NU Announces Exciting Men?s Basketball Schedule

Lincoln -- After an exciting finish last season that saw the Nebraska men’s basketball team post a pair of victories in the National Invitation Tournament, the Huskers return to face another tough schedule in 2004-05. Nebraska will take on 12 teams that earned postseason bids last year, including four in non-conference action, while at least eight of Nebraska’s contests will be televised on ESPN or ESPN Regional.

The Huskers’ schedule features non-conference home games against Creighton and Big Ten foe Minnesota, along with road contests against UAB, which reached the Sweet 16 last year, and 2004 NIT participants Tennessee and Marquette.

"This is a schedule that will be highly competitive throughout the year and will pit us against a number of teams that will receive postseason considerations," said fifth-year Coach Barry Collier. "We have several returning players who have been through the Big 12 grind. By adding teams such as UAB, a Sweet 16 team last year, and Marquette, which made it to the Final Four two years ago, the non-conference schedule will help us prepare for the tough conference competition we face every year."

After a pair of home exhibitions, including a contest against in-state foe Nebraska-Kearney (Nov. 13), the Huskers open the regular season at home against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 23. Nebraska returns to the Devaney Center court on Nov. 27 against Texas Southern.

Nebraska’s first road test of the year comes in Game 3, when the Huskers head south to take on UAB in Birmingham on Dec. 2 in a game televised by ESPN. The Blazers caught the attention of the nation in last year’s NCAA Tournament when they entered the field as the No. 9 seed before knocking off Washington and No. 1-seed Kentucky by a combined three points to reach the Sweet 16, where UAB fell to Kansas. The Blazers finished the year with a 22-10 record, one of 10 teams Nebraska will face this year that won at least 18 games last season.

Nebraska defeated UAB, 64-55, in Birmingham on Nov. 24, 1978, in the season opener, marking the Blazers’ first collegiate men’s basketball game. The Huskers own a 2-0 record overall against UAB following a 92-84 win in four overtimes on Dec. 22, 1979, a game that ranks as the longest in Nebraska history.

After returning to Lincoln, the Huskers will take on Morgan State on Dec. 6 to start a four-game homestand, the longest of the year. Nebraska will then face Minnesota at the Devaney Center on Dec. 8, marking the 63rd time the teams have met in the series. Nebraska earned a 77-60 win over the Golden Gophers in Minneapolis last season, just the sixth road win for the Huskers in the series. NU has won three of the last five meetings with UM, including the past two by at least 15 points.

Creighton comes to Lincoln on Dec. 11 for the first meeting between the teams since a one-point Nebraska road victory in the opening round of last year’s NIT. The win snapped a five-game winning streak by the Bluejays and gave NU a 22-15 series lead.

Nebraska ends the homestand with a matchup against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 18 before its final non-conference road tilts. The Huskers face Conference USA foe Marquette, which won 19 games last season after reaching the Final Four in 2003, on Dec. 21 in Milwaukee. It will be the first matchup between the teams since 1987, as the series is tied at 3-3.

The Huskers then head to Knoxville, Tenn., to take on Tennessee on Dec. 30. Nebraska looks to move to 2-0 in the series with the Vols after a dominating defensive performance propelled NU to a 77-62 victory in Lincoln last year. Nebraska then faces Montana State on Jan. 2 before jumping into conference action.

The Huskers open play in the rugged Big 12 at home against Kansas State on Saturday, Jan. 8. It will be NU’s first conference opener at the Devaney Center since the formation of the league in 1996-97 (eight years), and the first time the Huskers have faced KSU in a conference opener since 1999-2000.

Seven of the Huskers’ next eight games will be against teams that earned postseason bids last year, starting with a road trip to Colorado on Wednesday, Jan. 12, followed by a home contest against Texas on Saturday, Jan. 15. Colorado is one of seven opponents that appeared in the 2004 NIT, while Texas was one of five NU foes to earn a trip to the Big Dance, including four league schools. The Big 12 has placed at least one team in the NCAA Final Four each of the past three seasons.

