Huskers Set to Face Ranked Cowboys

The Nebraska men's basketball team begins the stretch run of the regular season when it plays host to the No. 4 Oklahoma State Cowboys on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Nebraska and OSU will tip off at 7:08 p.m., and the game can be heard on the Pinnacle Sports Network and Huskers.com. The game will not be televised in Nebraska.

Following the OSU contest, Nebraska has two road games surrounding its final regular-season home contest. The Huskers take on the red-hot Iowa State Cyclones in Ames, Iowa, on Feb. 27, before facing the Colorado Buffaloes at home on Senior Night on Wednesday, March 2. NU ends the regular season on March 5 when the Huskers face the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan, Kan. All three games will be televised in Nebraska.

Nebraska enters the mid-week matchup with the Cowboys looking to snap a two-game losing streak after NU suffered a 56-53 setback against Missouri last Saturday. The loss dropped NU into a tie with Colorado for ninth in the league standings. While CU has a better overall record at 13-11, Nebraska has a leg up on the tiebreaker as it won 68-61 in Boulder earlier this season.

The Huskers will have to work hard on the defensive end to contain the Cowboys. OSU is among the nation's top offensive units as it has averaged nearly 80 points per game while hitting better than 50 percent of its attempts from the field. Oklahoma State is as dangerous of a three-point shooting team as there is in the country, as it ranked second last week three-point percentage (currently 42.9 percent). The Cowboys have also hit a tremendous 75.9 percent from the free throw line.

Nebraska hopes to get another strong performance from its front court duo of John Turek and Aleks Maric Tuesday. The pair combined for 23 points and 17 rebounds while playing at least 31 minutes apiece against the Tigers. They also held MU's Linas Kleiza to just eight shot attempts and 15 points, after Kleiza put up 31 points in Columbia in the first meeting.

Turek has a chance to reach a milestone against the Cowboys, as he needs just five rebounds to move into the Nebraska career top 10. Turek enters the game with 656 career boards, which places him 11th in NU history and just behind Mikki Moore, who had 661 from 1994 to 1997. Turek could move into ninth place during the regular season, as that spot is currently held by Eric Piatkowski, who had 664 boards from 1991 to 1994.

While Turek is breaking onto the NU career chart, Maric will be looking to move a step closer to breaking Turek's freshman record. Turek had 162 rebounds as a rookie in 2002, one more than the previous mark of 161 set by Dave Hoppen in 1983 and equalled by Venson Hamilton in 1996. Maric currently has 145 boards (6.6 rpg) to lead the Huskers.

The game against MU marked Maric's first start against Big 12 competition. It was also the first start this season for sophomore guard Charles Richardson Jr., who has provided a good change of pace for the Husker offense. Richardson produced a season-high seven assists against one turnover in the game, continually setting up his teammates for easy baskets.

Meeting the Oklahoma State Cowboys
Oklahoma State enters the mid-week matchup against the Huskers riding a six-game win streak while posting a 20-3 overall record and a 10-2 conference mark. The Cowboys have seen solid success outside Stillwater, as they own an 8-3 mark away from home. OSU is still perfect with a 12-0 record at Gallagher-Iba Arena this season.

OSU is among the league and national scoring leaders as it has averaged 79.7 points per game this season while connecting on 50.8 percent from the floor, which ranked third in the NCAA last week. Oklahoma State has hit 42.9 percent from three-point range to rank second in the nation behind only league foe Texas Tech. OSU was also 10th nationally last week in free throw percentage, as the Cowboys have hit 75.9 percent from the charity stripe as a team.

The Cowboys have been held under 70 points only three times this season and they own a 1-2 record in those contests. All three of those games have been road contests.

Oklahoma State's senior trio of Joey Graham, John Lucas and Ivan McFarlin have led the way for the Cowboys this season, just like they did during OSU's Final Four run in 2004.

Graham ranks second in the conference with 18.0 points per game, which ranked among the top 50 nationally last week. Graham has hit 56.4 percent from the field this season to rank second on the squad, and has hit 86.9 percent (106-of-122) from the charity stripe to rank second in the league and in the top 30 nationally. He adds 6.8 rebounds per game and has hit 19-of-26 (52.8 percent) from three-point range this season.

