Nebraska
Minnesota Returns to The Barn to Host Nebraska Thursday – University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota (18-6, 9-4 Big Ten) vs. Nebraska (16-8, 5-8 Big Ten)
TV: Big Ten Network (Jack Kizer, Shimmy Miler)
Tip Time: 7 p.m. CT
Radio: KFAN+ 96.7 FM, and the iHeartRadio app (Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist)
Location: Williams Arena
STARTING FIVE
- The Golden Gophers return to Williams Arena on Thursday after picking up Big Ten road wins over No. 10 Iowa on Thursday and Rutgers on Sunday.
- Minnesota extended its win streak to six following Sunday’s 63-52 win over the Scarlet Knights. It’s the team’s longest win streak overall since opening the 2024-25 season with 10 consecutive victories. In addition, it’s tied for the Gophers’ second longest win streak within the Big Ten. They last won six in a row during the 2018-19 campaign, while the only longer streak was 11 games from Feb. of 2003 to January of 2004.
- After struggling offensively in the first half against the Scarlet Knights, the Gophers bounced back in the second half. An 8-0 run by Mara Braun, who ended the game with 12 points, in the third quarter was the turning point. Sophie Hart secured her second double-double of the season with a team-leading 17 points and 10 rebounds. Tori McKinney had 16 points, marking the 15th time she’s hit double figures this season.
- The Rutgers win improved the Maroon and Gold’s record to 18-6 overall and 9-4 in Big Ten play. It marks the best 13-game start in conference play since the 2017-18 season when the team also started 9-4. That season was also the last time Minnesota made the NCAA Tournament.
- Against Iowa, Minnesota was 10-of-14 on 3-pointers, setting a program record by shooting 71.4% from 3-point range and breaking a mark that had stood since 2015.
NEBRASKA SERIES HISTORY
- Nebraska leads the all-time record, 18-14, in a series that began in 1977.
- The Maroon and Gold lead at Williams Arena, 10-3.
- The Huskers have a two-game winning streak over Minnesota. Last season, The Gophers traveled to Lincoln and lost 84-65.
WHERE THEY RANK
- Minnesota is ranked No. 9 in the NET and is one of 10 Big Ten teams in the top 25. The Maroon and Gold’s NET ranking is the third highest in the Big Ten, only behind No. 2 UCLA and No. 6 Michigan.
- While not ranked in either top 25 poll, Minnesota was the first team out of the AP Poll and WBCA USA Today Coaches poll, receiving 42 and 39 votes, respectively.
- The Gophers lead the NCAA in fewest turnovers per game, averaging 10.1. The next closest Big Ten team is Illinois at 12.4 turnovers per contest.
- Minnesota’s 1.64 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks third nationally and second in the Big Ten, only behind No. 2 UConn (1.88) and No. 3 UCLA (1.72).
- The Maroon and Gold’s defense allows only 55.9 points per game, ranking them 18th in the nation he NCAA and first in the conference.
- Minnesota leads the Big Ten and is third in the NCAA with 11 games this season holding opponents to 50 points or fewer. The only teams with more such games are Connecticut (13) and Fairleigh Dickinson, while UCLA (8) is the next closest Big Ten school.
DOWN GOES No. 10
- The Maroon and Gold are coming off a 91-85 upset of No. 10 Iowa on Thursday night. The win marked Minnesota’s second victory over an AP Top 25 opponent this season, its first outright win over a top-10 team since a 93-74 victory over No. 10 Maryland at Williams Arena in 2018 and its first top-10 road win since 2003, when the Gophers defeated No. 9 Stanford 68-56 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
- It was also Minnesota’s first regular-season top-10 road win since beating No. 5 Wisconsin 92-85 in 2002.
- Minnesota snapped an 11-game losing streak against Iowa, earning its first win over the Hawkeyes since a 90-89 victory in the 2018 Big Ten Tournament.
THE ORIGINAL G-MONEY
- This season, Grace Grocholski leads Minnesota with 316 points and averages 13.2 points per game.
- The guard-forward is shooting 49.8% from the field, 46.3 from 3-point range and 82.3% from the free throw line.
- The North Prairie, Wis., native has 205 career made 3-pointers, ranking No. 8 all time in Minnesota program history.
- Grocholski is ranked No. 7 in the nation and third in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage.
- Grocholski ranks second on the Gophers’ roster with 65 assists.
