Nebraska looks to stay hot vs. Southern on heels of Diamond Head Classic title

Nebraska looks to stretch its season-long winning streak to five games when it hosts Southern on Monday night in Lincoln.

The streak began after Michigan State crushed the Cornhuskers 89-52 in Nebraska's Big Ten opener on Dec. 7.

Nebraska started the winning streak with an 85-68 home victory over Indiana to even its conference record at 1-1. Then the Cornhuskers (10-2) swept their way through the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, beating Murray State, host Hawaii and lastly Oregon State on Christmas Day to win the tournament championship.

Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg was pleased with the three double-digit victories in Hawaii, including the 78-66 win over the Beavers to earn the title.

"The importance of winning three games against three quality teams, that's going to be help us down the road," Hoiberg said.

Brice Williams scored 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting against Oregon State to cap a run that ended with earning tournament MVP.

Williams tallied 32 points in the semifinal victory over Hawaii. He averaged 22 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals in the tournament.

Williams controlled the pace in the finale.

"I was aggressive and wanted to let my defense lead my offense," Williams said. "I came out pretty hot and my team took it from there."

Williams leads the Cornhuskers with a 19.7 scoring average. Juwan Gary (11.9 ppg) and Connor Essegian (11.8) are also scoring in double digits.

Southern (5-7) is in the midst of a tough portion of its schedule and has been outscored by an average of 20 points during a three-game losing streak.

The Jaguars started the skid by falling 74-61 at then-No. 17 Ole Miss on Dec. 17, then lost 89-73 at Loyola Marymount three days later. Southern was then mauled 82-51 at Southern California on Dec. 22.

The Jaguars shot just 32.7 percent from the field against the Trojans and were a measly 2 of 19 from 3-point range.

Southern coach Kevin Johnson said prior to the season that this stretch will help the team when it gets into SWAC play.

"I feel we put together another strong schedule, that will challenge our team and give us some strong competition," Johnson said. "... We feel that this schedule will help us compete at the highest level going into SWAC play."

Michael Jacobs is averaging a team-best 10.6 points, just ahead of Jordan Johnson's 10.4.

Nebraska is 4-0 all-time against the Jaguars, including an 82-59 home win on Nov. 21, 2021, in the most recent meeting.

--Field Level Media