Huskers Set for Road Tilt at Tennessee

The Nebraska men's basketball team gets back into action on Dec. 30 when it travels to Knoxville, Tenn., to take on the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Huskers and Vols, who are meeting for just the second time in the series, tip off at 6 p.m. CST and the game can be heard on the Pinnacle Sports Network and Huskers.com with Randy Lee calling the action.

The contest can also be seen statewide on FSN Midwest (Channel 37 on Time Warner in Lincoln; Channel 47 on Cox Cable in Omaha; Channel 33 on Qwest Choice in Omaha) as part of Nebraska's local package. Fans in western Nebraska who only receive the FSN Rocky Mountain package will also be able to get the game, while the contest will be carried on DirecTV (Channel 648) and Dish Network (Channel 446). Greg Sharpe will handle play-by-play duties while former Husker Matt Davison adds color commentary.

Nebraska is looking to put together a pair of solid periods after getting strong results in just one half of each of the past two contests. The Huskers had an outstanding second period in a 22-point victory over North Carolina A&T at home, hitting 59.3 percent from the floor, including 57.1 percent from three-point range. NU came back to get off to a hot start against Marquette, hitting 51.9 percent in the opening frame before going cold in the second half of an 81-62 road loss.

A strong effort in each half will be needed for the Huskers to end a three-game non-conference road losing streak dating back to a season-ending loss at Hawaii last season. Nebraska will be playing its second straight non-conference road game when it faces the Vols. The last time the Huskers had back-to-back away games out of league play was in 1998, when Nebraska won at UMKC and San Francisco.

Despite gaining just a 1-1 record, the Huskers have played well as a team in the past two games. NU hit at least 46 percent from the field in each of the last two contests, after going five straight games connecting on less than 43 percent shooting. Nebraska's only other contest hitting above 46 percent came in the season opener when NU hit a season-best 54.4 percent from the floor. NU's opponents have hit under 40 percent in each of the past two contests.

The Huskers have also been moving the ball better in the past two games, as NU has averaged 18.0 assists against just 10.5 turnovers. Senior guard Marcus Neal Jr. has led the way with 12 assists versus three turnovers in that stretch, while junior forward Wes Wilkinson has gained seven assists against one turnover.

Meeting the Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee enters the matchup coming off a seven-day rest after earning a 90-49 victory over Campbell at home on Dec. 23. The win was UT's fourth in its last five games after starting the season with a 2-3 record.

The Vols own a 5-1 record at home in Thompson-Boling Arena this season. The arena has a capacity of 24,535 and is the largest basketball-only facility in the country.

Tennessee has averaged 72.8 points per game on 48.0 percent shooting from the field, including an impressive 43.0 percent from three-point range. UT has held a 32.9 to 31.3 advantage on the glass, but opponents have gained 69.0 points per contest by hitting 44.5 percent from the floor.

Senior guard Scooter McFadgon paces the squad with 16.0 points per game on 41.6 percent shooting. McFadgon has hit 90.0 percent (45-of-50) from the free throw stripe and adds 4.8 rebounds per game.

McFadgon is third on the team in three-pointers with 15, trailing freshman Chris Lofton (31-of-49) and junior C.J. Watson (17-of-44). Lofton led the country in three-point field-goal percentage (63.3) in the Dec. 20 NCAA statistics. Overall, Lofton is hitting 59.4 percent (41-of-69) from the floor. He is second on the squad with 12.4 points per game and 12 steals.

Watson is third on the team in scoring at 12.2 points per game while adding 4.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. Watson had a career-high 20 points in the Vols' last contest against Campbell, as he knocked down a school-record 5-of-5 three-point attempts against the Camels.

Senior forward Brandon Crump is UT's fourth double-figure scorer, as he is averaging 12.0 points and a team-best 5.6 rebounds per game. Crump paces the squad with 14 blocked shots and is third in field-goal percentage (58.0), trailing Lofton and junior transfer Andre Patterson, who is hitting 58.6 percent from the floor for 8.0 points per game.

The Vols are coached by Buzz Peterson (North Carolina, 1986), who is in his fourth year guiding the program. Peterson owns a 53-46 record with the Volunteers and a 158-96 career record in his ninth season as a head coach.

