Keisei Tominaga puts on show in three-point contest, finishes with massive flex
Nebraska sharpshooter Keisei Tominaga has long been one of the nation’s top three-point shooters. To cap off his career with the Huskers, he’s performing on a national stage on Thursday night at the Final Four in Phoenix, Arizona. Tominaga is participating in the three-point contest with some of the top shooters in college basketball. Tominaga torched the nets in the first round, scoring 25 points, leading all contestants at that point.
Then, he had to finish it with a massive flex. Shooting the ball, then turning around and celebrating for his final shot, which happened to be a money ball. Tominaga drained the shot, giving him 25 total points, which was good enough for second place in the first round.
In the semifinals, Tominaga scored 24 points, advancing to the three-point contest championship. The semifinal matchup was between him and Ohio State’s Jamison Battle.
In the championship round, he scored 19 points, defeating Tyler Thomas of Hofstra, who finished with 17 points.
Here’s the final round.
Tominaga became the 2024 Hanes Men’s Three-Point Champion.
Keisei Tominaga shared his thoughts after the big victory
Following the win, Tominaga spoke with Angel Gray of ESPN on the floor. Did he know he needed that final shot in the second round to win?
“Yeah, I knew that. I kinda knew that, but I just tried my best to make my last shot,” Tominaga said.
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Why is he such a special player? “I think the joy that I bring to basketball,” the Japanese sharpshooter said. He also won the Sketchers Battle of Champions, defeating Sara Scalia 20-16. For his efforts, Tominaga won two gold chains on Thursday night.
There’s a reason people have called him the Japanese Steph Curry over the years. In the 2023-2024 season, he earned second team All-Big Ten honors, averaging 15.1 points per game in 32 games.
He also led the Cornhuskers in three-pointers (76), while shooting 38 percent from long range. Tominaga guided Nebraska to their first NCAA Tournament berth since the 2013-2014 season. While the team lost to Texas A&M in the first round, the Japanese star still torched the nets, dropping 23 points. He erupted for 30 points in an 85-70 Big Ten quarterfinal victory over Michigan, connecting on 62.5% of his three-pointers.
His best three-point percentage of his college career came in 2022-2023, when he drilled 66 of 165 shots (40.0% from deep). For his career, Tominaga finished with 37.4% from long range (178 of 476), cementing his legacy as one of the best three-point shooters in Big Ten and Nebraska basketball history.