NU Defends Home Court Against Red Raiders

Lincoln -- The Nebraska men's basketball team begins its final homestand of the season on Tuesday, Feb. 24, when the Huskers play host to No. 25/25 Texas Tech at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The game will tip off at 7:05 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.

Nebraska enters the midweek matchup looking to snap a two-game losing streak. In their last contest, the Huskers pushed No. 7 Oklahoma State to the brink in a back-and-forth battle, but came out on the short end with an 87-83 overtime loss in Stillwater.

NU played well against the Cowboys, hitting 53.6 percent from the floor while holding OSU, the nation's top shooting team, to 42.3 percent. With the loss, Nebraska fell to 1-3 against ranked teams this year, but is 1-1 at home. The Huskers defeated No. 12/13 Kansas, 74-55, on Feb. 15, and fell to No. 25 Oklahoma, 52-50, on Feb. 1.

In their last outing in Lincoln, the Huskers dropped a 63-58 contest to Kansas State in front of a packed house at the Devaney Center. Nebraska owns a solid 12-3 home record, marking the 15th time in 28 years at the BDSC that NU has won at least 12 home games. The Huskers will be looking to avert their first two-game home losing streak of the year.

Texas Tech comes into the game after defeating Texas A&M Saturday. Despite the win, the Red Raiders and Huskers have identical 3-5 records in the past eight games. TTU lost each of its four road contests in that span and owns a 4-5 record away from Lubbock this season.

Following Tuesday's contest, the Huskers return to action in their final home game of the season on Saturday, Feb. 28, against league rival Iowa State. The game will tip off at 3 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN Regional.

About the Huskers
Nebraska looks to snap a two-game losing streak when it takes on Texas Tech at the Devaney Center Tuesday. Despite the recent setbacks, Nebraska still owns a 3-2 record in its last five games following a 1-6 start in league action.

The Huskers have played well over the past five games, averaging 75.2 points per contest while hitting 48.2 percent from the floor. NU has been unflappable at the charity stripe in that stretch, hitting 79.2 percent from the foul line, compared to its opponents hitting 73.7 percent in two less attempts.

Nebraska has defeated two teams in the upper half of the league standings during the stretch with victories over Missouri (78-62) and No. 12/13 Kansas (74-55), and has scored at least 74 points in four of the five contests. The Huskers' top two scoring efforts in the past five games have come on the road, as they put up 83 points in a victory over Texas A&M and overtime loss to No. 7 Oklahoma State.

The matchup with the Red Raiders will be NU's fifth of the season against a ranked squad, with NU holding a 1-3 record against top 25 teams to date. Nebraska's offense has been successful against those teams, as the Huskers have hit 49.2 percent from the floor and 43.9 percent from three-point range. NU has averaged 67.0 points per game against ranked teams this season while limiting them to 64.2 points. Ranked foes have held a slight 34.0 to 31.8 rebounding advantage over Nebraska in 2003-04.

On the season, the Huskers lead the league in field-goal percentage defense by allowing opponents to hit just 38.8 percent from the floor. Nebraska also ranks second the Big 12 in three-point field-goal percentage defense at 30.7 percent after limiting Oklahoma State to just 26.3 percent from long range Saturday.

NU has been deadly from outside the arc where it leads the conference and ranks seventh in the country in three-point field-goal percentage after hitting 40.2 percent from long range. That efficiency has helped NU rank second in the league in field-goal percentage at 47.1 percent and second in rebounding defense by allowing opponents just 31.5 boards per game.

Who's Hot?
Several players have stepped up for the Huskers this season, including:
***Senior forward Andrew Drevo has averaged 15.8 points over the past four games while hitting a team-high 57.5 percent from the floor. The Lincoln native has grabbed 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots in that span.

In Nebraska's last contest at Oklahoma State, Drevo paced the Huskers with 21 points. He was nearly perfect from the floor, hitting 8-of-10 shots while nailing 3-of-5 attempts from the free throw line.

On the season, Drevo is second on the team in scoring (11.5 ppg), rebounding (4.5 rpg), three-pointers (29), assists (47), steals (24) and blocks (19).

***Senior guard Nate Johnson has averaged a team-high 17.0 points per game in the past four contests. He has added a team-high 5.8 rebounds in that span along with 2.0 assists. Johnson has hit 50.0 percent from the floor and 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from beyond the arc in those contests. At the free throw line, Johnson has barely missed, hitting 16-of-18 (88.9 percent) from the charity stripe.

Johnson leads Nebraska with 12.9 points per game in 2003-04, while hitting 48.7 percent from the floor. Johnson ranks fourth in the league in free throw (86.6) and three-point field-goal (46.6) percentage.

***Forward Brian Conklin is on pace to shatter the Big 12 Conference and Nebraska school records for three-point field-goal percentage by hitting 55.3 percent (42-of-76) from beyond the arc this season, including 61.0 percent (25-of-41) in league-only games. Only one player in league history has topped 50 percent (Kirk Hinrich, Kansas; 50.5 percent, 2000-01).

