Huskers Make Quick Turnaround

Nebraska makes a quick return to the court as it plays host to North Carolina A&T at the BobDevaneySportsCenter on Monday, Dec. 19. The Cornhuskers, who are in the middle of a three-game stretch over five days, tip off against the Aggies at 7:05 p.m. in a game telecast throughout the state of Nebraska on FSN Midwest. Greg Sharpe (play by play) and Matt Davison (color) will call the action in the Huskers' fourth televised game during the non-conference slate.

 

The contest with the Aggies will also be heard on the Pinnacle Sports Network around Nebraska and surrounding states, and can be heard throughout the world via the Internet at Huskers.com. Randy Lee will handle play-by-play duties while Cornhusker historian Mike Babcock sits in to handle color commentary.

 

Nebraska will be making its ninth appearance at the DevaneyCenter this season and looks to improve to 8-1 at home. The Huskers will also be gunning for a milestone victory as a win over North Carolina A&T would give Nebraska its 350th all-time win at the DevaneyCenter.

 

Nebraska is in the middle of a school-record 19-game home schedule. NU has won at least 10 home games at the DevaneyCenter in 23 seasons since the DevaneyCenter opened for the 1976-77 campaign. The Cornhuskers have had 29 consecutive winning seasons at home and currently own a 349-110 (.760) record in the building.

 

Huskers on Television

Including Monday's contest against North Carolina A&T, Nebraska will have at least 20 televised games this season, including 15-of-16 conference games.

 

The Nebraska-North Carolina A&T matchup will be seen only in the state of Nebraska on FSN Midwest. The game can be found on: Channel 37 on Time Warner around Lincoln; Channel 47 on Cox Cable around Omaha; Channel 26 on Charter Cable; Channel 33 on Qwest; and Channel 32 on Cable One. The game will also be seen on DirecTV Channel 648 and Dish Network Channel 446. 

 

Welcome Back

After a week layoff for final exams, the Huskers got back to work and received an added boost Saturday as sophomore guard Joe McCray had his best game of the year. A Big 12 All-Freshman selection last season, McCray had struggled through much of the Huskers' first eight games but made a strong contribution with 19 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals  against ChicagoState.

 

While McCray's return is a welcome site for the Huskers, it is probably not an inviting sign for North Carolina A&T. Last year, McCray set a personal best with six 3-pointers ? all in the second half ? against the Aggies while earning the second of his Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors.

 

McCray did not get all of the attention Saturday as senior forward Wes Wilkinson continued his hot hand by chipping in 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including hitting 3-of-5 from 3-point range.

 

Freshman Marcus Walker has also come on strong offensively the past few games as he is now averaging 7.1 points per game after posting 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting. Walker is third on the team behind Wilkinson (19) and McCray (14) with eight 3-pointers this season while his 23 assists paces the squad. 

 

The Matchup

Nebraska and North Carolina A&T will be meeting for the fourth time in the series ? all in Lincoln ? and the second straight season. The Huskers own a 3-0 record over the Aggies including a 71-49 victory last season in the DevaneyCenter.

 

Last year, Joe McCray hit all six of his 3-pointers after the intermission and scored a game-high 20 points before being named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the second time during non-conference play. After going 1-for-12 from long range before the break, the Huskers hit 8-of-14 from beyond the arc after the intermission. McCray's long-range accuracy helped the Huskers to a 30-8 run in the second frame.

 

Scouting the Aggies

North Carolina A&T owns an 0-6 record entering Monday's matchup, with its most recent loss a 93-72 road defeat at Campbell. The Aggies hit 45 percent from the floor but were outrebounded 57-36 and connected on just 14-of-32 attempts from the free throw line. Demetrius Guions led the way with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Jason Wills also added a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards.

 

Guions leads five Aggies averaging double figures with 16.3 points per game but has hit just 36.7 percent from the field, including only 25.6 percent from beyond the arc. Guions is third on the squad with 4.7 rebounds per game.

 

Also posting double-figure points this season are Austin Ewing (11.6), Dejuan Morrison (11.3), Wills (11.0) and Greg Roberts (10.0). Wills paces the Aggies with 6.7 boards per game and along with Morrison are the only two hitting better than 45 percent from the floor. Morrison, who has hit 53.3 percent from the field, also leads the squad by hitting 40.9 percent from 3-point range.

