Nebraska
Nebraska Men's Basketball Counting on Essegian, Griffiths to Fill Shooting Void | Hurrdat Sports
Keisei Tominaga’s departure left a significant void in the Nebraska men’s basketball program, in more ways than one.
Aside from his infectious energy on the court and popularity with fans within the fan base and beyond, Tominaga also led the huskers with 15.7 points per game and was sixth in the Big Ten in 3-pointers made, sinking 76 of them at a 37.6% clip.
Brice Williams’ return (50 3-pointers made, 38.8%) helps to soften that blow, but Nebraska also lost C.J. Wilcher (50 3-pointers made, 39.4%), Jamarques Lawrence (36, 35.6%) and Eli Rice (10, 37%) to the transfer portal. Adding perimeter shooting was a priority for the Nebraska men’s basketball coaching staff during the offseason, and Fred Hoiberg said at Big Ten Media Days that he thought the Huskers landed two of the best in Connor Essegian and Gavin Griffiths.
“Connor will be a very important piece for us, especially with what we lost not only with Keisei but a couple of the players we lost to the portal that put the ball in the basket for us, especially from behind the arc,” Hoiberg said. “Getting players that could knock down shots and space the floor was a big objective for us in the poral. With Connor and with Gavin Griffiths, you get two guys who have played in the league that can really get it going from the outside.”
Essegian, a 6-foot-4 guard from Indiana, spent his first two seasons at Wisconsin. He made the Big Ten All-Freshman team after averaging 11.7 points and shooting 35.9% from 3, setting a freshman school record with 69 made 3-pointers. Essegian saw his playing time cut by 20 minutes per game as a sophomore as he struggled to crack the lineup following a back injury he suffered in the season-opener that impacted him throughout the Badgers’ nonconference slate. He averaged 3.2 points and shot 30.3% from 3 in 7.3 minutes per game, logging just nine games with double-digit minutes all season.
Essegian opted to enter the transfer portal in the spring and chose to continue his career in Hoiberg’s shooter-friendly offense.
“Connor, he’s got such a level approach to everything, and I’ve been really impressed with that,” Hoiberg said. “He’s picked things up defensively. He played for a great program and Greg Gard obviously demands a lot on that end. When you get guys from programs like that, they pick things up quicker. He’s done a nice job on the defensive end as well. It’s a very different style than Wisconsin and he’s picked things up very quickly. I’ve loved what Connor’s brought to us. He’s a great locker room guy, another guy that can give us leadership out there, and he’s played in the league and he knows what it’s all about.”
Essegian logged 24 double-digit scoring games as a freshman including nine games with three or more 3-pointers, and Nebraska is hoping to see him return to that level of performance with a fresh start.
Griffiths also transferred from another Big Ten school as he spent his freshman year at Rutgers. The Connecticut native was a consensus four-star recruit ranked in the top 50 by On3, ESPN and Rivals. He played 20 games at Rutgers, averaging 5.8 points per game. Griffiths shot 28.2% from 3 overall, but that included a 37.5% mark (12-of-32) over his last six games. The 6-foot-7 wing scored 16 points and shot 4-of-8 from 3 in two games against the Huskers last season.
“He’s going to be on the court for us,” Hoiberg said. “He’ll have days where he’ll run off four, five, six 3s in a row, and making contested ones as well. Shot selection is something that I’ve talked with him a lot about, taking the right shots. Early on last year he took some really, really tough ones, but then at the end of the year he figured it out and shot almost 40% the last month of the season. So having success playing against teams in this league, I think he’s primed for a really nice year.”
While shooting has been Griffiths’ calling card thus far (he attempted more than twice as many shots from beyond the 3-point line than at the rim as a freshman), Hoiberg said there’s far more than meets the eye with him.
“The thing I’ve been really pleasantly impressed by with Gavin, I knew he could shoot — he did it against us in PBA last year; he hit one from the logo — but his athleticism has been off the charts,” Hoiberg said. “He finishes above the rim. He’s not going to back down from anybody. He’s an unbelievable worker; he’s in the gym nonstop. Just a lot, a lot of raw talent and ability. He’s still young, he’s a true sophomore, but he learned from a great guy in Steve Piekell. You get some of those early learning curve situations out of the way when you play for another great coach and we’re just trying to do the best we can to put him in a position for success based on his unique skill set. We love Gavin.”
Williams has also impressed his teammates during the offseason workouts and early preseason practices.
“Gavin’s a grasshopper,” Williams said. “Gavin is stronger than what you would think. Gavin is a better shooter than what you would think. Gavin can go on a heater and hit five in a row, but Gavin can also put his head at the rim easily. He’s the only one at the end of the week that still looks like he’s fresh.”
At a listed 193 pounds, Griffiths is the fourth-lightest player on the Nebraska roster, and the three players lighter than him are all 6-foot-4 and under guards. Continuing to add strength to his frame will be a key for Griffiths moving forward, but Hoiberg cautioned against judging a book by its cover in this case.
“He’s working extra in the weight room,” Hoiberg said. “Some guys come back and work on their game and shot, which he certainly does that, but he also puts in extra time in the weight room with our strength coach. So he’s made really good gains in the weight room. I don’t think he’ll ever be Arnold, but he’s wiry strong. I played with maybe the best wiry strong guy of all time, Reggie Miller. He could lift a lot of weight but he never put on size. Gavin’s a strong kid, but it’s not going to show up in his body. It shows up in his athleticism and he’s going to put the work in, there’s no doubt about that.”
