Huskers Fall at Kansas State

Manhattan, Kan. -- Marcus Neal scored a season-high 15 points to lead three Huskers in double figures, but the Huskers fell at Kansas State, 78-61, Wednesday evening.

The junior point guard from Annapolis, Md., was 6-of-16 from the floor, including a trio of three-pointers, as he topped his previous season best of 10 points set on two occasions earlier this season.

Seniors Andrew Drevo and Nate Johnson also finished in double figures, scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively, but the Huskers (11-7, 1-6 Big 12) shot just 32 percent from the floor, compared to a season-high 63 percent for Kansas State (10-8, 2-5 Big 12).

Kansas State was led by Jeremiah Massey's 26 points, while Jarrett Hart and Tim Ellis added 16 points each for the Wildcats, who improved to 10-8 overall and 2-5 in the Big 12

The Huskers trailed 39-36 with 15:55 to go in the game, but did not make a field goal during an 11-minute stretch, as KSU built a 61-44 lead with 6:36 remaining. The Huskers cut he lead to 66-57 on a Jake Muhleisen layup with 3:38 remaining, but NU could not get any closer.

The Huskers return to action this Saturday, Feb. 7, as they host Missouri at the Devaney Center. Tipoff for the ESPN Regional game is set for 12:45 p.m.

Nebraska Coach Barry Collier
On his feelings after tonight’s game"
"We need to keep looking at what we are, and what we need to do. We need to stay determined to do that. I just feel like we improved, moved forward and got better as a basketball team through much of the season, and now we’ve kind of hit a point where we are trying to make the next step, but we haven’t been able to do that."

On how a lack of concentration help lead to the loss"
"I thought that our guys competed; we did make numerous mistakes, however. We were down nine and miss a free throw, and we forgot how to block out, and that’s just a lack of concentration. Not being able to block out in that situation really shows how we haven’t been able to make the next step."

On Nebraska’s three point shooting"
"Many of the late threes we took were a result of Kansas State’s zone and the fact that we were playing from behind. We’ve been a good three-point shooting team, and they played zone most of the night. We weren’t searching for three’s exclusively. Part of the reason was that their zone was good, and we were unable to attack it.

Junior Guard Marcus Neal
On his feelings about tonight’s game"
"We are very upset about tonight’s game. It seemed like we were right there, but we just can’t seem to get over the hump. We were up four at one point, and I looked back and we were down 15, I really don’t know what happened.".

On their struggles from the three point arc"
"They were open shots, which are good shots for us, and we usually hit those. "

On their offensive struggles"
"We just can’t put together an overall good game of total offense. Shooting the ball, offensive rebounds, just a combination of things, but we could play better offensively than this."

Senior Forward Andrew Drevo
On the game"
"It’s frustrating. On defense, we can’t get a stop down the stretch and on offense we can’t seem to get the ball to fall. We just seem to be making the same mistakes."

On start of the second half"
"We kept it within four or six for the first eight minutes of the second half. Then we just couldn’t get the stops we needed, and then they went to zone on defense and it made us take a little more time."

Nebraska postgame notes vs. Kansas State
** Junior guard Marcus Neal Jr. scored a career-high 15 points to lead Nebraska, while adding two rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes. Neal hit 6-of-16 attempts from the floor, including a career-high three three-pointers.

** Senior forward Brian Conklin made his first start of the season and 31st start of his career Wednesday against Kansas State. Conklin last started a game for the Huskers last season at Iowa State on Jan. 25.

** Junior forward John Turek came off the bench for the first time since his freshman campaign, snapping a streak of 39 straight starts, the longest stretch by any current Husker. Turek scored nine points with seven rebounds and two steals in 19 minutes. Turek's seven boards were one more than his last three games combined. 

** All nine of Turek's points came at the free throw line, where he hit 9-of-10 attempts. NU hit 15-of-18 free throws as a team. Turek has hit 74.6 percent from the line this season after entering the year a 41.9 percent career free throw shooter.

** Nebraska shot a season-low 32.2 percent from the field and 24.2 percent from three-point range. NU entered the game ranked in the top 10 nationally in three-point field-goal percentage and top 30 in field-goal percentage. The Huskers' 33 three-point attempts were a season high.

** The Huskers were outrebounded 31-27 on the night, but held a commanding 13-5 advantage on the offensive glass.

** Nebraska had 11 steals against the Wildcats, one off the team's season high set twice, last against Tennessee. It was the Huskers' highest total on the road this season.

** KSU hit an opponent season high 62.8 percent from the field, becoming just the second team to hit at least 50.0 percent against the Huskers this season.