Game Thread & Preview: Nebrasketball vs Florida State Seminoles

Nov 27, 2022 - 11:42 PM

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The Nebraska Cornhuskers hope to salvage a holiday weekend in Orlando with a win in the final matchup of the ESPN Events Invitational today. In the way are the Florida State Seminoles who have also lost the first two games in the invitational.

Florida State (1-6) looks to snap a two-game losing streak and pick up its first win over a Power Six team this season when it faces Nebraska tonight. The Seminoles opened invitational play with losses to Siena (80-63) and Stanford (70-60) in the first two rounds.

In Friday’s loss to Stanford, Caleb Mills had 16 points, five rebounds, four steals, and four assists to lead four Seminoles in double figures. Mills 13.1 points per game leads four Florida State players who are averaging double figures this season while also boasting a team-high 2.4 steals per game. Cam’Ron Fletcher is posting 12.4 ppg and a team high 7.1 rebounds per game, while Darin Green Jr. is averaging 12.1 ppg, and Matthew Cleveland is scoring 10.6 ppg and a team second-best rate of 4.1 rpg.

FSU’s lone win on the season was an 81-72 home victory over Mercer early last week with losses to Stetson (83-74), UCF (68-54), Troy (79-72), and Florida (76-67).

Tonight’s matchup marks the third all-time meeting between Nebraska and Florida State. It is the first since a 70-65 Husker win in Tallahassee on Dec. 1, 2014, in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The only other meeting was a 74-60 Florida State win in the Orange Bowl Classic on Dec. 31, 2005, the most recent time a Nebraska team has likely been associated with an athletic event with “Orange Bowl” in the name, sadly.

The matchup also marks one of two-straight games against an ACC opponent as the Huskers play at Boston College Wednesday as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Nebraska welcomed back Derrick Walker, Jr. to the starting lineup Friday night against Memphis after he missed the first five games of the season. A game that was plagued with turnover trouble (season high 20) saw a 19-9 scoring advantage by the Tigers and overshadowed strong performances by Walker and Emmanuel Bandoumel.

Bandoumel tied season highs with 18 points and five assists against Memphis. He has averaged 15.5 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.5 assists per game during the two games of the ESPN Invitational so far.

Walker had 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 12 rebounds in 34 minutes Friday. Tonight will mark his 50th career start for Nebraska.

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• When: Sunday, Nov. 27 at 6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 ET
• Where: State Farm Field House (4,000) - Kissimmee, Florida
• TV: ESPNEWS, streaming via WatchESPNApp
• Announcers: Mark Neely (play-by-play), Randolph Childress (analyst)
• Radio: Huskers Radio Network; Kent Pavelka (play-by-play), Jake Muhleisen (analyst)
• Broadcast Stations: KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln, KKCD (105.9 FM) in Omaha, KHYY (106.9 FM) in Scottsbluff, and KAMI (1580 AM) in Lexington
  Also available on Huskers.com and the Huskers app.
  The pregame broadcast with Pavelka and Muhleisen begins one hour before tipoff.
• Betting Odds: Nebraska is a 2-point favorite with the Over/Under at 140 via DraftKings Sportsbook.

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Florida State
2022-23 Record: 1-6
Head Coach: Leonard Hamilton
Record at FSU: 396-248 (21st year)
Career Record: 596-458 (35th year)

Nebraska
2022-23 Record: 3-3
Head Coach: Fred Hoiberg
Record at Nebraska: 27-70 (4th year)
Career Record: 142-126 (9th year)