Huskers Look for Road Win Against Sooners

The Nebraska men's basketball team returns to the road looking for its second straight win away from Lincoln when it takes on the No. 21/22 Oklahoma Sooners on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla. The Huskers and Sooners tip off at 8:08 p.m.

The game can be heard on the Pinnacle Sports Network and Huskers.com with Randy Lee handling the play by play and Matt Davison adding color commentary. The contest has also been added to the ESPN2 lineup as a replacement for lost NHL games. Ron Franklin (play by play) and Fran Fraschilla (color) will call the action.

The Huskers hope to continue their hot hand on the road when they face a Sooners squad looking to right the ship after dropping four of their last five games. Nebraska ended a three-game conference losing streak Saturday with a 74-63 road victory over Baylor, and is now just one game out of a tie for fifth place in the league standings.

It was NU's third win away from Lincoln this season and second in conference play. The last time Nebraska won three road games in league play was 1998-99 when NU picked up four conference wins away from Lincoln on its way to a 20-13 overall mark.

Nebraska's road success has come behind a solid defensive effort. In NU's two league road victories, the Huskers have held foes to 37.5 percent shooting from the floor, including 29.8 percent (14-of-47) from long range, and gained a +7.0 rebounding advantage (38.0-31.0).

Freshman Joe McCray has led the way in the league road victories by averaging 17.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. He has hit 50.0 percent (9-of-18) from three-point range in the wins while playing 34.5 minutes per game.

McCray has hit 61 three-pointers this season to set the NU freshman record and currently ranks ninth in Nebraska single-season history. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native is tied with Jake Sullivan (ISU, 2001) for sixth on the Big 12 freshman three-pointers made chart, and needs seven points to pass Kevin Bookout (OU, 318 points, 2003) for 22nd on the Big 12 frosh scoring chart.

At his current pace, McCray could become only the second freshman in Nebraska history and the sixth in Big 12 Conference history to score at least 400 points. Dave Hoppen currently owns the NU frosh record with 445 points in 31 games in 1983, while Curtis Stinson had a Big 12-best 534 points last year for ISU.

Along with McCray, senior Jake Muhleisen has gained 13.5 points and 3.5 assists in the two league road wins, including scoring 20 points against Baylor Saturday. He recorded 18 points after halftime to post his second 20-point game in the past six contests, after gaining two 20-point efforts in his first 87 career games.

Muhleisen has hit 55.6 percent (10-of-18) from the field in the wins while freshman Aleks Maric has connected on 50.0 percent (7-of-14) from the floor. Maric recorded 10 points in the second half against Baylor, including eight straight at one point, and added seven rebounds. In the Huskers' league road wins, Maric has averaged 9.0 points and a team-best 9.0 rebounds per game. Maric's return to form Saturday was a pleasant sight for the Huskers. The Aussie had been battling the flu for nearly two weeks and had missed one game (Utah Valley State) while combining for just 12 minutes in contests against Kansas and Iowa State.

The Sooners will be the fourth ranked opponent the Huskers have faced this season. NU is 0-3 against ranked teams in 2005 after falling to Kansas twice (by two points on the road and by 13 at home) and dropping a 10-point game against Texas when the Longhorns still had P.J. Tucker.

NU owns an 0-4 road record against ranked teams since the start of last season, but have lost by an average of just 4.8 points per game (19 total points; lost 63-61 at No. 18 Texas, lost in overtime 87-83 at No. 7 Oklahoma State and lost 78-67 at No. 21 Kansas all in 2004, and lost 59-57 at No. 2 Kansas in 2005).

This year, NU has allowed ranked teams to hit 45.9 percent from the field, but just 26.4 percent (14-of-53) from three-point range, while gaining just 66.7 points per game. The Huskers have held a +2.0 (39.3-37.3) advantage on the glass, but have only connected on 32.8 percent (57-of-174) from the field.

Meeting the Oklahoma Sooners
The Oklahoma Sooners return to Norman to face Nebraska after dropping four of their last five contests, including the last three consecutive matchups. Despite the recent slump, Oklahoma still owns the fourth spot in the league standings with a 6-4 record and is a solid 17-6 overall. The Sooners' only non-conference losses came to current top-10 teams, Washington (96-91) and Duke (78-67).