The Last Time We Met
Lincoln (12/13/04) --- Nebraska held Tennessee to just 27.8 percent shooting from the floor and John Turek scored a team-high 21 points as the Huskers posted an impressive 77-62 victory over the Volunteers at the Devaney Center.

After scoring just 18 points over the previous four games, Turek broke out of his slump by hitting 7-of-13 shots and all seven free throws to lead three Huskers in double figures. He also chipped in five rebounds and three steals in 31 minutes. Nate Johnson had 14 points and nine rebounds, while Corey Simms chipped in 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting.

The Huskers took advantage of Tennessee’s shooting woes. The Vols entered the game averaging 90.0 points per game, but shot just 27.8 percent from the floor, including 11.1 percent in the opening 20 minutes.

Tennessee took a 6-4 lead on Stanley Asumnu’s three-pointer with 15:15 left in the first half, but the Huskers took control of the game with a 26-8 run. Turek scored all 11 of his first-half points in the spurt.

The Vols hit just 3-of-27 from the floor in the first half, including a drought of 15:09 without a field goal. Tennessee also committed 10 turnovers before trailing 30-17 at the break. Brandon Crump’s dunk with 9.9 seconds left before intermission was UT’s only two-point basket of the first half.

Crump scored a game-high 25 points, including 18 in the second half, but was the only Tennessee player to finish in double figures. The Huskers held guard Scooter McFadgon, who was averaging a team-high 22.0 points per game, to just seven points on 3-of-22 shooting. McFadgon and C.J. Watson hit a combined 2-for-15 from three-point range in the loss.

Nebraska took its largest lead of the day at 50-26 on Jason Dourisseau’s thunderous dunk with 12:37 remaining in the game. The dunk caused a short delay as the support stand came crashing down, putting the 8,206 fans in attendance on their feet and was among Chris Berman's Top 10 Plays of the Week on ESPN.

UT mounted a comeback, closing to within 11 points on several occasions, but could not cut the lead into single figures. NU converted 21-of-25 from the foul line in the second half to hold on for the win.

Nebraska vs. Tennessee notes
? The Huskers improved to 9-19 all-time against Southeastern Conference teams, and 1-0 in the series vs. UT. The win stopped a three-game losing streak for the Huskers against SEC competition.

? Tennessee finished the first half hitting just 3-of-27 shots, the fewest field goals NU allowed in a period since 1987 against Arkansas in the NIT. Tennessee's 11.1 percent (3-of-27) shooting in the first half was the first time since 1997 that NU held an opponent to less than 15 percent shooting in a period.

? Point guard Charles Richardson Jr. made his third career start, picking up a career-high nine assists.

? John Turek finished with 21 points, marking his second 20-point contest of the season and third of his career. He added a season-high three steals, as Nebraska recorded a season-high 12 steals as a team. Turek was also 7-of-7 at the free throw line, as the Huskers hit 27-of-34 from the charity stripe.

? Nebraska held Tennessee to 62 points, 28 below its season average of 90.0 points per contest. The Vols entered the contest ranked ninth in the nation in scoring offense, and 14th in scoring margin at +20.0.

Nebraska's Last Time Out
Milwaukee --- Nebraska held Marquette to just 39.7 percent shooting for the game, but the Golden Eagles dominated the glass and hit nearly half their shots from long range to run away with an 81-62 victory over the Huskers in front of 12,211 fans at the Bradley Center. Marquette senior Travis Diener led the way as he scored 32 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including hitting 7-of-11 from three-point range.

MU hit 12-of-26 from long range, but managed to convert on just 11-of-32 (34.4 percent) inside the arc. The Golden Eagles also held a 44-23 advantage on the boards after the Huskers entered the game having outrebounded six of its first seven opponents by an average of 12 boards per game.

Nebraska came out strong, hitting a season-best 51.9 percent (14-of-27) in the opening period.

Freshman Joe McCray started the scoring, hitting a three-pointer just 13 seconds into the contest. The teams went back and forth with Marquette opening a 12-7 lead just over four minutes into the game on Diener’s fourth straight trey, but Nebraska battled back. The Huskers pulled ahead by one, 23-22, on Jake Muhleisen’s breakaway layup at the 9:06 mark, and make it a four-point advantage with 8:28 left before the intermission on a McCray three-pointer.