 

As a team, the Aggies have hit just 38.8 percent from the floor this year, including only 29.3 percent from outside the arc. They have been outrebounded 43.7 to 32.2 over their first six games while opponents have held a +15.5 scoring advantage (84.2 to 68.7).

 

North Carolina A&T is coached by Jerry Eaves (Louisville, 1986), who is in his fourth year guiding the Aggies. Eaves owns a 9-55 career record at NCA&T.

 

Nebraska Postgame Notes vs. ChicagoState

? Nebraska used its fifth different lineup in nine games, as the Huskers started Jason Dourisseau, Marcus Walker, Joe McCray, B.J. Walker and Wes Wilkinson. It was B.J. Walker’s second career start and the seventh of Marcus Walker’s career after coming off the bench each of the past two games.

? Sophomore guard Joe McCray finished the game with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting, including hitting 3-of-8 from 3-point range. McCray, who recorded 12 points with three assists and two steals in the first half, needs one 3-pointer to tie for 10th place on the Nebraska career chart for made 3-pointers as he now has 94 in his career.

? Wes Wilkinson had his streak of double-figure rebounding games snapped at three as he recorded seven boards to go with 20 points and two blocked shots. Wilkinson, who leads the Big 12 Conference in 3-point percentage and blocked shots, was 5-of-9 from the floor in the first period and finished 8-of-13 from the floor.

? Wilkinson recorded his third 20-point effort of his career and his second of the season. It was also the sixth time this season he had at least two blocked shots in a contest, including each of the past five games.

? Nebraska hit 52.8 percent for the game, a season high. The Huskers hit 56.0 percent from the floor in the opening frame, the second-highest percentage for any half this year and the third time this season NU hit better than 50.0 percent from the floor, with all three coming in the first period.

? Nebraska allowed ChicagoState to hit an opponent season-high 57.1 percent from the field in the opening frame. It was only the second time this season the Huskers had allowed an opponent to hit 50.0 percent or better for a half. CSU finished by hitting 47.9 percent from the floor after going 11-of-27 from the field in the second period.

? The 47.9 percent is a Nebraska opponent high this year and only the second time this season the Huskers have allowed a team to hit better than 40 percent from the field.

? Nebraska improved to 2-0 all-time against ChicagoState, with both wins coming at the DevaneyCenter. The Huskers also improved to 7-1 this season when holding a lead at the intermission.

? Nebraska took four charges (Charles Richardson Jr. 2, Jamel White 1, Marcus Walker 1), marking the fourth time this season the Huskers had at least three charges in a game, and the second time they had at least four charges in a contest.

? Charles Richardson Jr. set season highs with six points and four assists, and had a career-high tying six rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.

 

Wilkinson Adds Another Dimension For Huskers

Senior forward Wes Wilkinson missed the Louisiana Tech game with an injury but returned in fine fashion against SoutheastMissouriState (25 points, nine rebounds) and has had the hottest hand on the team in the Huskers' subsequent games.

The 6-10, 220-pounder has averaged 16.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game over the past six contests. He has hit 40-of-75 attempts (53.3 percent) from the floor and has played a team-high 32.0 minutes per game.  

 

Wilkinson has shown his versatility by connecting on an amazing 16-of-27 (59.3 percent) attempts from 3-point range over the past six games. He had 10 treys combined in his freshman and sophomore seasons and owned 34 career 3-pointers entering the season. He averaged 0.39 treys per game in his first three seasons but has connected on 2.1 3-pointers per game so far in 2005.

 

On the year, Wilkinson has averaged a team-best 14.9 points to go with 8.6 rebounds per game. He has hit 52.2 percent (47-of-90) from the floor, including 19-of-35 (54.3 percent) from long range.

 

Following Saturday's game against ChicagoState, Wilkinson led the Big 12 Conference in 3-point percentage and blocked shots, was third in rebounds per game, ranked 10th in field-goal percentage and was 11th in scoring. He was one of only four seniors to be ranked among the top 20 scorers in the Big 12. Wilkinson is the highest scoring senior, followed by Oklahoma's Taj Gray (14.7 ppg), Colorado's Chris Copeland (14.0 ppg) and Oklahoma's Kevin Bookout (12.7 ppg).

