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Lincoln --The Nebraska men's basketball team continues action in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) on Friday, March 19, when it plays host to Niagara in a first-round matchup at the Devaney 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 will be playing host to its first postseason game since 1998-99 when the Purple Eagles make the trek to Lincoln. The Huskers own a 13-1 record in NIT games played at the Devaney Center with the only loss coming against Penn State, 65-59, in the second round of the 1995 tournament. NU has won three straight home NIT games since that defeat.
The Huskers are 15-1 in NIT games played in the state of Nebraska after NU's 71-70 win over Creighton in the opening round Tuesday. Nebraska also defeated the Bluejays, 52-50, in its only other postseason meeting with CU. Both contests were played in Omaha.
The Purple Eagles enter as one of the top scoring teams in the country by putting up 82 points per game. Niagara has topped the century mark four times this year and is 19-3 when recording at least 70 points, but is 2-6 when being held to fewer than 69 points.
The Huskers will be looking for their 17th win of the season overall. NU has reached that mark just 21 times in the program's first 107 years, including six times in the past decade.
The winner of Friday's Nebraska-Niagara contest advances to take on Hawaii in an NIT second-round game on Monday, March 22, on the Hawaii at Manoa campus. The game will tip off at 6 p.m. Hawaiian local time (10 p.m. CST). The Rainbow Warriors defeated No. 25 Utah State, 85-74, in Logan, Utah, on Wednesday.
Nebraska's Postseason Tournament History
Nebraska earned its 19th postseason tournament berth in school history when the 40-team field for the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) was announced on Sunday, March 14. The postseason bid is Nebraska's first since 1998-99, when the Huskers went 20-13 on the year, including 1-1 in the NIT.
The Huskers made the most of their first postseason appearance under Coach Barry Collier by knocking off host Creighton, 71-70, Tuesday night in Omaha. The Huskers trailed by nine points, 65-56, with less than five minutes left in the game, but forced the Bluejays to miss their final eight field-goal attempts to pull out Nebraska's 10th straight victory in its opening game of the NIT.
Overall, the Huskers own a 21-11 record in 13 NIT appearances. The Huskers' first official postseason berth was secured in 1966-67, when the Huskers went 16-8 in the regular season and earned a bye in the first round to reach the NIT quarterfinals. NU then lost to Marshall, 119-88.
It was another decade before the Huskers returned to the postseason, where they won their first-ever postseason game with an exciting 67-66 victory over Utah State in the first round of the 1978 NIT. Since then, Nebraska has won 11 of 12 contests to open the NIT.
The Huskers made their first serious run at an NIT title in 1983, when Nebraska won three straight games to advance to the semifinals before falling to DePaul, 68-58, in Madison Square Garden. It was the first of five straight postseason appearances for the Huskers, including their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 1986. In the final season of that stretch, 1987, Husker fans were treated to another semifinal appearance in the NIT, where Nebraska fell to Southern Mississippi, 82-75. NU rebounded two days later to win the third-place game over Arkansas-Little Rock, 76-67, in overtime.
After reaching the second round of the NIT in 1989, the Huskers reeled off a school-record four straight NCAA Tournament appearances between 1991 and 1994. The Huskers secured their sixth and most recent NCAA bid in 1998, when the Huskers fell to Arkansas, 74-65, in the first round. Overall Nebraska is 0-6 in NCAA Tournament play.
Nebraska picked up its only postseason basketball championship in 1996, when the Huskers won five consecutive games to take the NIT crown. NU defeated Colorado State (91-83), Washington State (82-73), Fresno State (83-71), Tulane (90-78) and St. Joseph's (60-56) en route to the title. The Huskers finished the 1996 campaign with a 21-14 record, including losing nine of their last 10 regular-season games and their first-round contest in the Big Eight Tournament before rolling to the NIT championship.
The Huskers advanced to the third round of the NIT the following year and made their last postseason appearance in the 1999 NIT, when NU defeated UNLV, 68-55, at home and fell to TCU, 101-89, on the road.