But the Huskers made just three more baskets over the final eight minutes of the half as NU trailed by eight at the break, 41-33.  Marquette hit 8-of-14 from three-point range in the opening frame, including five from Diener.

Diener scored the Golden Eagles’ first 12 points of the game on three-pointers, as Marquette hit six of its first seven from beyond the arc. Diener finished with a game-high 32 points with seven assists and one turnover. Joe Chapman came off the bench to score 14 points and Steve Novak added 12 points.

Marquette relied on  a 25-6 run spanning the first and second halves, including a 10-0 run to open the second frame. A 24-12 advantage on the glass fueled the run for the Golden Eagles, while Nebraska was outrebounded 22-6 on the offensive glass for the game.

McCray, who leads the team in scoring and ranks among  the top 15 in the conference, finished with a team-high 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting. McCray hit four three-pointers to move into seventh on the NU freshman three-point list, passing Brian Conklin who had 23 as a rookie in 2001.

Junior Wes Wilkinson made his second straight start, adding 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers, three assists and two blocks for the Huskers. Aleks Maric came off the bench to contribute a season-high tying 12 points with six rebounds, while Jake Muhleisen had a season-high nine points with four boards and one assist.

Marcus Neal Jr. added six assists to tie his career high for the second straight game, as the Huskers matched their season high with 18 assists for the second consecutive contest. NU also tied its season low with only 10 turnovers.

Nebraska postgame notes vs. Marquette
? Nebraska was outrebounded by a 44-23 margin, only the second time in eight games the Huskers have not held a positive advantage on the glass.

? The Huskers hit 46.0 percent (23-of-50) from the field, the second straight game and third time overall this season that NU has hit at least 46.0 percent from the floor.

? Nebraska tied its season high for the second straight game with 18 assists. Marcus Neal Jr., who was battling the same illness that forced Jason Dourisseau out of the lineup, had a career-high six assists for the second consecutive game while Jake Muhleisen, Charles Richardson and Wes Wilkinson each added three assists.

? Freshman Aleks Maric tied his career high with 12 points while Wes Wilkinson (12) and Jake Muhleisen (9) each set season highs for scoring.

McCray Earns Big 12 Honors
Freshman Joe McCray has started to enter uncharted territory, as the first-year Husker has already been named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week twice in the first five weeks of the season. McCray is one of just two freshmen, along with Texas Tech's Martin Zeno, to earn the honor. Two juniors and a sophomore transfer have also earned the accolade.

McCray's latest honor came on Dec. 20. He was the sole selection for rookie of the week by the league's sportswriters after scoring 20 points, including 18 in the second half, to help NU to a 71-49 victory over North Carolina A&T. McCray hit 6-of-12 shots from the floor, including six three-pointers, while gaining a career-high seven rebounds in 34 minutes. He became just the fourth freshman in NU history to record at least three 20-point games in one season.

Overall, McCray is just the seventh Husker ? and only the second NU freshman ? to earn the award since the formation of the league in 1996-97. McCray is the first NU freshman to earn multiple honors from the league. Cookie Belcher also was named rookie of the week as a freshman in the Big 12's inaugural season. Alvin Mitchell and Larry Florence also earned the award that season as sophomores, while junior Kimani Ffriend won it three times in four weeks in 1999-2000. Andrew Drevo and Nate Johnson were also juniors when they won the award in 2003.

McCray picked up his first honor on Nov. 29 after averaging 17.0 points and 5.0 rebounds over his first two career games. McCray hit 52.0 percent (13-of-25) from the floor and led the Huskers with six three-pointers, including three in each contest.

A native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., McCray was the first Husker since Drevo in 2003 to earn a Big 12 weekly honor. Drevo was named the league's rookie of the week on March 3, 2003. Drevo's honor was the second in two weeks for the Huskers, Johnson also earned the accolade on Feb. 24.

Neal Continues Steady Improvement
After finishing last season on a solid note by earning Big 12 All-Newcomer honors, guard Marcus Neal Jr. has continued to improve throughout the summer, fall and into the start of the regular season.

