2021–22 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cornhuskers were led by third-year head coach Fred Hoiberg and played their home games at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 10–22, 4–16 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for last place. As the No. 13 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost to Northwestern in the first round.

2021–22 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	10–22 (4–16 Big Ten)
Head coach	Fred Hoiberg (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Matt Abdelmassih Armon Gates Nate Loenser Doc Sadler
Home arena	Pinnacle Bank Arena
Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 Big Ten Conference
men's basketball standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 19 Illinois	15	–	5		.750			23	–	10		.697
No. 14 Wisconsin	15	–	5		.750			25	–	8		.758
No. 10 Purdue	14	–	6		.700			29	–	8		.784
Rutgers	12	–	8		.600			18	–	14		.563
No. 16 Iowa †	12	–	8		.600			26	–	10		.722
Ohio State	12	–	8		.600			20	–	12		.625
Michigan State	11	–	9		.550			23	–	13		.639
Michigan	11	–	9		.550			19	–	15		.559
Indiana	9	–	11		.450			21	–	14		.600
Maryland	7	–	13		.350			15	–	17		.469
Penn State	7	–	13		.350			14	–	17		.452
Northwestern	7	–	13		.350			15	–	16		.484
Nebraska	4	–	16		.200			10	–	22		.313
Minnesota	4	–	16		.200			13	–	17		.433
† Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Cornhuskers finished the 2019–20 season 7–20, 3–16 in Big Ten play to finish last place. As the No. 14 seed in the Big Ten tournament, the Cornhuskers lost to No. 11-seeded Penn State.^[1]

Offseason

Departures

Due to COVID-19, the NCAA ruled that the 2020–21 season would not count against the eligibility of any competitor in any of the organization's winter sports, including basketball. This in turn meant that all players active in the 2020–21 season, regardless of their academic classification, could return in 2021–22. This also led the NBA and its players union to agree that graduating seniors, who are normally automatically eligible for the NBA draft, had to declare their eligibility for the 2021 draft.

Name	No.	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Teddy Allen	0	G	6'6"	223	Jr	Mesa, Arizona	Transferred to New Mexico State
Akol Arop	33	G	6'5"	203	So	Omaha, Nebraska	Transferred to Omaha
Dalano Banton	45	G	6'9"	204	So	Toronto, ON, Canada	Declared for NBA Draft
Yvan Ouedraogo	24	F	6'9"	245	So	Bordeaux, France	Transferred to Grand Canyon
Bret Porter	44	F	6'5"	228	Fr (RS)	Omaha, Nebraska	Entered Transfer Portal
Shamiel Stevenson	4	G	6'6"	245	Jr	Toronto, ON, Canada	Declared for NBA Draft
Þórir Þorbjarnarson	34	G	6'6"	202	Sr	Akureyri, Iceland	Graduated and chose not to return
Elijah Wood	3	G	6'5"	174	Fr	Potomac, Maryland	Transferred to Eastern Illinois

Incoming transfers

Name	No.	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
C. J. Wilcher	0	G	6 ft 5 in	221 lbs	Sophomore	Plainfield, NJ	Xavier
Alonzo Verge Jr.	1	G	6 ft 3 in	164 lbs	Graduate Student	Chicago, IL	Arizona State
Keon Edwards	23	G	6 ft 7 in	204 lbs	Redshirt Freshman	Houston, TX	DePaul

2021 recruiting class

On November 13, 2020, five-star shooting guard Bryce McGowens committed to Nebraska.^[2] McGowens became Nebraska's first five-star commit and highest-ranked recruit in program history.^[3] Wilhelm Breidenbach,^[4] Oleg Kojenets,^[5] Quaran McPherson,^[6] and Keisei Tominaga^[7] rounded out the 2021 class.

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Wilhelm Breidenbach C	Santa Ana, CA	Mater Dei High School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Oct 1, 2020
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    (84)
Oleg Kojenets C	Kaunas, Lithuania	Western Reserve Academy	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Apr 5, 2021
	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Bryce McGowens SG	Pendleton, SC	Legacy Charter	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Nov 13, 2020
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    (90)
Quaran McPherson PG	Queens, NY	Link Year Prep	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	May 3, 2021
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:
Keisei Tominaga SG	Nagoya, Japan	Sakuragaoka Gakuen High School Ranger College	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Nov 28, 2019
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:
Overall recruit ranking:    Rivals: 20    247Sports: 18    ESPN: 13
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, 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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.

