Nebraska
Preview: Nebraska Begins Big Ten Tourney
Nebraska Husker Baseball
OMAHA – Nebraska Baseball gears up for the Big Ten Baseball tournament in Omaha today with its first round matchup set with seventh seeded Ohio State:
NEBRASKA vs. OHIO STATE
May 21, 2024
Omaha, Neb. | Charles Schwab Field
Tuesday, May 21 – 2 p.m. CT
Pitching: TBD vs. TBD
TV/Streaming: BTN
Radio: Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com, Huskers App
Follow the Game
• Every game of the 2024 Big Ten Baseball Tournament can be seen on Big Ten Network. Connor Onion and Danan Hughes will be on the call on BTN on Tuesday afternoon.
• Fans can also listen to Dave Gustafson Ben McLaughlin call the action this week on the Huskers Radio Network.
• Every game this season can be heard for free on Huskers.com and the Official Nebraska Huskers App for both iOS and android devices.
Nebraska vs. Ohio State
• Through 35 all-time meetings, Nebraska holds an 21-14 advantage over the Buckeyes in the all-time series.
• The Huskers took two of three games from Ohio State in a weekend series earlier this season in Lincoln.
• Tuesday’s matchup marks the sixth meeting between the two programs in the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes have won three of the five meetings in the Big Ten Tournament after picking up a 3-1 win against the Big Red in 2019.
Huskers in the Big Ten Tournament
• This week marks the ninth Big Ten Tournament the Huskers have appeared in since joining the Big Ten in 2012.
• Nebraska holds a 14-15 record in 29 all-time games in the Big Ten Tournament, including an 8-7 mark in the four seasons the tournament has been played in Omaha.
Clark’s Mid-Season Evolution on the Mound
• It’s been a tale of two seasons in 2024 for Caleb Clark. After a slow start to the year, the southpaw has come on strong, providing key outings in crucial moments for the NU pitching staff in the last month.
• The sophomore has made 10 outings since Nebraska’s series at Rutgers in mid-April, allowing just eight earned runs in 21 innings for a 3.43 ERA.
• Clark has limited opposing hitters to a .173 hitting clip since making the change on the mound and has tallied 24 punchouts to nine walks.
Husker Duo Climb Strikeout List in Big Ten Era
• Brett Sears and Mason McConnaughey rank among leaders in single-season strikeouts by an NU pitcher since the Huskers joined the Big Ten in 2012.
• Sears has 87 strikeouts this season, which are third-most by a Husker in the Big Ten era and just one away from tying Cade Povich (2021) in second.
• McConnaughey ranks tied for seventh on the list with 70 strikeouts this year, just two shy of tying Shay Schanaman in sixth.
Middle-Third Production Boosting the Big Red
• Nebraska has been successful the second time through the lineup on the mound and in the batter’s box, outscoring opponents 151-75 in the middle-third innings this season.
• The Huskers hold a 54-20 advantage in the fourth inning, while outscoring opponents 45-20 in the fifth inning and 52-35 in the sixth inning.
• The Husker offense is hitting .306 at the plate with 76 extra-base hits and 141 RBI in the fourth through sixth innings, while the NU pitching staff is limiting opponents to a .237 hitting clip and a 3.84 ERA in the middle-third innings.
Sanderson’s Early Impact at Collegiate Level
• Freshman Case Sanderson leads the Huskers with a .373 batting average along with four doubles, a triple, two home runs and 21 RBI across 45 games, including 34 starts.
• The Nevada, Mo., native has reached base in 24 of his last 25 games and is hitting .385 (30-for-78) with six extra-base hits and 12 RBI over that span.
• Sanderson has reached base at a .510 clip this season for the Huskers, which ranks 19th in the nation and second in the Big Ten.
Silva’s Speed With Stolen Bases
• Riley Silva is one of five D1 players to steal 31-plus bases and be caught three-or-fewer times, joining K-State’s Brendan Jones as the only Power Five players this season.
• Silva is the 10th NU player since 2000 to swipe at least 20 bases, and the first Husker to steal 30-or-more bases in a season since Jamal Strong (35) in 2000.
Worthley, Daiss Holding Down the Husker Bullpen
• NU’s set-up man, Jalen Worthley, is 3-0 with a 3.64 ERA and four saves across a bullpen-high 29.1 innings. The southpaw has made a team-high 10 multi-inning relief appearances for NU and punched out 28 batters while issuing just six walks.
• The Huskers’ closer, Casey Daiss, leads the Big Red in saves (5) and boasts a 3.48 ERA across 20.2 innings of work. Daiss has held opponents scoreless in 15 of his 19 appearances this season for the Big Red.
Silva Plunked Third-Most Times in Season
• Riley Silva has been hit by pitch 23 times this season, which is third-most in program history.
• Silva is one away from tying Corey Miller (1996) in second and five shy of the program record of 28 set by Daniel Bruce in 2002.