- Against No. 7 Maryland on Dec. 7, Grocholski knocked down a career-high nine 3-pointers on her way to a career-best 31 points, tying for the second-most 3-pointers made in a single game in program history.
BATTLE TIME
- Amaya Battle is the only active NCAA player (playing from 2022-present) with more than 1,000 career points, 600 career rebounds and 500 career assists.
- Battle’s career totals stand at 1,404 points, 707 rebounds and 573 assists.
- Along with Battle, Rachel Banham is the only other Golden Gopher to record at least 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, and 500 assists in a career.
- Battle ranks third all-time in career assists in Minnesota’s record book. She is six away from surpassing Lindsay Whalen (578) for second all-time.
McKINNEY MAGIC
- In the Maroon and Gold’s last five games, Tori McKinney has averaged a team-leading 17.6 points per game and has tallied nine steals during that stretch.
- McKinney recorded back-to-back 20-point games, scoring 23 points against Penn State on Jan. 28after posting 20 against Wisconsin on Jan. 25.
- It marked the first time a Gopher scored 20 or more points in consecutive games since Mara Braun did so against Purdue (21 on Dec. 10, 2023) and Grambling (26 on Dec. 13, 2023).
- Against the Nittany Lions, McKinney set a career high threes made in a game, going 5-of-7.
MINNESOTA MARA
- In Minnesota’s last five games, Mara Braun has been a spark on offense averaging 13 points per game.
- She led the Gophers and scored a season high 22 points at Penn State on Jan. 28.
- At Iowa, she had 16 points and went 4-of-4 from the 3-point line.
The future of data centers in Nebraska took center stage at a North Omaha town hall Thursday evening.
The event was hosted by State Sens. Terrell McKinney and Ashlei Spivey, who alongside Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh sponsored a bill in the Nebraska Legislature that looked to help regulate data centers.
Parts of their bill were adopted and passed in LB1010, which requires reports on annual power usage, water usage and ownership.
“Having this passed in a package showed a lot of bipartisan work,” Spivey told a crowd of attendees at Nelson Mandela Elementary School.
The proposed regulations were shaped in part by Bold Nebraska, an advocacy group focused on eminent domain and clean energy. Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and founder of Bold Nebraska, said before the bill passed there were “zero laws on the books” to address a boom in data centers.
“If one is coming into the community, we wanted to make sure that there were some basic transparency things in place,” Kleeb said.
Political discussions around data centers heated up in recent months following reporting by the Flatwater Free Press that showed Google is considering a data center in Nebraska that could require more than three times the amount of power the entire city of Lincoln uses at peak demand in the summer.
The Nebraska Legislature recently passed another bill, LB1261, that allows private developers to build and own power plants to serve a large industrial customer, including data centers. That bill was proposed by the governor’s office and celebrated by Gov. Jim Pillen.
“Our state is once again taking a bold and strategic step – one that will create an environment that attracts business and multibillion dollar investment, while legally preserving Nebraska’s unique and consumer-friendly public power model,” Pillen said at the time.
At Thursday’s town hall, McKinney called LB1261 “the bogeyman bill.”
“It’s a bill that the governor pushed through the legislature to allow for data centers to create their own power,” McKinney said. “It’s a bill that I stood on the floor and said this is going to harm our communities.”
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Hundreds of people are without power in southeast Nebraska after a severe storm passed through Thursday morning.
The Lincoln Electric System outage map showed 115 customers without power across the city at 11:36 a.m.
Norris Public Power District’s outage map also shows 45 customers affected by the storm. As of 11:36 a.m., there were nine active outages.
According to the Nebraska Public Power District outage map, 657 customers were affected by the storm. Most of the affected customers were near Plattsmouth in southeast Nebraska. As of 11:37 a.m., 27 customers remain without power.
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Mandatory evacuations have been ordered near Crawford, including Fort Robinson State Park, as the South Fork Fire continues to spread in western Nebraska.
According to the City of Crawford, evacuations are currently underway for an area north of Crawford that includes the area south of Dodd Road, west of Dodd Road, and FF Street.
Fort Robinson has also been evacuated.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission said Fort Robinson State Park and Peterson Wildlife Management Area have been temporarily closed due to the fire.
The fire has burned approximately 9,000 acres and is currently 0% contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Nebraska Game and Parks said the park and the WMA will remain closed until further notice to support firefighting operations and protect public safety.
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