Wednesday Morning Sports – Nebraska Hoops Heads to Michigan, Hoiberg Freshman Comments, Loper Women’s Hoops Climbs Polls, LeBron Passes Kareem, Local Sports Scores and Schedules

NEBRASKA HOOPS HEADS TO MICHIGAN:

The Nebraska men’s basketball team returns to the road tonight, as the Huskers travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on the Michigan Wolverines. Tipoff at Crisler Center is slated for 5:30 p.m.

Nebraska (11-13, 4-9 Big Ten) comes into Wednesday’s game with some momentum following a 72-63 win over Penn State on Sunday. Keisei Tominaga led all scorers with a career-high 30 points, including five 3-pointers.

Michigan (13-10, 7-5 Big Ten) brings a two-game win streak into Wednesday’s matchup following a 77-69 win over Ohio State on Sunday.

The Big Ten race is jumbled behind league leader Purdue. Michigan enters the week in a six-team tie for third in the Big Ten standings, as just two games separate third from 11th place while Nebraska is just one game in the win column out of 10th place, heading into a stretch where four of the next six games are at home.

KGFW’s pregame coverage begins at 4:30 pm. 

HOIBERG – COMFORTABLE WITH YOUNG PLAYERS IN BIG ROLES:

Nebraska Basketball Head Coach Fred Hoiberg spoke to the media Tuesday afternoon and spoke about the impact his young freshman have had, especially after all three played significant time during the Penn State win…

Hoiberg added that he expects Sam Hoiberg, Jamarques Lawrence, and Denim Dawson to continue to see more playing time as the season continues.

LOPER WOMEN’S HOOPS CLIMB RANKINGS TO No. 11:

The Nebraska Kearney women’s basketball team is up to 11th in both NCAA Division II polls this week.

The Lopers (22-3, 15-2), riding a nine-game win streak, moved up eight spots in the Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) poll and one spot in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Top 25.

UNK has five regular season games remaining and they’ll face quite in the stretch in No. 10/15 Central Missouri (18-2), No. 21/– Missouri Southern (21-4), Pittsburg State (18-5), long-time rival Fort Hays State (18-7) and Lincoln (5-17)

The Lopers and UCM meet Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the Health & Sports Center; UNK is a half-game ahead of the Jennies (14-2) in the league standings.

RHULE – DEFINITELY A REBUILD:

Head Coach for Nebraska Football Matt Rhule joined KLIN in Lincoln and was asked how his first year at Nebraska compares to the other experiences he took over at Temple and Baylor… 

The Huskers led the nation in one-score losses over the past five years with 23, compared to 19 tied by Iowa State and North Carolina. Nebraska Football is currently in winter conditioning and will kick off the Red-White Spring Game on April 22. 

STORM ACQUIRE LANCER FORWARD IN TRADE:

The Tri-City Storm has acquired forward Alex Bump from the Omaha Lancers at the USA Hockey Trade and Drop Deadline. The Philadelphia Flyers draft pick is set to make his debut with the Storm this weekend.

Prior to yesterday’s trade deadline, the Tri-City Storm completed a transaction with the Omaha Lancers involving two players, seven draft picks, and future considerations. Tri-City has acquired forward Alex Bump and a 2023 Phase II 11th round draft pick from Omaha in exchange for forward Haden Kruse, a 2023 Phase II 2nd Round draft pick, a 2024 Phase II 2nd Round draft pick, a 2024 Phase I 4th Round draft pick, a 2023 Phase I 5th Round draft pick, a 2024 Phase II 5th Round draft pick, a 2023 Phase II 6th Round draft pick, and future considerations.

Alex Bump, 19, Forward, of Prior Lake, Minnesota, has netted nine goals and recorded seventeen assists in thirty-two games played this season for the Omaha Lancers. He was the team’s leading scorer prior to yesterday’s trade deadline.

ALLRED NAMED BIG TEN WRESTLER OF THE WEEK:

Nebraska’s Silas Allred (197) claimed his first Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honor of his career, when the conference announced its award winners on Tuesday afternoon.

The Anderson, Ind., native recorded two pins this past weekend. On Friday against #21 Illinois, he helped secure the Husker victory with a third-period pin over #10 Zac Braunagel. On Sunday, Allred faced Purdue’s Hayden Copass where he tallied his second pin of the weekend with the first-period fall.

Allred, who is currently the tenth ranked wrestler in the nation, has a 19-5 overall record and a 9-3 dual record this season.

LeBRON JAMES PASSES ABDUL-JABBAR FOR NBA POINTS LEADER:

It finally happened Tuesday night, the kid from Akron, Ohio, connecting on a stepback jumper to push his career total to 38,388 points and break the record that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held for nearly 39 years.

The game was stopped as members of James’ family, including his mother, his wife and their three children, took the floor for a ceremony recognizing the moment.

Abdul-Jabbar — a longtime Laker and one of many celebrities and sports stars who made sure they were there to see history — became the league’s all-time leading scorer on April 5, 1984 and wound up retiring in 1989 with 38,387 points. It was a record that some thought would last forever, with very few even coming close. Karl Malone retired 1,459 points behind Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant was 4,744 points shy, and Michael Jordan was 6,095 points away.

James passed them all, then caught Abdul-Jabbar, too. The 38-year-old — who finished with 38 points in the Lakers’ 133-130 loss — did it in his 20th season. Abdul-Jabbar also played 20 NBA seasons.

