Huskers Back on the Road to Face Missouri

Lincoln -- After getting back in the win column earlier this week, the Nebraska men's basketball team hits the road looking for back-to-back conference victories as it heads to Columbia, Mo., to take on the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, Jan. 24. The game will tip off at 5 p.m. at the Hearnes Center and can be heard on the Pinnacle Sports Network and Huskers.com with Randy Lee calling the action and Matt Davison adding color analysis. The contest will also be televised as part of the Tiger TV Network on Fox Sports Midwest, but can be seen only in the state of Missouri.

The Huskers and Tigers come into the game from different directions, as Nebraska has won six of the past nine games, while MU has picked up just three victories in the same span. Missouri entered the season ranked among the top five in the majority of the national polls.

NU looks to continue its momentum after picking up its first conference victory of the season on Wednesday against Baylor, 76-47. The Huskers now own an 11-4 mark overall and 1-3 record in conference action. The 11 wins already equal last season's win total, and their 10 home wins mark the 22nd time in the past 28 seasons the Huskers have had double-figure victories at the Devaney Center.

Nebraska, which already has one road victory in four tries this season after going winless on the road last year, needs to play one of its best games of the year to knock off the Tigers. Despite its 7-7 record (2-2 Big 12), Missouri has an explosive offense with five players averaging double figures, and is one of the top rebounding and shot blocking teams in the league.

Following the contest at Missouri, Nebraska returns home for a contest against nationally ranked Oklahoma on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 1. The game will tip off at Noon and can be seen on ESPN+.

About the Huskers
After playing eight of its first nine games in Lincoln, the Huskers hit the road for the fourth time in seven games when they travel to Columbia, Mo., to take on the Missouri Tigers on Saturday. Nebraska owns a 1-3 road record this season, although two of its three road losses have come by seven or fewer points, including a two-point loss at No. 18/16 Texas, 63-61, in its last trip away from the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Nebraska has played much better away from home this season, as it is averaging 66.5 points in four road contests while allowing just 68.8 points per game. The Huskers have hit 48.3 percent from the floor on the road while allowing opponents to hit just 42.5 percent. Behind the arc, the Huskers have been shooting the lights out, as NU is hitting 41.1 percent from three-point range on opponents' courts. Although it is only a small advantage, the Huskers also own a positive rebounding margin on the road, outrebouding opponents by an average of 32.2-31.8.

Nebraska will look continue its strong play this week after earning a 76-47 victory over Baylor on Wednesday. The Huskers hit 53.8 percent from the field for the game while holding the Bears to just 30.8 percent, the eighth time this season NU has held an opponent to less than 35.0 percent shooting. NU scored a season-high 50 points in the second period when it hit 66.7 percent from the floor, and tied a season high with 11 three-pointers in the game.

The Huskers have averaged 8.5 three-pointers per game in league play this season while hitting 48.6 percent from behind the arc. Overall, Nebraska has hit 42.2 percent from downtown this season, easily ahead of the school-record pace of 38.3 percent set in 2001.

Nebraska has been solid on the boards in 2003-04 as it ranks 20th in the nation in rebounding margin at +7.4. The Huskers have outrebounded 10 opponents in 15 games, grabbing a 9-1 record in those contests. NU has held an edge on the glass in two of four conference games this season after outrebounding just three foes in 16 league games last year.

Senior guard Nate Johnson leads the charge, as he is averaging a team-high 12.5 points per game while hitting 54.7 percent from the field. Johnson is first in the league in three-point field-goal percentage (58.6), second in free throw percentage (87.5) and 10th in field goal percentage. He is the only player in the league to rank in the top 10 of each category.

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 six are scoring at least six points per game. Four of those six players are hitting at least 50.0 percent from the floor, with the other two hitting at least 47.0 percent.

Guard Jason Dourisseau has continued to show improvement in his sophomore season, as he is averaging 7.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game this season. Dourisseau has hit 52.6 percent from the field this year, including 58.3 percent (14-of-24) in Big 12 Conference action. The Omaha native had one of his best games of the season Wednesday against Baylor in his first start of the year, and fourth of his career. Dourisseau was put in the lineup in place of guard Corey Simms, the Huskers' best defender, to help break the Bears' zone defense. He did just that as he hit 7-of-12 attempts from the floor while adding five rebounds and an assist. Dourisseau scored a game-high 18 points, after gaining just 12 points in his first three combined starts last season.

Dourisseau hit 3-of-4 attempts from three-point range against Baylor, after hitting just four treys in his first 13 games. In fact, Dourisseau has hit seven of his last 11 three-point attempts in his last six games, after going 0-for-6 from three-point range in NU's first eight games.

