Nebraska Men vs. Northern State

The Nebraska basketball team will get a dress rehearsal for the 2015-16 season, as the Huskers take on Northern State at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Fans will see a new-look roster against Northern State, as nine of the 15 players on the roster are first-year players for the Husker program, while a 10th, junior Andrew White, is eligible after sitting out last year following his transfer from Kansas. The Huskers return two starters and five letterwinners from last year’s team.

The returnees are highlighted by senior wing Shavon Shields, who ranked among the Big Ten leaders at 15.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in 2014-15. Shields is a three-year starter who has started the last 82 games for the Big Red dating back to his freshman year. The other returning starter is Benny Parker, as the 5-foot-9 point guard averaged 4.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game last tear. One of the best defenders in the Big Ten, Parker ranked eighth in the Big Ten in steals in 2014-15.

Monday marks the debut of a heralded recruiting class, as the group was ranked among the top classes in the country by several recruiting services. The group includes five scholarship freshmen as well as two transfers and a pair of walkons. The group is led by freshmen Glynn Watson Jr. and Ed Morrow Jr., as both players were ranked among the nation’s top 75 high school players by ESPN.com.

For Nebraska Coach Tim Miles, Monday’s exhibition game is a chance to take on one of his former schools. Miles began his coaching career as an assistant at Northern State from 1989-95, where he helped lead the Wolves to five NAIA playoff appearances and two regional titles.

Northern State returns a pair of starters from a team that won 23 games and made its first NCAA Regional appearance since 1998. The Wolves averaged 75 points per game in 2014-15 and had three players in double figures and two more averaging at least nine points per game.

PREVIEWING NORTHERN STATE
Northern State comes into Lincoln tonight for the second of their two exhibition games of the 2015-16 season. The Wolves went 23-9 last season, including a 15-7 record in the Northern Sun Conference, and reached an NCAA Regional for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign.

Under head coach Paul Sather, Northern State has won 20 or more games in two of the past three seasons, posting a 62-31 mark in those seasons after his teams combined for a 25-27 record in his first two years at the school. Prior to taking the Northern State job, Sather spent five years at Black Hills State. He played collegiately at Northern State, helping the school to a pair of runner-up finishes in 1993 and 1994 when Tim Miles served as an assistant at the school.

The Wolves return a pair of starters from last year in guards Skye Warwick and DJ Pollard. Warwick averaged 10.9 points per game as a junior and is an excellent outside shooter, hitting 46 percent from beyond the arc. Pollard made 20 starts and averaged 9.8 points per game. In addition, junior Darin Peterka averaged 9.5 points per game as a sophomore and was among the team leaders with 74 assists.

*Above information from Huskers.com