OU has averaged 69.9 points per game in league play while hitting 47.6 percent from the floor. The Sooners have also held a +3.3 advantage on the glass (34.6-31.3) while limiting opponents to 66.1 points per game.

But Oklahoma has allowed Big 12 foes to hit 46.2 percent from the field, including 50.4 percent over the past five games. Opponents have also been getting to the free throw line more frequently than the Sooners, as foes have hit 130-of-192 attempts (67.7 percent) at the stripe in conference play while OU has connected on 97-of-152 (63.8).

The Sooners are led by junior college transfer Taj Gray, who is averaging 15.8 points to lead four players in double figures. A frontrunner for the league's newcomer of the year award, Gray has hit 57.6 percent from the field this season and added a team-best 8.9 rebounds and a league-best 2.3 blocks per game.

Along with Gray, junior forward Kevin Bookout gives OU one of the top frontcourt tandems in the league. Bookout averages 12.7 points while hitting a league-best 62.2 percent from the floor, and has added 6.7 boards per game.

Newcomer Terrell Everett is the only other Sooner averaging more than three rebounds per game, as the guard has pulled in 4.3 boards per contest while adding 11.7 points. He has hit 44.8 percent from the floor and is one of the Sooners' top free throw shooters by hitting 78.8 percent. Everett also leads the team with 114 assists (4.96 apg) and 40 steals (1.7 spg) while starting every game this season.

Sophomore Lawrence McKenzie has added 10.1 points per game and leads the Sooners with 56 three-pointers this season while coming off the bench in all but two contests. McKenzie has connected on 44.4 percent from long range to rank among the league leaders.

Alongside McKenzie, sophomore Drew Lavender has added 9.2 points and 3.7 assists per game this season while ranking third on the squad with 29 three-pointers. Lavender trails McKenzie and Jaison Williams, who has hit 37 treys while adding 7.6 points per game.

The Sooners are guided by Coach Kelvin Sampson (Pembroke State, 1978), who is in his 11th season with OU. Sampson owns a 427-246 record over the past 22 years, including a 251-98 mark at Oklahoma.

Series History
The Cornhuskers and Sooners are meeting for the 180th time in the series that dates back to the 1920-21 campaign. Oklahoma holds a 101-78 series advantage as it has won eight of the past 10 matchups since the formation of the Big 12 Conference, including the past six straight.

Oklahoma holds a commanding 57-20 series lead in Norman, including an impressive 20-4 series margin in the Lloyd Noble Center. The Huskers and Sooners put on a show in 1987, when they combined for a Big Eight record 230 points (a 133-97 OU win) in the contest in Norman.

NU's last victory in the series came in 1999, when an unranked Husker squad won 96-81 in Norman against the No. 25 Sooners. It was the Huskers' largest margin of victory ever over the Sooners in Norman. Oklahoma has been ranked each of the past six regular-season meetings with the Huskers.

Last year during the regular season, the Huskers rallied from an 18-point first-half deficit to nearly knock off the No. 25 Sooners at the Devaney Center. Oklahoma led by double figures early in the contest as NU missed 14 of its first 16 field-goal attempts, helping OU to a 36-21 lead at the intermission. The Huskers picked up the defensive effort in the second half, as Nebraska limited OU to just 16 second-half points. Nebraska held the Sooners without a basket for 10:18 while using a 15-0 run to get back into the game.

Nebraska managed to take its first lead of the day, 45-44, with 3:28 remaining, but Lawrence McKenzie tied the game with a free throw and then gave OU the lead back for good with a three-pointer with just over two minutes remaining. McKenzie scored 18 points, including five three-pointers, with 10 rebounds to lead the Sooners. Jake Muhleisen led NU with 11 points and six boards.

The Last Time We Met
Dallas (March 11, 2004, at Big 12 Tournament) --- Nebraska opened a 13-point lead at the intermission, but No. 7-seed Oklahoma rallied by hitting 55 percent from the floor in the second frame to knock off the No. 10-seed Huskers, 63-59, in the first round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament.

Nebraska powered its way to a commanding lead in the first half behind the play of forward John Turek. Facing a depleted OU interior defense, the Council Bluffs, Iowa, native pounded the Sooners for nine first-half points while helping the Huskers to a 35-22 lead at the break.

