North Dakota @ Nebraska preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 19, 2017 ) North Dakota 70, Nebraska 92

Cam Mack was considered the country's top junior college point guard coming out of Salt Lake Community College last season and has repeatedly reinforced that assessment by reaching milestones very few Nebraska players have ever hit just 11 games into his career. Coming off one of the most impressive all-around efforts in 124 years of Nebraska basketball, the 6-2 sophomore sets his sights on another strong performance Saturday when the Cornhuskers host North Dakota.

Mack tallied 11 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists to post the first triple-double in program history during Nebraska's stunning 70-56 home win on Sunday over a Purdue team that had held its previous two opponents to an average of 42 points, including a 69-40 rout of defending national champion Virginia 11 days earlier. "When you know you’ve got a really good point guard is when they make really tough plays look easy and that’s what Cam does. … That’s what we’ve had the last couple of days with the ball in Cam’s hands, that’s a pretty efficient offense," coach Fred Hoiberg said. Mack averaged 13 points and 11 assists last week after producing 15 points and 10 assists in a Dec. 13 overtime loss at Indiana. The Fighting Hawks snapped a three-game skid with Tuesday's 109-50 rout of Division III foe Northland College but are 1-6 in true road contests this season.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, No TV

ABOUT NORTH DAKOTA (5-7): Billy Brown (5.2 points) finished one bucket short of matching his season 3-point total entering Tuesday's contest by burying five triples against Northland and added seven assists as the Fighting Hawks connected on a season-high 16 3-pointers and shot 64.3 percent from the field overall. Marlon Stewart (team-high marks of 14.5 points and 4.9 assists) finished 5-of-6 from the field - including 4-of-5 beyond the arc - and needed only 22 minutes to record his second career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 11 assists. Freshman guard De'Sean Allen-Eikens (13.6 points, 5.2 rebounds) has already posted two point-rebound double-doubles and reached double figures in all but two contests after netting 12 points in 18 minutes of action against Northland.

ABOUT NEBRASKA (5-6): As the Cornhuskers continue to deal with an indefinite suspension to starting guard Jervay Green for a violation of team rules, Dachon Burke Jr. (team-high 13.7 points) has looked more like the offensive force he was at Robert Morris prior to his transfer, averaging 21.5 points over the last two games (12 points per game prior). Junior guard Thorir Thorbjarnarson - the only holdover that played a minute with last year's team - has scored at least 11 points in four straight games after failing to reach double figures once in his first 41 outings. Haanif Cheatham (13.0 points) was limited to nine points following a 4-for-11 effort from the field against Purdue but averaged 17.8 points over his previous six contests.

TIP-INS

1. Mack has three points-assists double-doubles this season, two shy of the number all of the rest of the Nebraska players produced in the previous 29 seasons combined.

2. Fighting Hawks F Filip Rebraca (14.2 points, 9.0 rebounds) is tied for 11th in Division I with a Summit League-best six double-doubles.

3. The Cornhuskers have recorded a 41:20 assist-to-turnover ratio in their last two games. Over their first nine contests, it was 108:113.

PREDICTION: Nebraska 87, North Dakota 74