists in the win over New Mexico. That included hitting four straight free throws and a 3-pointer over the final 1:05.
Sam HoibergGSr.6-0/180He filled up the stat sheet once again with 6 points, a career-high 7 rebounds, a team-high 6 assists, 2 steals, and only 1 turnover over 32 minutes of work vs. UNM.
Pryce SandfortGJr.6-7/210After his 28-point effort vs. Oklahoma, he finished with 8 points on just 3-of-11 shooting while going 1-for-5 from behind the arc against New Mexico.
Berke BuyuktuncelFSo.6-10/240He only played 21 minutes due to foul trouble, but he still posted 5 points, a team-high 7 rebounds, and a +/- rating of 13 in the win over UNM.
Rienk MastFSr.6-10/250 He scored 17 points with 4 rebounds but shot just 1-of-5 on 3-pointers and committed a team-high 5 turnovers over his 30 minutes against the Lobos.

Kansas State projected starters

PJ HaggertyGJr.6-4/195The All-American candidate from TCU/Tulsa/Memphis led KSU with 37 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds in its win over Mississippi State. He leads the nation at 28.2 points per game.
Abdi BashirGJr.6-7/175The Omaha native and Monmouth transfer averages 12.0 points per game while leading Kansas State with 17 made 3-pointers at a blistering 51.5% clip this season.
Nate JohnsonGSr.6-3/215He was last season’s MAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year at Akron. Johnson ranks second on the team at 14.0 ppg and leads KSU with 6.4 rpg and 1.8 spg.
Khamari McGriffGSr.6-9/230A transfer from UNC-Wilmington, he’s averaging 12.4 ppg on an incredible 81.3% shooting from the field this season. He’s also gone 10-of-11 (90.9%) at the free-throw line.
Elias RapiequeFJr.6-9/225The native of Berlin, Germany, is in his first season of college basketball. He’s averaging 2.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game this season.

3 keys to victory

Handle the pressure

Nebraska had done well in taking care of the basketball this season, ranking 21st nationally in offensive turnover percentage coming into Kansas City. However, New Mexico’s aggressive and swarming on-ball defense gave the Huskers fits on Thursday night. The Lobos forced NU into a season-high 18 turnovers and converted those into 14 points. UNM, Oklahoma, and even BYU in the exhibition all had success dialing up defensive pressure on the perimeter against NU. Kansas State has been decent in that regard this season, but don’t be surprised if the Wildcats try to get after Nebraska’s ball handlers early and often tonight.

Don’t let Haggerty take over

There might not be a better point guard in all of college basketball right now than Kansas State’s PJ Haggerty. The former TCU/Tulsa/Memphis transfer has played like a first-team All-American through his first five games as a Wildcat. He leads the nation at 28.2 points per contest, including a dominant 37-point, eight-rebound, and seven-assist effort in Thursday night’s win over Mississippi State. Haggerty joined only Michael Beasley among KSU players to score 20 or more in their first five games. Nebraska doesn’t have an individual player of Haggerty’s caliber, so it will take a full-team effort to contain him.

Bring your own juice

Nebraska experienced the positive side of a “neutral-site” game that was anything but during its win over Oklahoma in Sioux Falls. That script will flip tonight in Kansas City, as it should be a heavy home crowd for Kansas State. That means, for the first time this season, the Huskers won’t have the luxury of feeding off their fans’ energy. Fred Hoiberg noted that NU made its 16-point comeback vs. OU in large part because the raucous red-filled Pentagon provided a critical emotional lift. How will Nebraska respond to its first taste of “road” game adversity?

Quotable

“I just feel like it can be anybody’s night any given night. I mean, we have all these guys who can hit threes, and we can have all these guys out there who can all hit threes. We can have five guys out there who can all hit threes and then can have two or three guys coming off the bench that can come in and hit threes. I just feel like having that depth with the shooting just really stretches the floor out and opens a lot of things up.”

-Redshirt freshman guard Braden Frager during Nebraska’s post-game press conference on the Huskers’ offensive potency on the perimeter.

Prediction

Nebraska (-1.5) 81, Kansas State 79

Robin’s season record: 5-0

Vs. the spread: 5-0

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