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Category: College

No. 2 Kansas gets upset at home by No. 16 Arizona State

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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Bobby Hurley is no stranger to college basketball lore. So when his Arizona State team traveled to Allen Fieldhouse to face Kansas on Sunday, the former Duke star knew what they were in for.

“No one really wins here,” Hurley said. “You come in here, most of the time you’re not leaving real happy.”

Well, the Sun Devils sure did. Tra Holder scored 29 points on 8-for-16 shooting, and No. 16 Arizona State upset No. 2 Kansas 95-85 on Sunday to improve to 9-0.

Shannon Evans II had 22 points, and Remy Martin added 21 for the Sun Devils. Arizona State shot 50 percent from 3-point range and 50.8 percent overall to hand Kansas (7-2) its second straight loss. The Jayhawks fell to unranked Washington on Wednesday night.

“I didn’t really have to coach a whole lot tonight,” Hurley said. “These guys sitting with me here deserve all the credit.”

After a slow start that forced Hurley to use a timeout less than two minutes into the game, the Sun Devils found themselves down by as much as 13 before making their first field goal. The energy in Allen Fieldhouse was as high as has been all season, as Hurley expected.

Arizona State got back into it, though, trimming the deficit to just three points at halftime and eventually outscoring the Jayhawks 58-42 in the second half. To get over this initial hump, the Sun Devils had to take a breath and tune out the raucous environment.

“The game slowed down for us,” Holder said. “At first it was really rapid, the crowd got into it.”

For Kansas, the difference was defense — or the lack thereof.

“It wasn’t our offense,” coach Bill Self said. “Hey, if you score 85 at home, you’re supposed to win.”

Lagerald Vick led Kansas with 25 points, his fifth time with 20 or more this season. Devonte’ Graham added 19 points and eight assists.

Svi Mykhailiuk had an off day, going 3 for 14 from the field and not registering any of his 14 points until he hit a 3-pointer with 6 minutes left. He had four turnovers and four fouls.

BIG PICTURE

Kansas lost consecutive games for the first time since December 2013. Self will need to diagnose what went wrong in a hurry, with the start of conference play just three games away.

Arizona State picked up another marquee victory after knocking off No. 15 Xavier in late November. The Sun Devils are 9-0 for the first time since 1974-75 and look to be one of the top teams in the Pac-12.

FANTASTIC FRESHMAN

Martin finished with 21 points on a 8-11 shooting and a perfect 2-for-2 from 3-point range. A true freshman, he didn’t seem to be intimidated by the Allen Fieldhouse crowd despite it being just his ninth career game.

“It was a tremendous thing for me to witness and be a part of,” Hurley said.

NEWMAN HURT

Kansas starting guard Malik Newman took a knee to the head late in the game, sending him to the floor for a couple minutes as he was evaluated by medical staff.

After the game, Self said that he was told Newman suffered a concussion, but that he didn’t know the severity or much of a concrete timetable for his recovery.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Kansas will tumble after the two losses. With another impressive win, Arizona State should continue its rise toward the top of the poll.

UP NEXT

Kansas heads north to face former Big 12 rival Nebraska on Saturday.

Arizona State hosts Vanderbilt next Sunday.

— Associated Press —

Cunningham scores 35 as No. 17 Mizzou women top SIU-Edwardsville

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COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Sophie Cunningham had a career-high seven 3-pointers and a season-high 35 points and No. 17 Missouri rolled to a 78-48 win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Sunday for the Tigers’ ninth-straight win.

Cunningham was 11-of-16 shooting with all five of her misses coming behind the arc to reach 30 points for the fifth time in her career.

Cunningham had 11 in the first quarter as the Tigers (9-1) opened a 19-9 lead and 18 at the break when the lead was 37-28.

Missouri made 10 of 14 shots, including 6 of 8 behind the arc, to break the game open, outscoring the Cougars (3-5) 28-14. Cunningham had three 3s to help the Tigers to a season-high 15 on 31 attempts. Jordan Chavis, Jordan Roundtree and Cunningham scored from distance to cap a 13-0 run that made it 59-34.