Senior Brian Conklin continues his amazing run from three-point range, as the 6-11, 240-pounder has hit 53.0 percent (26-of-49) from behind the arc this season while averaging 6.5 points with 3.1 rebounds. He ranks second in the league in three-point field-goal percentage only behind teammate Nate Johnson, who has drilled 58.6 percent from beyond the arc. Conklin's hot hand has been absolutely sizzling the past six games, as he has hit 16-of-24 three-point attempts in that span, including 9-of-14 in conference play. Conklin and Johnson are both on pace to smash the NU single-season record for three-point field-goal percentage, which stands at 47.3 percent (Cary Cochran, 2001). Only three players in NU history have hit better than 45.0 percent from behind the arc for a whole season.Nebraska's defense this season has been one of the best in the nation, as NU has allowed just 56.7 points per game on 36.4 percent shooting. The scoring defense is the best in the Big 12 and 11th in the nation while NU's field-goal percentage defense ranks first in the league and fifth in the country.  The Husker defense shut down Texas' high-flying offense last first 12 contests. NU then held a depleted Baylor squad to 47 points in a 29-point NU victory, the largest margin of victory for the Huskers in a conference game since 1994.Junior forward John Turek is hitting a team-high 59.1 percent from the floor in league play while averaging 8.0 points and 5.3 rebounds. Turek, who entered the season a career 42 percent shooter from the free throw stripe, has hit 75.0 percent in at the line league action and 72.7 percent overall.

Scouting the Tigers
The Missouri Tigers enter Saturday's game with a 7-7 record overall and 2-2 mark in conference play. Missouri, which is just 4-3 at home this season, has won only three of its last nine games, and has gone into overtime in each of its past two contests (1-1 record). The Tigers have won just three games by more than five points this season, and only one, a 76-56 victory over Iowa, by double figures.

Missouri has scored 74.6 points per game this season but has allowed opponents to average 73.4 points per game despite MU holding a +7.9 advantage on the glass (40.1-32.1). Opponents have connected on 43.1 percent from the field, including 38.5 percent from beyond the arc, while MU has hit 44.3 percent overall, and just 33.3 percent from three.

At the free throw line, the Tigers have hit a solid 69.4 percent as a team, and they are averaging 14.3 assists against 15.4 turnovers per game. MU has gained 4.9 blocks per contest while allowing just 2.6 blocks per game.

The Tigers have gotten nearly all of their scoring out of five players, as the five average between 16.2 and 10.0 points per game. Senior Rickey Paulding leads the way with 16.2 points per game but is shooting just 38.8 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from outside the arc. Paulding has added 4.6 rebounds and leads the team with 1.0 steals per game. He is also second on the squad with 38 assists and third with nine blocks.

Along with Paulding, two other seniors, Arthur Johnson and Travon Bryant, are adding 13.6 and 11.0 points per game, respectively. Johnson, who ranks among the career leaders in rebounds and blocks at Missouri, adds 8.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game while hitting 52.5 percent from the floor. Bryant has come on in his final season to average 6.1 rebounds while hitting a team-high 59.6 percent from the floor, including 50.0 percent from three-point range. Bryant is second on the squad with 1.6 blocked shots per contest.

Newcomer Linas Kleiza has given MU a boost, as the freshman is averaging 11.4 points to rank third on the squad while hitting Saturday, limiting UT to just 63 points after the Longhorns had averaged a nation-leading 90.0 points per game through its 45.6 percent from the floor. He ranks among the league leaders in rebounds with 8.8 boards per game.

Sophomore guard Jimmy McKinney is Missouri's final double-figure scorer, averaging 10.4 points per game while hitting 40.8 percent from the field. McKinney is tied with senior Josh Kroenke for second on the squad with 14 three-pointers, and adds a team-high 40 assists (2.9 apg) with 3.0 rebounds per game.

Missouri is coached by Quin Snyder (Duke, 1989), who is in his fifth season at Missouri and fifth season as a head coach. Snyder, who reached three Final Fours and won two Atlantic Coast Conference titles as a player at Duke, owns a 91-56 career record.

Series History
The Huskers trail by a 116-83 mark in the all-time series that started in 1907-08 with a Husker 41-30 victory. The Tigers have won eight of the last 10 meetings, including the past five straight.

MU has won eight straight over Nebraska in Columbia, with the Huskers' last road victory over MU coming in a 78-75 win in 1995. Five of those eight games in Columbia have been decided by seven points or less, including three being decided by two points and one in overtime.

Last year, the Huskers fell to Missouri three times, with the final loss coming in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. NU jumped out to a quick lead behind the sharp shooting of Andrew Drevo, who finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and led by one, 33-32, at the intermission before the Tigers turned the tide in the second half. MU came away with a nine-point win, 70-61, to end NU's season.

The Huskers fell to the Tigers, 63-56, at home to start the season series in 2002-03. NU also jumped ahead early in that game and held a 31-22 advantage the break before Missouri put up 41 points in the second half to claim a 63-56 victory. MU then won 67-50 in Columbia.

Several Huskers have had solid games against Missouri, but Drevo has had near-career games every time against the Tigers. Drevo had a double-double twice vs. MU last year, and averaged 19.7 points and 10.3 rebounds against Missouri for the season.

John Turek compliments Drevo in the frontcourt and has gained 5.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in four career games vs. Missouri, while guard Nate Johnson added 14.3 points and 5.0 rebounds last season against MU.