 

Block Party

Senior forward Wes Wilkinson owns 24 of Nebraska's 38 blocked shots this season, including a career-best six blocks against Creighton. He has had three other games in his career with at least five blocks, including five against Yale and Marquette earlier this season. Wilkinson's 24 blocks this year are just five less than all eight of Nebraska's opponents have combined for against the Huskers (29).

 

Wilkinson is already eighth on the Nebraska class list. Wilkinson's career total (76) currently ranks eighth in the NU record book and he needs seven more to move into a tie for seventh.

 

If he can keep up his current Big 12-leading pace of 3.0 blocks per game, Wilkinson could challenge the Nebraska single-season record of 91 blocked shots by Derrick Chandler in 1992. Wilkinson, who ranked 10th nationally in blocks per game entering last week, is on pace for 87 blocks (assuming he plays every remaining game of the regular season).

 

Boarding All Rows

For the second straight season, Nebraska dominated the boards against UAB and a Husker came away with a career game. Last year, center Aleks Maric recorded a double-double in his third career game when he posted 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds against the Blazers. The 15 rebounds were a team season high.

 

This year, it was senior forward Wes Wilkinson's turn to burn the Blazers. The Grand Island native recorded his first career double-double with 17 points and a career-best 16 rebounds, including 12 in the opening period. Wilkinson's 16 rebounds are the most by a Husker since John Turek also recorded 16 boards against Denver during the 2002-03 campaign.

 

Doubling Up

Wes Wilkinson went the first 90 games of his career without a double-figure rebounding game but had three straight performances with at least 10 boards between Dec. 3 and Dec. 11.

 

After posting a 17-point, 16-rebound effort against UAB for his first career double-double, Wilkinson added a 17-point, 10-board outing against South DakotaState. He came back with a game-high 13 rebounds against Creighton, although his double-double streak ended as he had just six points. Wilkinson's double-figure rebounding streak came to an end at three games as he had just seven boards against ChicagoState.

 

Wilkinson is not the only player doubling up this season, as sophomore center Aleks Maric owns the team lead with three double-doubles, which also ties for second in the Big 12 Conference this season. Junior forward B.J. Walker also got into the act as he posted a career-best 11 boards for his first double-figure rebound effort of the season against South DakotaState.

 

Jason Dourisseau, who has just missed out on a double-double with nine boards three times already this year, picked up his second career double-figure rebounding total with 11 boards against Creighton.

 

Hot Hand

Senior guard Jason Dourisseau has continued his hot hand from last year when he ranked second on the squad by hitting 49.1 percent of his attempts from the floor.

 

While the Omaha native continues to work on his game at the free throw line, he has been exceptional from the field over his last 17 regular-season games dating back to last season. During that span, Dourisseau has hit 52.9 percent (63-of-119) from the floor, including 35-of-68 (51.5 percent) in nine games this season.

 

Dourisseau is second on the team with 11.2 points and third with 7.3 rebounds per game this season. He also leads the Huskers with 12 steals.

 

Dourisseau was one of three Huskers named to the all-tournament team at the season-opening John Thompson Foundation Basketball Challenge, and was the only Husker to score in double figures in each of the first seven games this season.

 

Charity Work

While the percentage is still not where they would like it to be, the Huskers have done an outstanding job of getting to the free throw line in the early season games. Nebraska has averaged 24.2 free throw attempts per game (218 total attempts in nine games) while allowing its opponents to get to the stripe just 15.1 times per game (136 attempts combined). NU has made more free throws than its opponents have attempted (141 to 136).

 

Nebraska has hit 64.7 percent from the line this season ? including a solid 76.0 percent (19-of-25) against UAB ? after connecting on 66.0 percent (409-of-620) last year. Four players have at least two attempts per game this season with Jamel White (19-of-26) leading the way at a 73.1-percent clip. Jason Dourisseau has gotten to the line more frequently than any Husker (54 times).

 

First-Timers

Husker fans are seeing several new faces on the court in 2005-06. Nebraska's 16-man roster entering the season included nine players (six newcomers, three redshirts) who had never played a minute in a Husker uniform during a regular-season game.