In NU's first eight games, Neal has hit 29-of-79 shots from the floor while averaging 10.3 points to rank third on the team. He is second on the squad with 15 three-pointers and is shooting 34.9 percent (15-of-43) from three-point range, while adding 3.3 rebounds with a team-high tying 11 steals.

Over the past two games, Neal has done a terrific job of distributing the ball as he has had a career high with six assists in each contest. He recorded 12 assists against just three turnovers combined against North Carolina A&T and Marquette, after gaining only 13 assists and 14 turnovers in his first six games.

Neal, who was ill throughout the Marquette contest, has recorded 25 assists in eight games this season to pace the squad. His total is nearly half of his mark (62) in 31 games last year.

Neal is averaging more than twice as many points as last year (5.3) and nealry twice as many rebounds per game (1.8). He has averaged 9.8 field-goal attempts per game this year compared to 4.5 last season. Neal's 11 steals are just two less than he recorded in 31 games last season.

Neal has also been an offensive spark for the Huskers this season. Against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Neal hit three consecutive three-pointers to start a staggering 27-0 Husker run. Then against Texas Southern, he combined with Joe McCray on back-to-back three-pointers to punctuate a 10-2 run that put NU ahead by double figures midway through the first half. Neal's career-high tying four three-pointers against Creighton helped push the Bluejays throughout the game, while his six assists against just one turnover helped jump start the offense after halftime against North Carolina A&T.

McCray Making a Splash
Freshman guard Joe McCray has played just seven regular-season games, but the rookie is already showing signs that he could be among the most successful freshmen in the Big 12 Conference this season. He has already been named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week on two occasions this year, the first Husker freshman to earn more than one rookie of the week honor in a season.

Through Dec. 27, McCray ranks 12th in the conference in scoring at 14.4 points per game ? the third-highest scoring freshman in the Big 12 Conference ? and is 14th in the league in field-goal percentage by hitting 42.6 percent from the floor. He is first in the conference with 3.0 three-pointers per game by leading the Huskers with 24 three-pointers, and is eighth in the conference in three-point percentage by hitting 38.1 percent beyond the arc.

The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native began his career in high style as he recorded a game-high 23 points in 22 minutes against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in his first career game. McCray hit 9-of-17 shots from the floor, while adding six rebounds and two steals. McCray's point total was the most by a freshman in an NU season opener since freshmen regained eligibility in 1972-73. He came back with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting (3-of-6 three-pointers) with four rebounds against Texas Southern to earn co-Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors on Nov. 29.

In his third career game, McCray recorded 24 points on 8-of-17 shooting, including hitting 5-of-10 attempts from three-point range. The 24 points rank seventh on the NU freshman single-game scoring chart. Tyronn Lue owns the NU freshman record with 30 points in his second career game.

McCray became just the fourth Husker freshman to record three 20-plus point games in his rookie season when he had 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting against North Carolina A&T. McCray had just two points at halftime but came back with 18 points in the second frame on six treys. He hit five straight three-pointers in one stretch and added a career-high seven rebounds in the contest. With the strong performance, McCray earned his second Big 12 Rookie of the Week honor on Dec. 20.

With 24 three-pointers in eight games, McCray ranks seventh on the Husker freshman three-pointer chart. McCray had four treys in his last game to pass Brian Conklin (23 in 2001) for seventh place. He needs two more three-pointers to move into a tie for sixth with Beau Reid (26 in 1988). Current senior Jake Muhleisen ranks third on the list with 35 treys in 2001-02 while the NU freshman record is 44 three-pointers by Eric Piatkowski in 1990-91.

Maric in the Middle
Freshman Aleks Maric has also been making noise for the Huskers early in his rookie season. The 6-11, 265-pound native of Sydney, Australia, has been a workhorse in the paint, averaging 8.9 points and 8.0 rebounds over the first eight games of his career.

Through Dec. 27, Maric ranks fifth in the league in rebounding. He is hitting a team-best 58.1 percent (25-of-43) from the field, but is not eligible for conference or national ranking as he has not averaged the required 5.0 made field goals per game.

Maric began his career in high fashion as he picked up a game-high 14 boards in the season opener while adding 12 points for his first career double-double. He was the first NU freshman since Ron Taylor in 1973-74 to record a double-double in his first career game.