Turek scored the first eight points of the game for the Huskers, all in the first five minutes. Following the hot start, he was held in check the rest of the way as he finished with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Brian Conklin and Marcus Neal Jr. each finished the opening period with six points, with Conklin hitting 2-of-3 from behind the three-point arc. The Huskers hit 46.2 percent from the field in the first period while a solid defensive effort held the Sooners to just 25 percent from the floor, including 2-of-10 from beyond the arc.

In the second frame, the Sooners came alive behind the play of point guard Drew Lavender, who finished with a game-high 19 points including 16 in the second half. Lavender scored four of OU’s first seven baskets after the intermission.

OU’s offensive efficiency and sturdy defense led to a 22-5 run over the first nine minutes of the second period. The Sooners, who hit 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from the field after the break, held the Huskers to just one basket over the first 13 minutes of the second frame, until Corey Simms recorded his third field goal of the game with 6:11 remaining.

At that point, Nebraska trailed 55-48, but the Huskers were not done. NU mounted one last rally and pulled within four, 61-57, on a Charles Richardson Jr. basket with 1:45 left to play. From there, OU recorded a pair of free throws but neither team could get a bucket until Nate Johnson hit a jumper in the lane with 1.9 seconds left for the final margin.

Simms finished with a team-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor while adding four rebounds, including three offensive boards. NU outrebounded the Sooners by a 42-34 margin but the Huskers had 13 turnovers while forcing just six.

Muhleisen Turning Up His Play vs. Big 12
Senior guard Jake Muhleisen struggled through most of the non-conference slate while being bothered by a wrist injury, but has seen a surge in his play since moving into the Big 12 slate.

The Lincoln native has averaged 9.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game in conference action. While those numbers are only mildly better than his 6.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game for the season, his shooting percentages are greatly improved.

Muhleisen has hit 43.7 percent (31-of-71) from the field in league action after hitting just 32.2 percent (19-of-59) against non-conference opponents. Outside the arc, Muhleisen has improved his shooting percentage from 20.0 percent (5-of-25) to 34.4 percent (11-of-32). Over the past seven games, Muhleisen has hit 38.5 percent (10-of-26) from long range.

Muhleisen recorded a season-best nine assists against three turnovers in the league-opening win over Kansas State. He played a career-high 48 minutes in the game and is averaging a team-high 31.2 minutes per game in league action.

The three-year captain had possibly his most complete Big 12 game ever while helping Nebraska to a 77-67 win over Texas A&M. Muhleisen had a game-high 25 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including hitting 10-of-11 from the free throw line. He also added six boards and several hustle plays.

Against Kansas on Feb. 5, Muhleisen posted nine points with a career-high tying eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. He added six assists against just one turnover in NU's loss to Iowa State.

On the road against Baylor, Muhleisen record 18 points after the intermission and finished with a game-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting. It was his second 20-point game in six contests, after recording two 20-point games in his first 87 career contests.

On the Line
After not finding much success at the free throw line early in the season, the Huskers have seen better efficiency at the charity stripe in the past eight games.

During that eight-game stretch, NU has hit 75.8 percent (144-of-190) overall at the foul line and has topped 66.7 percent in all eight games. NU had connected on 66.7 percent in just three of its first 13 games.

The Huskers drained 32-of-45 free-throw attempts in their 10-point win over Texas A&M. Both the attempts and made free throws were season highs. In fact, the attempts were the second-highest in the Collier era, trailing only the 47 attempts NU had in 2001 in a victory over nationally ranked Texas.

Nebraska made its first eight free throw attempts against the Aggies and its final 10, including eight made in the last five minutes of the game by Jake Muhleisen. The senior guard hit 10-of-11 from the stripe and is now connecting on 74.1 percent at the line in league play. He is one of four Huskers ? along with Marcus Neal Jr. (83.9), Wes Wilkinson (80.0) and Aleks Maric (76.0) ? hitting at least 70 percent from the line against Big 12 foes.

NU came back with 10 consecutive made free throws to open the game at Texas Tech, giving it 20 straight over two games. Nebraska finished the game hitting 19-of-25 from the charity stripe, the first time this season NU has hit better than 75.0 percent from the line while attempting at least 20 free throws.