 

During NU's three games at the season-opening John Thompson Foundation Basketball Challenge, six players saw action for the first time in their Husker careers, including three true freshmen (Marcus Walker, Jamel White and Kyle Marks), a redshirt junior (Marcus Perry), a redshirt freshman (Jim Ledsome) and a junior college transfer (B.J. Walker).

 

Marcus Walker earned a starting nod in each of NU's first six games, and was just the second true freshman to start his first career game at Nebraska since Cookie Belcher in 1996-97. Marcus Walker, who now owns seven career starts, is not the only newcomer to earn a start, as B.J. Walker was in for the tip off against South DakotaState and ChicagoState so far this season.

 

Through nine contests, B.J. Walker leads the newcomers by averaging 7.2 points per game with 5.6 rebounds while Marcus Walker is second on the team first among newcomers with 2.6 assists per game.

 

Last year, the Huskers had two freshmen (Joe McCray and Aleks Maric) see significant time early in the season before setting NU records. McCray posted the best scoring average by an NU freshman in history after gaining a team-best 15.5 points per game. He also set records for 20-point games (10) and broke the Big 12 freshman record with 80 3-pointers. Maric set the NU freshman rebound record with 169 boards on the year.

 

Passing Grade

Freshmen guards Marcus Walker and Jamel White have made solid first impressions for the Huskers. The duo has combined for 13.8 points, 4.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game while hitting 31-of-40 attempts from the free throw line.

 

Walker leads the team with 23 assists while White has added 21. Walker owns the single-game team season high after posting six assists against Marquette, while White has recorded five assists on two occasions. Walker had five assists in the season opener but then posted just two assists over the next three games before getting back on track against the Golden Eagles. 

 

White has been efficient running the Husker offense this season, as he has 20 assists against six turnovers since a one-assist, six-turnover performance in the season opener.  The freshmen have made a strong impression since the start of the exhibition season when they took Charles Richardson's place, as he was sidelined with an injury. Since Richardson's return, he has led the team with a team-best 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio (16:8).

 

Walker started both exhibition contests at point guard and led the team with 13 assists, including an eight-assist, no-turnover game against Holy Family in the second exhibition game. While Walker struggled from the field in exhibition play, he went 6-of-6 at the free throw line, including four freebies sandwiched around a driving layup in the final minutes of a five-point win over Nebraska-Omaha. White played at both the point and shooting guard and ranked fourth on the team with 8.0 points per game in the exhibition contests. White hit 6-of-8 attempts from the line and was 4-of-8 from the floor while adding three steals.

 

McCray Moving Up Chart

Guard Joe McCray set several Nebraska freshman records last season and looks to break into the NU career record book during his sophomore campaign.

 

McCray, who now has 94 career 3-pointers, needs just one trey to break into the Husker career top 10. Former Huskers Jake Muhleisen and Jamar Johnson currently rank 10th with 95 career 3-pointers.

 

With six more 3-pointers, McCray will become the 10th player in Nebraska history to reach 100 career treys and will become only the second player to reach 100 treys during his sophomore season, joining Cary Cochran, who had 101 3-pointers after two full seasons playing for the Huskers. Cochran owns the NU record with 268 3-pointers in his career, while Eric Piatkowski (202) is the only other Husker with more than 200 career treys. 

 

International Man

Center Aleks Maric (pronounced MAR-itch) returned from the summer in the best shape of his life, which makes sense as he played more than 30 games in Slovenia, Greece, Canada and Argentina during July and August as part of the Australian Under-21 National Team. The 6-11, 265-pounder who set the Nebraska freshman rebounding record last season helped his Aussie team, the Crocs, to a fourth-place finish at the U21 World Championships in Argentina in August.

 

Maric averaged 9.4 rebounds per game while helping the Crocs to a 6-2 record at the World Championships. He was second in the tournament in rebounding, behind only 7-3 Peter Ramos, who played for the Puerto Rican Olympic team and was in the NBA last season. Maric also averaged 10.6 points while hitting 50.6 percent from the floor in the championships.

 

Maric is the second Husker to play on a youth World Championship team, joining current Atlanta Hawk Tyronn Lue, who played for the United States at the Under-22 World Championships in 1997. Bill Johnson played at the World Championships while helping the United States to gold in 1954, and Dave Hoppen (1985) and Eric Piatkowski (1993) played on the United States' World University Games teams.

