Essegian leads Nebraska against No. 15 UCLA after 20-point outing

Updated Jan. 3, 2025 3:43 a.m. ET

Associated Press

UCLA Bruins (11-2, 2-0 Big Ten) at Nebraska Cornhuskers (11-2, 1-1 Big Ten)

Lincoln, Nebraska; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Nebraska plays No. 15 UCLA after Connor Essegian scored 20 points in Nebraska's 77-43 win over the Southern Jaguars.

The Cornhuskers are 7-0 on their home court. Nebraska scores 77.7 points and has outscored opponents by 12.6 points per game.

The Bruins have gone 2-0 against Big Ten opponents. UCLA ranks fourth in the Big Ten shooting 37.1% from 3-point range.

Nebraska makes 47.2% of its shots from the field this season, which is 7.1 percentage points higher than UCLA has allowed to its opponents (40.1%). UCLA averages 7.6 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.2 fewer made shots on average than the 8.8 per game Nebraska gives up.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Rollie Worster is averaging 8.2 points for the Cornhuskers.

Kobe Johnson is averaging 7.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.2 steals for the Bruins.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cornhuskers: 8-2, averaging 77.4 points, 33.4 rebounds, 13.7 assists, 7.3 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 48.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.1 points per game.

Bruins: 9-1, averaging 78.6 points, 30.3 rebounds, 16.8 assists, 8.9 steals and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 48.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 60.1 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.