Maric came back with eight points and three boards against Texas Southern, before adding 10 points and 15 rebounds on the road against UAB. Maric's two double-doubles pace the team this season and equal the most by a Husker in 31 games last year.

The big man just missed a third double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds against Morgan State in his first career start. Maric needs one more double-double to tie the NU freshman mark of three set by Taylor in 1973-74.

Maric is only the sixth NU freshman to record a double-double since freshman eligibility was re-instated in 1972-73. Only Taylor, Rickey Harris and Andre Smith recorded more than one double-double as a rookie until Maric joined the group in just his third career game.

Wilkinson Starting to Round Back Into Form
Junior forward Wes Wilkinson raised expectations after his solid play in the Huskers' Australian Summer Tour in August. He averaged 13.2 points and 7.0 rebounds over six games, including a pair of double-doubles.

Wilkinson's progress made him a candidate for a significant increase in playing time early in the year, but his efforts were hindered on the first day of fall practice when he suffered a broken bone in his left foot. After sitting out of practice for five weeks, Wilkinson returned to workouts before NU's second game.

Wilkinson saw limited minutes in the first four games after his return with mildly positive results. In his fifth contest against Creighton, he finally started to show that he was rounding back into the form expected of him at the start of the semester.

The Grand Island native recorded eight points and six rebounds over 24 minutes against the Bluejays. He also picked up a pair of blocked shots and tied his career high with two three-pointers.

Wilkinson came back with eight points, five rebounds and a career-high four assists against North Carolina A&T in his first start of the season. Wilkinson had not recorded an assist in his first five games before gaining four against the Aggies without a turnover.

In possibly his best outing of the season, Wilkinson recorded a season-high 12 points (just one off his career high) on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, including 2-of-3 from long range, at Marquette. Making his second straight start as junior Jason Dourisseau was out with an illness, Wilkinson added three assists and two blocks in a career-high 30 minutes.

Over the past two games, Wilkinson has recorded seven assists against one turnover. In his previous five games to open the year, he had zero assists against seven turnovers. Last year, he had just 15 assists on the season, and only 23 in his first two years combined.

Wilkinson has added eight blocked shots in seven games to rank 13th (1.14 bpg) in the Big 12 Conference. He had just 13 blocks in 29 games last year.

Huskers in the Pros
Nebraska has had 24 players selected in the NBA draft since 1949, with Venson Hamilton being the latest selection in 1999 (2nd round, 50th pick). There were four former Huskers on opening-day rosters this season, including Eric Piatkowski (Chicago Bulls), Tyronn Lue (Houston Rockets), Erick Strickland (Milwaukee Bucks) and Mikki Moore (L.A. Clippers). Lue has since been traded to the Atlanta Hawks.

Nate Johnson, a senior last season for the Huskers, was also in the Los Angeles Lakers' training camp before being cut in the final week before the regular season.

The Huskers had three former players on NBA opening-day rosters last year, which tied for third among Big 12 teams.

Nebraska also has several players playing overseas this year.

Johnson signed with Honka (Finland) after leaving the Lakers, while another senior from last season, Andrew Drevo, is playing in Sweden with Sodertalje. Cookie Belcher is playing his fourth season with Laurentia Biella in Italy's 'A' League, while Kimani Ffriend is playing in Israel. Venson Hamilton is playing in Spain, Richard van Poelgeest is playing in Denmark and Steffon Bradford is playing in Portugal.

Dourisseau Making Strides
Guard Jason Dourisseau made significant progress in his overall game heading into the 2004-05 campaign. The results have been impressive.

Despite missing the Huskers' last game against Marquette with an illness, Dourisseau is second on the team in scoring (10.9 ppg) and rebounding (6.9 rpg), while ranking 12th in the Big 12 Conference in rebounding. He also ranks third on the team by hitting 43.9 percent (29-of-66) from the floor.

After starting seven games this year, Dourisseau has 48 rebounds, nine steals and is third on the squad with 16 assists. Last year he recorded 60 rebounds, 24 assists and 16 steals in 31 games.

Dourisseau opened the season with 17 points in 22 minutes during NU's 97-40 home-opening victory. He hit 8-of-13 attempts from the floor and added eight rebounds and two assists without a turnover.