The Huskers had their best night at the line this season when they hit 20-of-22 (90.9 percent) at the stripe against Utah Valley State. NU connected on the first 10 free-throw attempts of the night and missed only one attempt each half. It was NU's highest percentage since hitting 12-of-12 attempts in a 74-55 victory over No. 12/13 Kansas in Lincoln last year.

Neal Getting Back on Track
After opening the season with solid numbers during the non-conference slate, senior Marcus Neal Jr. hit a slump early in the conference campaign. Neal's shooting percentages took a hit as he struggled from outside the arc. But the Annapolis, Md., native has battled back and produced a pair of solid games last week.

Neal had eight points including a pair of three-pointers while tying his career highs with five rebounds and six assists against Iowa State, the only game he has not started this season. His first trey of the game snapped a streak of 16 consecutive missed three-pointers in league play.

Neal then came back with 15 points and six assists in a road victory at Baylor. He has now recorded 12 assists against two turnovers in the past two games and has hit 7-of-16 attempts (43.8 percent) from the floor for 11.5 points per game.

On the season, Neal is second on the team with 10.0 points per game while adding a team-best 75 assists. He has added 3.2 rebounds per game and is second on the team with 33 three-pointers. In conference play, he is tied for 10th with 3.7 assists per game, and is tied for 11th in assist:turnover ratio (1.76:1).

A member of the Big 12 All-Newcomer team last year, Neal has led the Huskers at the free throw line by hitting 83.9 percent this season. He has hit 31-of-37 in conference play to rank sixth in the league-only standings.

Neal has been an offensive spark for the Huskers at times 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. He came back with four threes against Tennessee, including two treys in an 8-0 surge before he iced the game with three free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining.

Neal came back to hit 2-of-3 free throws with 1.3 seconds left in regulation against KSU, sending the game to overtime where he scored 13 of his career-high tying 19 points to help NU to a 95-85 double-overtime win.

Turek Shooting Lights Out Lately
Senior forward John Turek has picked up his play as his final season starts to wind down.

The Council Bluffs, Iowa, native has hit 70.6 percent (24-of-34) from the field over the past six games while ranking fourth on the team with 9.7 points per game. Turek has also led the team with 6.2 rebounds per game during that stretch with four blocked shots and three steals.

In conference play, Turek leads the Huskers by hitting 60.0 percent (30-of-50) from the floor and is third in rebounding at 4.7 boards per game. He is averaging 7.7 points and paces the squad with 1.0 block per game in league action to rank among the top 15 in the conference.

Only Jason Dourisseau (50.0 percent, 24-of-48) joins Turek in shooting at least 50.0 percent from the field against Big 12 foes this year.

Fab Freshmen
The Huskers have been getting amazing production out of their freshman class of guard Joe McCray and center Aleks Maric. The tandem has combined for 22.2 points and 11.5 rebounds per game this season while making an impression on the rest of the league.

McCray is 14th in scoring (14.9 ppg), while Maric is 11th in rebounding (6.5 rpg) on the season. McCray is second in three-pointers per game (2.9) and is sixth in three-point shooting percentage (36.3). McCray is also tied for 10th in league-only games for steals, with 1.4 per game.

Both McCray and Maric have moved onto the Nebraska freshman top-10 charts, with McCray likely to post one of the top rookie seasons in NU history.

McCray has already moved into fifth on the rookie points scored chart with 312 and is currently on pace to break the freshman scoring average mark set by Jerry Fort in 1973 when he averaged 14.5 ppg.

Maric moved onto the freshman rebounding chart, taking over fifth place as he has 129 boards this season. At his current average of 6.5 boards per game, Maric is on pace to break the NU rookie record set by John Turek in 2002 (162 rebounds).

McCray Making a Splash
By ranking among the top 15 in the conference in scoring midway through the season, freshman guard Joe McCray has already showed that he will be among the most successful freshmen in the Big 12 Conference this season. At his current pace, McCray will contend for all-freshman honors on the conference and national levels.

McCray was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week on two occasions this year (Nov. 29 and Dec. 20). He is the first Husker freshman to earn more than one rookie-of-the-week honor in a season.