Lucas is second on the team with 17.9 points per game while hitting 45.5 percent from the field, including 42.6 percent from long range. Lucas leads the conference with 3.0 three-pointers per game (69 total) and is fifth in the conference with 4.74 assists per game. He has 109 assists against just 37 turnovers (best assist:turnover ratio in the league), and has hit 90.7 percent from the charity stripe.

McFarlin has averaged 12.4 points and a team-best 7.6 rebounds per game this season. He paces the squad by hitting 59.9 percent from the floor and has a team-leading 27 blocked shots to his credit.

Freshman JamesOn Curry leads OSU's newcomers, as he has averaged 8.0 points on 46.3 percent shooting this season. He has hit 31 three-pointers to rank third on the team, behind Lucas and Daniel Bobik (33). Lucas (109) and Bobik (80) also rank ahead of Curry (54) in assists.

The Cowboys are guided by Coach Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State, 1958), who is in his 15th season with OSU and 35th as a head coach. Sutton owns a 345-131 record at his alma mater and is nearing the 800-win plateau for his career. Overall, Coach Sutton holds a 775-295 career mark.

Series History
The Cornhuskers and Cowboys are meeting for the 109th time in the series, which Nebraska leads by a 59-49 margin despite winning just seven of the past 24 meetings. It is one of five series against conference opponents that the Huskers hold an advantage.

The Huskers have posted a 33-13 record against OSU in Lincoln, including an 18-8 advantage at the Devaney Center. Nebraska is 2-2 against the Cowboys in Lincoln since the formation of the Big 12 Conference. The past two games in Lincoln have been decided by a combined 10 points, including a 77-70 victory by No. 13 OSU in 2003 and a 78-75 overtime win by the Huskers in 2001.

In the last meeting in Lincoln, Brennon Clemmons led the Huskers with 21 points while John Turek had six points, 13 rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot in 34 minutes. Neither team got off to a good start as it was tied at 7-all eight minutes into the game. After hitting just 33 percent in the first half, OSU hit 60.7 percent in the second frame to ice the victory. NU hit 37.9 percent for the game.

Last season the Huskers took the No. 7-ranked Cowboys to overtime before falling by four points. It was the seventh overtime game in series history. Joey Graham scored 36 points to pace Oklahoma State, the most points ever by a Cowboy against the Huskers. The previous mark was 35 points by Byron Houston in a 103-84 OSU victory in Lincoln in 1990, the highest scoring game in series history.

The Last Time We Met
Stillwater, Okla. (Feb. 21, 2004) --- Nebraska shot nearly 67 percent from the field in the second half and forced the game into overtime on Nate Johnson’s conventional three-point play with seven seconds remaining in regulation, but No. 7 Oklahoma State’s Joey Graham continued his hot hand in the extra period to lead the Cowboys to an 87-83 overtime victory at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Graham scored 30 of his game-high 36 points in the second half and overtime, and helped OSU remain undefeated at home.

After a late surge gave OSU a three-point advantage at the intermission, both teams came out of halftime on fire. Nebraska missed its first shot and then converted on four straight, including a pair of baskets by Johnson.

The Cowboys were equally as impressive, as the top-rated field-goal shooting team in the nation hit six straight after missing its first attempt and held a 43-38 lead with 13:26 to play. Graham nailed four baskets for the Cowboys while hitting 9-of-14 attempts from the floor in the second period.

Nebraska used a 5-0 run in less than 30 seconds to knot the score at 43-all, one of 16 ties in the contest. Forward John Turek pulled NU within three with a pair of free throws at the 13:26 mark and forward Wes Wilkinson then hit a three-pointer to tie the contest. Wilkinson finished the game with five points and two blocked shots in his best performance in conference play.

OSU used a 9-1 run over the next three minutes to open its biggest lead of the game at eight points, 52-44 on a Graham three-pointer with 10:11 to play. Turek then drilled a jumper and started a 13-4 Nebraska run. The Huskers went on to hit seven straight field goals over the next five minutes to tie the score at 59-59 on an Andrew Drevo jumper with 5:09 remaining.

Guard Marcus Neal Jr. then hit a long three-pointer to give NU a 64-62 lead with 2:36 to play. Neal scored eight points in the final three minutes of regulation to keep Nebraska within striking distance, including an acrobatic trey with 15 seconds left to pull Nebraska within two, 73-71.

