Entering the 2024 Diamond Classic Tournament, Nebraska Basketball was the favorite to win it. Considering who the opponents were, the Big Ten team needed to go 3-0 to avoid any kind of bad loss that would haunt them resume-wise.
The first two games went fairly easy for the Cornhuskers, beating Murray State and Hawaii by 14+ points. The opponent in the championship game was Oregon State, who proved to be tougher on paper. It was a two-point game at halftime before Nebraska went on a run in the final 20 minutes to get enough separation to hole onto the 78-66 victory for the Diamond Head Classic championship.
The game's star and overall event was Brice Williams, who scored 25 points and seven rebounds on just 9/13 shooting from the field. He’s averaging around 20 ppg on the season and is playing at a first-team All-Big Ten level to lead them to a 10-2 record.
The Cornhuskers did get some big performances besides Williams, including a season-high 16 points from forward Berke Buyuktuncel, making 3/4 from deep. It was the best game from the UCLA transfer, who has a bigger role on the season after losing Rienk Mast in the offseason to a knee injury.
In a game where starting center Braxton Meah went scoreless, it was important for Nebraska to get some production from Buyuktuncel, who averaged just over seven points a game entering the game. He also had only made 4/19 from deep, so this outing could be the spark needed to have him be a true stretch option going forward.
After a home game with Southern on Monday, Nebraska Basketball will enter Big Ten play with just losses to Saint Mary’s and Michigan State, along with wins over Creighton and Indiana, along with Oregon State from the Diamond Head Classic. It was an overall successful non-con campaign for the Cornhuskers, including an MTE title to go with it.