2018–19 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball team

2018–19 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball
2018–19 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball
NIT, Second Round
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	19–17 (6–14 Big Ten)
Head coach	Tim Miles (7th season);
Assistant coaches	Armon Gates; Michael Lewis; Jim Molinari;
Home arena	Pinnacle Bank Arena
	Seasons ← 2017–18 2019–20 →

The 2018–19 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball team represented the University of Nebraska in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cornhuskers were led by seventh-year coach head coach Tim Miles and played their home games at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 19–17, 6–14 in Big Ten play to finish in 13th place. In the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Rutgers^[1] and Maryland^[2] to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to Wisconsin.^[3] They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Butler^[4] in the first round before losing to TCU.^[5]

2018–19 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 5 Michigan State †	16	–	4	.800	32	–	7	.821
No. 13 Purdue	16	–	4	.800	26	–	10	.722
No. 8 Michigan	15	–	5	.750	30	–	7	.811
No. 21 Wisconsin	14	–	6	.700	23	–	11	.676
Maryland	13	–	7	.650	23	–	11	.676
Iowa	10	–	10	.500	23	–	12	.657
Minnesota	9	–	11	.450	22	–	14	.611
Ohio State	8	–	12	.400	20	–	15	.571
Indiana	8	–	12	.400	19	–	16	.543
Penn State	7	–	13	.350	14	–	18	.438
Illinois	7	–	13	.350	12	–	21	.364
Rutgers	7	–	13	.350	14	–	17	.452
Nebraska	6	–	14	.300	19	–	17	.528
Northwestern	4	–	16	.200	13	–	19	.406

† 2019 Big Ten tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

On March 26, 2019, Tim Miles was fired.^[6] Four days later, the school hired former Chicago Bulls' head coach Fred Hoiberg as the next head coach.^[7]

Previous season

The Cornhuskers finished the 2017–18 season 2211, 13–5 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fourth place. As the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost in the quarterfinals to Michigan. Despite winning 13 Big Ten games, the Cornhuskers did not receive a bid to the NCAA tournament, but did receive a bid to the National Invitation Tournament. However, they lost in the first round of the NIT to Mississippi State.

Offseason

Departures

On March 27, 2018, junior guard James Palmer Jr. announced that he would declare for the NBA draft, but not sign with an agent.^[8] Junior forward Isaac Copeland also declared for the draft, but did not sign with an agent.^[8] Both chose to return to Nebraska for their senior seasons before the NBA draft deadline.^[9]

Name	No.	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Jordy Tshimanga	32	C	6'11"	268	SO	Montreal, QC, Canada	Transferred to Dayton
Jack McVeigh	10	F	6'8"	215	JR	Cabarita Beach, NSW, Australia	Signed in NBL
Duby Okeke	0	C	6'8"	247	SR	Jonesboro, GA	Graduated
Malcolm Laws	3	G	6'1"	191	SR	Orlando, FL	Graduated
Evan Taylor	11	G	6'5"	206	RS SR	Cincinnati, OH	Graduated
Anton Gill	13	G	6'3"	195	RS SR	Raleigh, NC	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	No.	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Dachon Burke	11	G	6 ft 4 in	180 lb	Sophomore	Orange, NJ	Robert Morris^[10]
Dedoch Chan	02	F	6 ft 8 in	210 lb	Freshman	Rochester, MN	Mississippi Gulf Coast CC^[11]^[12]

2018 recruiting class

Following the departure of Nebraska assistant coach Kenya Hunter in April, 2018, signee Xavier Johnson was granted a release from his Letter of Intent to Nebraska.^[13]

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Karrington Davis SF	St. Louis, MO	Montverde (FL)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Mar 10, 2018
Karrington Davis SF	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: N/A
Brady Heiman C	Springfield, NE	Springfield (NE) Platteview	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	197 lb (89 kg)	Aug 8, 2017
Brady Heiman C	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: N/A
Amir Harris G	Hagerstown, MD	Hagerstown (MD) St. Maria Goretti	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	May 10, 2018
Amir Harris G	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77
Overall recruiting rankings: 247Sports: 82
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 13, 2018.