The Cowboys’ Tony Allen hit the first of two free throws with nine ticks left on the clock to make it a three-point contest. Johnson then drove the left side of the baseline and flipped in a reverse layup and converted the foul shot to tie the game at 74-all with seven seconds left. John Lucas’ three-pointer was off the mark for the Cowboys and Allen rebounded, but his tip-in attempt was off the mark, sending the game to overtime.

In the extra session, Neal scored the Huskers’ first five points on a pair of foul shots and a three-pointer to tie the score at 79-79. After Turek hit a jumper to give Nebraska an 81-79 lead with 2:34 to play, OSU outscored the Huskers 8-2 down the stretch, hitting six of seven free throws to seal the victory.

Drevo, who lead Nebraska with eight points in the opening period, led four Huskers in double figures with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor. Johnson added 18 points, while Neal had 13 and Turek collected 10.

Nebraska hit 53.6 percent from the floor while holding OSU to 42.3 percent shooting, including 26.3 percent from beyond the arc. Charles Richardson Jr. had a team-high six rebounds for the Huskers, although NU was outrebounded 41-33, including an 18-7 deficit on the offensive glass. Richardson also had three assists, as the Huskers collected 18 assists as a team.

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 is third on the team with 8.8 points per game in conference action while adding 3.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists. 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 42.2 percent (35-of-83) 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 33.3 percent (12-of-36). Over the past nine games, Muhleisen has hit 36.7 percent (11-of-30) 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 32.5 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 10 games.

During that 10-game stretch, NU has hit 73.8 percent (169-of-229) overall at the foul line and has hit at least 66.7 percent nine times. NU had connected on 66.7 percent from the line 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 77.4 percent at the line in league play. He is one of four Huskers ? along with Marcus Neal Jr. (84.6), Wes Wilkinson (78.8) and Aleks Maric (75.0) ? 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.

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 22.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game this season while making an impression on the rest of the league.

McCray is 14th in scoring (15.0 ppg), while Maric is 10th in rebounding (6.6 rpg) on the season. McCray is second in three-pointers per game (2.87) and is seventh in three-point shooting percentage (35.3). McCray is also ninth in league-only games for steals, with 1.58 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. For complete NU freshman records, see page 12.

McCray has already moved into fourth on the rookie points scored chart with 345 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 fourth place as he has 145 boards this season. At his current average of 6.6 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 with just two weeks left in the regular season, freshman guard Joe McCray has shown he is one of the top freshmen in the Big 12 Conference this season. 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. 19, McCray ranks 14th in scoring at 15.0 points per game on the season, the third-highest scoring freshman in the Big 12 Conference and one of just five freshmen in the top 20. McCray has hit 40.1 percent from the floor to rank 15th in the Big 12.

McCray is second in the conference with 2.87 three-pointers per contest and ranked 32nd nationally last week. He also paces the Huskers with 66 three-pointers, and is seventh in the conference in three-point percentage by hitting 35.3 percent beyond the arc on the year.

In league-only games, he is 13th in scoring at 15.3 points per game. He is also tied for second with 2.83 treys per game and is 10th in Big 12 play by hitting 32.7 percent from long range. McCray is also ninth in steals with 1.58 per game in conference play.

Simply a Sensational Scorer
Freshman guard Joe McCray broke a 33-year old Husker record when he scored a team-best 21 points on the road against No. 21/22 Oklahoma. The rookie from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., picked up his seventh 20-point contest of the season to set the Nebraska mark formerly held by Jerry Fort, who had six such games in 1972-73.

McCray's seven 20-point games lead the Huskers, as only senior guard Jake Muhleisen (2) has more than one. Overall, the Huskers have produced 12 20-point contests this season as a team. McCray's seven 20-point games are the most by an NU player since Cookie Belcher had nine as a senior in 2000-01.

McCray 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 7.5 points and 6.6 rebounds to open his career.

Maric now ranks 10th in the league in rebounding, including seventh in offensive rebounding. In the conference-only games, Maric is adding a team-best 5.8 boards per game to rank 18th.

Maric had possibly his best game in conference play when he recorded 13 points with nine boards and one blocked shot last week against Missouri. He hit 4-of-7 attempts from the field and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe while making his fifth start of the year ? and first in conference play. He set a career high for the second straight game by playing 35 minutes.

That solid performance came on the heels of a seven-point, seven-rebound effort at Oklahoma and a 10-point, seven-rebound game at Baylor. In the games immediately before that, Maric sat out the Utah Valley State contest with the flu and was not at 100 percent in games against Kansas and Iowa State. During that three-game stretch when he was under the weather, Maric dropped nearly 15 pounds, but has since regained most of that weight.

