Boise State and Nebraska square off on Saturday to advance to the championship game of the inaugural College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas.
The Broncos (26-10) defeated Butler 100-93 on Wednesday, advancing to the semifinals with the help of Tyson Degenhart. He scored 21 points and became the first player in program history to reach 2,000 in his career.
“He did it in legit four years,” said teammate Alvaro Cardenas. “People are breaking records now, but he’s so humble and unselfish.”
Boise State is assured of making at least $50,000 for reaching the semifinals. Those dollars will be allocated to the players as NIL money.
“Once you’re in the game, that’s not what you’re thinking about. You’re just playing basketball,” Cardenas said. “And I think we are all super-competitive guys. So the only thing we’re thinking about is winning. In my mind, I’m not thinking, âOh, I’m gonna get a share of $50,000.’ But I’ll take it.”
The Cornhuskers (19-14) defeated Georgetown 81-69 to move on to the semifinal round behind Brice Williams’ 28 points.
For the first-team all-Big Ten senior guard, it marked his 19th game of 20 or more points this season. He ranks third all-time for most points in a season (678) at the school.
Nebraska ended the regular season on a low note, dropping five in a row. The Cornhusker now have won two in a row and hope to keep the momentum going.
“It is important to get a couple of wins here at the end of the season with the way things finished for us,” said Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg. “We want this group to feel good about this experience. It was really hard and very difficult for all of us. We hope they have a good taste when they walk out of here at the end.”
Winners of two straight, Boise State scored 100 points for the second time this season in its win on Wednesday and averages 76 points per game. Nebraska, in turn, averages 75.9 points per contest.