Gwen Adams led the Cougars, who shot 26 percent (16 of 62), with 12 points.

— Associated Press —

Northwest Missouri State women lose big at No. 10 Central Missouri

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The Northwest Missouri State University women’s basketball team fell to Central Missouri, 77-40, on Saturday at the UCM Multipurpose Center in Warrensburg, Mo.

The Bearcats fall to 1-9 overall and 0-4 in MIAA play. The No. 10 ranked Jennies improve to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in conference action.

Key Northwest Statistics
– The Bearcats blocked four shots and came away with three steals.

– Northwest hit eight three pointers on the day.

– In the fourth quarter, the Bearcats outscored the Jennies, 16-14.

– Mallory McAndrews hit three times from beyond the arc and finished with nine points, two rebounds and one assist.

– Tanya Meyer tied with Maria Dentlinger with a team-high six rebounds. Meyer added nine points and a steal.

– Jaelyn Haggard had seven points and a pair of assists.

Up Next
– Northwest will take on Quincy University on Saturday, Dec. 16, in Quincy, Ill., at 5:30 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

Missouri State’s win streak ends with loss at Oral Roberts

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TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Emmanuel Nzekwesi scored 17 points, Javan White added 14, and Oral Roberts rallied to beat Missouri State 73-66 on Sunday to end the Bears’ seven-game win streak and tie the series 8-8.

Sam Kearns scored 13 points and Chris Miller added 10 for the Golden Eagles (3-9), who outshot the Bears 53.1 percent to 45.6 percent from the floor but were outrebounded 35-26.

Miller tied it at 42 with a layup and White’s dunk put Oral Roberts up 53-49 and the Golden Eagles led 68-62 after Kearns’ back-to-back 3s with 4:07 to go.

The Bears closed to 70-66 on Reggie Scurry’s layup but Nzekwesi blocked his jumper on the next possession and Kearns and Nzekwesi sealed it with three free throws in the final 37 seconds.

RJ Fuqua hit two 3-pointers in Oral Roberts’ opening 9-2 run, but Scurry’s jumper put the Bears up 19-17 and Missouri State led 38-34 at halftime behind Jarrid Rhodes’ 12 points.

Rhodes scored 14 points, J.T. Miller had 13 and Scurry 11 for Missouri State (9-3). Jarred Dixon had seven assists.

— Associated Press —

KU women rally to edge Southeast Missouri State 51-50

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – Clutch free throw shooting pushed Kansas women’s basketball past Southeast Missouri State for a 51-50 victory on Sunday night inside Allen Fieldhouse.

After shooting just 26.7 percent in the third quarter, Kansas (8-1) had to battle back, relying on clutch free throw shooting in the final minutes in the victory. Senior guard Sydney Benoit was the final Jayhawk to shoot from the charity stripe. After making her one of her two attempts from the free throw line, Benoit gave Kansas a two-possession lead over the Redhawks (4-7) with just under six seconds to play.

Redshirt-sophomore center Tyler Johnson’s career night led the Jayhawks. The Leavenworth, Kansas native finished the night with 14 points (6-of-9) and five rebounds. Junior guards Christalah Lyons and Kylee Kopatich each netted eight points and dished out two assists for Kansas.

SEMO was led by senior guard Ashton Luttrull, who had a game-high 15 points and five rebounds. Senior forward Mandy Madden added eight points and eight rebounds in the Redhawks’ loss.

The Jayhawks tipped off their final game of a nine-game homestand with a layup from senior forward Chayla Cheadle. Southeast Missouri and Kansas battled back and forth throughout the first six and a half minutes until the Jayhawks knocked down four of their final five FGs of the quarter to go on a 10-4 run. Johnson regained an 8-7 KU lead with two-straight baskets after the Jayhawks had missed their last four field goals and SEMO had knocked down back-to-back buckets.

Lyons and Cheadle concluded Kansas’ 8-0 run with a jumper and a pair of free throws to take a five-point lead. The Redhawks kept the Jayhawks from extending their lead any further, splitting up junior center Chelsea Lott’s layup with a layup and jumper to stay within three. Kansas led SEMO, 14-11, going into the second period.