Roster

2018–19 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	James Palmer Jr.	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	RS Sr	Miami (FL)	Upper Marlboro, MD
G	1	Amir Harris	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	St. Maria Goretti HS	Frederick, MD
G	4	Johnny Trueblood (W)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	RS Jr	Elkhorn South HS	Elkhorn, NE
G	5	Glynn Watson Jr.	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	St. Joseph HS	Bellwood, IL
G	10	Karrington Davis	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Fr	Montverde Academy HS	St. Louis, MO
G	11	Dachon Burke (I)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	Robert Morris	Orange, NJ
G	12	Thomas Allen	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	So	Brewster Academy	Garner, NC
F	14	Isaac Copeland	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	RS Sr	Georgetown	Raleigh, NC
F	15	Isaiah Roby	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Jr	Dixon HS	Dixon, IL
F	20	Tanner Borchardt	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Sr	Gothenburg HS	Gothenburg, NE
G	25	Nana Akenten (S)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	218 lb (99 kg)	So	Bolingbrook HS	Bolingbrook, IL
G	33	Justin Costello (W)	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Fr	Eklhorn South HS	Elkhorn, NE
G	34	Þórir Þorbjarnarson	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	206 lb (93 kg)	So	Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík	Akureyri, Iceland
F	45	Brady Heiman	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Fr	Platteview HS	Springfield, NE

Head coach

Tim Miles (Mary)

Assistant coach(es)

Armon Gates (Kent State)
Michael Lewis (Indiana)
Jim Molinari (Illinois Wesleyan)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

The 2018–19 season marked the first time in Big Ten history that the teams will play a 20-game conference schedule, setting a precedent for all Division I basketball.^[14] The new schedule also included a regional component to increase the frequency of games among teams in similar areas. Over the course of a six-year cycle (12 playing opportunities), in-state rivals will play each other 12 times, regional opponents will play 10 times, and all other teams will play nine times.^[14] Three in-state series will be guaranteed home-and-homes: Illinois and Northwestern, Indiana and Purdue, and Michigan and Michigan State will always play twice.^[15]

The Cornhuskers notably beat in state rival Creighton 94–75 in the 2018–19 season for the first time since the 2010–11 season.

Nebraska again participated in the Gavitt Tipoff Games where they defeated Seton Hall.^[16] The Cornuskers also participated in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic on November 19 and 20, at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.^[17] Fellow participants in the tournament included Missouri State, Texas Tech, and USC.

