The 2019–20 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cornhuskers were led by first-year coach head coach Fred Hoiberg and play their home games at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 7–25, 2–18 in Big Ten play to finish in last place. They lost to Indiana in the first round of the Big Ten tournament which was subsequently canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the final game of the season against Indiana, Fred Hoiberg appeared ill during the game, left the game in the second half, and was taken to the hospital. He was tested for COVID-19 due to the ongoing pandemic, but he was diagnosed with influenza. As a result of Hoiberg's sickness, the team was quarantined in the locker room following the Indiana game for a short period of time.
Previous season The Cornhuskers finished the 2017–18 season 19–17, 6–14 in Big Ten play to finish second-to-last. As the No. 13 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they made a run but lost in the quarterfinals to Wisconsin. Despite winning 13 Big Ten games, the Cornhuskers received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament. They won in the first round of the NIT to Mississippi State but lost in the second round to TCU.
Following the season, head coach Tim Miles was fired, after having led the team after seven seasons. Four days later, the school hired former Chicago Bulls' head coach Fred Hoiberg as the next head coach of the program.
Offseason Due to a change in coaching staff, Nebraska experienced a near-complete overhaul of its roster, retaining only two players from the previous season (only one of which had seen any playing time for Nebraska). The rebuilt team took an exhibition trip to Italy; a documentary on the trip was filmed by the Big Ten Network.
Departures Name No. Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown NotesJames Palmer Jr.0G6'6"207SRUpper Marlboro, MDGraduatedJohnny Trueblood4G6'3"194SROmaha, NEGraduated; walk-on.Glynn Watson Jr.5G6'0"180SRBellwood, ILGraduatedIsaac Copeland Jr.14F6'9"225SRRaleigh, NCGraduatedTanner Borchardt20F6'8"250SRGothenburg, NEGraduatedIsaiah Roby15F6'8"230JRDixon, ILDeclared for the 2019 NBA draft; selected 45th overall by the Detroit Pistons.Thomas Allen12G6'1"184SORaleigh, NCTransferred to NC State.Nana Akenten25G6'6"218SOBolingbrook, ILIndefinitely suspended prior to end of previous season. Transferred to Southeast Missouri State. Dedoch Chan2F6'8"210SO (incoming)Rochester, MNTransferred to Indian Hills CC, left team before start of 2018–19 season.Justin Costello33F6'1"200RS FRElkhorn, NETransferred to McCook CC; walk-on.Brady Heiman45F6'11"215FRSpringfield, NETransferred to South Dakota.Amir Harris1G6'4"205FRFrederick, MDTransferred to George Washington.Karrington Davis10G6'6"215FRSt. Louis, MOTransferred to Southern Illinois.
Incoming transfers Name No. Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school Haanif Cheatham 22 G 6 ft 5 in 195 lb Senior (graduate transfer) Fort Lauderdale, FL Florida Gulf Coast Matej Kavaš 25 G 6 ft 8 in 200 lb Senior (graduate transfer) Ljubljana, Slovenia Seattle Shamiel Stevenson 4 F 6 ft 6 in 245 lb Junior Toronto, ON, Canada Nevada Derrick Walker 13 F 6 ft 8 in 236 lb Junior Kansas City, MO Tennessee Dalano Banton 45 G 6 ft 8 in 185 lb Sophomore Toronto, ON, Canada Western Kentucky
Other arrivals Noah Vedral and Brant Banks, two members of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team joined the team as emergency back-ups prior to the 2020 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament due to depth issues.
Recruiting classes
2019 recruiting class
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style=|Foreign exhibition tour
!colspan=9 style=|Exhibition
!colspan=9 style=|Regular season
!colspan=9 style=|Big Ten tournament
Schedule source:
References