Huskers' Season Comes to an End in NCAA First Round

Photo Credit: NU Athletics

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Nebraska men's basketball team saw its season come to an end with a 98-83 loss to Texas A&M in the NCAA Tournament First Round at FedExForum on Friday night.

The No. 8 seed Huskers finished the season 23-11, the second most wins in school history. NU was making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014. No. 9 seed Texas A&M (21-14) will move on to the second round to face the winner of No. 1 Houston and No. 16 Longwood. 

Brice Williams had a team-high 24 points with four rebounds and four assists. Keisei Tominaga scored 21 points and hit 5-of-11 from 3-point range. Josiah Allick recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Juwan Gary and Rienk Mast chipped in nine and seven points, respectively. 

In a fast-paced start to the game, the Huskers jumped out to a 20-13 lead with Tominaga connecting on his first three 3-pointers and Mast and Williams each hitting one. Nebraska hit 11 of its first 17 field goals, but Texas A&M kept pace by hitting 10 of its first 16 from the floor. Wade Taylor IV scored 17 points for Texas A&M before the under-8 media timeout, including 5-of-5 from long distance. 

The Huskers led 31-30 with 8:40 left in the half on a dunk by Allick, but the Aggies closed the half on a decisive 28-13 run to take a 58-44 lead into the break. Manny Obaseki scored the Aggies' last 16 points of the first half, including three 3-pointers. A&M, which ranked 343rd in the country in 3-point percentage entering the game, hit 9-of-15 (60.0 percent) in the first half. 

In the second half, the closest the Huskers could get was within 12 points when an Allick layup made it 61-49 with 18:10 to go. But the Aggies pulled away to lead by as many as 22.  

A&M finished 35-of-71 (49.3 percent) from the field and 13-of-23 (season-high 56.5 percent) from 3-point range, which was also the best 3-point percentage by a Husker opponent this season. 

Nebraska went 27-of-59 (45.8 percent) overall and 7-of-22 (31.8 percent) from long range. The Aggies won the rebounding battle, 40-28. The top offensive rebounding team in the nation, Texas A&M finished with 14 offensive boards.  

Taylor led the Aggies with 25 points, while Obaseki finished with 22 and Tyrece Radford had 20 points and 10 rebounds. 

NOTES
-Nebraska earned the No. 8 seed in the South Region and made its eighth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2014.
-Nebraska finished the season with a 23-11 record. It was the second most wins in school history (26 in 1990-91), and the .676 winning percentage was also Nebraska's best since 1990-91 (.765).
-Nebraska ended the year with 319 made 3-pointers, which shattered the previous school record of 270 set in 2019. 
-The Huskers averaged 77.7 points per game this season, NU's highest scoring average since 1995-96. 
-Nebraska made 22-of-24 free throws for a postseason school record 91.7 percent.
-NU's 22 made free throws were its most since making 24 against South Carolina State on Dec. 29, 2023.
-Nebraska's 76.0 percent shooting from the free throw line this season marked Nebraska's best season from the charity stripe since a school-record 76.6 percentage in 2011-12. 
-Brice Williams had a team-high 24 points. It was his 25th double-figure scoring game of the season. It was also his third straight 20-point game and fifth of the season. Over the last three games, Williams averaged 23.3 points and shot 50.0 percent from the floor. 
-Keisei Tominaga, with 21 points, had his 22nd double-figure scoring game of the season and his eighth 20-point game of the season.
-Tominaga matched his career high with five made 3-point field goals. He has made five 3-pointers eight times in his career. 
-Tominaga finished his Husker career with 1,074 points to rank 30th on the all-time scoring list at Nebraska. 
-Tominaga's five 3-pointers brought his season total to 76 (eighth all-time at Nebraska) and his career total to 178 (seventh all-time). 
-Josiah Allick had his second double-double of the season and 13th of his career with 12 points and 11 rebounds. 
-Wade Taylor IV's seven 3-pointers made was the most by a Husker foe this season. 
-Texas A&M's 56.5 percent performance from 3-point range was a season high for a Husker opponent.