 

Awesome Aussie

A native of Sydney, sophomore center Aleks Maric is one of 29 Australians playing Division I college men's basketball this season. According to the NCAA, there are 396 foreign players competing at the Division I level.

 

Also from Sydney, New South Wales, are Blagoj Janev (New Hampshire), Martin Iti (New MexicoState) and Stefan Blaszczynski (NichollsState). Blaszczynski is one of five Australians on the NichollsState roster, the most of any school in the United States.

 

Along with Nebraska, major conference schools including Arizona, Baylor, Georgia, Indiana and WashingtonState have at least one Australian on its roster in 2005-06.

 

Huskers Rise to Challenge

A trio of Huskers were named to the all-tournament team as they lead Nebraska to a perfect 3-0 record and the title of the John Thompson Foundation Basketball Challenge on the opening weekend of the 2005-06 season. Senior Jason Dourisseau, sophomore Aleks Maric and freshman Jamel White each earned a spot on the all-tourney team, along with Yale's Sam Kaplan, Longwood's Michael Jefferson and tournament MVP Paul Millsap of Louisiana Tech.

 

The Huskers had to scratch out two of the wins as NU's victories over Yale and LaTech were not decided until the final minutes. NU used a solid defensive effort that held its opponents to a tournament-low 61.7 points per game while shooting just 38.5 percent.

 

Maric and Dourisseau each averaged 12.7 points per game to lead the Huskers. Maric also pulled in 10.7 rebounds per game to rank second in the four-team field while Dourisseau was fourth overall and second on the team with 8.7 rebounds per contest.

 

White sparked the Huskers on both ends of the court as he took several charges on defense and added double-figure points twice. He finished with 10 points, seven boards and five assists against one turnover in the hard-fought win over Yale.

 

It was the first tournament title the Huskers have won since taking three straight games at the San Juan Shootout in 2000. Nebraska defeated Iona (81-80), KentState (69-68) and SMU (72-70) that season. The Huskers started that trip with a 72-64 win over Miami in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic.

 

New Bench Look

The Huskers have a new look on the bench as they have two new faces within the staff.

Jerome Francis Jr. joined the Huskers as an assistant coach in June and works directly with the post players. Francis formerly was head coach at Prairie View A&M three years and served at several Division I schools as an assistant coach, including one season at Butler with Coach Barry Collier.

 

Also new to the program this year is head basketball strength coach Travis Reust. A native of Oklahoma, Reust has most recently guided the programs at TCU and Colorado before coming to Nebraska. Reust has helped several Huskers reach new highs in the weight room already, as three Huskers have already benched at least 300 pounds this season while nearly every Husker has made a significant strength gain as well.

 

Fresh Faces

Nebraska has a returnee at each spot on the floor but will look for its depth this season to be provided mostly by new faces. Overall, the Huskers have six newcomers on the squad including five freshmen. The heralded group of newcomers gives Nebraska its most athletic roster in several years. 

 

Leading the list of fresh faces this season is junior college transfer B.J. Walker. The forward from Cincinnati nearly averaged a double-double last season with 16.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while helping Garden City (Kan.) Community College to its first-ever Jayhawk Conference West Division title. Walker has a soft touch inside 12 feet and solid offensive moves in the post and at 6-9, 245 pounds, provides another wide body to rest either Wes Wilkinson or Aleks Maric.

 

Along with Walker, freshmen Marcus Walker, Jamel White and Kyle Marks have earned early praise from the coaching staff. Marcus Walker, who was rated the No. 25 point guard in the country as a senior last year by scout.com, gives Nebraska another lightning-quick point guard to pair with Charles Richardson Jr. Walker and White can both score and give Nebraska a different look with a bigger lineup as they go 6-2 and 6-3, respectively. Marks has been described by his teammates as "freakishly athletic" and the 6-7, 220-pounder has one of the top vertical jumps on the team.

 

Huskers Name Captains

After losing four veterans who had combined to play in more than 380 games over the past four seasons, it didn't take long for the Huskers to figure out who would take on more of a leadership role in 2005-06. Seniors Jason Dourisseau and Wes Wilkinson and sophomore Aleks Maric were selected as team captains for the upcoming season.

