Huskers End Regular Season At Colorado

The Nebraska men’s basketball team ends the final week of the regular season on the road against the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, March 6, at the Coors Events Center in Boulder. The game will tip off at 3 p.m. CST and can be seen locally on ESPN Plus (KOLN, Lincoln; KIIT, North Platte; Cox2, Omaha) with Dave Armstrong handling play-by-play and Reid Gettys adding color commentary. The contest can also be heard on the Pinnacle Sports Network and Huskers.com, with Randy Lee calling the action and Matt Davison adding color analysis.

Nebraska is looking for its sixth win in nine games since Feb. 7 while trying to sew up a higher seed in the Big 12 Tournament. Nebraska can still tie for seventh in the final regular-season standings, but can finish no higher than ninth in the tournament seeding because of tiebreakers.

Another win will bolster NU’s postseason chances as well. The Huskers will complete the campaign with a winning record for the first time since going 20-13 in 1998-99.

Before Nebraska can think ahead to the league tournament and postseason, it has a difficult matchup with the Buffaloes this weekend. NU dropped the first meeting by eight points, 68-60, in Lincoln on Jan. 14, marking the Huskers’ first home loss of the season.

Following Saturday’s contest, the Huskers head south for the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The tournament runs from Thursday, March 11 through Sunday, March 14. All of Nebraska’s games at the league championship tournament will be broadcast on the Pinnacle Sports Network and the majority of the games can be seen on ESPN Plus.

About the Huskers
The Huskers enter their final regular-season game against Colorado looking to get back on track after dropping an 11-point contest to No. 21/18 Kansas on the road Wednesday. Despite the setback, Nebraska is 5-3 over the past eight games, an identical record to Colorado in that span.

The Huskers have played well on the road this season, hitting 46.1 percent from the floor and 36.0 percent from three-point range. NU has limited opponents to 44.5 percent from the floor, but has allowed 48.9 percent inside the arc. Nebraska has averaged 67.9 points per game on the road while giving up 73.9, and trails 34.6-31.0 on the glass.

The Huskers have been led by seniors Nate Johnson, Andrew Drevo and Brian Conklin.

Johnson is one of the league’s top all-around players this season and one of the most improved. He leads Nebraska with 13.4 points per game while ranking second on the squad with 4.6 rebounds. The Kansas City, Kan., native has led NU in scoring a team-high 11 times, including five of the past seven games.

Drevo has averaged 11.2 points and 4.4 rebounds while hitting 47.1 percent from the floor. The 6-8, 250-pounder has continued to drive it into the paint, but can also bury the trifecta as he is second on the squad with 31 three-pointers this season. A versatile player, he also ranks second on the team in assists (50), blocks (20) and steals (26).

Conklin has been remarkable with his three-point shooting this season. The Hubbard, Ohio, native has frustrated opponents and thrilled his teammates by hitting an amazing 56.0 percent (51-of-91) from long range, including 66.7 percent (14-of-21) against nationally ranked teams. Conklin is averaging 7.3 points per game, more than double his average last season. With four treys at Kansas, Conklin became just the fourth Husker in history to drain at least 50 treys in two separate seasons, joining Cary Cochran, Jaron Boone and Erick Strickland.

Along with NU’s seniors, junior John Turek has helped the Huskers by gaining a career-high 9.2 points per game on 44.9 percent shooting. Turek, a Council Bluffs, Iowa, native, adds a team-high 5.6 rebounds and 37 blocked shots this year, and has made outstanding improvements in his free throw shooting. Turek has hit 72.2 percent from the line this year after entering the season a career 44.9 percent shooter. He has hit 70-of-97 free throw attempts this year, after connecting on just 62-of-148 in his first two years combined.

Behind their play, the Huskers have hit 46.9 percent from the floor, including a league-leading 39.7 percent from three-point range. NU’s three-point shooting also ranks 13th in the country, while the Huskers are 42nd nationally in field-goal percentage and 47th in free throw percentage.

Nebraska’s success this season has come behind a solid defensive effort, as the Huskers lead the league and rank sixth nationally in field-goal percentage defense by allowing opponents to hit just 39.0 percent from the floor. Clamping down on defense has helped NU limit opponents to just 60.9 ppg, which ranks first in the league and 16th nationally.

A Quick Look at the Scenarios
Several scenarios still exist before the final seeds in the Big 12 Tournament bracket are complete. The only seeds already set before this weekend’s games are No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Kansas and No. 11 Texas A&M. Other things we know include: Colorado and Missouri will finish between Nos. 4 and 6; Texas Tech can finish as high as No. 4 and low as No. 7; Iowa State will finish anywhere between Nos. 6 and No. 8; and Oklahoma will be either the No. 7 or 8 seed.

Nebraska and Kansas State will be either a No. 9 or 10 seed. While it’s a long process that still needs to be played out this weekend, Nebraska’s opponent will be one of three teams: Texas Tech, Oklahoma or Iowa State.

A Husker victory Saturday at Colorado assures NU of the No. 9 seed, while an NU loss and Kansas State loss to Texas would also give Nebraska the 9 seed. A Husker loss and Wildcat victory would put NU and KSU into a tie for ninth in the league regular-season standings, but Kansas State would take the No. 9 seed in the tournament by virtue of sweeping the season series with NU.

Who’s Hot?
? Guard Nate Johnson has led the Huskers down the stretch, averaging 17.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game over the past five contests. Johnson has hit 51.7 percent from the field in that span, including 61.5 percent (24-of-39) inside the arc, and has converted on 86.4 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe.

Johnson recorded his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds in a 72-44 thumping of No. 25 Texas Tech. He added a second straight double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds in NU’s exciting 68-65 victory over Iowa State Feb. 28.

