Huskers top Valencia All-Stars 86-83 in second Spain exhibition
Despite the potential distraction caused by the news of Ahron Ulis’ involvement in a sports gambling probe, Nebraska improved to 2-0 during its team trip to Spain.
Led by a team-high 20 points and 11 rebounds from true freshman Eli Rice, the Huskers topped the Valencia All-Stars 86-83 at Alqueria del Baset in Valencia.
C.J. Wilcher scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half to give NU a 44-38 lead at the break. Nebraska then took a six-point advantage into the fourth quarter and held on down the stretch.
Brice Williams, who had a team-best 28 points in Monday’s overtime win over the Madrid All-Stars, scored 16 on Wednesday. Walk-on Cale Jacobsen shined again with 12 points.
Wilcher added eight rebounds with his 19 points. He has averaged 18.5 points and 8.0 boards over the two Spain contests.
The Huskers will head to Barcelona on Friday and wrap up their three-game schedule against the Cataluna All-Stars on Saturday. That will tip off at 11:30 a.m. CT/6:30 p.m. local time.
Hoiberg gives the latest on Ahron Ulis
As mentioned, much of Wednesday’s attention around Nebraska basketball focused on the situation regarding Ulis.
Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg addressed the issue on a Zoom call following the Huskers’ 86-83 win over the Valencia All-Stars on Wednesday.
Hoiberg said NU wasn’t aware of Ulis’ situation when he committed on May 1, but they did learn about a potential “eligibility issue” shortly after Ulis signed. The staff didn’t know of any potential legal charges until Wednesday.
Hoiberg said Nebraska has cooperated with its compliance department and the NCAA throughout the process. That will continue until a resolution is found.
“We have no idea when this will all be resolved,” Hoiberg said. “We’ll continue to cooperate as well as we can through this.”
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Ulis will continue to practice with the Huskers until more information surfaces. Nebraska will also keep looking for potential additions with its remaining open scholarship.
Around the rim
***Rice scored a team-high 20 points in the win, but Hoiberg was far more impressed with the freshman’s toughness. Rice added 11 rebounds, including six offensive boards.
“He made some unbelievable toughness and effort plays,” Hoiberg said.
***With Ulis out, Nebraska has had nine available players for its two games in Spain. That includes Juwan Gary, who is still on a pitch count coming off his shoulder surgery. Gary played 13 minutes vs. Valencia.
***Jacobsen continued to impress. He had 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including two key late baskets to keep the lead. Hoiberg said Jacobsen “understands every position on the floor” and has “an unbelievable basketball IQ.”
“He continues to make big plays for us, especially down the stretch.”
***Ramel Lloyd Jr. finished with four points, 11 rebounds, and four assists in Wednesday’s win. The redshirt freshman also tied for the team lead with four assists in Monday’s victory in Madrid.
***Valencia shot a whopping 56 3-pointers in the game, making 14 (25%). They made up for that by going 19-of-22 on free throws.
***Valencia racked up 22 offensive rebounds in an exhibition win over Drake on Tuesday. Nebraska ended up with a plus-10 rebounding advantage on Wednesday.
***The Huskers shot 8-of-24 from 3-point range and 12-of-21 at the free-throw line. Of their 56 total shot attempts, though, Hoiberg said the majority were at the rim. He liked the shot selection and distribution, but NU struggled to make shots (44% from the field).
