"Glad I got to beat those guys twice": Nebraska's Juwan Gary relishes in defeating Creighton back-to-back

Juwan Gary and the Nebraska Cornhuskers defeated the Creighton Bluejays 74-63 on Friday. Gary finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, on 6 of 13 shooting. After the game, the forward summed up his thoughts to 10/11 News’ Chase Matteson.

“I’m glad I got to beat those guys twice,” Gary said. “These games are always fun, playing a rival team, for sure. I told the new guys to go out there and enjoy it.”

This is the second time Juwan Gary has led Nebraska to a victory over Creighton. On Dec. 4, 2022, the Cornhuskers won 63-53 and Gary had 12 points and nine rebounds, on 5 of 5 shooting.

Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg talked about the pivotal role Gary played in the victory.

“Juwan really stepped up and I thought emerged as the leader of the team this week,” Hoiberg said. “He was so good with his voice every day. We had a couple days of practice where I didn’t love the energy, but Juwan pulled the guys through.

"He’s the guy when he’s loud, when he’s out there showing emotion, the guys feed off of that. I thought we closed out with great urgency. I thought our rotations were crisp, unlike a year ago where they sprayed it all over the place. They killed us. You know, this was a really good team effort.”

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Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg shares big plans for the new season

For the first time in over a decade, Nebraska booked its berth in March Madness last season. Although they lost in the first round to Texas A&M, the 23-11 record was its second-best in history.

This season, Fred Hoiberg is ready for a deeper run.

“It’s such a different experience being on the big stage and all the coverage that you have,” Hoiberg said during the Big Ten Media Day. “Now we’ve got a bunch of guys that have been there.”

After the season ended, Nebraska lost Keisei Tominaga, Josiah Allick, C.J. Wilcher and Jamarques Lawrence to graduation and the portal. With the addition of new seniors from the transfer portal, Hoiberg is ready for more.

“We’ve talked a lot about this as a group: The challenge now is not only getting back there, but it’s winning in March,” Hoiberg said. “It’s taking this program to where it’s never been before.

“Our guys have been really good. I love the work ethic; I love the competitiveness. When you have a group of guys that play hard, you’re going to have a chance.”

The Cornhuskers are back in action on Wednesday when they face South Dakota.