Quick Season-in-Review
Coming off an 11-19 campaign, the Huskers jumped out of the gates and ran to a 10-1 non-conference record, including a perfect 9-0 mark at home. Adding in two wins at the end of last season, Nebraska's home-court win streak reached 11 games before being snapped by Colorado in the first conference home game of the season. It tied for the 11th-longest home win streak in school history.
Nebraska used strong performances on both ends of the court early in the season while defeating teams from some of the top conferences in the country. The Huskers made up for losses last season with wins over Arizona State (from the Pac-10) and South Florida (from Conference USA). Nebraska also dismantled Tennessee (from the SEC) while getting off to the program's best start since 1994-95.
League action proved to be a bit tougher as the Huskers dropped six of their first seven to open Big 12 play. Five of the six losses came after Nebraska had led or tied the game midway through the second half, including a 63-61 heartbreaker against No. 18/16 Texas in Austin and a 52-50 loss to No. 25 Oklahoma at home. Nebraska led in the last three minutes of each game, but the Longhorns and Sooners each made contested shots down the stretch to win the game.
Following a road setback against Kansas State, the Huskers looked to turn things around as they went on a three-game win streak starting with a 78-62 victory over Missouri, which had defeated the Huskers by 21 points just two weeks earlier. NU added its first conference road win in two years at Texas A&M and handed No. 12/13 Kansas a 74-55 loss before KSU dashed the Huskers' momentum with a win in Lincoln.
The Huskers bounced back from the loss by taking league champion Oklahoma State to overtime before falling 87-83 in Stillwater just three days later. NU then won its last two home games to move to 14-3 at the Devaney Center by crushing No. 25 Texas Tech, 72-44, and coming from three points down in the final 50 seconds to win 68-65 over Iowa State.
In the final week of the regular season, NU pushed a pair of tough teams on the road before falling by 11 at No. 21/18 Kansas, 78-67, and by three at Colorado, 78-75. NU dropped its first-round contest in the Big 12 Tournament against Oklahoma, 63-59, after leading by 13 at halftime. NU then learned it had picked up its first postseason bid since 1998-99, where it came back with win No. 17 of the season in a 71-70 come-from-behind victory over Creighton in the opening round of the NIT.
About the Huskers
Nebraska (17-12) continues play in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) with a first-round matchup against Niagara (22-9) of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Friday at the Devaney Center. The Huskers began postseason play with an opening-round victory over instate rival Creighton, 71-70, on Tuesday in Omaha. The win snapped a three-game Husker losing streak and a five-game losing streak against the Bluejays.
The Huskers are one of three Big 12 Conference teams still alive in NIT play after Iowa State and Oklahoma each advanced in first-round action on Wednesday. The win over Creighton extended NU's winning streak in its first contest of the NIT (opening round and first round action) to 10 games while NU improved to 2-6 in contests decided by five points or less this season.
In getting over the hump against the Bluejays, the Huskers picked up their 17th win of the season, a six-game improvement in the win column over last year. It is the most victories for the Huskers under fourth-year Coach Barry Collier and marks NU's first winning season since the 1998-99 campaign.
Nebraska's success this year has come behind a sturdy defense that ranks among the best in the Big 12 in 2003-04 and among the best at NU in at least two decades. NU allowed just 61.9 points per game this season while giving up more than 70 points seven times in 29 games. It is NU's lowest scoring defense since 1984 when NU allowed 61.6 ppg.
NU has allowed opponents to hit just 39.4 percent from the floor this season, including 32.1 percent from three-point range. The Huskers have not held foes to less than 40.0 percent shooting for a whole season since 1961 when opponents hit just 36.7 percent.
Non-conference foes have been less successful. Nebraska is 11-1 against non-league teams in 2003-04 while allowing just 54.1 points per game on 35.1 percent shooting. Non-Big 12 opponents have hit just 26.7 percent from three-point range against the Huskers this season while only Creighton has scored at least 65 points. Nebraska has held non-conference opponents to less than 60 points six times this season at the Devaney Center, including a building record-low 26 points by Bethune-Cookman in a 44-point NU victory on Dec. 20.