Following a Lyons jumper in the opening minutes of the second period, SEMO scored five-straight points off of a 3-pointer and jumper from Luttrull to tie the game up at 16. Johnson and Kopatich each knocked down shots for the Jayhawks to regain a four-point Kansas lead.

The Redhawks tied the game back up at 20 with a free throw from McCurdy and a long-range bucket from senior guard/forward Kaley Leyhue, but Kansas responded with a basket from junior guard Brianna Osorio, ending the Jayhawks three-minute scoring drought. Junior guard Austin Richardson knocked down a basket to put Kansas up 24-20. Defensively, KU held SEMO to just one field goal in the final three minutes, going into the locker room up, 28-25.

Kansas was scoreless for nearly five minutes to start the half, while SEMO went on a 6-0 run to take a 3-point lead over the Jayhawks. Johnson ended the Redhawks run, connecting on her next two baskets to take back the KU lead, but Southeast Missouri went on an 8-0 run to take a 39-32 lead. Kansas and SEMO traded off the next three buckets, while Kopatich added a free throw that would put the Jayhawks within four going into the final 10 minutes of the game.

The Jayhawks ran out to a 6-0 start to begin the final 10 minutes of the game to regain the lead, 43-41. Senior forward Deja Jones knocked down the first basket for the Redhawks nearly four minutes into the game. Kansas and SEMO continued battling back and forth throughout the final minutes, but the Jayhawks’ clutch shooting from the charity stripe pushed KU past Southeast Missouri, 51-50.

UP NEXT
Kansas women’s basketball hits the road for the first time in the 2017-18 season, traveling to New York to tip off with St. John’s and Iona.

— KU Athletics —

Geist leads Missouri to 23-point win over Green Bay

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COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — When new Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin overhauled the roster in the offseason with a top-five recruiting class, it appeared from the outside that feisty but offensively challenged junior guard Jordan Geist could be an odd man out.

As it turned out, Geist was just Martin’s type. And in Saturday night’s 100-77 victory over Green Bay, he was an offensive machine.

Geist, a reserve guard who entered the game averaging 5.2 points, scored 28, exceeding his previous career high by 10. He made 11 of 14 shots from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range.

“He embraces challenges,” Martin said. “He’s battle-tested. He likes to compete. . He likes to wrestle out there now and then. I’d rather have that than not.”

Geist shot 29 percent from 3-point range last year. This year, he’s making 48 percent of his 3-pointers. He credits a summer of shooting for the improvement.

“That was one of my main focuses, just so people couldn’t just back off me,” Geist said. “I prided myself on that this summer.”

But 3-point shooting was only part of his big night. He regularly blew past his defenders and got to the rim. He even dunked — sort of, as the ball got a bit of the rim — on a breakaway after a steal.

Geist declared it was indeed a dunk.

“I’ll give it to him,” said teammate Jordan Barnett, who scored 19 points. “It’s arguable, but I’ll give it to him.”

Green Bay (3-5), led by the hot outside shooting of forward David Jesperson, hit five of its first seven shots and opened a 13-4 lead.

Missouri’s Kevin Puryear tied it at 21 with a driving layup with 11:30 left in the first half, and Barnett’s 3-pointer gave the Tigers a 29-21 lead a few minutes later. It only got worse for the Phoenix, who couldn’t stop penetration by Missouri’s guards. Missouri led 60-40 at halftime.

Turnovers have been a problem for the Tigers (8-2) early in the season — they averaged 15.3 through the first nine games — but they only had eight against Green Bay. Missouri’s Jeremiah Tilmon finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Jontay Porter added 12 points and eight rebounds. Walk-on Adam Wolf, a fan favorite, got the Tigers to the 100-point mark with a 3-pointer in the final minute.

Jesperson made 5 of 6 3-pointers and led the Phoenix with 17 points. Khalil Small added 12, Will Chevalier scored 11 and Hunter Crist finished with 10.

