No. 25 Nebraska will put a long home winning streak against nonconference opponents — and a new national ranking — on the line when it hosts Lindenwood on Wednesday night in Lincoln, Neb.
The Cornhuskers (2-0) have won 16 games in a row at Pinnacle Bank Arena outside of Big Ten Conference play, including a 106-64 victory over Le Moyne in their season opener on Nov. 2.
Nebraska is coming off a 67-58 win over Providence on Saturday in a Hall of Fame Series neutral-site game in Uncasville, Ct.
Unranked in the AP Top 25 preseason poll, Nebraska moved into the rankings Monday. Last season, it took until the second week of December for the Cornhuskers to be ranked, after which they stayed in the Top 25 and climbed to as high as fifth during a school-record 20-0 start.
While Nebraska’s opening win this season over Le Moyne was basically stress-free, beating Providence took more effort. After hitting 14 shots from 3-point territory against the Dolphins, Nebraska was just 5 of 24 from long range vs. the Friars but made up for that showing with strong defense, forcing 30.6% shooting from the field and converting 18 Providence turnovers into 20 points.
“They showed me a lot tonight with their toughness, their grittiness,” Cornhuskers coach Fred Hoiberg said. “I thought our hands were really good.”
Lindenwood (2-1), an Ohio Valley Conference school based in St. Charles, Mo., comes to Lincoln having won its past two games in blowout fashion, albeit against non-Division I programs — Central Bible (120-46 on Thursday) and East West (115-44 on Saturday).
The Lions opened the season with a 98-59 loss at TCU on Nov. 2.
In its fifth season at the Division I level, Lindenwood is playing three road games against power-conference opponents, including one at Kansas State in December. In November 2023, the Lions fell by 32 points at Nebraska in their season opener.
“The challenge is, can we improve from one game like that to the next?,” coach Kyle Gerdeman said.
Nebraska’s Pryce Sandfort, who set the school record for 3-pointers last season with 129, is averaging 22.5 points per game this season. He has at least 20 points in both of his team’s games this season and is shooting 59.3% (16 of 27) from the field.
Cale Jacobsen (13.5) and Boston College transfer Boden Kapke (10.5) also are averaging in double figures in points for the Cornhuskers, who have six players averaging at least 8.5 points per game. That list includes guard Connor Essegian, who missed most of last season with an ankle injury and had 13 points in the opener vs. Le Moyne but did not play against Providence.
Lindenwood has six players averaging in double figures in scoring, led by Makhan Diouf (15.5 ppg), who had a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds in the most recent contest, vs. East West.
Diouf appeared in 18 games last season at Fresno State but never had more than eight points or five rebounds in a game.
Other top scorers for Lindenwood this season are Kellen Robinson (12.5 ppg), Malek Archie (12.3) and Shamiere Green (12.3).