With a fresh start in a shooter-friendly system, Essegian and Griffiths are looking to live up to their potential as Cornhuskers. Nebraska led the Big Ten in 3-pointers in 2023-24, and the two transfers will play a significant part if the Huskers are to repeat that feat this season.
The UCLA men’s basketball team made Senior Night one to savor Tuesday, dominating No. 9 Nebraska 72-52 at Pauley Pavilion for its 20th victory of the season and third over a top-10 ranked opponent.
The Bruins improved to 20-10 overall and 12-7 in the Big Ten with one regular season game remaining, Saturday at crosstown rival USC.
Trent Perry scored 20 points, Eric Dailey Jr. had 14 and three players — Tyler Bilodeau, Skyy Clark and Xavier Booker — each added eight points.
“Nebraska’s got a great team,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “This is the best we’ve played all year — they brought out the best in us. We went from our worst defensive effort to our best. They outhustle everyone they play, but not us. Tonight we were great, but I love the way they play. If we had their attitude we’d have their record.”
Eric Freeny had four points, five rebounds and three steals in 18 minutes for UCLA, which got 26 points in the paint and 17 second-chance points.
“Effort is what it takes to win in March,” Freeny said. “It was our last home game. Coach keeps on pushing me to be better everyday.”
Sam Hoiberg had 12 points to lead Nebraska, but Pryce Sandfort, who began the game leading the conference in three-pointers made per game, was held to nine points.
“Sandford has been unbelievable so to hold him to nine points is amazing,” Cronin said. “Brandon Williams was the unsung hero.”
Williams had six points and three rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.
The Bruins were in control from the opening tip-off and never trailed the Cornhuskers (25-5, 14-5). UCLA improved to 10-3 in all-time against Nebraska and the win greatly strengthened its resume for the NCAA tournament as the Bruins also beat then-No. 4 Purdue 69-67 on Jan. 20 and then-No. 10 Illinois 95-94 in overtime on Feb. 21 on Donovan Dent’s layup with one second left.
“We have to take attitude we came with tonight, bottle it up and take it on the road,” Dailey Jr. said. “We’ve got so much left. The season’s not over… we’re only as good as our last game. It’s all about how you respond. I love the fight that we played with tonight.”
This is the fifth time in Cronin’s seven seasons that the Bruins have won 20 or more games. They are 17-1 at home (their only loss in overtime to Indiana on Jan. 31).
“Since I’ve been here we don’t lose much at home.” Cronin said.
UCLA went ahead by 15 points, 37-22, on Perry’s three-pointer with 2:41 left and led 37-24 at intermission. The Bruins shot 50% from the field in the first half (15 for 30) while Nebraska was only 31% (nine for 29).
The Bruins increased their advantage to 18 points on Dailey’s dunk less than five minutes into the second half and the visitors got no closer than nine the rest of the way.
Prior to pregame introductions the Bruins honored seniors Bilodeau, Dent and Clark; fifth-year player Jamar Brown; redshirt seniors Steven Jamerson II, Jack Seidler and Anthony Peoples Jr; and redshirt junior Evan Manjikian. In a media timeout, midway through the first half, former coach Jim Harrick (who led UCLA to its 11th national championship in 1995) was honored and got a loud ovation.
“I’m happy for our seniors, I didn’t want them to lose their last game at Pauley,” said Perry, who reversed a subpar performance at Minnesota, where he was 0-for-7 from the field with one rebound and one assist in 26 minutes. “I had to come out here tonight and bounce back for my team. I play for something bigger than myself and I’m fortunate to have the type of guys I do around me.”
UCLA guard Skyy Clark looks to pass while under pressure from Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg and forward Berke Buyuktuncel in the second half.
(William Liang / Associated Press)
Over the last four games, Dent has 46 assists and just two turnovers.
Bilodeau has scored in double figures in 26 of 28 games played, totaling 20 points or more nine times.
Dailey moved to within five points of reaching the 1,000-career point milestone.
UCLA has now made at least one three-pointer in 887 of 888 games dating to February 2000.
“We had one practice this week, that’s it,” Cronin said. “We watched film, had a heart-to-heart talk and a shoot around today but that’s it.”
People across Nebraska and Kansas reported feeling an earthquake Sunday afternoon.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a quake measuring 4.1 on the Richter Scale struck around 1 p.m. about 3 miles east of the Webster County village of Cowles, which is in south-central Nebraska near the Kansas border.
A quake of that magnitude is considered “light” and not likely to cause damage.
But the USGS received dozens of reports from people who said they felt the quake, some as far away as Omaha and Manhattan, Kansas. Numerous people took to social media to report feeling the quake.
Two aftershocks of 2.6 magnitude later occurred near the original quake site, one about 90 minutes after the initial quake and one later Sunday night.
Earthquakes are relatively rare in Nebraska, but the state does usually record one or two minor ones per year. The last time Nebraska recorded a quake of a magnitude 4 or above was in December 2023, also in Webster County.
The results are in for the Nebraska Lottery’s draw games on Monday, March 2, 2026.
Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 2.
Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing
02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing
21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 2 drawing
7-5-8
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 2 drawing
03-08-09-17-25
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning 2 By 2 numbers from March 2 drawing
Red Balls: 14-26, White Balls: 17-18
Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning MyDay numbers from March 2 drawing
Month: 05, Day: 03, Year: 23
Check MyDay payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing
28-41-42-50-55, Bonus: 02
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Nebraska Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3, 5: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
- Lucky For Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- 2 By 2: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
- MyDaY: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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