BIG PICTURE

Green Bay: Saturday’s game was a reunion for Phoenix coach Linc Darner. He was a teammate of Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin at Purdue from 1992-95. Darner scored 437 career points for the Boilermakers, while Martin racked up 1,666 career points.

Missouri: Coach Martin announced Friday that freshman C.J. Roberts plans to transfer. Roberts, 6-foot point guard from Irving, Texas, was expected to redshirt this season. The Tigers usually play three point guards, and none of them are seniors, so prospects for future playing time were cloudy. “We wish him nothing but the best, and we will assist him in any way possible,” Martin said.

FIERCE FRESHMAN

Tilmon, a 6-10, 252-pound freshman, has been a force inside except when foul trouble limits his minutes. Against Green Bay, he played physically but didn’t commit the silly fouls that have been a problem early in the year.

“He was what we needed him to be, unstoppable on the glass,” Barnett said. “He had seven offensive rebounds. That says a lot. He did his job. He’s getting better, especially at staying out of foul trouble. We need that from him.”

DOUBLE TECHNICAL

With less than nine minutes left in the game, some bumping between Green Bay’s Trevian Bell and Puryear on one end of the floor escalated into shoving on the other. Both players were assessed technical fouls. Puryear, who did not appear to be the instigator, was disqualified because he already had four personal fouls. He finished with just four points.

UP NEXT

Green Bay: The Phoenix will visit Indiana State (4-5) on Tuesday.

Missouri: The Tigers have the week off for final exams and return to court Saturday with a home game against North Florida (3-7).

— Associated Press —

Kansas State loses to Tulsa 61-54 in Wichita

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Tulsa coach Frank Haith sent precocious guard Elijah Joiner into Saturday night’s nip-and-tuck game against Kansas State with a few minutes left and a simple message to remember.

“I said, `Hey, you get an open look, you take it,” Haith recalled later, “so for a freshman, I guess that means if I’m in the arena, I’m taking the shot.”

He knocked it down with veteran poise.

The deep shot from right in front of his bench gave Tulsa the lead with just over three minutes to go, and the Golden Hurricane held on to beat the Wildcats 61-54 in a sloppy, defensive slugfest.

“I thought our guys played with great toughness,” said Haith, who is no stranger to the Wildcats from his days coaching Missouri in the Big 12. “I thought we made some tough shots down the stretch, and I thought everybody that played contributed.”

Junior Etou had 22 points and seven rebounds, and Martins Igbanu added 10 points, as the Golden Hurricane (5-4) overcame the loss of junior guard DaQuan Jeffries. Their third-leading scorer at nearly 12 points a game hurt his hand on the rim in practice and could miss the next two months.

The loss of their best athlete forced Haith to implement a series of zone defenses, including one he installed just this week. That befuddled the Wildcats (8-2), who missed all nine of their field-goal attempts over the final five-plus minutes and wound up 4 for 31 from beyond the 3-point arc.

“The first half we ran offense and got good corner shots and we just missed them,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “Those corner 3s were open, we didn’t make them, then I think the second half we panicked a bit and forced some action, got a little uncharacteristic.”

Xavier Sneed had two of the 3-pointers and finished with 15 points and eight boards for the Wildcats. Dean Wade had 13 points, Kamau Stokes had 11 and Barry Brown finished with 10.

“Just a bad shooting night,” said Stokes, who along with Brown combined to go 1 for 15 from the 3-point arc. “We just didn’t make the shots that we normally make.”

The Wildcats, who entered the game 13th nationally in scoring defense, forced Tulsa into as many turnovers (11) in the first half as made field goals. Etou had four of them as he struggled to deal with the pesky hands of the Wildcats’ perimeter players.

Still, the Golden Hurricane trailed just 30-27 at halftime, and they used an early flurry of points in the second half to pull ahead on Etou’s 3-pointer with 12:38 to go.

The game remained a nip-and-tuck affair down the stretch, neither team ever leading by more than six until the final seconds, when Tulsa was able to put things away.

“This was the very first game were we put everything together as a team, and that feels good,” the Golden Hurricane’s Martins Igbanu said. “Some games we were guarding the ball but we didn’t rebound well and some games we were missing assignments. We still missed assignments but we played through it.”