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.

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.

The NU freshman mark for double-doubles is 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.

Dourisseau Getting Into the Act
Despite struggling with an ankle injury that has sidelined him for three games ? at two different times ? in conference play, guard Jason Dourisseau has made his presence felt within the Husker offense this year.

Dourisseau is third on the team in scoring (9.3 ppg) and is second on the squad in rebounding at 5.1 boards per game. He also ranks second on the squad by hitting 48.5 percent (64-of-132) from the floor, including a 6-of-7 effort against Missouri last week when he scored 13 points off the bench.

During a five-game stretch from Jan. 26 to Feb. 8, Dourisseau averaged 11.8 points per game while hitting 52.5 percent (21-of-40) from the floor, including 2-of-7 from outside the arc. That came after a two-game absence from an ankle injury.

Dourisseau poured in a career-high 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting against No. 3 Kansas. The Omaha native also hit 7-of-12 from the free throw line and added five boards and three steals in 26 minutes.

Following the strong performance, Dourisseau re-entered the starting lineup against Iowa State. He scored 11 points with three boards, one block and two steals in 33 minutes. He also started against Baylor but played just 13 minutes before re-injuring his ankle. He did not return to the game in the second half and then missed the Oklahoma game.

Dourisseau has started 14 of his 19 games played this year. He has nearly doubled his numbers from last season, as he has 97 rebounds, 18 steals and is fourth on the squad with 33 assists against just 37 turnovers. Last season, he had 60 rebounds, 13 steals and 17 assists against 41 turnovers in 31 games.

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

Dourisseau followed with 18 points and set a career high for the second straight game by grabbing 12 rebounds. He also hit 8-of-11 free throw attempts after getting fouled repeatedly while slashing to the basket.

In the Huskers' road victory over Colorado on Jan. 12, Dourisseau had his best game in nearly a month, as he recorded 11 points with seven rebounds in 26 minutes. He slashed past the Buffs at will while recording eight points in the opening frame as NU opened a 15-point halftime lead on the road.

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

During a six-game stretch from Jan. 26 to Feb. 12, the Council Bluffs, Iowa, native hit 70.6 percent (24-of-34) from the field while ranking fourth on the team with 9.7 points per game. Turek also led the team with 6.2 rebounds per game during that stretch with four blocked shots and three steals.

In conference play, Turek is second on the team by hitting 53.8 percent (35-of-65) from the floor and is third in rebounding at 4.8 boards per game. He is averaging 7.3 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 (54.5 percent, 30-of-55) joins Turek in shooting at least 50.0 percent from the field against Big 12 foes this year.

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 fourth on the team with 8.3 points per game while hitting 42.9 percent from the floor. He has scored in double figures five times in 12 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 3.9 rebounds per game against conference foes, including posting a career-high nine rebounds against Iowa State in Lincoln.

Wilkinson has also hit 77.8 percent from the free throw line against the league. In fact, he has hit 23 of his last 25 attempts (92.0 percent) over the past 10 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 1.13 blocks per game (team-best 25 total) this season 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 third in the league in rebounding with 38.9 boards per game and are third in rebounding margin at +6.2. In Big 12 Conference games, NU is fourth in rebounding at 36.0 boards per contest and third in rebounding margin at +3.0.

In the Feb. 14 NCAA statistics, the Huskers ranked 18th in the nation in rebounding margin (+6.8).

Freshman Aleks Maric ranks 10th in the league with 6.6 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 5.1 rebounds per game over 19 games and just fell out of the top 20 in the conference. In league-only games, Maric paces NU with 5.8 boards to rank 18th.

Overall, the Huskers have taken a rebounding advantage in 18 of 23 games. Nebraska has outrebounded nine of 12 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 State with 876 career points and 656 rebounds. He needs just five boards to move into 10th place 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 152 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 team lead with 24 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 State with 892 points, 330 rebounds, 272 assists and 93 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 66 assists against just 34 turnovers this season. He is second on the team in assists, behind only senior point guard Marcus Neal Jr. who has 77.The Lincoln native has recorded a 1.94:1 assist-to-turnover ratio to rank eighth in the Big 12 Conference, including eighth (1.90:1) in assist:turnover ratio in league contests.