Senior guard Keisei Tominaga scored a game-high 19 points to help ignite the University of Nebraska men's basketball team in an 88-72 home victory over top-ranked Purdue University on Tuesday, January 9.
Emotional Nebraska fans stormed the court after the game to celebrate the win.
"It was dope. I've never experienced that," Cornhuskers guard CJ Wilcher told reporters, describing the scene. "It kind of got too hot, though. I had to get out of there."
Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg, who's in his fifth season in charge, called Tuesday's upset a "a great win."
And it was a game that showcased how valuable Tominaga, who averaged 11.4 points in five games for the Japan national team at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Okinawa, is to the team's offense. He leads the Cornhuskers in scoring (14.6 points per game). Tominaga made 5 of 9 3-pointers in the Big Ten Conference showdown against Purdue.
In a postgame news conference, Hoiberg said his team must shift its focus in a hurry. The Cornhuskers travel to play at the University of Iowa on Saturday, January 13.
"It's a huge win for our program, but we've got a lot of work left to do," the Nebraska coach said. "I think that's the way we all need to look at this thing. This can't be the highlight of our year. We have to build off this one."
The Cornhuskers were coming off an 88-72 road loss against 21st-ranked University of Wisconsin on Saturday, January 6, a game in which Tominaga had 17 points.
"We bounced back from a tough loss," added Hoiberg, a former NBA player who coached the Chicago Bulls for three-plus seasons (2015-18). "Now, we're gonna see how we handle a big, emotional win like this, and we'll know tomorrow. We'll know tomorrow in the gym."
Tominaga Ignites Cornhuskers in Pivotal Scoring Run
The Cornhuskers ended the first half on a 13-0 scoring run and took a 41-30 lead into halftime.
With 3:31 remaining in the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena, the Boilermakers led 30-28 after Fletcher Loyer sank two free throws.
Tominaga put his team in front with a 3-pointer at the 3:17 mark.
The Nagoya native sank another 3 with 2:30 left in the half to give the hosts a 34-30 advantage. Nebraska then scored the next seven points to close out the half.
The Cornhuskers improved to 13-3 overall, 3-2 in the Big Ten, while the Boilermakers slipped to 14-2, 3-2.
Nebraska entered the game with a 3-13 all-time record against the nation's top-ranked teams, with its most recent victory against a No 1 squad occurring on February 6, 1982 (a 67-51 road triumph over the University of Missouri).
Tominaga had 12 first-half points, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Teammate Rienk Mast, a Netherlands native, scored 14 of his 18 points before intermission.
Nebraska finished 14-for-23 on 3-point attempts and held Purdue to 13 of 33.
Nebraska Withstands Purdue's Rally
The Boilermakers pulled to within 51-50 with 13:51 left, but the Cornhuskers answered with a 14-2 spurt.
With just over 9 minutes remaining, Purdue cut it to 68-62. Again, Nebraska stayed composed and outscored the visitors 20-10 the rest of the way.
The Cornhuskers improved to 24-4 under Coach Hoiberg when they scored 80 or more points in a game.
In addition to Mast and Tominaga, teammates Wilcher (16 points) and Juwan Gary (12) scored in double digits. Sam Hoiberg, the coach's son, and Brice Williams added nine points apiece.
After Tuesday's game, Boilermakers coach Matt Painter, who has been at the helm since 2005, described Nebraska as a team with an impressive roster.
"To me, it always starts with personnel. Obviously, it's your players, but it's the connectivity of your players," Painter told reporters. "They have good pieces together. Sometimes you can have good individual pieces, they just don't blend well together. They blend well, they have good roles. Williams can score on a given night, but he can also play-make. Like, tonight, he gets 11 rebounds. It's fabulous. … I always think that's a big deal, getting the right guys.
"Tominaga is such a threat, a huge shot maker. And Wilcher really helps. When he goes and makes shots for them, he really, really helps them."
RELATED:
- Keisei Tominaga Makes Season Debut for Nebraska Cornhuskers
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
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