Dourisseau followed with his best game as a Husker, as he posted 18 points and set a career high for the second straight game by grabbing 12 rebounds. He also set career highs with eight free throws and 11 free throw attempts after getting fouled repeatedly while slashing to the basket.

Huskers Hitting the Glass
Nebraska has been relentless on the boards early this season. The Huskers started on a strong note by pulling down 55 boards against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and added 50 against Texas Southern and UAB. Nebraska grabbed 47 rebounds against Morgan State, with all 11 players recording at least one board, before suffering its first deficit on the glass against Minnesota.

Entering the week, the Huskers are third in the Big 12 Conference in rebounding margin at +7.9. In the Dec. 20 NCAA statistics, the Huskers ranked seventh in the nation in rebounding margin. NU has outrebounded six of its eight opponents this season.

Freshman Aleks Maric ranks fifth in the league with 8.0 rebounds per game to lead the Huskers. Maric has recorded 15- and 14-rebound games this season. Junior Jason Dourisseau ranks 12th in the league after gaining 6.9 rebounds per game over his first seven games.

Nebraska's three straight 50-plus rebound efforts to start the year came after NU had just two 50-rebound games in the past four years. In 2003-04, the Huskers pulled down 51 boards in a 72-44 victory over No. 25 Texas Tech and had 50 rebounds in a 70-26 win over Bethune-Cookman.

The last time NU had three straight 50-rebound games came in 1999-2000. Overall, the Huskers have had 67 50-plus rebound games since complete box scores have been included in NU record books (1972-73). Only 13 times during that period has NU recorded more than 55 boards.

The Huskers' +36 advantage (55-19) on the glass in the season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff is the largest rebounding margin since at least 1972-73. The previous high was a +30 advantage (72-42) against Oklahoma in the 1991-92 campaign.

Muhleisen Gains Spotlight in Sports Illustrated On Campus
Three-year captain Jake Muhleisen has not received much national credit despite the outstanding way he runs the team, both on and off the court. That changed on Nov. 11 when Sports Illustrated On Campus, the collegiate version of the popular sports magazine, named him one of nine men's basketball players who are unsung heroes because they do "the little things that don't show up in a box score."

The 'Glue Guys' are "the ties that bind their respective teams," according to the article. Along with Muhleisen, SIOC named Josh Pace (Syracuse), Roger Powell (Illinois), Chuck Hayes (Kentucky), Isma'il Muhammad (Georgia Tech), Jamal Levy (Wake Forest), Alando Tucker (Wisconsin), Ellis Myles (Louisville) and Nick Robinson (Stanford) to the 'Glue Guys' list.

Unprecedented Television Coverage
Nebraska can be seen on television more times this season than any other year in the program's history. The Huskers will play to a regional or national audience at least 18 times through the regular season, plus any games in postseason play.

Much of NU's added exposure comes from an agreement with FSN Midwest to televise 10 games as part of the Huskers' new third-tier package. The telecasts, including five games on the road and six against conference foes, will be produced and distributed by FSN Midwest throughout the state of Nebraska (channel 37 on Time Warner in Lincoln, channel 47 on Cox Cable in Omaha and channel 33 on Qwest Choice in Omaha).

Along with the FSN games, the Huskers will be seen on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPN Regional an additional eight times in the regular season. The Huskers have averaged more than 12 televised contests (national, regional and local) each of the past four years.

Huskers Face Loaded Schedule in 2004-05
Nebraska takes on a tough slate in 2004-05 as it looks for back-to-back postseason berths for the first time since the 1997-98 and 1998-99 campaigns. Along the way, the Huskers will face:

? 12 teams that reached the postseason last year, including: NCAA Tournament teams UAB, Texas, Kansas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, and NIT participants Creighton, Marquette, Tennessee, Colorado, Missouri, Iowa State and Oklahoma.

? two opponents that reached either the NCAA Tournament Final Four (Oklahoma State) or the NIT Final Four (Iowa State) last year. The Big 12 Conference has had at least one team in the NCAA Final Four each of the past three seasons, including two teams twice, while Marquette also reached the 2003 Final Four.

