Thursday’s matchup at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic is a Christmas treat for college basketball fans, as two of colorful coaches in the country will have their teams square off in Honolulu.
Nebraska takes on Ohio in the fifth-place contest with tipoff between the Huskers and Bobcats slated for 3 p.m. (central) or 20 minutes following the conclusion of the DePaul/Loyola Marymount contest.
Thursday’s contest will be nationally televised on ESPNU with Kanoa Leahey and Cory Alexander on the call. The contest, along with all of the Diamond Head Classic games, is also available online at WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.
The game will be broadcast across the state of Nebraska on the IMG Husker Sports Radio Network, including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, 1110 KFAB in Omaha and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington with Kent Pavelka calling the action and Matt Davison adding color commentary. The game can be heard for free on Huskers.com and available on the Huskers’ app on iOS or android devices, as well as on TuneIn Radio.
The Huskers are 7-4 on the season after losing to Hawaii (66-58) in the tournament opener before rebounding with a 50-42 overtime win over Loyola Marymount Tuesdayevening. Nebraska relied on its best defensive effort in nearly four years, holding LMU to 28 percent shooting. Terran Petteway provided the offensive heroics in overtime, scoring seven of his 17 points in the extra session to lead three Huskers in double figures.
While Petteway and junior wing Shavon Shields combine for nearly 37 points per game, the Huskers’ first two games in Hawaii have also seen the continued emergence of Walter Pitchford as a third offensive option. The 6-foot-10 junior has played some of his best basketball over the last four games, averaging 9.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Ohio (4-5) comes into the game off its best offensive effort of the year, routing DePaul 99-78 behind 31 points from Javarez Willis after falling to George Washington inMonday’s opener. Willis, who was a teammate of Petteway’s at Texas Tech in 2011-12, averages a team-high 16.4 points per game and is one of four Ohio players averaging in double figures.
The action on the sideline may be as entertaining as the game itself, as NU Coach Tim Miles coaches against one of his protégé. Ohio Head Coach Saul Phillps worked for Miles for three seasons at North Dakota State before succeeded him when Miles left for Colorado State in 2007. Phillips, one of four former Miles assistants coaching in the Division I ranks, won the first matchup between the two, an 83-69 NDSU win over Colorado State in Fargo on Dec. 15, 2007.