Huskers Set for Rematch Against Wildcats

The Nebraska men's basketball team is set to battle the Kansas State Wildcats at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Wednesday, Feb. 18. The game will tip off at 7:07 p.m. 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 game will also be broadcast locally in Kansas on Fox Sports Midwest, but is not available in Nebraska.

The rematch with the Wildcats will mark the first time this season that Nebraska has played back-to-back league contests at home. The Huskers have been dominant at the Devaney Center, where they own a 12-2 record in 2003-04. Nebraska has now won at least 12 home games 15 times in 28 years in the BDSC, including twice under Coach Collier. NU has also secured its 28th consecutive winning season at the Devaney Center.

The Huskers have played well in Lincoln, winning three of their last four home contests, all by double figures. Nebraska has outscored its opponents by 18.7 points per game at home this season, as the Huskers are allowing just 53.4 points per game at the Devaney Center. Opponents have been held to 35.4 percent shooting, including 28.7 percent from three-point range, and have been outrebounded by an average of 7.8 boards per game.

While NU has frustrated opponents at home, the Huskers have been nearly unstoppable on offense. Nebraska has averaged 72.1 points per game while hitting 48.4 percent from the field, including an amazing 44.3 percent from outside the arc in the BDSC.

Following Wednesday's contest against the Wildcats, Nebraska will hit the road to take on league-leading Oklahoma State on Saturday, Feb. 21, in Stillwater, Okla. The game will tip off at 7 p.m.

About the Huskers
Nebraska enters the midweek matchup riding a three-game conference win streak, the Huskers' longest league win streak since 1999. The surge has helped Nebraska surpass last year's totals for overall wins (11) and league wins (3) with six games remaining before the Big 12 Conference Tournament in Dallas on March 11-14.

The win streak is the longest in league play under Coach Collier and has helped NU secure its first winning regular season since 1998-99. NU's three-game win streak is currently the second-longest in the Big 12, behind league leader Oklahoma State's 10-game streak.

Since Feb. 7, Nebraska has:

--- snapped Missouri's six-game winning streak over the Huskers

--- won its first Big 12 road game since 2002, a stretch of 13 league road contests, with an 83-77 victory at Texas A&M

--- snapped a nine-game losing streak against Kansas with a 74-55 dismantling of the No. 12/13 Jayhawks on Sunday.

The Huskers have averaged 78.3 points per game during that stretch, more than eight points higher than their season scoring average (70.0 ppg) and nearly 12 points higher than their Big 12 scoring average (66.8 ppg). Nebraska has hit 50.7 percent from the floor in those contests, including 50.0 percent from three-point range.

The Huskers have made up for a 33.0-30.0 rebounding deficit by hitting an amazing 84.6 percent (66-of-78) from the free throw stripe during that win streak, and have averaged just 10.7 turnovers per game. The hot shooting from the charity stripe has helped NU move into the league lead, as it is hitting 73.4 percent from the line in 2003-04. Last year, Nebraska ranked 11th in the conference in free throw shooting, hitting 64.9 percent to finish ahead of only Kansas State (62.9 percent).

Defensively, Nebraska has allowed just 64.7 points per game over the past three contests while holding opponents to 39.6 percent shooting from the floor. NU's perimeter defense has been especially tough, as the Huskers have allowed opponents to hit just 26.4 percent (14-of-53) from beyond the arc.

Four Huskers are averaging at least 10 points per game during the past three contests, including guard Nate Johnson (15.3 ppg) and forwards Andrew Drevo (13.0), Brian Conklin (11.3) and John Turek (10.3). Only Johnson (12.5 ppg) and Drevo (11.1) have averaged double figures for the whole season.

In the Huskers' first rematch of the year, Nebraska ran past Missouri, 78-62, on Feb. 7 to start the current winning streak. NU hit 45.8 percent from the field against the Tigers, including 12-of-21 from three-point range, while forcing MU into 17 turnovers to split the season series. Nebraska dropped the first meeting in Columbia 72-51 on Jan. 24.

