Two of Nebraska's newcomers, center Jack McVeigh and guard Andrew White, made their debuts Saturday and sparked the Cornhuskers to an easy 97-51 season-opening victory over Mississippi Valley State at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb.

White, a former Kansas recruit showed why he just might be the key to the Cornhuskers' hope this season. The 6-7 junior scored 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor, including 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. McVeigh came off the bench and went 4-for-4 from 3-point range as part of his 16-point night.

Senior forward Shavon Shields added 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting as the Cornhuskers (1-0) shot 54.4 percent from the field for the game and 45.5 percent from 3-point range.

Forward Damion Young led the Delta Devils (0-1) with 13 points.

Early turnovers and fouls doomed Mississippi Valley State. In the first 11 minutes, the Devils committed seven fouls and turned the ball over nine times.

White and Shields made the Delta Devils pay the price, scoring 13 of Nebraska's first 16, while MVS struggled to reach double figures.

That's when McVeigh, the freshman from Australia took over.

In a two-minute span midway in the first half, McVeigh scored 10 straight points for the Cornhuskers as they extended their lead to 31-13.

The Delta Devils had two droughts of five-plus minutes in the first half that allowed the Cornhuskers to open a 25-point lead.

Nebraska made 14-of-29 shots in the first half while Mississippi Valley connected on only 27 percent of its shots.

As dominant as they were in the first 20 minutes, the Cornhuskers played even better in the second half, outscoring the visitors 54-30.