 

Dourisseau and Wilkinson are the only two scholarship players on the roster from Nebraska and have stepped up over the past seven months to provide leadership on and off the court. After a strong summer of play with the Australian Under 21 National Team, Maric is believed to be only the second sophomore in school history to be named a captain. Former Husker Jake Muhleisen was a three-year captain between 2003 and 2005.

 

Smith, Balham to Redshirt

Newcomers Chris Balham and Mike Smith have said they will sit out this season as redshirts, looking to gain strength, speed and improve their skills before stepping onto the court for the Huskers in 2006-07.

 

Balham is one of the strongest players in Nebraska men's basketball team history and has already bench pressed more than 300 pounds. Balham will continue to work on his offensive skills as he began playing basketball just five years ago when he moved to Chicago from his native Paris, France. Smith also has great physical ability but with a log-jam in the backcourt, he has decided to take the time to improve his skill set and basketball IQ in anticipation of helping the Huskers next season.

 

Defensive Mind Set

The Huskers look to continue a recent tradition of success on the defensive end of the court this season as Nebraska has held opponents to less than 64.0 points per game each of the past two years. The last time Nebraska held opponents to fewer than 64.0 points per game in consecutive seasons was 1983 (60.9 ppg) and 1984 (61.6 ppg).

 

Before Coach Collier arrived in Lincoln, the Huskers had held opponents to under 71.0 points per game only twice (1999, 64.3 ppg; 1998, 68.5) in the previous 14 seasons, dating back to the addition of the 3-point line in 1987. Under Collier's guidance, NU has held opponents to less than 71.0 points per game five times in five seasons, including four times under 70.0 points per game.

 

Huskers Open Practice with Madness

Nebraska opened the 2005-06 year with a public scrimmage and dunk contest at Husker Madness on Oct. 14. With about 2,500 fans in attendance, the Huskers joined the Nebraska women's team to give the public a taste of what is to come in the regular season.

 

Following the women's scrimmage and 3-point contest, the Husker men held a 20-minute running clock scrimmage with the veterans taking on the newcomers. The newcomers struggled early but made a late surge before being held off by the veterans,
34-27.

 

In the dunk contest, freshman Kyle Marks impressed the fans with a two-handed slam after jumping over the entire team, which had crouched down inside the lane. Marks' dunk came in the finals against senior Jason Dourisseau, who cleared a ball rack set up in the lane inside the free throw line. Each scored a '50' to force a second finals matchup, which Dourisseau won after Marks missed both of his attempts.

 

Board Games

Nebraska looks to clean the boards on a regular basis again this season as it returned 57.4 percent of its rebounding from the 2004-05 campaign when it led the Big 12 Conference in rebounding margin.

 

Through nine games this season, Nebraska ranks second in the Big 12 Conference in rebound average at 42.6 boards per game with Wes Wilkinson (3rd, 8.6), Aleks Maric (6th, 7.8 rpg), Jason Dourisseau (8th, 7.3) and B.J. Walker (17th, 5.6 prg) ranking among the top 20 individuals in the league.

 

The Huskers averaged a +5.2 rebounding margin over 28 games last season to rank 30th nationally. Last year's effort marked the eighth time in the past 10 seasons the Huskers held an advantage on the glass. It was also NU's highest rebounding output since 1992, when Nebraska held a +6.4 rebounding advantage, and only the third time since 1953 the Huskers had at least a +5.0 rebounding margin. 

 

Map Quest

Nebraska's roster has changed quite a bit in the past 12 months. That is most evident when looking down the state listings as the only Nebraskans on the roster are the four seniors ? Jason Dourisseau and Wes Wilkinson along with walk-ons Bronsen Schliep and Tony Wilbrand. The states following Nebraska with the most current Huskers are New York and Florida with two each, while the other eight players are from seven other states and one foreign country. Overall, the Husker roster consists of players from 10 states and two countries.

 

Home Again

Nebraska ended its longest homestand in 80 years with a 6-1 record after defeating South Dakota State, 76-67, on Dec. 8. It was the first time in school history that the Huskers opened the season with seven straight home contests.

 

The Huskers have started the year with six consecutive home games as recently as the 2001-02 campaign. The last time NU played seven consecutive home games at any point was the 1926-27 season. The Huskers went 6-1 during that stretch with the only loss a 34-25 setback against Kansas.