Nebraska has been dominating against non-conference opponents at home, where the Huskers are 9-0 this year and have won 12 straight non-league games dating to last year. NU has picked up home wins against teams from three power leagues, the Southeastern (Tennessee) and Pac-10 Conferences (Arizona State) and Conference USA (South Florida).
Overall, Nebraska is 14-3 at home in 2003-04. NU has not won 15 home games since earning a 15-2 record at the Devaney Center in 1986-87. Nebraska has won more than 15 games in a season at the BDSC only once, when NU picked up a school-record 17 home wins (against one loss) during the 1982-83 campaign.
Offensively the Huskers have hit 46.4 percent from the field to rank third in the conference while averaging 69.8 points per game. Nebraska leads the Big 12 by hitting at a school-record pace from beyond the arc, where NU has connected on 39.0 percent.
Who's Hot?
? Senior forward Andrew Drevo broke out of a late-season slump in a big way in NU's opening-round NIT contest at Creighton Tuesday. The 6-8, 250-pounder from Lincoln picked up his team-leading fourth 20-point contest and just missed a double-double with 20 points and nine boards, both team highs. Drevo hit 9-of-16 shots from the floor to tie his season high in both categories. He also hit 9-of-16 field-goal attempts against Creighton in the regular-season matchup.
Drevo ranks second on the squad in scoring (11.0 ppg), three-pointers (32), blocks (22) and steals (27) and third in rebounding (4.6 rpg) and assists. He has hit 46.0 percent from the floor and 78.4 percent from the charity stripe while starting 26 games.
? Junior guard Jake Muhleisen helped NU extend its season at least one more game by hitting 6-of-12 shots from the floor Tuesday against Creighton while adding a season-high 17 points. It was Muhleisen's highest scoring output since tallying 19 points against Denver on Jan. 4, 2003. That effort came just three games before he suffered a fractured hip in the conference opener, forcing him to miss the final 15 games of last season.
It was Muhleisen's ninth double-figure scoring effort of the season and third in the past five games since being held scoreless for the first time in his career against Texas Tech. His six field goals tied his season high as did his two blocks against the Bluejays.
On the year, Muhleisen is averaging 7.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while leading the team with 32 steals.
? Senior forward Conklin has been nearly unstoppable from three-point range this season, but has helped the Huskers even more lately by stepping up his play on the boards. Over the past five games, Conklin has averaged 6.2 rebounds per contest, nearly double his season average of 3.7 boards per game. He recorded a season-high eight rebounds Tuesday against Creighton.
From long range, the 6-11, 240-pounder has given opponents nightmares by hitting 56.4 percent (57-of-101) from beyond the arc while averaging 7.2 points per game. Since being inserted into the starting lineup 12 games ago, Conklin has hit 57.4 percent (27-of-47) from three-point range while averaging 8.0 points per game.
Scouting the Purple Eagles
Niagara enters the first-round NIT matchup with the Huskers with a 22-9 overall record after winning seven of its last eight games. The Purple Eagles' only loss in that stretch came in a 62-61 setback against Manhattan in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference finals on March 8. Niagara, which won 20 games for the 13th time in history, also picked up a 13-5 record in league play to finish second in the conference standings.
Niagara is making its first NIT appearance since 1993 and 12th overall in the program's history. Niagara reached the 1972 NIT title game with three straight wins before falling to Maryland, 100-69, in the final.
The Purple Eagles moved into the NIT first round with an 87-83 victory over Troy State on Wednesday, March 17. Senior guard Tremmell Darden led Niagara with a game-high 26 points while junior forward Juan Mendez added 20 points and a game-high 16 rebounds.
Mendez leads the Purple Eagles by averaging 20.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per game this season while hitting 52.0 percent from the floor and 81.0 percent from the free throw line. He averaged 21.0 points and 11.7 rebounds in three games to earn All-MAAC Tournament Team honors for the second straight season.
