Huskers Earn NIT Bid; Travels to Creighton Tuesday

Lincoln -- The Nebraska men's basketball team earned its 19th postseason bid in program history and first since 1998-99, as it was selected to play in the National Invitation Tournament's field of 40 announced Sunday. The Huskers will face Creighton in an opening-round game on Tuesday, March 16, in Omaha. The game will tip off at 7:05 p.m. at the Qwest Center OMAHA.

"We are pleased to be able to extend our season. Every player has worked hard with the goal of reaching the postseason and to be able to play in the NIT will be a beneficial experience for our team as we continue to move the program forward," said fourth-year Nebraska coach Barry Collier. "Whenever you make the postseason, it is an exciting time, not only for the players, but for our fans. The NIT is the nation's first postseason college basketball tournament, and it will provide a significant challenge for our team."

Nebraska owns a 16-12 overall record, including wins over two ranked squads in 2003-04. The Huskers ranked among the top three in the Big 12 Conference in scoring defense (1st), field-goal percentage defense (1st), three-point field-goal percentage (1st), free throw percentage (2nd), field-goal percentage (2nd), three-point field-goal percentage defense (2nd) and scoring margin (3rd) through the regular season.

The Huskers are on pace to set a school record for three-point field-goal percentage by hitting 39.1 percent from beyond the arc, and will rank among the NU top 10 in three-pointers made, free throw percentage, rebounding defense and fewest turnovers. Senior forward Brian Conklin, a 6-11, 240-pounder from Hubbard, Ohio, has paced Nebraska from beyond the arc, where he hit a Big 12-record 62.7 percent from three-point range in conference-only games, and is on pace to shatter the NU and Big 12 single-season three-point accuracy records.

Along with Conklin, senior guard Nate Johnson, a 6-1, 195-pounder from Kansas City, Kan., leads NU with 13.1 points per game while hitting 48.0 percent from the field. Johnson was named to the All-Big 12 team by the coaches (third-team) and Associated Press (honorable-mention) and was an all-district selection by the United States Basketball Writer's Association. Guards Corey Simms and Marcus Neal Jr. also received postseason honors from the league's sportswriters, as they were selected to the All-Reserve and All-Newcomer Teams, respectively.

The Huskers earned a 14-3 record at home in the Devaney Center, including resounding victories over Tennessee (77-62), Missouri (78-62), No. 12/13 Kansas (74-55) and No. 25 Texas Tech (72-44). Against ranked opponents, the Huskers earned a 2-4 record, with three of the losses coming by four points or less. Two of the losses to ranked squads were on the road, including an 87-83 overtime setback against No. 7 Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla.

Nebraska owns an impressive 20-11 record in 12 appearances in the postseason NIT, including winning the championship with five straight victories in 1996. NU also reached the NIT semifinals in 1983 and 1987. The Huskers have won nine consecutive first-round games in the NIT.

NIT opening-round games run Monday, March 15 through Wednesday, March 17, while first-round matchups run March 16-19. The NIT semifinals and finals will take place March 30 and April 1, respectively, in New York at Madison Square Gardens. The NIT began competition in 1938 as the first national postseason collegiate basketball tournament in the country, one year before the NCAA began postseason competition. Since its inception, the NIT has had 220 schools compete in the tournament with St. John's holding the record with five NIT titles.

The Huskers' matchup with Creighton will be the 37th in series history and second this season. The Bluejays won the first meeting of the year by a 61-54 margin in Omaha. The teams have met just once before in the postseason with Nebraska taking a 56-54 victory in the first round of the 1984 NIT in Omaha. The winner of the NU-CU game will play the winner of Wednesday's contest between Troy State and Niagra.

"This is a great opportunity for our basketball program," said NU Executive Associate A.D. Marc Boehm. "It is a great rivalry and is a great game for the state of Nebraska."

All of Nebraska's postseason contests will be carried live on the Pinnacle Sports Network and can be heard on Huskers.com. Tickets for the Nebraska-Creighton game can be purchased starting at 10 a.m. at the Qwest Center OMAHA, the Omaha Civic Auditorium box office, all Ticketmaster walk-up locations, Ticketmaster online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster and charging by phone at 402-422-1212. Ticket prices range from $6 to $25 each.

 

Nebraska Coach Barry Collier quotes on playing in the NIT (late Sunday night)

On getting into the postseason.

It’s a great thing for this year’s players and team. We wanted to keep playing together and an opportunity to be playing in the postseason is obviously a plus. The fact that we’re getting to go right up the road to play Creighton again is more of an opportunity for us.

 

Is it nice having seen Creighton already this year?