The Huskers play 16 regular-season home games at the Bob Devaney Sports Center this season, where NU earned a 15-3 record in 2003-04. Nebraska renewed series with Minnesota and Creighton at home, and opened a new non-conference series on the road against UAB, which made the Sweet 16 last year. The Huskers also opened a new series at Marquette in their last game before a four-day Christmas break and now complete a home-home series against Tennessee in Knoxville. The Blazers and Golden Eagles return the game in Lincoln in 2005-06.

Turek Making Mark on Record Books
Senior forward John Turek has a chance to put his name in elite company this season.

After finding great improvement each of his first three seasons, Turek is leaving his name among Nebraska's best rebounders and shot blockers while climbing the NU scoring chart. With numbers similar to last season, Turek can top the 1,000-point plateau this winter while moving into Nebraska's career top 10 for rebounds. Turek enters Thursday's contest against Tennessee with 741 career points and 577 rebounds, just 84 boards shy of moving into the Nebraska top 10.

Already one of the top shot blockers in Nebraska history, Turek has a chance to do something this year that no Husker has ever accomplished. Turek, who ranks sixth in NU history with 139 blocked shots and needs just five blocks to move into the top five, has led Nebraska in blocked shots each of the past three years, including tying the NU freshman record with 39 blocks in 2001-02.

By leading the team in blocks this season, Turek would be the first Husker ever to lead the squad in four consecutive seasons. Dave Hoppen, the Huskers' career scoring leader, also had a share of the team lead for blocked shots all four years, but tied Ronnie Smith for the team high during Hoppen's junior season.

Turek is within reach of becoming just the third Husker ever with 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 100 blocks. If he reaches those totals, he will join a pair of players who were taken in the NBA Draft ? Rich King, a first-round selection, and Venson Hamilton, a second-round draft pick and the 1999 Big 12 Player of the Year. Currently, King, Hamilton, Turek and Mikki Moore are the only players with at least 600 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocked shots in their Husker career.

Muhleisen Shows All-Around Game
Senior guard Jake Muhleisen has proven to be one of the top all-around players in Nebraska history over the past three seasons.

Muhleisen, who has played all three guard positions during his career, entered the year with a chance to become only the fourth player in program history to record at least 1,000 career points, 350 rebounds, 250 assists and 100 steals. If he reached those marks, Muhleisen would join Eric Piatkowski, Erick Strickland and Cookie Belcher on the elite list.

Muhleisen enters the matchup with Tennessee with 767 points, 273 rebounds, 223 assists and 77 steals in his career.

Home Sweet Home
The Huskers have a strong record of success playing in front of their home crowd the past 29 seasons.

Nebraska, which is 4-2 at home this season, earned a perfect 10-0 mark at home last year in non-conference games, including a 78-70 win over Niagara in the NIT first round. NU won three consecutive games to end the non-conference slate in 2002-03 and had its nonconference home winning streak reach 16 games before coming to an end this season against Minnesota on Dec. 8.

Nebraska has been outstanding at home since moving into the Devaney Center in the 1976-77. The Huskers own a 336-105 home record over that span, including a 15-3 mark at home last year. The 15 wins tied for second most in Devaney Center history. Overall, the Huskers are now 48-21 at home under Coach Collier with nine of the losses coming against ranked teams.

All About Defense
Under Coach Barry Collier, the Huskers have continued to rewrite the Nebraska defensive record book over the past four seasons. Nebraska got off to a strong start again this year, as the Huskers: ? limited Arkansas-Pine Bluff to 40 points on 32.7 percent shooting in a 97-40 victory. NU forced 20 turnovers in the largest victory in Devaney Center history.

? defeated TSU by 20 points while holding the Tigers to just 32.8 percent shooting from the floor and forcing 19 turnovers.

? held UAB to just 24.0 percent shooting (6-of-25) from three-point range, including just 3-of-14 in the opening frame.

? allowed just 12 points in the second half of a 64-34 victory over Morgan State. NU held the Bears to 23.5 percent shooting, including 15.0 percent from three-point range, as they recorded the third-fewest points by an NU opponent since 1947. It was the third time NU has held its opponent to less than 40 points in the past two seasons.

? limited Creighton to 34.0 percent shooting, including 31.6 percent from three-point range while holding the Bluejays to their lowest total in the series in more than 20 years.? held Marquette to just 39.7 percent shooting, including 34.3 percent (11-of-32) inside the arc.