Nebraska looks for similar results when taking on the Wildcats for the second time this year. The Huskers' last loss came at Kansas State on Feb. 4, when KSU broke open a tight game in the second half before handing NU a 78-61 defeat.

Who's Hot?
Several players have stepped up in the Huskers' recent three-game win streak, including:

--- Senior guard Nate Johnson leads Nebraska with 15.3 points per game over the past three contests. Johnson has hit just 36.7 percent (11-of-30) from the field during that span but his penetration into the lane has provided numerous trips to the charity stripe. Johnson, who ranks third in the league in free throw percentage (87.2), has hit 91.3 percent (21-of-23) from the line over the past three games and has nearly double the attempts of any other Husker.

While his shot has not fallen as often as earlier in the year, Johnson has been more productive in other areas during the streak. He is averaging 5.7 rebounds in the past three contests to rank second on the squad while tying for the team lead with 3.3 assists per contest.

Johnson, who has started just six games this year including each of the past three, leads the team with 12.5 points per game in 2003-04, while adding 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists. He has hit 23-of-47 (48.9 percent) from three-point range to rank third in the Big 12 standings. Johnson has had at least a share of the team scoring lead in each of the past two games.

--- With the amazing numbers senior forward Brian Conklin has been producing, saying he is one of the hottest players on the team is getting to be old hat. But he has not given reason to be taken off the list just yet.

Conklin is on pace to shatter the Big 12 Conference and Nebraska school records for three-point field-goal percentage by hitting 56.9 percent (41-of-72) from beyond the arc this season, including 64.9 percent (24-of-37) in league-only games. 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).

Over the past three games, Conklin has been in a zone, as he has hit 76.9 percent from three-point range, making 10 of his last 13 attempts. Two of those games came at home, where he had a streak of 13 consecutive made three-pointers snapped Sunday on his last attempt against Kansas. Before that miss, the last three-point shot at the Devaney Center that he failed to convert came on his first try against Baylor on Jan. 21, a span of four games.

Conklin is averaging 7.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game this season and has converted on all 14 attempts from the free throw line. He is one of eight Huskers with at least 20 assists this season, recording 20 assists against 23 turnovers, and is fourth with eight blocked shots.

--- Forwards Andrew Drevo and John Turek have dominated the paint in the past three games, combining to average 23.3 points on 52.2 percent (24-of-46) shooting from the floor and 86.6 percent (20-of-23) from the charity stripe. Drevo has led NU with 6.3 rebounds during its three-game win streak, while Turek is third with 4.7 boards per game. The pair has also combined for nine of the team's 15 blocked shots and five steals during that stretch.

On the season, Drevo ranks second on the squad with 11.1 points per game while Turek is third at 9.1 points. The pair has combined for 55.8 percent (48-of-86) of Nebraska's blocked shots, with Turek recording a team-high 30 blocks to rank eighth in the league standings.

Scouting the Wildcats
Entering Wednesday's matchup, Kansas State has won two of its last four games, after starting Big 12 play with a 1-5 mark. The Wildcats' only victory in the first six games came against Texas A&M, which is still winless in league play, but they have since picked up solid victories over Nebraska and Iowa State.

KSU has been effective at home, where it owns an 11-2 record this season, including all three of its league victories. But getting a win away from Manhattan has been a struggle, as the Wildcats are 0-8 on the road this season, and have run their road losing streak to 16 games. That has been the norm in the Big 12 this season, as only league-leader Oklahoma State and Texas own winning records on the road.

The Wildcats enter the rematch with the Huskers after suffering an 82-71 defeat at Texas Tech on Saturday. Guards Tim Ellis and Jarrett Hart each scored 20 points, while forward Marques Hayden nearly picked up a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. KSU, which had 19 turnovers and just two steals, allowed the Red Raiders to hit 52.9 percent from the floor. TTU attempted twice as many free throws (30 to 15), converting 24 to earn the decision.