Over the past five games, Conklin has hit 64.7 percent (11-of-17) from three-point range. Conklin has hit 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from three-point range on the road this season. At home, Conklin has hit 28-of-49 (57.1 percent), including a streak of 13 straight made three-point attempts over four games from Jan. 21 to Feb. 15.

***Forward John Turek has seen the most consistent offensive production of his career in the past five games, when he has averaged 10.0 points per game to rank third on the squad. Turek, who has come off the bench in each of those contests, has hit 46.3 percent in that stretch while connecting on 75.0 percent (12-of-16) of his free throw attempts. Turek has averaged 4.6 rebounds in the past five games while gaining 2.0 blocks per contest.

On the season, Turek has averaged 9.2 points on 44.7 percent shooting. He has added a team-high 5.6 rebounds to rank in the top 20 in the conference, while placing seventh in the league in blocked shots with 1.5 blocks per game.

***Guard Marcus Neal Jr. has been on a tear from long range the past five games. Neal has hit 12-of-23 (52.2 percent) from three-point range in that span. He started the season by hitting just 8-of-31 (25.8 percent) in his first 18 games as a Husker. Neal has recorded at least one trey in seven straight games, after hitting a three-pointer in just three of the first 16 games of the year.

Scouting the Red Raiders
Texas Tech makes its first trip to Lincoln in two seasons after handing Texas A&M its 12th straight conference loss in a 76-60 decision Saturday. Five Red Raiders finished in double figures with Jarrius Jackson leading the way with 19 points, as TTU shot 54.0 percent from the floor.

Despite the victory, the Red Raiders have struggled recently, losing five of their last eight games, including four straight on the road. Overall, Texas Tech comes to the Devaney Center with a 19-7 record and 7-5 mark in the Big 12. TTU opened the season with a 16-2 record, including 12 straight victories after falling to Georgia Tech and Southern Methodist in back-to-back games.

Texas Tech averages 73.8 points per game while hitting 46.9 percent from the floor to rank sixth and third, respectively, in the league. The Red Raiders have not been as efficient from outside the arc, hitting just 33.6 percent from three-point range this season while averaging just 3.6 treys per game.

The Red Raiders have a -1.0 rebounding deficit (35.7 to 34.7), but lead the league in free throw shooting by hitting 73.5 percent from the charity stripe. TTU ranks second in the conference in steals with 8.54 per game and fifth with 14.96 assists per contest.

Senior Andre Emmett leads the team and league in scoring by averaging 21.4 points per game on 53.9 percent shooting. Emmett took over the top spot on the Big 12 Conference all-time scoring chart with 18 points against A&M, surpassing the previous mark held by Kansas' Nick Collison. Emmett's ability to put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket has helped him get to the line 184 times this season, where he has made 134 (72.8 percent). One of the leading contenders for the conference's player-of-the-year award, Emmett also leads the Red Raiders in rebounding with 6.9 boards per game.

Along with Emmett, freshman Jarrius Jackson is the Red Raiders' only other double-figure scorer by averaging 10.7 points per game. Jackson has hit just 41.4 percent from the floor and 30.5 percent from three-point range, but leads the team with 25 three-pointers. He also paces the squad with 47 steals (1.8 spg) and is second with 71 assists (2.7 apg).

Junior Ronald Ross leads the team with 88 assists (3.4 apg) while adding 9.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Ross is second on the team with 19 treys and 40 steals (1.5 spg). Junior transfer Devonne Giles is second on the team with 5.0 rebounds per game while adding 8.4 points and a team-high 1.7 blocks per game.

The Red Raiders are coached by Bob Knight, who is in third season at Texas Tech where he owns a 64-29 record. Overall, Knight is in his 38th season as a head coach and owns an 828-315 career record.

Knight has led the Red Raiders to the postseason each of the past two seasons, including an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2002. Last year, Texas Tech reached the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where it placed third with a victory over Minnesota.

Series History
The Huskers and Red Raiders will be meeting for the 19th time, with Nebraska holding an 11-7 series advantage. The series is the longest against any of Nebraska's conference opponents from the state of Texas. The home team has won eight straight regular-season contests in the series dating back to 1989-90.

NU and TTU first met in 1955-56 in Lincoln, with the Huskers grabbing a 69-63 overtime victory. Nebraska went on to win the first four contests in the series before the Red Raiders came back with three straight victories. Since then, the Huskers have won seven of the past 11 meetings, including the last one in Lincoln.

In 2002, the Red Raiders entered the game ranked 20th nationally but fell victim to the upset-minded Huskers, 80-69, at the Devaney Center. Nebraska led by four, 42-38, at the intermission before clamping down on defense in the second period. NU held the Red Raiders to 35.3 percent shooting from the field in the second frame, and just 13.3 percent (2-of-15) from three-point range in the game. Cary Cochran led NU with 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc. Jake Muhleisen chipped in 11 points and four rebounds while John Turek had six points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

The Red Raiders returned the favor last season, blowing past the Huskers 75-49 in Lubbock. Nebraska shot just 34.6 percent from the floor while committing 20 turnovers. Turek and Brennon Clemmons each scored 10 points to lead the Huskers, while Andrew Drevo added 10 rebounds but hit just 2-of-13 from the field while scoring five points.