Through Feb. 12, McCray ranks 14th in scoring at 14.9 points per game on the season, the third-highest scoring freshman in the Big 12 Conference and one of just four freshmen in the top 20. McCray has hit 40.2 percent from the floor and is 15th in league-only games by scoring 15.1 points per game.

McCray is second in the conference with 2.9 three-pointers per contest and ranked 45th nationally last week. He also paces the Huskers with 61 three-pointers, and is sixth in the conference in three-point percentage by hitting 36.3 percent beyond the arc on the year.

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) 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 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.

McCray became just the third Husker freshman to record five 20-plus point games in his rookie season when he gained 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting, including 5-of-12 from long range, against No. 10/9 Texas. It was his second straight 21-point contest, as he also hit 5-of-8 three-pointers to score 21 points in a 68-61 win over Colorado on the road as NU opened the league slate 2-0 for the first time since 1993-94.

The scoring phenom tied the Nebraska record for 20-plus point games when he posted a career-best 26 points against Iowa State in Lincoln. He hit 7-of-15 from the field, including four treys, and hit 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. All three times he went to the free throw line came after he was fouled while shooting three-point attempts. The 26 points tied for fifth on the NU freshman single-game scoring chart.

McCray has also added a pair of 19-point contests, including a game-high 19 points with seven rebounds at No. 2/2 Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse. McCray had 16 points against Utah Valley State while adding a career-high five assists without a turnover.

Maric in the Middle
Freshman Aleks Maric has been making some noise in the paint for the Huskers in his rookie season. The 6-11, 265-pound native of Sydney, Australia, has been solid inside, averaging 7.3 points and 6.5 rebounds to open his career.

Maric missed the Utah Valley State game with the flu and did not seem to be at 100 percent in games against Kansas and Iowa State. But he came back strong with 10 points and seven rebounds on the road against Baylor.

Maric now ranks 11th in the league in rebounding at 6.5 boards per game, including sixth in offensive rebounding. In the conference-only games, Maric is adding a team-best 5.3 boards per game to rank 19th.

The Aussie 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 and equal the most by a Husker in 31 games last year.

The big man just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds against Morgan State in his first career start. He also had eight points and 11 rebounds against Colorado on the road to help NU to a 2-0 mark to open conference play.

Maric hit 6-of-8 shots from the floor to score a career-high 14 points at Missouri, and came back with nine points, including connecting on 5-of-8 from the free throw line against Texas A&M. His offensive surge came after struggling through three games when he was 7-of-28 from the field. Maric then added eight points and nine boards at Texas Tech for another near-miss.

Maric needs one more double-double to tie the NU freshman mark of three set by Taylor in 1973-74. He 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 Gaining Confidence With Solid Play
Junior forward Wes Wilkinson has come on strong in his third season in the Husker program and is quickly turning into one of Nebraska's top offensive threats.

A 6-9, 220-pounder from Grand Island, Neb., Wilkinson raised expectations after his solid play in the Huskers' Australian Summer Tour in August when he averaged 13.2 points and 7.0 rebounds over six games, including a pair of double-doubles. But his progress was hindered on the first day of fall practice when he suffered a broken bone in his left foot forcing him to sit out of practice for five weeks, including NU's season opener.

After seeing limited minutes in the first four games after his return, Wilkinson has finally worked his way back into the mix and found his groove.

In Big 12 play, Wilkinson is second on the team with 9.7 points per game while hitting 46.4 percent from the floor. He has scored in double figures five times in 10 league games, including a career-high 22 points with four boards in a career-high 34 minutes against Kansas State. He had not recorded a double-figure scoring game against Big 12 foes in his first two seasons. Wilkinson is also averaging 4.3 rebounds per game against conference foes, including posting a career-high nine rebounds against Iowa State in Lincoln.

Wilkinson has also hit 80.0 percent from the free throw line against the league. In fact, he has hit 22 of his last 23 attempts (95.7 percent) over the past eight games.

Wilkinson had 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting with five boards while helping the Huskers at No. 2/2 Kansas. Nebraska lost the game by just two points, 59-57. He came back with 13 points, three boards, two blocks and two steals against the Jayhawks in a loss in Lincoln. At Missouri, Wilkinson again came up big as he hit a career-high four three-pointers en route to 14 points and six boards.