STRANGE DOMINANCE

Tulsa improved to 6-1 against the Wildcats in a series dating to 1932. The teams were playing the first game of a three-game series between schools that are within driving distance of each other.

BIG PICTURE

Tulsa won a defensive slugfest despite 15 turnovers, including eight from Etou. A big reason was the Golden Hurricane’s perimeter defense and work on the boards, where they out-rebounded the Wildcats 40-30 despite giving up several inches in the paint.

Kansas State was trying to match its best start under Weber, but instead watched a 23-game non-conference home win streak come to an end. The Wildcats considered the game at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita a home game even though it was a 2-hour drive from their campus in Manhattan.

UP NEXT

Tulsa begins a two-game homestand against Prairie View A&M on Thursday night.

Kansas State gets a week off before facing Southeast Missouri State next Saturday.

— Associated Press —

Nebraska loses to Creighton for a seventh straight time

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Creighton’s Marcus Foster wasn’t much of a factor early against Nebraska. He sure was at the end.

Foster scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, and Creighton beat Nebraska 75-65 Saturday for its seventh straight win over the Cornhuskers and coach Greg McDermott’s sixth in a row over Nebraska’s Tim Miles.

“Just couldn’t get a rhythm the first half,” Foster said. “Something Coach Mac has told me over and over: `Be calm and be patient, and everything is going to go your way.’ ”

Foster was held to 1-of-5 shooting in the first half and was just 4 for 11 with 4 minutes to play. He scored 10 of Creighton’s last 18 points to hold off the Huskers.

Foster’s strong finish began when he made a nifty move on the baseline for a layup. After Isaiah Roby blocked his shot, Foster picked up the ball and scored. Then, after Nebraska came out of a timeout in a 1-3-1 zone for the first time, Foster buried a deep 3-pointer for a 69-63 lead with 43 seconds left.

Mitch Ballock had 11 of his 13 points in the second half, Ronnie Harrell Jr. finished with 12 and Khyri Thomas added 11 for Creighton.

“This is a really good win for us and I think later in the season we’ll see how good a win it is for us,” McDermott said. “I’ve said this week that I feel like this is Tim’s most complete team. They’re very disruptive defensively with their length and their size in particular.”

Isaac Copeland had a double-double with 20 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for Nebraska (7-4). The Huskers got 16 points from James Palmer Jr., and 10 from Roby. Glynn Watson had eight points and five assists before fouling out with 2:50 left.

“First of all you have to credit Creighton,” Miles said. “Their second half was outstanding. They got downhill on offense and Ballock got us early. If we’re going to beat a really good team on the road, we have to have seven or eight guys be stars in their roles.”

The Bluejays, fueled by a sellout crowd of 17,901 that was on its feet much of the second half, shot 59 percent after halftime.

They struggled in the first half, missing 5 of 7 free throws after getting in the bonus less than 8 minutes into the game, committing seven turnovers in a five-minute stretch and missing 11 of 13 3-pointers.

Still, they trailed just 33-28 at half thanks to Nebraska’s 39-percent shooting and inability to pull away when it had chances.

“Honestly,” McDermott said, “I felt fortunate to be down five with 10 turnovers and as bad as we shot free throws.”

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: The Huskers were coming off an upset of No. 14 Minnesota and clearly have closed the gap against Creighton. A big reason is Copeland. The Georgetown transfer’s length and athleticism bothered the Bluejays.

Creighton: The Bluejays took the all-time series lead, 26-25, against their in-state rival. The seven straight wins over Nebraska mark their longest streak in the series. Creighton has won 11 straight regular-season home games against the Huskers.

MCDERMOTT’S DOMINANCE

McDermott is now 14-0 all-time against Miles. The two longtime friends have squared off with different teams over the last 20 years, going back to when McDermott was at Wayne State (Nebraska) and Miles was at Southwest Minnesota State.

Miles joked before the game about the certainties of his life: “Death, taxes and Miles loses to McDermott.”

After the game, McDermott said, “Tim and I have been friends a long time, and I pull for his team when they’re not playing us.”

