Nebraska Set to Defend Home Court Against Missouri - Huskers.com - Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site

The Huskers look to grab their second conference victory of the season when they take on the Missouri Tigers on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The game will tip off at 7:08 p.m. and can be heard on the Pinnacle Sports Network and Huskers.com, with Randy Lee calling the action alongside color commentator Dave Campbell. The game will also be broadcast back to the state of Missouri on the Mizzou Sports Network.

Nebraska (9-9, 1-4 Big 12) enters its toughest stretch of the season this week. The Tigers, who were ranked in the top 15 for five weeks this season, will be the first of five nationally ranked opponents over the next six games. Also coming up on the slate are Kansas, Oklahoma State and Texas at home, as well as road contests at Missouri and previously ranked Texas Tech, over a three-week span. Nebraska has never played more than four straight games against nationally ranked teams.

NU will be ready to defend its home court against the Tigers. The Huskers are 7-2 at home this season and own a 27-12 record at the Devaney Center under coach Barry Collier. Since the BDSC opened in 1976, the Huskers hold a 315-96 record for a 76.6 home winning percentage. NU has recorded at least 10 home wins 21 times in the 26-year history of the Devaney Center.

Taking down the Tigers will not be easy unless the Huskers get untracked on offense. Despite its 1-4 opening mark in conference play, Nebraska has seen improvements on offense, especially from junior guard Nate Johnson. The Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year, Johnson leads the team in league play by averaging 15.8 points on 38.9 percent shooting from the floor. He is 13th in scoring in league-only games, while tying for 10th with 3.4 assists per game.

Johnson, who also leads NU in season scoring average at 13.6 points per game, is the only Husker to record double-figure points in each Big 12 contest this year, including 24 points in an overtime win against Colorado. He has hit four three-pointers in the past four games after hitting just two in the previous eight contests and his hitting at a 79.2-percent clip from the charity stripe in Big 12 play to rank 11th in the league standings.

Along with Johnson, sophomore guard Corey Simms has started to turn up the intensity on the offensive end in the past eight games. During that span, Simms has averaged 10.9 points per game while collecting double-figure points in five contests, and just missed double figures with eight points in each of the other three contests. Simms had just two double-figure scoring games in his first 38 career contests prior to the recent outburst.

Nebraska tinkered with the lineup against Iowa State Saturday, inserting junior Brian Conklin at forward while bringing junior Andrew Drevo off the bench. Despite not being in the starting lineup, Drevo was productive against the Cyclones, chipping in 11 points and three rebounds. Conklin added just three boards while missing his only shot from the floor, and opened the door for Drevo to return to the starting lineup.

Defensively, the Huskers are still holding opponents to just 38.9 percent shooting from the floor, but are looking to find the same efficiency that helped Nebraska rank in the national top 10 for field-goal percentage defense for much of the past three months. NU has held 12-of-18 opponents to under 45 percent shooting from the field this season, including six under 35 percent.

About the Missouri Tigers
Missouri enters the midweek matchup on shaky ground after dropping three of its last four contests. Prior to their recent woes, the Tigers reeled off 10 wins in their first 11 contests, dropping only an 85-70 setback against Illinois.

MU opened league play with a 77-69 win at Baylor but has dropped its two road contests in Big 12 action. Overall, the Tigers are 1-3 away from Columbia, Mo., this season, with their only win coming in a 78-72 victory over USC in the fourth game of the season.

The Tigers are led by junior transfer Ricky Clemons and junior center Arthur Johnson, who are each averaging 16.9 points per game. Junior forward Rickey Paulding gives MU a third prolific scorer as he is averaging 16.4 points per contest. Clemons leads the team with 4.7 assists per game while Johnson tops the squad in field-goal percentage (51.3), rebounds (9.8) and blocked shots (26). Paulding is third in rebounding (5.1) and steals (15).

Missouri is hitting 45.5 percent from the floor, including 38.7 percent from three-point range. The Tigers are averaging 7.7 treys per contest, but are allowing opponents to hit just 31.4 percent from outside the arc. MU has held a +4.8 advantage on the glass, outrebounding opponents by an average of 41.1-36.3.

In league play, the Tigers have hit just 40.8 percent from the field and 30.1 percent from three-point range. Johnson has averaged 20.3 points and 11.8 rebounds in the Tigers