Roster

2021–22 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 C. J. Wilcher 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 221 lb (100 kg) So Xavier Plainfield, NJ G 1 Alonzo Verge Jr. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 164 lb (74 kg) GS Arizona State Chicago, IL G 2 Trey McGowens 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 196 lb (89 kg) Sr Pittsburgh Pendleton, SC G 3 Quaran McPherson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 199 lb (90 kg) Fr Link Year Prep Queens, NY G 4 Jackson Cronin (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 187 lb (85 kg) Fr Great Neck North High School Great Neck, NY G 5 Bryce McGowens 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 179 lb (81 kg) Fr Legacy Charter Pendleton, SC G 10 Kobe Webster 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 176 lb (80 kg) GS Western Illinois Indianapolis, IN F 11 Lat Mayen 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 217 lb (98 kg) RS Sr Chipola Adelaide, Australia G 12 Sam Hoiberg (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Fr Piux X High School Lincoln, NE F 13 Derrick Walker 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 239 lb (108 kg) RS Sr Tennessee Kansas City, MO F 14 Trevor Lakes 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) GS Indianapolis Lebanon, IN G 15 Chris McGraw (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 176 lb (80 kg) RS Jr Otterbein Columbus, OH G 21 Jace Piatkowski (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 177 lb (80 kg) RS So Elkhorn South HS Omaha, NE G 23 Keon Edwards 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 204 lb (93 kg) RS Fr DePaul Houston, TX G 30 Keisei Tominaga 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 178 lb (81 kg) Jr Ranger College Nagoya, Japan F 32 Wilhelm Breidenbach 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 227 lb (103 kg) Fr Mater Dei HS Rancho Santa Margarita, CA C 33 Oleg Kojenets 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 223 lb (101 kg) Fr Western Reserve Academy Kaunas, Lithuania C 35 Eduardo Andre 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 236 lb (107 kg) So AZ Compass Prep London, England	Head coach Fred Hoiberg (Iowa State) Assistant coach(es) Matt Abdelmassih (St. John's) Armon Gates (Kent State) Nate Loenser (Iowa State) Doc Sadler (Arkansas) (special asst. to HC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 27, 2021* 6:00 p.m., BTN+		Peru State	W 97–58	0–0	20 – Verge Jr.	6 – Tied	8 – Verge Jr.	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,542) Lincoln, NE
October 31, 2021* 11:00 a.m., BTN+		Colorado Charity Exhibition	W 82–67	0–0	15 – B. McGowens	6 – Walker	6 – Verge Jr.	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,345) Lincoln, NE
Regular Season
November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN+		Western Illinois	L 74–75	0–1	26 – Verge Jr.	13 – Verge Jr.	5 – Verge Jr.	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,312) Lincoln, NE
November 12, 2021* 7:30 p.m., BTN+		Sam Houston State	W 74–65	1–1	29 – B. McGowens	9 – T. McGowens	7 – Verge Jr.	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,474) Lincoln, NE
November 16, 2021* 6:00 p.m., FS1		Creighton Rivalry/Gavitt Tipoff Games	L 69–77	1–2	20 – Webster	5 – Tied	4 – Verge Jr.	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,939) Lincoln, NE
November 19, 2021* 6:00 p.m., BTN+		Idaho State	W 78–60	2–2	14 – Walker	7 – B. McGowens	5 – Webster	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,274) Lincoln, NE
November 21, 2021* 3:00 p.m., ESPNU		Southern Nebraska MTE	W 82–59	3–2	18 – B. McGowens	11 – B. McGowens	4 – Tied	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,255) Lincoln, NE
November 23, 2021* 8:00 p.m., BTN		Tennessee State Nebraska MTE	W 79–73	4–2	18 – Tied	6 – Tied	10 – Verge Jr.	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,236) Lincoln, NE
November 27, 2021* 1:00 p.m., BTN+		South Dakota Nebraska MTE	W 83–70	5–2	23 – Tominaga	8 – B. McGowens	5 – Verge Jr.	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,685) Lincoln, NE
December 1, 2021* 6:15 p.m., ESPNU		at NC State ACC–Big Ten Challenge	L 100–104 4OT	5–3	25 – Verge Jr.	13 – Walker	11 – Verge Jr.	PNC Arena (11,562) Raleigh, NC