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus		Wayne State (NE)	W 75–40	–	12 – Roby	10 – Roby	5 – Tied	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,385) Lincoln, NE
Regular season
November 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus		Mississippi Valley State Hall of Fame Classic campus-site game	W 106–37	1–0	19 – Watson	13 – Heiman	5 – Palmer	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,307) Lincoln, NE
November 11, 2018* 3:00 pm, ESPNU		Southeastern Louisiana Hall of Fame Classic campus-site game	W 87–35	2–0	17 – Palmer	7 – Roby	5 – Allen	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,462) Lincoln, NE
November 14, 2018* 7:30 pm, BTN		Seton Hall Gavitt Tipoff Games	W 80–57	3–0	29 – Palmer	10 – Copeland	8 – Watson	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,713) Lincoln, NE
November 19, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPNU		vs. Missouri State Hall of Fame Classic semifinals	W 85–62	4–0	23 – Copeland	7 – Tied	4 – Tied	Sprint Center (N/A) Kansas City, MO
November 20, 2018* 8:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. Texas Tech Hall of Fame Classic finals	L 52–70	4–1	20 – Copeland	8 – Copeland	3 – Watson	Sprint Center (6,521) Kansas City, MO
November 24, 2018* 1:00 pm, BTN Plus		Western Illinois	W 73–49	5–1	20 – Watson	9 – Watson	3 – Watson	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,800) Lincoln, NE
November 26, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN2		at Clemson ACC–Big Ten Challenge	W 68–66	6–1	20 – Palmer	9 – Palmer	3 – Tied	Littlejohn Coliseum (6,974) Clemson, SC
December 2, 2018 4:00 pm, BTN		Illinois	W 75–60	7–1 (1–0)	23 – Palmer	6 – Tied	4 – Palmer	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,764) Lincoln, NE
December 5, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN	No. 24	at Minnesota	L 78–85	7–2 (1–1)	17 – Copeland	7 – Copeland	4 – Tied	Williams Arena (9,624) Minneapolis, MN
December 8, 2018* 5:00 pm, BTN	No. 24	Creighton Rivalry	W 94–75	8–2	30 – Palmer	8 – Roby	5 – Watson	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,950) Lincoln, NE
December 16, 2018* 6:00 pm, BTN		vs. Oklahoma State Sioux Falls Showcase	W 79–56	9–2	29 – Palmer	7 – Roby	5 – Palmer	Sanford Pentagon (3,800) Sioux Falls, SD
December 22, 2018* 1:00 pm, BTN	No. 25	Cal State Fullerton	W 86–62	10–2	23 – Palmer	8 – Roby	10 – Watson	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,088) Lincoln, NE
December 29, 2018* 1:00 pm, BTN Plus		Southwest Minnesota State	W 79–38	11–2	16 – Tied	9 – Borchardt	5 – Palmer	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,057) Lincoln, NE
January 2, 2019 5:30 pm, BTN	No. 24	at Maryland	L 72–74	11–3 (1–2)	26 – Palmer	7 – Tied	4 – Tied	Xfinity Center College Park, MD
January 6, 2019 4:30 pm, BTN	No. 24	at No. 25 Iowa	L 84–93	11–4 (1–3)	24 – Copeland	9 – Roby	5 – Watson	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (11,782) Iowa City, IA
January 10, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2		Penn State	W 70–64	12–4 (2–3)	22 – Roby	11 – Roby	4 – Palmer	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,753) Lincoln, NE
January 14, 2019 5:30 pm, FS1		at No. 25 Indiana	W 66–51	13–4 (3–3)	15 – Watson	9 – Palmer	7 – Palmer	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN
January 17, 2019 7:00 pm, FS1		No. 6 Michigan State	L 64–70	13–5 (3–4)	24 – Palmer	8 – Palmer	3 – Palmer	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,923) Lincoln, NE
January 21, 2019 7:00 pm, BTN		at Rutgers	L 69–76	13–6 (3–5)	22 – Palmer	8 – Tied	4 – Tied	Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,022) Piscataway, NJ
January 26, 2019 11:00 am, FS1		Ohio State	L 60–70	13–7 (3–6)	19 – Palmer	9 – Roby	4 – Palmer	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,890) Lincoln, NE
January 29, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN		No. 24 Wisconsin	L 51–62	13–8 (3–7)	18 – Roby	10 – Þorbjarnarson	3 – Roby	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,739) Lincoln, NE
February 2, 2019 1:15 pm, BTN		at Illinois	L 64–71	13–9 (3–8)	22 – Palmer	18 – Borchardt	3 – Tied	State Farm Center (13,588) Champaign, IL
February 6, 2019 6:00 pm, BTN		No. 24 Maryland	L 45–60	13–10 (3–9)	20 – Roby	14 – Roby	3 – Palmer	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,552) Lincoln, NE
February 9, 2019 7:30 pm, BTN		at No. 15 Purdue	L 62–81	13–11 (3–10)	17 – Palmer	5 – Tied	4 – Roby	Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN
February 13, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN		Minnesota	W 62–61	14–11 (4–10)	24 – Palmer	9 – Allen	3 – Tied	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,642) Lincoln, NE
February 16, 2019 7:30 pm, BTN		Northwestern	W 59–50	15–11 (5–10)	19 – Roby	16 – Roby	6 – Palmer	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,927) Lincoln, NE
February 19, 2019 6:00 pm, FS1		at Penn State	L 71–95	15–12 (5–11)	24 – Palmer	7 – Palmer	5 – Allen	Bryce Jordan Center (8,049) University Park, PA
February 23, 2019 3:00 pm, BTN		No. 15 Purdue	L 72–75	15–13 (5–12)	25 – Watson	7 – Borchardt	8 – Palmer	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,652) Lincoln, NE
February 28, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN		at No. 9 Michigan	L 53–82	15–14 (5–13)	11 – Akenten	2 – Tied	2 – Watson Jr	Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI
March 5, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN2		at No. 9 Michigan State	L 76–91	15–15 (5–14)	30 – Palmer	9 – Roby	5 – Roby	Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI
March 10, 2019 1:00 pm, BTN		Iowa	W 93–91 ^OT	16–15 (6–14)	27 – Palmer	10 – Harris	6 – Palmer	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,821) Lincoln, NE
Big Ten tournament
March 13, 2019 5:30 pm, BTN	(13)	vs. (12) Rutgers First Round	W 68–61	17–15	34 – Palmer	6 – Roby	5 – Watson	United Center (16,473) Chicago, IL
March 14, 2019 1:55 pm, BTN	(13)	vs. (5) No. 21 Maryland Second Round	W 69–61	18–15	24 – Palmer	9 – Borchardt	3 – 3 tied	United Center (16,207) Chicago, IL
March 15, 2019 2:00 pm, BTN	(13)	vs. (4) No. 19 Wisconsin Quarterfinals	L 62–66	18–16	23 – Watson	6 – Roby	3 – Watson	United Center (17,369) Chicago, IL
NIT
March 20, 2019* 8:00 pm, ESPN2	(4)	(5) Butler First Round – TCU Bracket	W 80–76	19–16	28 – Roby	8 – Roby	5 – Trueblood	Pinnacle Bank Arena (10,103) Lincoln, NE
March 24, 2019* 8:30 pm, ESPNU	(4)	at (1) TCU Second Round – TCU Bracket	L 72–88	19–17	19 – Palmer	13 – Borchardt	6 – Watson	Schollmaier Arena (3,445) Fort Worth, TX
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	RV	25	RV	24	RV	RV									Not released
Coaches	25	25^	24	RV	25	25	22	23	23-T	RV	RV

^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.

