“Huskers face Oregon State for Diamond Head title.”
The Nebraska men’s basketball team will seek its first tournament title since 2000 on Christmas Eve when the Huskers face Oregon State in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (center) and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 and the Huskers Radio Network. The radio feed will also be available on Huskers.com and the Huskers app, while the TV feed will be available on ESPN.com.

The Huskers (9-2) relied on their veterans as they cruised to a 69-55 win over host Hawaii in the semifinals. Brice Williams matched his career high with 32 points on 10 of 18 shooting, while Juwan Gary scored a season-high 21 points on 8 of 10 shooting from the field. The pair combined for 34 points in the second half, with Nebraska shooting 59 percent in the second half and pulling away. The win ended a five-game losing streak for the Rainbow Warriors and sent NU to the Diamond Head Classic title game for the first time.

Williams has been one of the Big Ten’s top scorers as he enters Wednesday’s game third in the Big Ten with 19.2 points per game. The 6-foot-10 senior scored 30 points twice in Nebraska’s final three games and reached double figures in 14 of the final 15 games last season. Gary has been playing well lately, averaging 14.2 ppg on 51 percent shooting over the last five games after playing just two minutes due to injury against South Dakota.

Oregon State (10-2) reached the final after a wild 80-74 overtime win over Oakland. The Beavers rallied from a 12-point deficit in the final 4:30 of regulation to force overtime before completing the victory with a 9-0 run in overtime. Liutauras Lelevicius led four Oregon State players in double figures with 17 points and nine rebounds.

Summary of the semi-finals
Behind season-best performances from Brice Williams and Juwan Gary, Nebraska advanced to the championship game of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic with a 69-55 victory Monday night. Williams matched his career high with 32 points on 10 of 18 shooting, including four 3-pointers, while Gary matched his career high with 21 points on 8 of 10 shooting, along with four rebounds and two blocked shots, for the Husker -Advance attack. Williams and Gary combined for 34 of the Huskers’ 40 second-half points while Nebraska shot 59 percent from the field in the second 20 minutes.

After Hawai’i got within 56-50 with 6:20 left, Gary’s tip-in started a 14-5 Husker run that secured the victory. The pair combined for 11 of Nebraska’s final 13 points as NU snapped a five-game losing streak against the Rainbow Warriors (7-4). NU limited Hawai’i to two field goals in the final six minutes and just 43 percent shooting for the win. NU forced 16 Hawaiian turnovers and turned them into 14 points.

Notes from the Hawaii game
• Nebraska earned its first win in Hawaii since 1976, ending a five-game losing streak against the Rainbow Warriors.

• Brice Williams tied his career-high 32 points against UAB on March 4, 2023, while in Charlotte. Williams now has two 30-point games this season and five in his career.

• Juwan Gary finished the season with 21 points, surpassing his previous best of 19 against FDU. It was his fourth 20-point game in his career.

• NU had two players score more than 20 points for the second time this year and the first time since Nov. 27 against South Dakota.

• Nebraska improves to 2-1 in true road games on the season, with both wins by double digits.

• Nebraska’s 15-0 run in the first half was the Huskers’ 10th double-digit run of the season

• Nebraska held Hawaii to a season-low 55 points, while its previous low was 67 against Hawai’I Pacific on Nov. 26.

Remarkable
• Wednesday’s game will be NU’s third Christmas game, as NU played in Hawaii in 2014 (win against Ohio) and 2020 (loss against Michigan). NU head coach Fred Hoiberg will coach on Christmas for the fifth time in his career. In addition to the 2020 Michigan game, his Iowa State team won the 2013 Diamond Head Classic on Christmas, and he coached twice on Christmas during his time with the Chicago Bulls. This will be the final Diamond Head Classic game on Christmas, as the 2025 event will be held during Thanksgiving week.

• Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg is looking to become the first coach to win multiple Diamond Head Classic titles. He is 5-0 in Diamond Head Classic play.

• Nebraska’s most recent tournament title was the 2000 San Juan Shootout, a tournament in which NU won three games (against Iona, Kent State and SMU) by a total of four points.

• With Monday’s win at Hawaii, Nebraska won multiple non-conference road games for the first time since the 2011-12 season and just the second time in the last 25 years.

• With his 32-point game at Hawaii, Brice Williams became just the sixth Husker in the Big Ten era to record multiple 30-point games. Additionally, he is now tied for the lead in the Big Ten with 30 points through two games this season, joining Rutgers’ Dylan Harper and Wisconsin’s John Tonje.

• Nebraska held Murray State (49) and Hawai’i (55) to their lowest points totals of the season this week. Heading into Wednesday’s game, NU ranks 16th nationally in KenPom defensive efficiency.

• Entering this week’s tournament, NU led the Big Ten in free throw attempts per game (25.7). In Hawaii, NU has gotten to the finish line just 20 times, but the Huskers are 18 of 20 from charity stripe.

• This will be the second straight year that Nebraska and Oregon State have met at a neutral site. Last year’s game took place at the Stanford Pentagon, which is 3,782 yards from SimpliFi Arena.