 

The Huskers will play a school-record 19 games in the DevaneyCenter during the 2005-06 regular season. It will break the previous high of 18 games set on three occasions, last in 2003-04. That season, Nebraska opened the year with a 10-1 mark before getting into conference play and finished the season with an 18-13 record, including a 15-3 mark at the DevaneyCenter, while advancing to the second round of the NIT.

 

Forcing Their Hand

Nebraska's foes hit just 41.4 percent from the floor last season as the Huskers ranked fourth in the Big 12 Conference. It marked the third straight year Nebraska has held opponents to 41.5 percent or less from the floor. Since 1965, NU has held opponents to a 41.5 field-goal percentage or less just eight times, although six of those seasons have come in the last decade.

This year, opponents are hitting 37.1 percent from the field through the first nine games of the season.

 

Tough Schedule Ahead

Nebraska will face 11 teams in 2005-06 that reached the postseason last year. Among the eight teams to reach the 2005 NCAA Tournament were six Big 12 opponents in Texas Tech (Sweet 16), Oklahoma State (Sweet 16), Oklahoma (Second Round), Iowa State (Second Round), Texas (First Round) and Kansas (First Round), along with two non-conference foes in UAB (Second Round) and Creighton (First Round).  Nebraska opponents Texas A&M (Third Round), Missouri (First Round) and Marquette (First Round) reached the 2005 National Invitation Tournament.

 

Home Sweet Home

The Huskers will play a BobDevaneySportsCenter single-season record 19 home games this season. The Huskers will break the record of 18 home games at the DevaneyCenter, last tied during the 2003-04 campaign when Nebraska picked up an NIT victory over Niagara on its way to a 15-3 home record. The 15 wins tied for second all-time on the building's single-season win chart.

 

Nebraska owns a 349-110 all-time record in its 30th year at the DevaneyCenter.

 

Basketball Luncheons

The Rebounders Club has announced the dates for its monthly basketball luncheons in Omaha during the 2005-06 season. The Rebounders Club is a booster organization that provides support for the Nebraska men’s basketball program and financial assistance to the NU Athletic Department.

The Husker Roundball Luncheons will take place for the 19th season sponsored by the Rebounders Club. The luncheons will take place at Anthony’s Steakhouse at 72nd and F Street in Omaha on the following dates:

          Tuesday, Nov. 22

          Tuesday, Dec. 13

          Tuesday, Jan. 10

          Tuesday, Feb. 14

The price for a four-luncheon pass is $65, or fans can join the luncheon for $20 at the door on a space-available basis. The event will include guest speakers from the basketball program and  is open to the general public as well as all Rebounders Club members.

 

Get to Know Him

Sophomore center Aleks Maric gained recognition as one of the top foreign players in the country last year and has already started back on the same track in 2005-06.

 

In a Wednesday, Nov. 9, article titled '20 Players You Should Know,' Jeff Goodman of scout.com compiled a list of the top sophomores and incoming rookies who flew "under the radar or should be impact freshmen this season." Maric was ranked No. 12 on the list and was one of two players in the Big 12 Conference, along with fellow Australian Aaron Bruce of Baylor who was ranked No. 3.

 

Graduate Work

Former guard Corey Simms can not suit up for Nebraska any more, but he had every reason to be proud to be a Husker as he stepped to the platform during the winter commencement ceremony on Dec. 17. Simms was the only former basketball player to graduate this winter, finishing his degree in four and one-half years, but was one of 30 current and former student-athletes to get their degree on the day.

 

Simms (2004-05) joins an extensive list of players who earned their degree after competing as a senior under Coach Barry Collier. In 17 years as a head coach, Collier has now had 51-of-55 seniors earn their degree with one (Marcus Neal Jr.) on pace to complete his requirements in 2006.

 

What's On Tap Next

Following Monday's matchup, Nebraska returns to the court for the last time before its holiday break when it takes on 2005 NCAA Tournament qualifier Alabama A&M at the DevaneyCenter on Wednesday, Dec. 21. The Huskers and Bulldogs will tip off at 7 p.m. and the game can be heard on the Pinnacle Sports Network and Huskers.com.