Darden has been just as productive by averaging 18.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Darden has posted 11 double-doubles this season and was named to the league's all-tournament team along with Mendez. Both Darden (first team) and Mendez (second team) were named to the NABC All-District 2 Team.
Guard David Brooks and forward James Reaves add 12.6 and 11.6 points per game, respectively, to give the Purple Eagles four double-figure scorers. Reaves has added a team-high 9.6 rebounds per contest and ranks second behind Mendez (56) with 41 blocked shots. Point guard Alvin
Huskers Play Host to Niagara in NIT First Round
The Nebraska men's basketball team continues action in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) on Friday, March 19, when it plays host to Niagara in a first-round matchup at the Devaney 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 will be playing host to its first postseason game since 1998-99 when the Purple Eagles make the trek to Lincoln. The Huskers own a 13-1 record in NIT games played at the Devaney Center with the only loss coming against Penn State, 65-59, in the second round of the 1995 tournament. NU has won three straight home NIT games since that defeat.
The Huskers are 15-1 in NIT games played in the state of Nebraska after NU's 71-70 win over Creighton in the opening round Tuesday. Nebraska also defeated the Bluejays, 52-50, in its only other postseason meeting with CU. Both contests were played in Omaha.
The Purple Eagles enter as one of the top scoring teams in the country by putting up 82 points per game. Niagara has topped the century mark four times this year and is 19-3 when recording at least 70 points, but is 2-6 when being held to fewer than 69 points.
The Huskers will be looking for their 17th win of the season overall. NU has reached that mark just 21 times in the program's first 107 years, including six times in the past decade.
The winner of Friday's Nebraska-Niagara contest advances to take on Hawaii in an NIT second-round game on Monday, March 22, on the Hawaii at Manoa campus. The game will tip off at 6 p.m. Hawaiian local time (10 p.m. CST). The Rainbow Warriors defeated No. 25 Utah State, 85-74, in Logan, Utah, on Wednesday.
Nebraska's Postseason Tournament History
Nebraska earned its 19th postseason tournament berth in school history when the 40-team field for the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) was announced on Sunday, March 14. The postseason bid is Nebraska's first since 1998-99, when the Huskers went 20-13 on the year, including 1-1 in the NIT.
The Huskers made the most of their first postseason appearance under Coach Barry Collier by knocking off host Creighton, 71-70, Tuesday night in Omaha. The Huskers trailed by nine points, 65-56, with less than five minutes left in the game, but forced the Bluejays to miss their final eight field-goal attempts to pull out Nebraska's 10th straight victory in its opening game of the NIT.
Overall, the Huskers own a 21-11 record in 13 NIT appearances. The Huskers' first official postseason berth was secured in 1966-67, when the Huskers went 16-8 in the regular season and earned a bye in the first round to reach the NIT quarterfinals. NU then lost to Marshall, 119-88.
It was another decade before the Huskers returned to the postseason, where they won their first-ever postseason game with an exciting 67-66 victory over Utah State in the first round of the 1978 NIT. Since then, Nebraska has won 11 of 12 contests to open the NIT.
The Huskers made their first serious run at an NIT title in 1983, when Nebraska won three straight games to advance to the semifinals before falling to DePaul, 68-58, in Madison Square Garden. It was the first of five straight postseason appearances for the Huskers, including their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 1986. In the final season of that stretch, 1987, Husker fans were treated to another semifinal appearance in the NIT, where Nebraska fell to Southern Mississippi, 82-75. NU rebounded two days later to win the third-place game over Arkansas-Little Rock, 76-67, in overtime.
After reaching the second round of the NIT in 1989, the Huskers reeled off a school-record four straight NCAA Tournament appearances between 1991 and 1994. The Huskers secured their sixth and most recent NCAA bid in 1998, when the Huskers fell to Arkansas, 74-65, in the first round. Overall Nebraska is 0-6 in NCAA Tournament play.
