Huskers Return to Devaney Center to Face Colorado

Lincoln -- After opening the Big 12 slate last weekend on the road, the Nebraska men's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of the Bob Devaney Sports Center for its first home league game of 2004 when it takes on Colorado on Wednesday, Jan. 14. The Huskers and Buffaloes will tip off at 7:05 p.m., and the game will be carried live on the Pinnacle Sports Network and Huskers.com. Randy Lee calls the action and Matt Davison adds color analysis.

Nebraska looks to get back to its winning ways against the Buffaloes. The Huskers, who enter the contest with an 11-game home winning steak dating to last season, return to Lincoln after dropping just their second game of the season in an 89-74 loss at Iowa State on Saturday. NU will try to respond to the recent loss the same way it did following its first defeat, which was playing solid defense and defending its home court while reeling off five straight victories. It was the second five-game winning streak of the season for the Huskers.

Defending its home court has been a consistent theme for Nebraska during Coach Barry Collier's four years in Lincoln. NU is a solid 38-16 at the Devaney Center under Collier, including 13-11 in league play. NU is 11-3 at home against non-ranked league teams in that span.

One more home win will give the Huskers 10 victories this season at the Devaney Center, which would mark the second time in three seasons NU recorded double-figure wins at home. NU was 12-4 at home in 2001-02.

Following Wednesday's contest against the Buffaloes, Nebraska will hit the road again as it heads south to take on the Texas Longhorns in Austin on Saturday, Jan. 17. Airtime for the game, which can be seen on ESPN+ (Channel 10/11, Lincoln; Cox2, Omaha; KIIT, North Platte), will be 12:30 p.m.

About the Huskers
The Huskers continue play in the strong Big 12 Conference after suffering their second loss of the season last Saturday at Iowa State. NU dropped its eighth straight Big 12 opener, with all eight on the road.

Nebraska will try to get back on the winning track behind its defense and an improved offensive attack. Despite allowing the Cyclones to set an opponent season high with 89 points, the Huskers are still among the national leaders in scoring defense, allowing just 56.1 points per game on the season. The total is the best in the league, more than two points better than Oklahoma (58.7) has allowed.

Opponents have been on the short end of the scoring column as a result of NU's solid defensive effort. Nebraska has allowed opponents to hit just 36.1 percent from the field and 27.2 percent from three-point range. Both totals lead the league.

That fierce defensive pressure has helped NU to a 10-2 mark, its best record through 12 games since opening the 1994-95 season with an 11-1 mark. An NU win Wednesday would tie the 1994-95 Huskers' record through 13 games at 11-2, and would also equal last season's win total. Nebraska finished last year with an 11-19 record.

The Huskers will not only rely on their defensive pressure, but on an offensive game plan that has helped NU average 73.0 points per game while hitting 49.1 percent from the floor and 38.9 percent from three-point range. The last time NU averaged at least 73.0 points for a whole season came in 1995-96, when the Huskers recorded 80.2 points per game. Nebraska's efficiency at the free throw line has also helped in the scoring column, as NU is third in the league at the charity stripe by hitting a much-improved 71.4 percent. Last season, NU hit just 65.3 percent from the foul line.

Who's Hot?
The Huskers have played with a team-first attitude all year, and that has shown through the box scores. Nebraska has just two players averaging double figures, although seven are scoring at least five points per game. Four of those seven players are hitting at least 50.0 percent from the floor, with two others hitting at least 47.0 percent.

*- Senior guard Nate Johnson has been one of the hottest players in the league the past two weeks, as he has averaged 19.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the past four games. Johnson has hit 65.0 percent (26-of-40) from the field in that stretch, including an amazing 80.0 percent (8-of-10) from three-point range. His eight treys came in consecutive fashion over the first three games before going 0-for-2 from downtown against Iowa State. Johnson has also hit 89.5 percent at the charity stripe, converting 17-of-19 attempts, both team highs.

On the season, Johnson leads the team with 13.2 points per game, nearly the same average (13.1 ppg) he finished with through 30 games last season. He also leads the team in field-goal percentage (58.5), three-point field-goal percentage (56.5) and free throw percentage (87.8) while adding 3.5 rebounds in just 22.9 minutes per game off the bench. He is the only player to currently rank among the league's top 10 in field-goal (7th), three-point field-goal (2nd) and free-throw (2nd) percentage.

*-  Junior guard Jake Muhleisen broke out of a offensive slump with a season-high 16 points against Iowa State. The Lincoln native had scored just eight points in the previous two games combined. Muhleisen finished the contest against the Cyclones hitting 6-of-12 attempts from the floor including a season-best four three-pointers on seven attempts. The four treys were the second highest by a Husker in a single game this season, while his three-point field goal percentage improved to 41.2 percent on the season, which ranks 11th in the Big 12.