Last year, the Huskers posted some of the best defensive numbers at NU in the last four decades, including:

? allowing opponents to hit just 40.0 percent from the field to rank 20th nationally in field-goal percentage defense. It tied NU's lowest mark since 1961.

? a team scoring defense of 62.9 points per game, the program's best defensive mark since the 1982 campaign.

Among the other outstanding single-game marks the Huskers posted in 2003-04 were:? limiting South Florida to just 2-of-19 shooting from three-point range, the lowest single-game opponent three-point field-goal percentage (.105) in four years under Coach Collier.

? holding Bethune-Cookman to just 26 points in the game, the lowest point total allowed by NU since a 33-23 victory over Kansas State in 1941. BCC also shot a Devaney Center record low 21.2 percent (11-of-52) from the field while setting a Big 12 single-game opponent record low point total.

? holding Tennessee to three field goals in the first half ? including one from two-point range ? the fewest NU has allowed in one period since the 1987 NIT against Arkansas.

? limiting No. 12/13 Kansas to a season-low 55 points and 36.2 percent shooting from the floor, including just 27.8 percent from three-point range.

In 2003-04, Nebraska's defense held opponents to the lowest field-goal percentage total since 1961, as it gave up just 40.0 percent shooting from the field, including 32.7 percent from three-point range. The previous year, the Huskers ranked first in the league in three-point field-goal percentage defense by allowing opponents to hit a school-record low 30.2 percent from behind the arc.

Filling the House
The Huskers look to continue the momentum gained at the end of last season when Nebraska had five straight games with at least 10,000 fans in attendance. NU averaged more than 9,900 fans per game during the 2004 Big 12 home slate. The total was an increase of nearly 1,200 from the previous season and was the Huskers' highest conference attendance total since 1997-98.

That late-season support has carried over to 2004-05. The Huskers sold 7,033 season tickets before the start of the regular season, including 976 new season tickets. Add in the 1,888 student season tickets sold and the Huskers had sold 8,921 season tickets ? up 608 or a total of seven percent from last year's 8,313 season tickets sold ? before the first game of the year.

Nebraska's biggest non-conference crowd in more than a decade showed up for the Creighton game on Dec. 11, 2004, as 13,602 were on hand for the instate showdown. It was the first non-conference home sellout since the 1993-94 campaign against Northern Iowa, and was the largest non-conference crowd since 13,205 fans were in the Devaney Center against Minnesota in 1996-97.

For Starters
Nebraska returned nine lettermen to the court in 2004-05, including three starters from a year ago in F John Turek (21 starts), G Jake Muhleisen (31) and G Marcus Neal Jr. (19). The Huskers also returned four others with at least one career start, including G Corey Simms (13), G Charles Richardson Jr. (10), G Jason Dourisseau (3) and F Bronsen Schliep (1).

Ten of the 11 Huskers on the active roster have now made a career start, including freshmen Aleks Maric and Joe McCray. In total, the current Huskers have 255 career games started.

Quick Shots
? Nebraska owns a 26-30 all-time record on Dec. 30. The Huskers are 0-1 on this date under Coach Barry Collier, with NU dropping a 79-71 contest at home against Murray State in 2000.

? Freshman Joe McCray's six three-pointers against North Carolina A&T ranks as the individual game high among all Big 12 Conference players this season. Freshman Aleks Maric's 15 rebounds against UAB ranks second in the league in that category.

? McCray needs two three-pointers to tie for sixth on the NU freshman chart with 26 treys. Beau Reid also had 26 three-pointers as a frosh in 1988. The NU freshman record is 44 by Eric Piatkowski in (1991).

? Marcus Neal Jr. has recorded 11 steals in eight games this season to lead Nebraska. The mark is just two less than he recorded all of last season in 31 appearances.

? Jason Dourisseau has 16 assists against 17 turnovers this season in seven games played. Dourisseau had just 17 assists against 41 turnovers in 30 games last season.

? Aleks Maric owns 64 rebounds to lead the team, and is more than half way to moving into the NU freshman top 10. Jerry Fort and Tyronn Lue are tied for 10th with 106 rebounds. The NU freshman record is 162 rebounds by John Turek in 2002.