Nebraska Ready for Rematch With Tigers

The Nebraska men's basketball team returns to Lincoln for its fourth conference home game when it plays host to the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, Feb. 7. The game will tip off at 12:47 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+ with Bill Doleman handling play-by-play and Quinn Buckner adding color commentary. The game can also be heard on the Pinnacle Sports Network throughout Nebraska and the Midwest, and on Huskers.com. Randy Lee calls the action and Matt Davison adds color analysis for the Husker radio broadcasts.

The Huskers have not had back-to-back home games in league play this season, but NU starts a seven-game stretch that includes five contests at the Devaney Center when Nebraska and Missouri meet Saturday. The weekend matinee between the Huskers and Tigers marks the first time NU will face an opponent for the second time in 2003-04. MU took the first matchup, 72-51, on Jan. 24 in Columbia.

Nebraska enters the contest looking to end a three-game slide in league play. The Huskers have had solid performances throughout conference action, but have not been able to find a winning combination down the stretch.

NU has led or tied the score in the second half in five of its six league losses. The only conference loss the Huskers have not led in the second half came Wednesday at Kansas State, when NU climbed within four points midway through the second frame before KSU pulled away. Three of Nebraska's league losses have come by a combined 12 points, with two of those against ranked opponents.

Following Saturday's game against Missouri, the Huskers head south to take on Texas A&M on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. in College Station, Texas.

About the Huskers
Nebraska looks to regroup after dropping its third straight game Wednesday at Kansas State. The Huskers pulled within four points with less than 12 minutes left in the contest, but the Wildcats picked up the intensity on defense to take the victory.

For the Huskers to put one in the win column Saturday, Nebraska will rely on a staunch defense that has ranked among the best in the nation this season despite not being as daunting in conference play. The Huskers lead the Big 12 in scoring defense in 2003-04 and rank ninth nationally by allowing just 58.5 points per game. NU has held 14 of 18 opponents to 65 or fewer points this season, while only four teams have scored more than 60 points against Nebraska in the Devaney Center.

Nebraska is just 1-2 at home in conference play, but has put up solid numbers while showing it can play with any opponent at the Devaney Center. The Huskers have allowed Big 12 opponents just 55.7 points per game on 38.5 percent shooting in three games at the BDSC this season. NU has seen its offensive productivity fall off in league action, but has still hit 44.1 percent from the floor at home against conference foes while gaining a +4.3 (35.0-30.7) rebounding margin. On the season, the Huskers rank fourth in the league and 18th nationally in rebounding margin at +5.9.

Senior forward Brian Conklin, who made his first start of the season Wednesday at K-State, has led the Huskers at home in league play. The Hubbard, Ohio, native has averaged team highs with 10.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in the three conference home games while hitting 10-of-15 field-goal attempts, including 8-of-10 from three-point range.

Conklin leads the conference in three-point field-goal percentage, draining 52.5 percent on the season, and has helped NU rank as the top three-point shooting team in the Big 12 (eighth nationally) with a 39.0 percent accuracy. The Huskers have hit 53.1 percent from behind the arc in their last three home games with Nate Johnson (3-of-5, 60.0 percent), Jake Muhleisen (6-of-11, 54.5) and Jason Dourisseau (4-of-8, 50.0) joining Conklin by hitting at least 50.0 percent from long range.

Johnson (9.7) and Muhleisen (8.0) are two of four Huskers, along with John Turek (9.0) and Andrew Drevo (8.7), averaging between 8.0 and 10.0 points over the past three home contests.

Who's Hot?
** Junior transfer Marcus Neal Jr. broke out of a scoring slump Wednesday, turning in a career- and team-high 15 points against the Wildcats. Neal hit a career-high six field-goal attempts including three three-pointers while adding a pair of rebounds and two assists in a career-high 32 minutes. With his three treys, Neal became the sixth Husker to record at least three three-pointers in a contest this season.

Neal's offensive outburst came in his first start in seven games. He had recorded 11 combined points in the previous six contests, hitting 5-of-12 shots from the floor. Neal averaged 20.2 points per game last year at Polk (Fla.) C.C. while on his way to being named the Suncoast Conference Player of the Year.

** Senior forward Brian Conklin has been outstanding from long range over the past nine games, hitting 21-of-34 three-point attempts (61.8 percent) while averaging 8.3 points per game to rank third on the team. Conklin has averaged 17.1 minutes per contest in that span. The 21 made threes during that stretch is one less than he connected on last season in 30 games.