KEY NUMBERS

Creighton’s Martin Krampelj had his second straight double-double, with 10 points and 11 rebounds. … The Bluejays trailed at halftime for the first time this season. … Copeland’s double-double was his first for Nebraska and second of his career. … The Huskers’ Palmer has been in double figures in 10 of 11 games. … Nebraska got to the foul line a season-low three times.

UP NEXT

Nebraska hosts No. 2 Kansas on Saturday.

Creighton hosts Maryland-Eastern Shore on Friday.

— Associated Press —

Mizzou names Ryan Walters defensive coordiantor

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Head Football Coach Barry Odom has promoted Assistant Coach Ryan Walters to the position of defensive coordinator, as announced today. Walters is in his third year with the Mizzou defensive staff, and he’s spent the past two seasons as co-defensive coordinator for the Tigers. In 2017, Walters assumed control of the entire secondary, after focusing on the safeties in his first two years with the program.

Walters oversaw a secondary that developed nicely during the stretch run of the 2017 season, as his group played a key role in Mizzou’s defensive resurgence that helped lead to its current six-game winning streak heading into the Dec. 27 Academy Sports + Outdoor Texas Bowl against Texas.

Eight of Mizzou’s 12 interceptions gained in 2017 came during the final five games of the year, with six of those going to Walters’ secondary. Senior safety Anthony Sherrils had a pair of pick-offs during that stretch, as did true freshman corner Adam Sparks, who emerged late in the year as a solid contributor despite his youth.

“I’m really excited for Ryan and the stability that he will bring to our program, he’s been a tremendous leader and mentor for our players,” said Odom. “He’s one of the best recruiters I’ve been around and his football IQ is top of the line. He’s been a great addition to our staff, we’ve been able to work together now for some time, and he’s had an opportunity every year to go somewhere. He’s a loyal guy who loves Mizzou, he cares about our student-athletes and he cares about having a great defense. He’s done a great job down the stretch here helping us get better every day on that side of the ball,” Odom said.

“This is definitely very humbling, I’m excited and grateful for the opportunity,” said Walters. “Any time you get a chance to work for a great man in Coach Odom and a great school like the University of Missouri, it’s very exciting. I’m looking forward to working with our staff; it’s been a collective effort from the beginning. We’ve got great chemistry in that room, and I’m looking forward to continue building relationships and getting our student-athletes to succeed on and off the field. I’m excited for the future and can’t wait to get to the bowl game and do everything we can to end this season the right way,” he said.

Walters came to MU from Memphis along with Odom in February of 2015 when Odom took over as Mizzou’s defensive coordinator, and he was retained when Odom was named head coach in December of that year.

Walters was a key factor in Mizzou’s 2015 defense that finished in the top 10 nationally in total defense, scoring defense and pass defense. He came to Mizzou after spending the 2014 season as cornerbacks coach at Memphis, where he worked with Odom. At Memphis, the pair oversaw a defense that was among the most improved in the nation. Memphis went 10-3 in 2014, thanks in large part to its defense that ranked fifth nationally in points allowed (17.1 avg.) and 22nd in total defense (343.3 avg.) in the regular season.

Walters, a Los Angeles, Calif., native, played collegiately at Colorado, where he was a standout safety for the Buffaloes (2004-08). He began his coaching career as a student assistant at Colorado working with the secondary in 2009, and then spent two years on staff at Arizona, where he was a graduate assistant in 2010, before being promoted to defensive backs coach for the 2011 season.

From there, Walters moved to the Oklahoma staff as a graduate assistant cornerbacks coach in 2012, as the Sooners went 10-3 and played in the 2013 Cotton Bowl. He moved to North Texas for the 2013 season, where he coached corners and helped lead UNT to a 9-4 record in its first year in Conference USA and a win in the 2013 Heart of Dallas Bowl. The Mean Green defense that season ranked fourth nationally in turnovers gained (34), eighth in points allowed (17.8 ppg), 13th in interceptions (18) and 17th in total defense (348.3 ypg).