Bats in the Nebraska Lineup
• Tyler Stone is batting .313 with eight home runs and 33 RBI for the Big Red, while Ben Columbus has posted a .309 average this season with four doubles, five home runs and 26 RBI.
• Cole Evans is hitting .265 this season with 10 doubles, five home runs, and 40 RBI over a team-high 53 games played, including 46 starts.
• Dylan Carey has hits in 16 of his last 24 games and leads the Big Red with 15 doubles, raising his batting average from .236 to .261 over that span.
• Rhett Stokes holds a .339 batting average with 11 doubles, a home run and 15 RBI, while Cayden Brumbaugh is hitting .323 with 11 doubles, three triples and 19 RBI.
• Garrett Anglim holds a .255 batting average this season with seven doubles, two homers and 22 RBI. Joshua Overbeek is batting .282 with 10 extra-base hits, 22 RBI and 34 runs scored.
Huskers in the Pen
• Rans Sanders has a 4.05 ERA for the Huskers across 13.1 innings with a pair of saves, allowing six earned runs this season.
• Kyle Perry’s 23 relief appearances lead all NU relievers as the senior is 1-2 with a 5.89 ERA and a career-high tying three saves.
• Evan Borst is limiting opponents to a .182 batting average (8-for-44) this season, posting 15 strikeouts over 12.1 innings of work.
• Kyle Froehlich has appeared in 18 games for the Huskers, punching out 18 batters while issuing five walks across 18.1 innings.
Nebraska
Nebraska’s Linebacker Dasan McCullough Wants to Take Lessons Learned to NFL
Nebraska senior linebacker Dasan McCullough declared for the NFL Draft earlier this week. He made the surprising decision to play in the Huskers’ bowl game against Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
Many times, players will opt out of bowl games to not risk injury.
McCullough has a different approach. He is attacking the bowl-preparation practices as a training ground for his hoped-for NFL career.
And, he has a more heartfelt reason to play. His dad can watch him play.
“I know it’s [playing in Las Vegas] huge for all of the guys,” McCullough said at a news conference Friday. “It’s even bigger for me being back home so my dad can see my final game. It’s huge for me.
“I was really going to play regardless, but I was just waiting to see who we played against. I think Utah is a great opportunity and a top-15 team, so I’m excited.”
Bowl practices
The Huskers (7-5) are busy preparing to play the 10-2 Utes. Nebraska, with a victory, can finish with a better record than last year’s 7-6 mark. After a disappointing, up-and-down season, that should be strong motivation for the Huskers.
“I’m treating them [bowl practices] like I’m getting ready for the league [NFL], as I am,” said McCullough a 6-foot-5, 235-pounder from Kansas City.
“I’m working on my technique every day. I’m still improving on stuff I got to improve on. And at the end of the day, we still got to end this season on our terms. We feel like we didn’t do that with Iowa and this is a great second opportunity.”
McCullough said he enjoys working with interim defensive coordinator Phil Snow, who replaced John Butler, who was fired after the Iowa game.
“It’s been pretty cool, actually,” McCullough said. “You know, Snow’s already been really involved with our defense, so it hasn’t been like something like crazy, but he’s just more vocal now. But we all love him.”
Head coach Matt Rhule, who comes from a defensive background, also has been involved with defensive drills. So has special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler.
“Yeah, he’s been coaching with me pretty directly and that’s been pretty cool honestly because I’ve known coach Eckler since I was 10 or 11 when he was at Indiana,” McCullough said.
“So, it’s been pretty cool for us just kind of been going through this together. We’ve definitely been having our smiles out there.
“I’d definitely say coach Rhule, I guess as a whole, has the whole D-line very amped up every day. I mean, if you could see it now it looks crazy out there the way the guys are moving around and playing.
“So, it’s definitely that juice that they both brought. Coach Eck as well. He definitely brings a lot of juice.”
McCullough’s season
McCullough played in 10 games this season, starting seven. He missed a game due to injury. He has 21 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks and one pass breakup. He is tied for the Huskers’ lead in sacks and is third in tackles for loss. He was a media choice as an honorable mention All-Big Ten player.
He was asked what happened in the final two games of the season, blowout losses against Penn State and Iowa.
“Just execution,” he said. “That’s all I can really say. Guys not executing right. We got to be more on point with our jobs.”
Nebraska is McCullough’s third school. He started at Indiana and played one season there. He transferred to Oklahoma and played two seasons with the Sooners. He was at Nebraska for one season.
Now, he hopes to play in the league, “on Sundays” as they say.
“I think I showed that I’m really relentless on all levels of the game,” McCullough said. “I give outstanding effort.
“I’m very well at getting off the ball and bending and rushing the passer. I could bring a lot as a stack-backer as well. So, I feel like my versatility is second to none, seriously.”
He was asked what he learned at Nebraska to prepare him for the NFL.
“A lot. Just taught me a lot of discipline, a lot of technique things, too, from a football perspective that coach [Phil] Simpson [assistant coach-outside linebackers] taught me along with coach Rhule that I’ll be taking to the next level,” McCullough said.