Following road trips to Kansas on Wednesday, Jan. 19, and Missouri on Saturday, Jan. 22, the Huskers return home to take on Texas A&M on Wednesday, Jan. 26. Nebraska follows with a trip to Texas to face Texas Tech on Saturday, Jan. 29. The Huskers’ 75-44 win over the No. 25 Red Raiders last year in Lincoln was Nebraska’s largest victory ever over a nationally ranked team.

The Huskers then complete the non-conference schedule with a Feb. 1 contest against Utah Valley State in preparation for a Saturday, Feb. 5 matchup against Kansas in the Devaney Center. The contest will tip off at 11 a.m. and will be televised on ESPN. Nebraska handed the 14th-ranked Jayhawks a 74-55 loss in Lincoln last year to snap KU’s nine-game series win streak.

Nebraska’s home slate in conference play will not get any easier, as it also faces Iowa State (Tuesday, Feb. 8), Missouri (Saturday, Feb. 19), 2004 FInal Four participant Oklahoma State (Tuesday, Feb. 22) and Colorado (Wednesday, March 2). The Huskers’ remaining road games include stops at Baylor (Saturday, Feb. 12), Oklahoma (Wednesday, Feb. 16) and Iowa State (Sunday, Feb. 27) before closing out the regular season on Saturday, March 5 at Kansas State. The Huskers then head to Kansas City, Mo., for the 2005 Big 12 Tournament from March 10-13.

For Husker ticket information on the upcoming season, including outstanding season ticket packages for every budget, contact the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-8BIGRED or place an order on-line at Huskers.com.

 

2004-05 Nebraska Men’s Basketball Notes

? Nebraska will face 12 teams in 2004-05 that reached the postseason last year including:

2004 NCAA participants (5)
UAB
Texas
Kansas
Texas Tech
Oklahoma State

2004 NIT participants (7)
Creighton
Marquette
Tennessee
Colorado
Missouri
Iowa State
Oklahoma

? The Huskers will play 16 regular-season home games at the Bob Devaney Sports Center this season. Nebraska played 18 home games in 2003-04, including an NIT victory over Niagara on its way to a 15-3 home record. NU owns a 332-103 record in 28 years at the Devaney Center.

? Nebraska opens new non-conference series in 2004-05 on the road against UAB, which made the Sweet 16 last year, and Marquette, which reached the 2003 Final Four. The Blazers and Golden Eagles return the game in Lincoln in 2005-06. The Huskers complete a home-home series with Tennessee when they head to Knoxville, Tenn., on Dec. 30.

? The Huskers open the Big 12 schedule at home for the first time since the start of the league in 1996-97 (eight seasons). Nebraska’s last home conference opener came in the final year of the Big Eight Conference (1995-96), when NU defeated Colorado, 79-74, at the Devaney Center.

? Nebraska will have at least eight games televised on ESPN or ESPN Regional. The Huskers have averaged more than 12 televised contests (national, regional and local) each of the past four years.

? Coach Barry Collier enters his fifth season guiding the Huskers. Collier led NU to its first postseason appearance in five years in 2004, when the Huskers went 2-1 in the National Invitation Tournament to finish the season with an 18-13 record. Collier owns a 252-195 career record in 15 seasons, including a 56-63 record in four years with the Huskers.

? Nebraska returns 10 letterwinners from last year’s squad, including three starters in seniors Jake Muhleisen, John Turek and Marcus Neal Jr. Senior Corey Simms also returns for his fourth season, while other returning players include juniors Jason Dourisseau, Wes Wilkinson, Bronsen Schliep and Tony Wilbrand, and sophomores Charles Richardson Jr. and Shuan Stegall.

? Nebraska adds five newcomers to the roster in 2004-05, including four scholarship recruits in junior college transfer Marcus Perry and freshmen Joe McCray, Aleks Maric and Jim Ledsome. Walk-on Paul Velander also joined the squad at the start of first semester classes on Aug. 23.

? The Huskers open practice on Oct. 16. The Big 12 Conference Media Days will take place on Wednesday-Thursday, Oct. 27-28, in Kansas City, Mo., site of the 2005 Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Tournament. The Nebraska men are slated to appear at the media event on Oct. 27 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.