Huskers Head South to Take On Aggies

Lincoln -- The Nebraska men's basketball team hits the road again for a midweek matchup against Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, on Feb. 11. The game between the Huskers and Aggies will tip off at 7 p.m. and can be heard on the Pinnacle Sports Network and Huskers.com. Randy Lee calls the action and Matt Davison adds color analysis for the NU radio broadcasts.

Nebraska looks to pick up its second road win of the season, and first in league play, when the Huskers face Texas A&M Wednesday. Although Nebraska's first three league road games ended with losses, the Huskers have played well enough to at least tie the score in the second half in each game. NU had a lead in two of the road conference tilts, including leading in the final minutes against nationally ranked Texas in Austin on Jan. 17.

Overall, the Huskers have hit a solid 44.1 percent from the floor on the road in 2003-04, but have seen their three-point shooting accuracy to dip to 33.9 percent away from Lincoln. The Huskers have hit 72.1 percent from the free throw line and held nearly even on the boards, trailing just 32.0-31.3 on opponents' court.

Playing away from the Devaney Center has hardly affected NU's three top shooters. Guard Nate Johnson leads the team away from home by averaging 13.7 ppg on 49.1 percent shooting while forward Andrew Drevo has added 13.2 ppg with a team-high 5.2 boards on the road. Forward Brian Conklin, who has hit at an amazing 56.2 percent from three-point range this year, has been just as hot on opponent's courts, hitting 54.5 percent from long range.

Following Wednesday's contest against Texas A&M, NU returns to Lincoln to start a two-game home stand with nationally ranked Kansas on Sunday, Feb. 15. The game, which will tip off at 12:30 p.m., can be seen on ABC.

About the Huskers
The Huskers are coming off a solid 78-62 victory over Missouri at the Devaney Center Saturday. Nebraska played with a greater intensity and determination against the Tigers while building a 20-point lead midway through the second half before picking up its second league win of the season. The 16-point win came just two weeks after dropping a 72-51 contest at Missouri.

Nebraska hit 45.8 percent from the floor against the Tigers, just below its season average of 46.7 percent. The Huskers have ranked among the league and national leaders in field-goal percentage nearly all season. The improvement is impressive as the Huskers hit just 39.8 percent from the field in 2002-03.

Nebraska's shooting percentages are improved across the board. NU is hitting 40.2 percent from three-point range to rank second in the league and 16th nationally, after connecting on just 27.6 percent from long range last year to rank 12th in the league. Senior Brian Conklin, a 6-11 forward, leads the Huskers and the Big 12 Conference in three-point shooting by hitting 56.2 percent of his attempts. Conklin has been on an amazing streak over the past 10 games, as he has hit 26-of-39 three-point attempts (66.7 percent) while ranking third on the team with 9.3 points per game. Against Missouri Saturday, Conklin was perfect from downtown as he hit 5-of-5 three-point attempts, marking the second time this season he has hit at least five treys in a contest.

At the free throw line, NU is hitting 71.0 percent in 2003-04 to rank third in the league after placing 11th in the conference last year by connecting on just 64.9 percent of its attempts. Senior Nate Johnson ranks third in the league in free throw shooting at 85.9 percent (55-of-64) after hitting 72.8 percent in 2002-03. While Johnson's improvement is great, it is not the best improvement on the team, as forward John Turek's free throw percentage this season is nearly 30 points higher than last season. Overall, Turek has hit 73.1 percent from the charity stripe in 2003-04 to rank fourth on the team after entering the season a career 41.9 percent shooter.

The improvements have not been limited to the offensive side. NU ranks first in the league in scoring defense by allowing 58.7 points per game and ranks second in field-goal percentage defense by allowing opponents to hit just 38.6 percent from the floor. The Huskers rank fourth in the Big 12 in three-point field-goal percentage defense (31.6) and pace the conference in rebounding defense by allowing opponents just 30.5 rebounds per game.

Who's Hot?
*-- Junior transfer Marcus Neal Jr. continued his hot hand for the second straight game Saturday, scoring 14 points with four assists and three rebounds against the Tigers. Neal has scored 29 points in the past two games after gaining just 52 points in his first 17 games as a Husker.

Much of Neal's scoring success in the past week has come as a result of his improved shooting from long range. He has hit seven of his last 15 three-point attempts after connecting on just 5-of-20 three-point attempts to start the season.

Neal's 14.5 points per game last week paced the Huskers, while his 32.0 minutes per game during that span tied for the team high with Nate Johnson. Neal has added six assists over the past two contests (3.0 apg) after gaining 23 in the first 17 games (1.4 apg).

*--  Continuing at his blistering pace from long range will be difficult, but senior forward Brian Conklin has not let up for the past 10 games. Since hitting 5-of-6 attempts on the road at Minnesota on Dec. 29, Conklin has hit 26-of-39 (66.7 percent) from three-point range while gaining 9.3 points per contest to rank third on the team. His 26 treys during that span are four more than he had in 30 contests last season.