Nebraska picked up its only postseason basketball championship in 1996, when the Huskers won five consecutive games to take the NIT crown. NU defeated Colorado State (91-83), Washington State (82-73), Fresno State (83-71), Tulane (90-78) and St. Joseph's (60-56) en route to the title. The Huskers finished the 1996 campaign with a 21-14 record, including losing nine of their last 10 regular-season games and their first-round contest in the Big Eight Tournament before rolling to the NIT championship.
The Huskers advanced to the third round of the NIT the following year and made their last postseason appearance in the 1999 NIT, when NU defeated UNLV, 68-55, at home and fell to TCU, 101-89, on the road.
Quick Season-in-Review
Coming off an 11-19 campaign, the Huskers jumped out of the gates and ran to a 10-1 non-conference record, including a perfect 9-0 mark at home. Adding in two wins at the end of last season, Nebraska's home-court win streak reached 11 games before being snapped by Colorado in the first conference home game of the season. It tied for the 11th-longest home win streak in school history.
Nebraska used strong performances on both ends of the court early in the season while defeating teams from some of the top conferences in the country. The Huskers made up for losses last season with wins over Arizona State (from the Pac-10) and South Florida (from Conference USA). Nebraska also dismantled Tennessee (from the SEC) while getting off to the program's best start since 1994-95.
League action proved to be a bit tougher as the Huskers dropped six of their first seven to open Big 12 play. Five of the six losses came after Nebraska had led or tied the game midway through the second half, including a 63-61 heartbreaker against No. 18/16 Texas in Austin and a 52-50 loss to No. 25 Oklahoma at home. Nebraska led in the last three minutes of each game, but the Longhorns and Sooners each made contested shots down the stretch to win the game.
Following a road setback against Kansas State, the Huskers looked to turn things around as they went on a three-game win streak starting with a 78-62 victory over Missouri, which had defeated the Huskers by 21 points just two weeks earlier. NU added its first conference road win in two years at Texas A&M and handed No. 12/13 Kansas a 74-55 loss before KSU dashed the Huskers' momentum with a win in Lincoln.
The Huskers bounced back from the loss by taking league champion Oklahoma State to overtime before falling 87-83 in Stillwater just three days later. NU then won its last two home games to move to 14-3 at the Devaney Center by crushing No. 25 Texas Tech, 72-44, and coming from three points down in the final 50 seconds to win 68-65 over Iowa State.
In the final week of the regular season, NU pushed a pair of tough teams on the road before falling by 11 at No. 21/18 Kansas, 78-67, and by three at Colorado, 78-75. NU dropped its first-round contest in the Big 12 Tournament against Oklahoma, 63-59, after leading by 13 at halftime. NU then learned it had picked up its first postseason bid since 1998-99, where it came back with win No. 17 of the season in a 71-70 come-from-behind victory over Creighton in the opening round of the NIT.
About the Huskers
Nebraska (17-12) continues play in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) with a first-round matchup against Niagara (22-9) of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Friday at the Devaney Center. The Huskers began postseason play with an opening-round victory over instate rival Creighton, 71-70, on Tuesday in Omaha. The win snapped a three-game Husker losing streak and a five-game losing streak against the Bluejays.
The Huskers are one of three Big 12 Conference teams still alive in NIT play after Iowa State and Oklahoma each advanced in first-round action on Wednesday. The win over Creighton extended NU's winning streak in its first contest of the NIT (opening round and first round action) to 10 games while NU improved to 2-6 in contests decided by five points or less this season.
In getting over the hump against the Bluejays, the Huskers picked up their 17th win of the season, a six-game improvement in the win column over last year. It is the most victories for the Huskers under fourth-year Coach Barry Collier and marks NU's first winning season since the 1998-99 campaign.
Nebraska's success this year has come behind a sturdy defense that ranks among the best in the Big 12 in 2003-04 and among the best at NU in at least two decades. NU allowed just 61.9 points per game this season while giving up more than 70 points seven times in 29 games. It is NU's lowest scoring defense since 1984 when NU allowed 61.6 ppg.