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

TUESDAY:

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Girls Basketball: @ Aurora
    • KCHS 42-24 Aurora
  • Boys Basketball: @ Aurora
    • Aurora 52-23 KCHS
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • Women’s Wrestling: v. Ottawa
    • HC 29-16 Ottawa
  • Women’s Wrestling: v. York
    • HC 43-5 York

WEDNESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • Women’s Swimming: @ RMAC Championships @ Grand Junction, CO
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • Women’s Tennis: @ UNK – 8 AM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Men’s Basketball @ Michigan (4:30 PM – 8:15 PM)

THURSDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Swimming & Diving: HAC Diving Championships @ Lincoln Southwest – 9:45 AM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Swimming & Diving: HAC Diving Championships @ Lincoln Southwest – 9:45 AM
• UNK:
  • Women’s Swimming: @ RMAC Championships @ Grand Junction, CO
  • Women’s Basketball: v. Central Missouri @ Health & Sports Center – 5:30 PM
  • Men’s Basketball: v. Central Missouri @ Health & Sports Center – 7:30 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • Men’s Basketball: v. Nebraska Wesleyan @ Lynn Farrell Arena – 7:30 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Sports Nightly (6 PM – 6:45 PM)
  • Nebraska Women’s Basketball v. Illinois (6:45 PM – 10 PM)

FRIDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Wrestling: DISTRICTS @ North Platte
  • Swimming & Diving: HAC Championships @ Fremont YMCA – 11 AM
  • Girls Basketball: @ Lincoln Southeast – 5:45 PM
    • KGFW Pregame at 5:30 PM
  • Boys Basketball: @ Lincoln Southeast – 7:30 PM
    • KGFW Pregame after KHS GBB
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Wrestling: DISTRICTS @ Mitchell
  • Swimming & Diving: HAC Championships @ Fremont YMCA – 11 AM
  • Girls Basketball: v. Lincoln Christian – 5 PM
  • Boys Basketball: v. Lincoln Christian – 7 PM
• UNK:
  • Women’s Swimming: @ RMAC Championships @ Grand Junction, CO
  • M/W T&F: @ Gorilla Classic @ Pittsburg, KS
  • Women’s Tennis: v. Colorado Mesa @ Ernest Grundy Tennis Center – 10 AM
  • M/W T&F: @ Ichabod Invitational @ Topeka, KS
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • M/W T&F: @ Concordia Indoor Invite – 10 AM
  • Men’s Tennis: v. Colorado Mesa @ Ernest Grundy Tennis Center – 4 PM
  • Women’s Tennis: v. Colorado Mesa @ Ernest Grundy Tennis Center – 4 PM
  • Women’s Basketball: @ Briar Cliff – 6 PM
  • Men’s Basketball: @ Briar Cliff – 7:45 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Kearney Girls Basketball @ Lincoln Southeast (5:30 PM – 7:30 PM)
  • Kearney Boys Basketball @ Lincoln Southeast (7:30 PM – 9:30 PM)

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Wrestling: DISTRICTS @ North Platte – 8 AM
  • Swimming & Diving: HAC Championships @ Fremont YMCA – 2 PM
  • Girls Basketball: v. Columbus @ Kearney High School – 3:30 PM
    • KGFW Pregame at 3:15 PM
  • Boys Basketball: v. Columbus @ Kearney High School – 5:15 PM
    • KGFW Pregame after KHS GBB
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Wrestling: DISTRICTS @ Mitchell
  • Swimming & Diving: HAC Championships @ Fremont YMCA – 2 PM
• UNK:
  • Women’s Swimming: @ RMAC Championships @ Grand Junction, CO
  • M/W T&F: @ Ichabod Invitational @ Topeka, KS – 11:30 AM
  • M/W T&F: @ Gorilla Classic @ Pittsburg, KS
  • Women’s Basketball: v. Lincoln U. @ Health & Sports Center – 2 PM
  • Men’s Basketball: v. Lincoln U. @ Health & Sports Center – 4 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE: 
  • Men’s Tennis: v. Ottawa – 12 PM
  • Baseball: v. William Penn, IA @ Winfield, KS – 12 PM
  • Softball: @ Bethel, KS @ North Newton, KS – 1 PM
  • Women’s Tennis: v. Ottawa – 1 PM
  • Women’s Basketball: @ Morningside – 2 PM
  • Softball: @ Bethel, KS @ North Newton, KS – 3 PM
  • Baseball: v. William Penn, IA @ Winfield, KS – 3 PM
  • Men’s Basketball: @ Morningside – 3:45 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Kearney Girls Basketball v. Columbus (3:15 PM – 5:15 PM)
  • Kearney Boys Basketball v. Columbus (5:15 PM – 7:15 PM)

SUNDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • Women’s Tennis: v. Augustana @ Ernest Grundy Tennis Center – 9:30 AM
  • Softball: @ Colorado Springs – 1 PM
  • Women’s Tennis: v. Cowley, KS College @ Ernest Grundy Tennis Center – 2 PM
  • Wrestling: @ Central Oklahoma – 2 PM
  • Softball: @ Colorado Springs – 3 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • Women’s Wrestling: @ Warrior Open @ Fremont – 9 AM
  • Men’s Bowling: @ Baker Invitational @ Lawrence, KS – 10 AM
  • Women’s Bowling: @ Baker Invitational @ Lawrence, KS – 10 AM
  • Baseball: v. Southwestern @ Winfield, KS – 12 PM
  • Baseball: v. Southwestern @ Winfield, KS – 3 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Women’s Basketball @ Michigan (12 PM – 3 PM)