December 4, 2021 11:00 a.m., BTN		at Indiana	L 55–68	5–4 (0–1)	15 – Verge Jr.	5 – Tied	3 – Verge Jr.	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN
December 7, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN2		Michigan	L 67–102	5–5 (0–2)	31 – Verge Jr.	8 – Verge Jr.	3 – Verge Jr.	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,426) Lincoln, NE
December 11, 2021* 10:30 a.m., ESPN2		vs. No. 18 Auburn Holiday Hoopsgiving	L 68–99	5–6	17 – Wilcher	10 – Walker	4 – Tied	State Farm Arena (8,557) Atlanta, GA
December 19, 2021* 5:00 p.m., BTN		Kansas State	L 58–67	5–7	21 – Verge Jr.	9 – Walker	5 – Verge Jr.	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,000) Lincoln, NE
December 22, 2021* 6:30 p.m., ESPNU		Kennesaw State	W 88–74	6–7	18 –  Tominaga	7 –  Verge Jr.	12 –  Verge Jr.	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,000) Lincoln, NE
January 2, 2022 7:00 p.m., BTN		No. 13 Ohio State	L 79–87 OT	6–8 (0–3)	18 –  B. McGowens	10 –  Walker	4 –  Verge Jr.	Pinnacle Bank Arena (14,478) Lincoln, NE
January 5, 2022 6:00 p.m., BTN		at No. 10 Michigan State	L 67–79	6–9 (0–4)	16 – Walker	4 – Tied	5 – Verge Jr.	Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI
January 8, 2022 1:00 p.m., BTN		at Rutgers	L 65–93	6–10 (0–5)	17 – B. McGowens	6 – Walker	4 – Verge Jr.	Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ
January 11, 2022 7:30 p.m., BTN		No. 25 Illinois	L 71–81	6–11 (0–6)	19 – B. McGowens	7 – Walker	9 – Verge Jr.	Pinnacle Bank Arena (14,069) Lincoln, NE
January 14, 2022 5:30 p.m., FS1		at No. 7 Purdue	L 65–92	6–12 (0–7)	11 – Tominaga	8 – Mayen	5 – Webster	Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN
January 17, 2022 5:00 p.m., BTN		Indiana	L 71–78	6–13 (0–8)	20 – B. McGowens	5 – B. McGowens	4 – Verge Jr.	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,290) Lincoln, NE
January 27, 2022 4:00 p.m., BTN		No. 11 Wisconsin Rescheduled from January 25	L 65–73	6–14 (0–9)	23 – B. McGowens	5 – Tied	4 – Walker	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,385) Lincoln, NE
January 29, 2022 5:30 p.m., BTN		Rutgers	L 61–63	6–15 (0–10)	29 – B. McGowens	8 – Mayen	3 – Mayen	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,671) Lincoln, NE
February 1, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN		at Michigan	L 79–85	6–16 (0–11)	24 – B. McGowens	6 – B. McGowens	3 – Verge Jr.	Crisler Center (9,301) Ann Arbor, MI
February 5, 2022 12:00 p.m., BTN		Northwestern	L 63–87	6–17 (0–12)	15 – Wilcher	6 – Walker	6 – Verge Jr.	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,609) Lincoln, NE
February 9, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN		Minnesota	W 78-65	7–17 (1–12)	22 – Verge Jr.	7 – Tied	5 – T. McGowens	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,303) Lincoln, NE
February 13, 2022 1:00 p.m., FS1		at Iowa	L 75–98	7–18 (1–13)	14 – Walker	6 – Walker	6 – Verge Jr.	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (13,772) Iowa City, IA
February 18, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN		Maryland	L 74–90	7–19 (1–14)	25 – B. McGowens	6 – Walker	5 – Verge Jr.	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,443) Lincoln, NE
February 22, 2022 7:00 p.m., BTN		at Northwestern	L 65–77	7–20 (1–15)	15 – B. McGowens	10 – B. McGowens	5 – Walker	Welsh–Ryan Arena (3,487) Evanston, IL
February 25, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1		No. 25 Iowa	L 78–88	7–21 (1–16)	18 – Verge Jr.	8 – Walker	7 – Verge Jr.	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,960) Lincoln, NE
February 27, 2022 6:00 p.m., BTN		at Penn State	W 93–70	8–21 (2–16)	25 – B. McGowens	7 – Walker	5 – Verge Jr.	Bryce Jordan Center (8,273) University Park, PA
March 1, 2022 6:00 p.m., BTN		at No. 23 Ohio State Rescheduled from January 22	W 78–70	9–21 (3–16)	26 – B. McGowens	6 – T. McGowens	7 – Verge Jr.	Value City Arena (12,268) Columbus, OH
March 6, 2022 1:00 p.m., BTN		at No. 10 Wisconsin	W 74-73	10-21 (4-16)	26 – Verge Jr.	7 – Walker	6 – Verge Jr.	Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI
Big Ten tournament
March 9, 2022 5:00 p.m., BTN	(13)	vs. (12) Northwestern First round	L 69–71	10–22	21 – Verge Jr.	7 – Tied	9 – Verge Jr.	Gainbridge Fieldhouse  Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.