A two-year captain and the team's inspirational leader, Muhleisen is averaging 9.1 points to rank fourth on the squad while shooting a career-best 50.6 percent from the floor. He is second on the team in free throw percentage by hitting at an 81.3-percent clip (13-of-16) and adds 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. Muhleisen, who has played more on the wing and at shooting guard this year after spending his first two seasons at the point, also ranks third on the team with 21 assists (1.8 apg).

*-  Freshman Charles Richardson Jr. is only averaging 2.8 points per contest but has brought an added intensity on defense while efficiently running the offense from his point guard position. A native of Maywood, Ill., Richardson leads the squad with 38 assists (3.2 apg) and is on pace to finish in the top three on the NU freshman single-season assists chart.

He has recorded 12 assists with no turnovers in the past three games, and ranks eighth in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.11-to-1).

Scouting the Buffaloes
The Colorado Buffaloes enter Wednesday's matchup with the Huskers on a two-game winning streak after running past Savannah State, 89-57, on Jan. 8, and dismantling Northern Colorado, 78-48, on Jan. 10. CU is 8-4 overall, but is 3-3 in its last six games. The three wins have come by an average of 29 points at home.

This week's contest will mark CU's first time away from Boulder in more than a month. The Buffs' last road trip came on Dec. 10, when Colorado earned an 84-78 victory at in-state foe Colorado State. During the six-game homestand, the Buffs dropped three straight contests to Utah, 77-57, Richmond, 75-62, and its Big 12 opener last week against Kansas, 77-62.

Colorado has averaged 73.2 points per game this season to rank ninth in the Big 12 standings, just ahead of Nebraska. On the road, where CU owns a 3-1 record this season, the Buffaloes are gaining 75.3 points per game while allowing 72.5.

Overall, the Buffs are hitting 46.2 percent from the floor led by junior center David Harrison's 62.2 percent shooting. Harrison ranks among the top five in the league in field-goal percentage (2nd), scoring (17.5 ppg, 3rd), rebounding (9.1 rpg, 2nd) and blocked shots (3.0 bpg, 2nd). Harrison's scoring average would be even higher if his free throw shooting was improved, as he is hitting just 55.4 percent from the line. Harrison has taken 112 of the Buffaloes' 301 free throw attempts this season.

Colorado has pair of double-figure scorers to compliment Harrison, as guards Michel Morandais and Blair Wilson are averaging 15.0 and 11.8 points per game, respectively. Morandais has hit 42.6 percent from the floor and a team-high 80.4 percent from the free throw line while leading the team with 3.0 assists per game. Wilson is the Buffs' main threat from three-point range, as he leads the team with 27 treys on 35.1 percent shooting from behind the arc. As a team, Colorado is hitting just 31.1 percent from three-point range.

Following its big three, Colorado has four players averaging between 5.9 and 5.5 points per game, including starters Lamar Harris (5.9 ppg) and Jayson Obazuaye (5.9 ppg). Harris is second on the squad in shooting, hitting 56.4 percent from the floor.

Colorado is coached by Ricardo Patton (Belmont, 1980), who is in his eighth season at Colorado and eighth season as a head coach. Patton owns a 133-107 career record with the Buffaloes.

Series History
Nebraska leads the tightly contested series that started in 1902-03 by a 69-63 mark, including a 45-13 advantage in Lincoln. NU's winning percentage against Colorado is even better in the Bob Devaney Sports Center, as the Huskers own a 23-5 mark at home over CU since the building opened in 1976-77.

The Buffs, who are Nebraska's second-oldest conference rival, have won just once in the past eight meetings in Lincoln (2000-01). That season, each team won on the road. Overall, the teams have split the season series in eight of the past 10 seasons, with NU taking both meetings in 1997-98 and 1998-99.

The last four contests in Lincoln have gone down to the wire with last season's game reaching overtime. NU owns a 3-1 record in that stretch with the three victories coming by a combined 15 points. Colorado's victory in 2001 was by just three points, 60-57.

Last year, the Huskers rallied late in the second half and saw Colorado's attempt at a win in the final seconds fall short before the Huskers took control in the extra session. NU hit 6-of-11 from the free throw line and 3-of-6 from the field for an 80-77 overtime win.

Guard Nate Johnson played a pivotal role in the win, as he scored 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting with six rebounds and three assists in a career-high 42 minutes. Fifteen of his points came after halftime, and his layup with less than eight seconds remaining in regulation forced the overtime.

Along with Johnson, forward Andrew Drevo added 18 points and eight rebounds while forward John Turek had 16 points and seven boards. The 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting marked Turek's second-highest offensive output of the conference season, trailing only the 17 points he recorded in the final home game of the year against Iowa State.