NU has allowed opponents to hit just 39.4 percent from the floor this season, including 32.1 percent from three-point range. The Huskers have not held foes to less than 40.0 percent shooting for a whole season since 1961 when opponents hit just 36.7 percent.
Non-conference foes have been less successful. Nebraska is 11-1 against non-league teams in 2003-04 while allowing just 54.1 points per game on 35.1 percent shooting. Non-Big 12 opponents have hit just 26.7 percent from three-point range against the Huskers this season while only Creighton has scored at least 65 points. Nebraska has held non-conference opponents to less than 60 points six times this season at the Devaney Center, including a building record-low 26 points by Bethune-Cookman in a 44-point NU victory on Dec. 20.
Nebraska has been dominating against non-conference opponents at home, where the Huskers are 9-0 this year and have won 12 straight non-league games dating to last year. NU has picked up home wins against teams from three power leagues, the Southeastern (Tennessee) and Pac-10 Conferences (Arizona State) and Conference USA (South Florida).
Overall, Nebraska is 14-3 at home in 2003-04. NU has not won 15 home games since earning a 15-2 record at the Devaney Center in 1986-87. Nebraska has won more than 15 games in a season at the BDSC only once, when NU picked up a school-record 17 home wins (against one loss) during the 1982-83 campaign.
Offensively the Huskers have hit 46.4 percent from the field to rank third in the conference while averaging 69.8 points per game. Nebraska leads the Big 12 by hitting at a school-record pace from beyond the arc, where NU has connected on 39.0 percent.
Who's Hot?
? Senior forward Andrew Drevo broke out of a late-season slump in a big way in NU's opening-round NIT contest at Creighton Tuesday. The 6-8, 250-pounder from Lincoln picked up his team-leading fourth 20-point contest and just missed a double-double with 20 points and nine boards, both team highs. Drevo hit 9-of-16 shots from the floor to tie his season high in both categories. He also hit 9-of-16 field-goal attempts against Creighton in the regular-season matchup.
Drevo ranks second on the squad in scoring (11.0 ppg), three-pointers (32), blocks (22) and steals (27) and third in rebounding (4.6 rpg) and assists. He has hit 46.0 percent from the floor and 78.4 percent from the charity stripe while starting 26 games.
? Junior guard Jake Muhleisen helped NU extend its season at least one more game by hitting 6-of-12 shots from the floor Tuesday against Creighton while adding a season-high 17 points. It was Muhleisen's highest scoring output since tallying 19 points against Denver on Jan. 4, 2003. That effort came just three games before he suffered a fractured hip in the conference opener, forcing him to miss the final 15 games of last season.
It was Muhleisen's ninth double-figure scoring effort of the season and third in the past five games since being held scoreless for the first time in his career against Texas Tech. His six field goals tied his season high as did his two blocks against the Bluejays.
On the year, Muhleisen is averaging 7.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while leading the team with 32 steals.
? Senior forward Conklin has been nearly unstoppable from three-point range this season, but has helped the Huskers even more lately by stepping up his play on the boards. Over the past five games, Conklin has averaged 6.2 rebounds per contest, nearly double his season average of 3.7 boards per game. He recorded a season-high eight rebounds Tuesday against Creighton.
From long range, the 6-11, 240-pounder has given opponents nightmares by hitting 56.4 percent (57-of-101) from beyond the arc while averaging 7.2 points per game. Since being inserted into the starting lineup 12 games ago, Conklin has hit 57.4 percent (27-of-47) from three-point range while averaging 8.0 points per game.
Scouting the Purple Eagles
Niagara enters the first-round NIT matchup with the Huskers with a 22-9 overall record after winning seven of its last eight games. The Purple Eagles' only loss in that stretch came in a 62-61 setback against Manhattan in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference finals on March 8. Niagara, which won 20 games for the 13th time in history, also picked up a 13-5 record in league play to finish second in the conference standings.
