Nebraska beat Omaha 75-61 Thursday at Pinnacle Bank Arena and improved to 2-0 for the first time since Tim Miles’ last season.
C.J. Wilcher led the Huskers with 21 points on 8-12 shooting. Emmanuel Banndoumel added 18 points and six rebounds, and Sam Griesel had 18 points and seven rebounds.
“CJ hit timely shot after timely shot for us,” Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg said. “It was an important win. Guys stepped up.”
One of those guys was junior college transfer Blaise Keita, who led NU with 12 rebounds to go with nine points in senior forward Derrick Walker’s absence.
“He (Keita) got us off to a good start, got an early basket and really rebounded,” Hoiberg said. “He had good pop out there. He’s a guy that has put in a lot of work for us. He’s selfless.”
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Alabama transfer Juwan Gary played just 18 minutes due to a shoulder injury. Gary left the game with 13:53 to play and did not return. Hoiberg said afterward that Gary could have returned if needed.
Omaha guard Jaeden Marshall led the Mavericks with 16 points. Forward Marquel Sutton had 14.
Nebraska led by as many as 19 points in the first half by Omaha whittled the lead down to nine points in the second half during a stretch Hoiberg said his team played “sped up.”
However, the Huskers quickly responded, which Hoiberg identified as a sign of toughness.
The Mavericks will host Idaho on Sunday. The Huskers play at St. John’s next Thursday.