The Nebraska basketball team hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to Philadelphia to take on the Villanova Wildcats in the inaugural Gavitt Tipoff Games Tuesday night. Tipoff between the Huskers and No. 11 Wildcats is set for 7:45 p.m. central at The Pavilion and will be televised by FS1 and carried on the Husker Sports Radio Network.
The Gavitt Tipoff Games, named after Big East founder and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Dave Gavitt, is a four-day event pitting Big Ten and Big East teams against each other early in the basketball season. Each Big Ten team will play in the event a minimum of four times during the first eight years, while Big East schools will play a minimum of six times in that span.
The Huskers, who are in the midst of playing seven games in a 15-game stretch, come off a 97-51 win over Mississippi Valley State on Saturday in their season opener. The Huskers shot 54 percent from the field, including 10-of-22 from 3-point range, and placed four players in double figures. Junior transfer Andrew White III led NU with 18 points in his Husker debut, including four 3-pointers, while freshman Jack McVeigh added 16 points, including 4-of-4 from 3-point range, including 10 straight first-half points for the Big Red. Nebraska used first-half runs of 10-0 and 14-0 and led by as many as 26 points in the opening 20 minutes. On a night where all 14 players who dressed played and 12 cracked the scoring column, the Huskers’ newcomers accounted for 68 of 97 points. No Husker starter played more than 20 minutes, as the 97 points scored were the most by the Huskers in nearly a decade.
The Huskers will face a much more difficult challenge Tuesday night, as No. 11/9 (AP/Coaches) Villanova is 1-0 on the season following a 91-54 win over Fairleigh Dickinson. Daniel Ochefu’s 16 points and 10 boards led five Wildcats in double figures.
The Wildcats, who have won the last two Big East Conference titles, have won their last 27 games at the Pavilion, its 6,500-seat on-campus facility.
Following Tuesday’s game, the Huskers begin a three-game homestand by hosting Delaware State Thursday night at 7 p.m.