As a player, Walters had a standout career at Colorado as a safety. He started in 33 games and played in 46 contests for the Buffaloes. He earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors from the Associated Press and first-team All-Colorado honors from the state’s National Football Foundation his senior year.

A team captain for the Buffaloes in 2008, Walters was also picked by his teammates as the team’s MVP. He had 87 tackles, two sacks, seven pass deflections, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions his senior year. His 20 career passes defended rate No. 15 in Colorado history and his 223 career tackles were No. 45 all-time.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Nebraska’s Frost adds three more to coaching staff

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Nebraska Head Coach Scott Frost has announced the addition of three coaches to his Husker staff. Troy Walters and Sean Beckton were added to the Nebraska offensive staff after serving on Frost’s UCF staff the past two seasons, and Zach Duval will lead the Husker football strength and conditioning program.

The addition of Walters and Beckton ensures that Frost will keep his full-time UCF on-field coaching staff intact at Nebraska. The group has been a part of orchestrating one of the biggest turnarounds in college football history. UCF went from a winless season in 2015 before the staff’s arrival to a 12-0 season, American Athletic Conference Championship and berth in the Peach Bowl just two seasons later.

Walters was a finalist for the 2017 Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach. He will serve as Nebraska’s offensive coordinator and receivers coach after holding the same positions at UCF the past two seasons, while Beckton will coach Nebraska’s tight ends.

At UCF, Walters and Beckton helped the Knights lead the nation in scoring offense at 49.4 points per game. UCF scored at least 30 points in all 12 games in 2017 and ranks fifth nationally in total offense at better than 540 yards per game.

A Nebraska graduate, Duval will serve as the Head Football Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Huskers. Duval’s sports performance program at UCF has helped trigger the Knights’ on-field turnaround the past two seasons. Duval began his strength and conditioning career at Nebraska in 1994 and worked in various role with the Husker Power program for nearly a decade.

Walters, Beckton and Duval have two-year contacts which run through Dec. 31, 2019.

Brief Bios
Troy Walters—Walters brings an impressive resume as a coach and player to Nebraska. A finalist for the Broyles Award in 2017, Walters coordinated the nation’s most explosive offense at UCF. The Knights averaged nearly 50 points per game and better than 540 yards of total offense. His top receiver Tre’Quan Smith was an all-AAC pick in 2017 and totaled 1,082 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns, while averaging 20.0 yards per catch. In his two seasons as UCF offensive coordinator the Knights increased their scoring production by more than 35 points per game and their total offense output by more than 270 yards per game. Walters also had coaching stops at Indiana State, Texas A&M, North Carolina State and Colorado, before his time at UCF. As a player, Walters was a consensus All-American and Biletnikoff winner at Stanford in 1999, and holds the Pac-12 record for career receiving yards. He went to play in the National Football League for eight seasons, totaling 98 catches for 1,135 yards, while accumulating nearly 4,000 yards in returns in pro football.

Sean Beckton—A veteran coach, Beckton has 22 years of total coaching experience, all in the state of Florida. Beckton has 19 years of collegiate coaching experience all at UCF, including the past two seasons as tight ends coach/recruiting coordinator on Frost’s staff. UCF tight end Jordan Akins was a first-team All-AAC pick in 2017 and Beckton’s tight ends averaged better than 16 yards per reception this season. Beckton had two stints as UCF’s receivers coach, highlighted by coaching six-time NFL Pro Bowler Brandon Marshall. He also coached one season with the Orlando Predators (AFL) and three seasons of high school football in Florida. As player, Beckton ended his career with UCF records of 196 catches and 2,493 yards.

Zach Duval—Duval is a veteran in the strength and conditioning profession and a Nebraska graduate. Duval has been the Director of Sports Performance for football at UCF the past two seasons, assisting in one of the biggest turnarounds in college football history. Duval has more than 20 years of experience in the sports performance world, beginning as part of the Nebraska strength and conditioning staff from 1994 to 2002. While at Nebraska he was part of national championship teams in 1994, 1995 and 1997. Duval returned to Nebraska for one year in 2008, and also has worked at Creighton, Buffalo and Wyoming.

— NU Athletics —

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