This season, Conklin is attacking the record books, as he is on pace to set the NU and Big 12 single-season records for three-point field-goal percentage. The 6-11, 240-pounder has hit 52.5 percent from behind the arc this season, easily better than the current Husker record of 47.3 percent set by Cary Cochran in 2001. The Big 12 Conference single-season record is 50.5 percent by Kansas' Kirk Hinrich in 2001.

** Junior forward John Turek picked up his game Wednesday after coming off the bench for the first time in 40 contests dating back to his freshman season. The 6-9, 240-pounder was just 0 for 4 from the field, but finished with nine points by hitting 9-of-10 free throw attempts. Turek has recorded at least seven made free throws in three contests this season. He is hitting 74.6 percent from the charity stripe this year after entering the season a career 41.9 percent free throw shooter. Turek has hit 20-of-25 attempts over the past five games.

Turek also hit the glass harder against K-State, picking up a team-high seven rebounds. He had recorded just six boards in the previous three games before Wednesday's contest.

Scouting the Tigers
Missouri heads into the weekend matchup against the Huskers with a 9-9 overall record and 4-4 mark in league play. The Tigers have not won back-to-back contests since opening the season with a three-game winning streak when they were ranked in the top five nationally. MU is 5-5 in its last 10 games, but has yet to defeat a team in the upper half of the Big 12 Conference standings.

The Tigers have averaged 72.4 points per game while hitting 43.2 percent from the field. MU has hit just 32.0 percent from behind the three-point line with only one player (Travon Bryant, 44.4) hitting better than 40.0 percent from beyond the arc.

Opponents have averaged 71.1 points per game this season against Missouri although the Tigers have limited three of their last four opponents to 65 or fewer points. Foes have hit 43.2 percent from the field and an impressive 37.7 percent from three-point range, but have been outrebounded by the Tigers, 39.1-33.0.

Missouri has three seniors leading the way this season. Guard Rickey Paulding, one of the most athletic players in the Big 12, paces the Tigers with 15.4 points per game to rank eighth in the league. A versatile player, Paulding leads the team with 31 three-pointers and 17 steals, but is hitting just 38.9 percent from the floor and 30.4 percent from downtown. He adds 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in a team-high 34.9 minutes per game.

The Tigers' frontcourt is made up of one of the most formidable tandems in the nation, with center Arthur Johnson averaging 13.7 points and forward Travon Bryant adding 10.6 points per game. Bryant leads the team by hitting 54.4 percent from the floor while adding 6.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. Johnson ranks second on the team by hitting 52.7 percent from the field with 7.6 rebounds and a team-high 1.9 blocks per game. Overall, the Tigers are averaging 5.0 blocks per game but are forcing just 12.7 turnovers per contest. MU averages 14.6 turnovers per game.

Sophomore Jimmy McKinney and freshman Thomas Gardner have been valuable for the Tigers this season, as they are averaging 9.8 and 6.0 points per game, respectively. McKinney leads the squad with 3.0 assists per game while Gardner is second on the team with 19 three-pointers despite hitting 35.8 percent from outside the arc.

Missouri has been without the services of freshman forward Linas Kleiza the past two games with a separated shoulder. Kleiza, who is expected to miss two weeks with the injury, came off the bench in the first 16 contests to average 11.1 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds per game while hitting 43.8 percent from the field. The Tigers have also been without point guard Randy Pulley, a transfer who averaged 2.3 assists in 11 contests.

Missouri is coached by Quin Snyder, who is in his fifth season guiding the Tigers and fifth season as a head coach. Snyder owns a 93-58 record as a head coach.

Series History
Nebraska and Missouri will be meeting for the second time this season and 201st time in the all-time series that dates back to the 1907-08 campaign. It will be the Huskers' first rematch with a conference opponent this year. NU leads the overall series in Lincoln by a 50-38 advantage, although the Tigers have pulled out a 13-13 series tie in the Devaney Center by winning three of the past four meetings in Lincoln.

Nebraska's last win against the Tigers came in the Devaney Center in 2001, when NU took an 85-79 victory. The only current Husker to play in that contest is forward Brian Conklin, who scored five points on 2-of-4 shooting with one rebound in six minutes.

Since then, the Tigers have won six straight games against Nebraska, including a 72-51 victory in Columbia two weeks ago. The Huskers rallied to take a 44-43 lead on a Conklin three-pointer with 9:33 remaining before MU broke away with a 29-2 run over the next seven minutes to seal the win.

Senior Nate Johnson led NU against Missouri ealier this season, as he was the only Husker to record double figures with 11 points. In four career games against the Tigers, Johnson is second among current players with 13.5 points while adding a team-high 1.3 steals per contest. Senior Andrew Drevo leads NU with 16.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in four contests against Missouri. In the first meeting this year, Drevo had seven points and five rebounds.