References

^ Sargeant, Keith (March 14, 2019). "Rutgers ousted from Big Ten tournament as Nebraska delivers gut-punch in 2nd half". nj.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
^ Heady, Chris. "Nebraska beats Maryland to keep Big Ten tournament run alive". Omaha.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
^ "Wisconsin advances to Big Ten semifinals despite flawed performance that included 17 turnovers". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
^ "Butler vs. Nebraska - Game Recap - March 20, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
^ By. "TCU continues winning NIT ways by crushing Nebraska. 'It's a special time of year'". star-telegram. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
^ Basnett, Chris. "Tim Miles out after seven seasons as Nebraska basketball coach; Moos wants consistency in program". JournalStar.com. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
^ "Nebraska hires Hoiberg to seven-year deal". Reuters. March 30, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Nebraska Basketball: McVeigh Going Pro - Palmer Jr. & Copeland Jr. to Test NBA Draft Process". Corn Nation. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
^ Freund, Mark. "Leading scorers Palmer, Copeland to return to Nebraska". Retrieved June 18, 2018.
^ "Robert Morris transfer Dachon Burke chooses Nebraska basketball". Omaha.com. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
^ NU Athletic Communications. "Huskers Add Junior College Forward". Huskers.com. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
^ "Transfer Dedoch Chan leaves Nebraska basketball program three months after joining".
^ Basnett, Chris. "Xavier Johnson requests release from Nebraska basketball". JournalStar.com. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Norlander, Matt (October 19, 2017). "Big Ten adds two games for a 20-game conference schedule starting in 2018–19". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
^ "Big Ten to move to 20-game conference slate". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
^ "2018 Gavitt Games (Big Ten - Big East Challenge) Schedule". BT Powerhouse. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
^ "Hall of Fame Classic Announces 2018 Field". Hall of Fame Weekend. March 6, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.

[1] Sargeant, Keith (March 14, 2019). "Rutgers ousted from Big Ten tournament as Nebraska delivers gut-punch in 2nd half". nj.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019.

[2] Heady, Chris. "Nebraska beats Maryland to keep Big Ten tournament run alive". Omaha.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019.

[3] "Wisconsin advances to Big Ten semifinals despite flawed performance that included 17 turnovers". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 29, 2019.

[4] "Butler vs. Nebraska - Game Recap - March 20, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019.

[5] By. "TCU continues winning NIT ways by crushing Nebraska. 'It's a special time of year'". star-telegram. Retrieved April 29, 2019.

[6] Basnett, Chris. "Tim Miles out after seven seasons as Nebraska basketball coach; Moos wants consistency in program". JournalStar.com. Retrieved July 17, 2019.

[7] "Nebraska hires Hoiberg to seven-year deal". Reuters. March 30, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2019.

[:0-8] "Nebraska Basketball: McVeigh Going Pro - Palmer Jr. & Copeland Jr. to Test NBA Draft Process". Corn Nation. Retrieved April 6, 2018.

[9] Freund, Mark. "Leading scorers Palmer, Copeland to return to Nebraska". Retrieved June 18, 2018.

[10] "Robert Morris transfer Dachon Burke chooses Nebraska basketball". Omaha.com. Retrieved June 18, 2018.

[11] NU Athletic Communications. "Huskers Add Junior College Forward". Huskers.com. Retrieved August 9, 2018.

[12] "Transfer Dedoch Chan leaves Nebraska basketball program three months after joining".

[13] Basnett, Chris. "Xavier Johnson requests release from Nebraska basketball". JournalStar.com. Retrieved June 18, 2018.

[:02-14] Norlander, Matt (October 19, 2017). "Big Ten adds two games for a 20-game conference schedule starting in 2018–19". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 9, 2018.

[15] "Big Ten to move to 20-game conference slate". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 12, 2018.

[16] "2018 Gavitt Games (Big Ten - Big East Challenge) Schedule". BT Powerhouse. Retrieved May 15, 2018.

[17] "Hall of Fame Classic Announces 2018 Field". Hall of Fame Weekend. March 6, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.

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