Niagara is making its first NIT appearance since 1993 and 12th overall in the program's history. Niagara reached the 1972 NIT title game with three straight wins before falling to Maryland, 100-69, in the final.
The Purple Eagles moved into the NIT first round with an 87-83 victory over Troy State on Wednesday, March 17. Senior guard Tremmell Darden led Niagara with a game-high 26 points while junior forward Juan Mendez added 20 points and a game-high 16 rebounds.
Mendez leads the Purple Eagles by averaging 20.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per game this season while hitting 52.0 percent from the floor and 81.0 percent from the free throw line. He averaged 21.0 points and 11.7 rebounds in three games to earn All-MAAC Tournament Team honors for the second straight season.
Darden has been just as productive by averaging 18.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Darden has posted 11 double-doubles this season and was named to the league's all-tournament team along with Mendez. Both Darden (first team) and Mendez (second team) were named to the NABC All-District 2 Team.
Guard David Brooks and forward James Reaves add 12.6 and 11.6 points per game, respectively, to give the Purple Eagles four double-figure scorers. Reaves has added a team-high 9.6 rebounds per contest and ranks second behind Mendez (56) with 41 blocked shots. Point guard Alvin Cruz adds 9.0 points and 6.1 assists per game.
Niagara ranks seventh nationally in scoring in 2003-04 by recording 82.0 points per game while hitting 44.8 percent from the field. The Purple Eagles have been productive in the paint where they have hit 51.0 percent, but have connected on just 32.6 percent from outside the arc. Niagara also holds a +4.0 rebounding advantage (40.1-36.1) and ranks among the national leaders with 4.9 blocks per game.
The Purple Eagles are coached by Joe Mihalich (La Salle, 1978), who is in his sixth season at Niagara where he owns a 106-72 record.
Series History
The Huskers and Purple Eagles will be meeting for the second time ever when they face off on Friday in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. Nebraska won the first matchup more than 65 years ago, when the Huskers took a 43-37 road victory in 1938. NU went 9-11 that season with just two road victories. The win over Niagara was Nebraska's only non-conference road victory that season. The Huskers were led by Robert Parsons, a three-year letterman who earned All-Big Six honors in 1937 and 1938. He was also Nebraska's fifth All-American in 1937.
Nebraska owns a 3-1 all-time record against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference members. The Huskers are 2-0 against Iona and own a 1-1 mark against Canisius. NU last played a MAAC team in 2001, when the Huskers defeated Iona, 81-80, in the first round of the San Juan Shootout. It was the first of three straight Husker victories by two points or less while on their way to the San Juan Shootout title.
adds 9.0 points and 6.1 assists per game.
Niagara ranks seventh nationally in scoring in 2003-04 by recording 82.0 points per game while hitting 44.8 percent from the field. The Purple Eagles have been productive in the paint where they have hit 51.0 percent, but have connected on just 32.6 percent from outside the arc. Niagara also holds a +4.0 rebounding advantage (40.1-36.1) and ranks among the national leaders with 4.9 blocks per game.
The Purple Eagles are coached by Joe Mihalich (La Salle, 1978), who is in his sixth season at Niagara where he owns a 106-72 record.
Series History
The Huskers and Purple Eagles will be meeting for the second time ever when they face off on Friday in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. Nebraska won the first matchup more than 65 years ago, when the Huskers took a 43-37 road victory in 1938. NU went 9-11 that season with just two road victories. The win over Niagara was Nebraska's only non-conference road victory that season. The Huskers were led by Robert Parsons, a three-year letterman who earned All-Big Six honors in 1937 and 1938. He was also Nebraska's fifth All-American in 1937.
Nebraska owns a 3-1 all-time record against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference members. The Huskers are 2-0 against Iona and own a 1-1 mark against Canisius. NU last played a MAAC team in 2001, when the Huskers defeated Iona, 81-80, in the first round of the San Juan Shootout. It was the first of three straight Husker victories by two points or less while on their way to the San Juan Shootout title.