“They’ve redefined a lot of my technique as an edge. So, just taking that to the next level and, you know, there’s a little something I learned from all three schools that I feel like are going to help me be complete.”
Portal time
It’s December, so players are exploring the possibility of entering the transfer portal. Since McCullough has transferred twice, other players seek his advice.
“It’s really different now,” McCullough said. “I mean, there’s still a lot of guys who transfer for really good reasons.
“Obviously, as you guys know, when guys hit the portal the main thing now is the money. It’s how much money they can get and stuff like that. But more importantly it’s going somewhere where you have an opportunity to start and play.
“So I guess that’s kind of how I’ve been kind of trying to help the guys. They asked me a lot of questions about the portal since I’ve been through it and I just tell them the same thing.
“If you guys are looking for a perfect location, you’re not going to find one. There’s nowhere, there’s no perfect university out there. That’s why every school has guys enter the portal. It’s about situations for you.
“So I tell the guys that all the time. Definitely don’t make your decisions just based off money. You need to go somewhere where you’ll actually perform and play.
“Yeah, I transferred a lot, but I also played a lot at all three of those places. So, I was just kind of telling the guys that, to have the right mindset if they’re going to make that decision.”
And about those three transfers?
“I think I made the three perfect decisions,” McCullough said. “I think they all fell in line for an exact reason. So, I have no regrets about anything.”
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Nebraska
ESPN’s Analytics Reveal Strong Prediction in Illinois vs. Nebraska Matchup
On Saturday afternoon (3 p.m. CT, Peacock), No. 13 Illinois (8-2, 1-0 Big Ten) will host No. 23 Nebraska (10-0, 1-0 Big Ten) in Champaign for an early-season ranked-on-ranked Big Ten showdown.
The Cornhuskers made their season debut in the AP poll this Monday. Two days later, they dismantled – by 30 points – a Wisconsin club that entered the season ranked in the top 25, knocking off the Badgers 90-60 in Lincoln.
Blood in the water. 🦈📹https://t.co/LKzCqN3tcz
— Nebraska Men’s Basketball (@HuskerMBB) December 11, 2025
ESPN’s matchup predictor makes its pick for Illinois-Nebraska
Yet on Saturday, according to ESPN’s analytics, the odds are not at all in Nebraska’s favor. The matchup predictor gives Illinois a 77.5 percent chance of staving off the visitors this weekend.
And it makes sense for two key reasons: 1) Home-court advantage. Playing at home, especially in Big Ten action, already gives any team a massive leg up. For example, the Illini, despite losing 14 conference games over the past two seasons, have just five league losses on their home floor during that stretch.
2) Illinois is really good.
The AP poll doesn’t always reflect reality. Both of these clubs may, in fact, be better than their respective rankings in that poll. Nevertheless, the difference between the No. 20 team and the No. 25 team isn’t nearly as drastic as the difference between the No. 5 and No. 10 team.
The Illini should absolutely dominate the Cornhuskers on the glass. Given the relative shortcomings of Brad Underwood’s squad in that department in its past few outings, it’s possible the margin is closer than it should be, but Illinois will undoubtedly control the boards to at least some extent.
And given the level the Illini defense has been operating at, specifically on first attempts in each possession, the Cornhuskers are going to find points extremely tough to come by. Offensively, Illinois will surely rely heavily on its talent once again, staying away from any complex schematic design and simply letting its players operate.
As the old adage goes: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And with an Illinois offense currently ranked No. 5 in KenPom in terms of efficiency, it very clearly isn’t broken.
As Nebraska has done all season thus far to its opponents, Fred Hoiberg’s unit figures to make the Illini appear somewhat less than. But between the size and talent disparity, not to mention the home-floor advantage, Illinois will still very likely put an end to Nebraska’s exceptional undefeated start – even if it is a tighter battle than the Illini would like.
Nebraska
York lottery player wins $3,125 in Nebraska Pick 4 drawing
LINCOLN, Neb. (KSNB) – One lucky player who bought a Nebraska Pick 4 ticket for the Wednesday, Dec. 10, drawing is holding a ticket worth $3,125.
The ticket was sold at Pump & Pantry No. 16 at 109 Lincoln Avenue in York. The winning numbers from Wednesday’s Nebraska Pick 4 drawing were 02, 00, 01, 05.
Winning Nebraska Lottery tickets expire 180 days after the drawing. Tickets with total prize amounts of $501 to $19,999 must be claimed by mail or at a regional lottery claim center. Additional information about claiming prizes can be found at nelottery.com or by calling 800-587-5200.
Nebraska Pick 4 is a daily lotto game from the Nebraska Lottery. Players select four numbers, each from a separate set of digits from 0 through 9, for a chance to win up to $6,000. Players choose one of six bet types to set their play style and potential prizes. The odds of winning the $3,125 prize in Nebraska Pick 4 are 1 in 10,000.
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