At this point in the season, anybody in the postseason is going to have had some success, so we knew we were going to see a good team and we definitely know that very well with Creighton. I think that Dana has done a really good job and has handled a tough loss within his team and they have played some awfully good basketball all year.

 

Were you kind of on pins and needles waiting for the word to come down?

There was no guarantee we would be playing again, so that was what we were faced with. We went at it (in practice) for a couple hours and realized when we broke that we’d be waiting on somebody else’s decision.

 

Have you talked to players tonight and heard their reaction?
I spoke to Jake (Muhleisen) and asked him to pass the word to everybody. He was excited and sounded determined and appreciative that we are getting to play again.

 

There are some teams that may not be motivated to play in the NIT. Do you feel your guys will be pretty excited and revved up about playing again?

Based on how practiced ended and the realization today that our season might be over, I would expect that they will play with a lot of enthusiasm on Tuesday because they definitely want to stay together.

 

With the short preparation time, is it a plus that you are playing a team you are familiar with?

Well, it goes both ways. I think both teams have evolved. I looked at it and it was 95 days ago that we played in Omaha. A lot has transpired since then and I’m sure both teams have gained a tremendous amount of experience in that time. And I think the fact that we are as familiar with each other as we are is going to probably make it a real struggle to come up with anything drastically different or surprising. It will boil down to execution play after play.

 

Your seniors have not beaten Creighton. Do you think getting another chance to face Creighton will be a motivational factor?

I think that it would have to be looked at as a positive opportunity because we have played them and they beat us. We obviously have an opportunity to play again.  I’ve seen them play several times on television since we played and they executed their offense and filled in the hole they had with Tyler (McKinney) going out. It’s really a sad thing, and I was disappointed to see that. I don’t know how he’s doing, but I hope that he comes back for them some day.

 

Was it surprising that only four teams got into the NCAA Tournament from the Big 12?

Yes it was. I thought that Colorado certainly deserved to get in by getting 10 wins in our league. You talk about the team winning the league getting in and the team winning the conference tournament getting in, which is the same team this year, but if you get 10 wins in this league you ought to get in. It’s a tough decision and I think that somebody will always be disappointed.

 

When you saw Colorado did not get in, did you worry about your spot in the NIT?

I never felt that we were secure, and you wonder if that will have an effect. But I would imagine the NIT is pretty excited to have all these teams from the Big 12 in.

 

Can you make a point about the strength of the Big 12 with five teams getting into the NIT and four in the NCAA?

Each team is going to try to advance on their own merits, but in the end you take all the teams that are still playing and how they do, and that’s how some people look at that. I would expect each of the teams in both tournaments to drive as hard as they can, as much for their season and team as for the league as a whole.

 

Can the experience of playing and practicing for the NIT turn into a positive and something to build off of?

It certainly can be and should be. I think any team that has a number of underclassmen coming back and is looking for ways to improve with the extra practices and games, whatever that amounts to, would definitely benefit from this experience.

 

 

 

 

Senior forward Brian Conklin quotes on getting to play in the NIT

How are you feeling about getting to play in the NIT?

This is definitely an incredible feeling that we get another chance. Hopefully we will make the most of it.

 

Do you like the chance to play Creighton again?

This just feels like a second life here, and we have a new opportunity with this team. Truthfully we didn’t have a very good feeling that we were going to get in and they let us in, so we’re very happy right now.

 

You sound excited to be in. Do you guys feel like this will be a good thing for the team and that the motivation will be there for however long you are alive in the NIT?

Most definitely. Any time you have a chance to play more basketball and play it in the (postseason) tournament and against another great team, you can’t ask for more. We would have loved to make the NCAA Tournament this year, but once that didn’t happen, this is it and it’s what we’re playing for now. We’re going to go after it.

 

What was practice like today (Sunday)?

We had a lot of anticipation and wondering what was going to go on. There is so much going through your head, wondering if we’re done or if we’re going to get another chance at this. We’re just blessed with another chance and we’re excited to get to practice Monday and get ready for Creighton. It will be nice to be a part of it and have the opportunity to play in the postseason because these past year’s sitting at home and watching on TV you feel like you’re missing out. It’s nice to be part of at least a section of the postseason.

 

You said you didn’t have a great feeling after losing Thursday and today after only four teams made the NCAA field. Did that make you feel more on edge?

Yes, that did put us on edge a little bit. We felt the opportunity was in our hands against Oklahoma and we let it slip away, so that was a little discouraging. Then when we saw they only took four in the NCAA, there were some really good teams that were left out of the NCAA Tournament. Obviously that meant that some good teams were going to get bumped to the NIT, and there’s only so many spots that are going to be filled. We’re really fortunate and appreciative of where we are at right now.