On the season, Kansas State is averaging 71.1 points per game while allowing just 64.9 points for a +6.2 scoring advantage. That margin has narrowed to +0.9 (68.5 to 67.6) in league play. The Wildcats have hit 44.9 percent from the floor and 35.8 percent from three-point range. KSU also holds a +5.9 rebounding advantage (39.8 to 33.9).

KSU's field-goal percentage defense has been among the best in the conference all season. The Wildcats are allowing opponents to hit just 39.2 percent from the floor, although conference foes have hit 42.7 percent from the field. Kansas State leads the league by holding opponents to just 29.1 percent from three-point range.

Ellis, Hart and forward Jeremiah Massey have each averaged double figures in 2003-04, with Massey leading the way with 14.0 points per game (13.4 ppg in Big 12 action). He has hit 47.2 percent from the field while getting to the foul line 112 times. Massey, who has attempted 43 more free throws than any other Wildcat, has hit 86 for a solid 76.8 percent accuracy. The junior college transfer also leads the team with 7.9 rebounds per game, and has recorded a team-high 23 steals and 12 blocked shots.

Ellis ranks second on the team with 13.7 points per game, but has increased his productivity to a team-high 14.3 points per game in league play. One of four Wildcat seniors, Ellis has hit 54.3 percent from the field, including 41.8 percent from three-point range, this season. He is second on the squad with 28 treys, and is third in rebounding (5.3 rpg) and assists (48).

Hart has added 11.5 points per game (13.9 ppg in league play) with 3.6 rebounds. He paces the Wildcats with 34 three-pointers and ranks second in assists with 66. Hayden adds 9.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while hitting a team-best 55.2 percent from the floor. He is second on the team in steals (22) and is tied with Massey with 12 blocks, including eight in league play.

The Wildcats are coached by Jim Wooldridge, who is in his fourth season guiding the Wildcats and 16th season as a head coach. Wooldridge owns a 277-208 record as a head coach and is 48=61 with the Wildcats.

Series History
The Huskers and Wildcats will be meeting for the 206th time in the series that dates back to the 1905-06 campaign, and the second time this season. KSU owns a 117-88 series advantage, although the series has been nearly even over the past 20 meetings, with KSU holding a slim 11-9 advantage. The teams have split the regular-season series in four of the past five seasons, with NU taking the only season sweep in that stretch in 2000-01. Despite giving up two wins to the Huskers during the regular season, KSU came back that year to win the final matchup in the Big 12 Tournament and run its record against NU to 18-3 in Kansas City and 7-0 in Kemper Arena.

The series has not been as close in Lincoln, as NU owns a 56-31 advantage at home, and a 20-8 lead in the Devaney Center. Nebraska has won five straight, and nine of the last 10, against the Wildcats at the BDSC.

In the last meeting on Feb. 4, Kansas State jumped out to a six-point halftime lead before running away with a 78-61 victory, the Wildcats' second straight double-figure win over the Huskers in Manhattan. Forward Jeremiah Massey created havoc for the Huskers, as he scored 24 points by hitting 8-of-12 shots from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. Guards Tim Ellis and Jarrett Hart each added 16 points, with Hart collecting five assists and four rebounds.

The KSU defensive effort held Nebraska to 32.2 percent shooting, including just 24.2 percent from three-point range. The Huskers hit just 3-of-19 three-point attempts in the second half while hoisting up a season-high 33 attempts from beyond the arc.

Junior guard Marcus Neal Jr. broke out of a scoring slump with a career-high 15 points against the Wildcats, as he connected on 6-of-16 attempts from the floor. Neal hit three three-pointers and grabbed two rebounds in the loss. Andrew Drevo added 13 points and Nate Johnson chipped in 12, while John Turek, who came off the bench for the first time in 50 games, had nine points while hitting 9-of-10 from the free throw line with seven rebounds.