Wilkinson has added 1.2 blocks per game this season. He has 23 blocked shots in 20 games to rank eighth in the Big 12 Conference this year. He has had at least two blocks in seven games this year, after having just 13 blocks last year.

Huskers Hitting the Glass
Nebraska has been relentless on the boards throughout the season. On the year, the Huskers are second in the league in rebounding with 39.6 boards per game and are second in rebounding margin at +6.8. In Big 12 Conference games, NU is third in rebounding at 37.0 boards per contest and second in rebounding margin at +3.5.

In the Feb. 7 NCAA statistics, the Huskers ranked 17th in the nation in rebounding margin (+6.8).

Freshman Aleks Maric ranks 11th in the league with 6.5 rebounds per game to pace the Huskers. Maric has recorded three double-figure rebound games (15, 14, 11) this season. Junior Jason Dourisseau ranks second on the team after gaining 5.2 rebounds per game over 18 games and ranks 19th in the conference. In league-only games, Maric paces NU with 5.3 boards to rank 19th in conference-only games.

Overall, the Huskers have taken a rebounding advantage in 17 of 21 games. Nebraska has outrebounded eight of 10 Big 12 opponents it has faced this year, including No. 10/9 Texas and at No. 2/2 Kansas.

The Huskers opened the season on a strong note by pulling down 55 boards against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and added 50 against Texas Southern and at UAB. Nebraska grabbed 47 rebounds against Morgan State with all 11 players recording at least one board, and nearly added another 50-board game as they had 49 rebounds against Montana State before starting league play.

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 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff is NU's the largest rebounding margin since at least 1972-73. The previous high was +30 (72-42) against Oklahoma in 1991-92.

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 of all time. Turek enters the contest against Oklahoma with 866 career points and 646 rebounds. He needs just 15 boards to move into 10th on the Nebraska career chart.

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 is fifth in NU history with 150 blocked shots, has led Nebraska in blocked shots each of the past three years, including tying the NU freshman record with 39 blocks in 2001-02. He currently is second on the squad with 22 rejections, one behind Wes Wilkinson.

If he were to lead the team in blocks this season, Turek would be the first Husker ever to pace the squad in four consecutive seasons. Dave Hoppen, the Huskers' career scoring leader who will be honored Saturday at halftime, 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 entered the season looking to become just the third Husker ever with 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 100 blocks. The only Nebraska players who have reached those marks 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 currently enters the matchup with Oklahoma with 879 points, 322 rebounds, 266 assists and 91 steals in his career. With six rebounds against Texas A&M, he became the eighth player in NU history with at least 800 points, 300 rebounds, 250 assists and 50 steals.

In the Big 12 opener, Muhleisen set a season high with nine assists against three turnovers in a career-high 48 minutes in NU's double-overtime victory over KSU. He came back with five assists and seven points in a win at Colorado, and has now recorded at least five assists in four games this season, including six assists against one turnover at home against Iowa State.

Overall, Muhleisen now has 60 assists against just 31 turnovers this season. He is second on the team in assists, behind only senior point guard Marcus Neal Jr. who has 75.The Lincoln native has recorded a 1.88:1 assist-to-turnover ratio (34:18) in league play to rank eighth while adding 3.4 assists per game.

All About Defense
Under Coach Barry Collier, the Huskers have rewrote the Nebraska defensive record book. Nebraska is again putting up some solid numbers, as the Huskers:

? ranked 17th rebound margin (+6.8) in the NCAA statistics of Feb. 7, 44th in field-goal percentage defense (40.5) and 48th in scoring defense (62.6).

? 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 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.? held Marquette to just 39.7 percent shooting, including 34.3 percent (11-of-32) inside the arc.

? gave up just 45 points to Montana State on 30.0 percent shooting.

? limited Colorado to 34.6 percent (18-of-52) from the floor, including 27.3 percent in the first half, as Nebraska won its conference road opener for the first time since 1993-94 with a 68-61 win at Colorado.

? held No. 10/9 Texas to just 22.2 percent (4-of-18) shooting from three-point range, including 1-of-8 (12.5 percent) in the second half.

? allowed No. 2/2 Kansas to hit just 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) from beyond the arc while scoring just 59 points at home in Allen Fieldhouse.