Johnson leads Nebraska with 13.4 points per game in 2003-04, while hitting 49.3 percent from the floor. He ranks third in the league in free throw (87.0) and three-point field-goal (43.9) percentage, while ranking 14th in field-goal percentage (49.3).

Johnson is the only player to rank in the top 15 in the Big 12 Conference in field-goal percentage, free throw percentage and three-point field-goal 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 56.0 percent (51-of-91) from beyond the arc this season, including 60.7 percent (34-of-56) in league-only games. Only one player in league history (Kirk Hinrich, Kansas; 50.5 percent, 2000-01) has topped 50 percent beyond the arc for a whole season.

Over the past eight games, Conklin has hit 62.5 percent (20-of-32) from three-point range. Conklin has hit 56.3 percent (18-of-32) from three-point range on the road this season. At home, Conklin has hit 33-of-59 (55.9 percent), including a streak of 13 straight made three-point attempts over four games from Jan. 21 to Feb. 15.

? Junior guard Jake Muhleisen has averaged 11.5 points over the past two games while hitting 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. Muhleisen has added 1.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.5 steals in those two contests, and is one of four players averaging double-figures.

Muhleisen, who is averaging 7.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game this season, saw his production improve after Texas Tech held him scoreless for the first time in his career.

? Nebraska’s three-point defense has been outstanding the past seven games, as the Huskers have held opponents to just 26.9 percent shooting (25-of-93) from outside the arc. The only two teams have hit better than 30 percent in that stretch.

On the season, Nebraska leads the Big 12 in three-point field-goal percentage defense by allowing just 30.6 percent. NU has held opponents to below 30 percent from downtown 12 times this year, including four times to 15.0 percent or less.

Scouting the Buffaloes
Colorado enters the final weekend of the regular season with a 17-9 overall record and a 9-6 mark in conference play. The Buffaloes have won five of their last eight games, including four straight between Feb. 18 and Feb. 28. CU can still earn either the No. 4, 5 or 6 seed in the league tournament depending on the outcome of this weekend’s contests.

The Buffs have been playing well in the league the past six weeks, and have been even more dominant at home. CU owns an 11-3 record at the Coors Events Center and is 6-1 in league action. Colorado has won eight straight at home, including six in conference action.

Colorado has averaged 74.3 points per game this season while hitting 46.6 percent from the floor to rank third in the league behind Oklahoma State (51.3) and Nebraska (46.9). CU has also hit 36.4 percent from downtown to rank sixth in the league. The Buffs are also in the middle of the conference standings in field-goal percentage defense (6th, 41.4) and three-point field-goal percentage defense (7th, 35.6).

Junior center David Harrison leads the Buffaloes with 16.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game to rank in the top five in the conference. The 7-0, 250-pounder also leads the Big 12 in field-goal percentage by hitting 61.5 percent from the floor, and is first in blocked shots with 2.85 per game. Harrison, who is hitting just 53.8 percent from the foul stripe, is also second in the league in offensive rebounds.

Right behind Harrison in the scoring column is senior guard Michel Morandais, who is averaging 16.2 points per game on 41.9 percent shooting from the field. He has added 4.3 rebounds and a team-high 3.2 assists per game. Morandais ranks second on the team with 51 three-pointers, trailing only senior Blair Wilson’s 70 treys. Wilson has averaged 12.7 points while hitting 40.7 percent from long range.

Senior Lamar Harris is second on the team with 8.4 rebounds per game and has added 7.4 points on 42.4 percent shooting. He is also second on the squad in blocked shots with 34.

The Buffaloes are coached by Ricardo Patton, who is in eighth season at CU. Patton owns a 142-112 career record, all at Colorado, and is 8-10 against the Huskers.

Series History
The Huskers and Buffaloes will be meeting for the 134th time since the series started in the 1902-03 season with a 28-12 Nebraska victory in Boulder. Nebraska and Colorado played just three more times over the next 45 years before the yearly rivalry began in 1947-48.

Nebraska won the first eight games of the series, including five on the Buffs’ home court, but CU has come back to take a 36-23 lead at home. The series has been evenly contested in the recent past, as CU holds a slim 6-4 lead in the past 10 games, including winning four of the last five meetings. Two of those games have gone into overtime, with NU pulling out the win each time, including one on the road in 2001.

The Huskers have won 26 of the past 38 meetings overall, although the teams have split the regular-season series each of the past four seasons. Each team won on its home court the past two years after splitting the series with each team winning the road game in 2000-01.

Nebraska will look to do the same this year, as it tries to even its series record with CU after the Buffaloes took a 68-60 victory over NU in Lincoln on Jan. 14. Nebraska held Colorado to 44.7 percent shooting from the floor and trailed on the boards by just three, 36-33, but CU hit 18-of-26 free throw attempts while NU got to the line just 12 times, converting seven. The Huskers also hit just 33.3 percent from the field in the second half, but stayed in the contest by draining 9-of-16 three-point attempts, including 5-of-6 in the opening frame.

Nate Johnson and John Turek led the Huskers in the first meeting with the Buffs, with each scoring 13 points. Turek hit 6-of-9 from the floor and added five boards, one block and two steals while Johnson was 2-of-2 from long range and added four rebounds. Andrew Drevo added 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. The Huskers limited CU center David Harrison to just seven points and six boards while forcing him into seven turnovers. Michel Morandais and Blair Wilson made up for Harrison’s absence, as they combined for 33 points and eight boards.

Last year, the Huskers also ended the regular season in Boulder, where they fell 84-69. Nebraska fell behind by 25 early in the second period but came back to cut the deficit to single digits in the final three minutes. Andrew Drevo and Nate Johnson each scored 19 points and the Huskers hit the boards hard in the second frame ? NU finished down just four, 43-39, on the glass ? to fuel the comeback.