Conklin is on pace to crush the NU and Big 12 Conference single-season records for three-point accuracy, as he is hitting 56.2 percent from downtown this season. No Husker has hit better than 48 percent from three-point range for a season, while only one player in league history has topped 50 percent (Kirk Hinrich, Kansas; 50.5 percent, 2000-01)

After hitting 5-of-5 three-point attempts against Missouri Saturday, the Hubbard, Ohio, native has moved into a tie for fifth on the NU career list with 146 treys, and now ranks second on the Huskers' career three-point field-goal percentage chart (41.4).

*--  Nebraska holds a +5.6 rebounding advantage in 2003-04 to rank among the league and national leaders. The mark would rank as the third-best rebounding advantage in NU history, as only four Husker squads have had at least a +4.0 rebounding advantage since 1953. NU's league-leading 30.5 rebounding defense is the program's best since 1984.

Scouting the Aggies
Texas A&M rolls into the midweek matchup against Nebraska looking to snap an eight-game losing streak, all in conference play. Overall, the Aggies hold a 7-12 record on the season while placing 12th in the league standings with an 0-8 mark. A&M opened the season with a three-game winning streak and had won four of its previous five contests before heading into conference play.

The Aggies have had little problem scoring in 2003-04, as they have averaged 76.2 points per game to rank third in the league in scoring average. A&M has scored at least 80 points eight times this year including topping 100 twice, and has put at least 70 points on the board in six of its 12 losses this season. The Aggies have hit just 42.7 percent from the floor and 34.2 percent from the three-point line, but have gained a commanding +6.2 advantage (40.1-33.9) on the boards.

While A&M has lit up the scoreboard, it has also been unable to stop opposing teams by allowing 76.5 points per game to rank 12th in the conference in scoring defense. Opponents have shot extremely well against the Aggies, connecting on 47.0 percent from the floor and an outstanding 39.1 percent from three-point range. A&M has turned the ball over an average of 15.1 times per game while forcing 13.9 turnovers. Opponents have also had a 17.0-16.1 advantage in assists per game.

The Aggies have been led by sophomore Antoine Wright, who is averaging 13.7 points per game in a team-high 30.1 minutes per contest. Wright, who was the Big 12's Freshman of the Year last season while earning third-team all-league honors by the coaches, has hit 35.9 percent from the floor in 2003-04 while connecting on just 28.2 percent of his three-point attempts. Wright leads the team with 33 treys while ranking third with 45 assists and is fourth in rebounding average with 4.3 boards per game.

Along with Wright, a trio of seniors have helped push the Aggies, including forward Jesse King, guard Leandro Garcia-Morales and center Andy Slocum.

King has averaged 13.0 points per contest to rank second on the squad while hitting 46.0 percent from the field and a team-high 80.5 percent from the line. King has added 5.7 rebounds per game to rank second on the squad, behind only Slocum, a 7-0, 275-pounder, who ranks second in the league with 9.9 boards per game. Slocum has averaged 9.3 points per game this season while hitting 51.4 percent from the floor. He is tied for the team lead with five blocked shots, as A&M is averaging just 1.4 blocks per game.

Garcia-Morales has averaged 7.4 points per game to rank fourth on the squad while adding a team-best 1.6 steals per game. Garcia-Morales (2.3 apg) and Wright (2.3 apg) each average better than 2.0 assists per game along with freshman Acie Law (3.6 apg) and junior Bobby Leach (3.6 apg). Law has added 7.1 points per game while hitting 36.8 percent from the field and 80.0 percent from the charity stripe as one of the top freshmen in the league.

Texas A&M is coached by Melvin Watkins, who is in his fifth season guiding the Aggies and seventh season as a head coach. Watkins owns an 88-109 record as a head coach, including a 46-89 record at A&M.

Series History
The Huskers and Aggies will be meeting for just the 12th time in history, Nebraska's shortest series against a current conference opponent. NU and A&M met just four times before the start of the Big 12, with the Huskers taking a 3-1 series advantage as non-conference foes. Nebraska won the first three meetings as conference opponents, and owns a 5-2 mark since meeting as league foes in 1996-97.

A&M took a tight 53-52 victory in Lincoln last season in the Huskers' first contest without guard Jake Muhleisen. Without Muhleisen, who fractured his left hip in the previous game and was forced out of action for the final 15 contests of the league slate, the Huskers hit just 33.3 percent from the field, including 20.0 percent from three-point range, but outrebounded the Aggies 44-36. A&M did not fare much better, as the Huskers limited the Aggies to 31.5 percent shooting from the field.

Andrew Drevo led NU with 14 points and eight rebounds last year, while Nate Johnson added 13 points and six boards. Corey Simms, who had a season-high 10 points vs. the Aggies as a freshman, added 10 points and four boards in 2002-03, while John Turek had 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.

The Huskers' last victory over the Aggies came in 2001-02, when NU won 82-72 in College Station, Texas, marking NU's last conference road victory. Overall, the Huskers own a 2-2 series mark on A&M's home court.

The Huskers' 97-69 win over A&M in 2000-01 was its largest margin of victory over a conference foe since defeating Colorado 106-67 in 1993-94. Nebraska surpassed the 2001 mark with a 29-point victory over Baylor earlier this season.