Huskers Set for First League Road Game

After protecting its home court in the league opener last weekend, the Nebraska men's basketball team begins the road grind of conference play as it travels to Manhattan, Kan., to take on the Kansas State Wildcats on Wednesday, Jan. 11.

 

NU and KSU will tip off at 7:05 p.m. in the midweek matchup with the game being televised in Nebraska on FSN Midwest with Greg Sharpe handling play by play and Matt Davison adding color commentary. The game will also be seen in the state of Kansas on the Wildcats' television network (also FSN Midwest).

 

Nebraska's television package will be seen within the state 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. Check local listings in Nebraska for DirecTV and Dish Network channels.

 

All Nebraska men's basketball games can also be heard on the radio with Randy Lee of the Pinnacle Sports Network handling the broadcast. The 26-station network can be heard throughout Nebraska and parts of western Iowa, and can be listened to worldwide on the Internet at Huskers.com.

 

NU Shooting for 2-0 Big 12 Start For Second Straight Season

Coming off a victory in its first game of the year against a ranked team, the Nebraska basketball team hopes to carry some momentum into its Big 12 road opener when it takes on KansasState in Manhattan, Kan., on Wednesday.

 

The Huskers, who have won four of their last five regular-season Big 12 Conference contests dating back to last season, have defeated their last two ranked opponents and have won at least one game against a ranked team each of the past five years. NU also defeated No. 4 Oklahoma State, 74-67, last season.

 

Nebraska will try to improve to 2-0 in league play for the second straight season and for just the second time in the Big 12 era. Last year, Nebraska defeated KansasState in two overtimes in Lincoln in the league opener and then went to Colorado where it pulled out a tough 68-61 victory over the Buffaloes for its best conference start since winning its first two league games in 1994. Nebraska finished last season with a 7-9 league mark, which tied for its third-best mark in the Big 12 era. 

 

The Huskers are off to their best start in six seasons under Coach Barry Collier with an 11-3 overall record, equalling the program's best start since the 1995-96 campaign when NU was 11-3 through 14 games. The Huskers won their 15th game to improve to 12-3 that season and moved to 15-4 before struggling down the stretch to end the regular season 16-13. NU gained a berth in the NIT and went on to win five straight games to earn their only postseason men's basketball championship and finish the year with a 21-14 record.

 

Hot Shots

Sophomore guard Joe McCray made all the highlight reels with his 3-pointer with 5.6 seconds left that lifted Nebraska to a 59-58 victory over No. 12/14 Oklahoma in the conference opener on Jan. 7. McCray's shot was Nebraska's first game-winning field goal with less than 15 seconds remaining in a contest since Nate Johnson's running right-hander off the glass with 12 seconds left gave NU a 71-70 victory over Creighton March 16, 2004, in the opening round of the NIT in Omaha. McCray's bucket came with the fewest ticks left on the clock for any game-winning field goal since at least 2000-01.

 

Johnson also kissed a jumper off the glass with 7.7 seconds remaining to send NU's game with Colorado to overtime on Jan. 18, 2003, before the Huskers pulled out an 80-77 win in the extra session. In the previous game, Johnson just missed a buzzer-beater as NU fell to Texas A&M 53-52.

 

Last season, Nebraska scored the game-winning points with 1.2 seconds left as Marcus Neal Jr. drained three straight free throws to lift Nebraska past Tennessee, 62-61, on the road. Two games later against KansasState, Neal had a chance to win the game with 1.3 seconds left on the clock with NU trailing by two. Fouled on a 3-point attempt for the second time in three games, Neal missed the first attempt but drained the next two to send it to extra sessions, where NU pulled out a 95-85 double-overtime win.

 

In 2002, Nebraska earned an overtime win against IowaState, 86-84, as John Robinson II nailed a pair of free throws with 3.0 seconds remaining.

 

Hitting the Road

Nebraska hits the road in league play for the first time this season when it takes on KansasState on Wednesday.

 

The Huskers hope to continue their winning ways away from Lincoln as NU snapped a 10-game losing streak in conference road openers last season with a 68-61 victory at Colorado. Before the win over the Buffaloes, Nebraska had not won a league road opener since a 78-72 victory at IowaState in 1994.

 

NU and KSU have met in Manhattan, Kan., for the Huskers' first league road game eight times since the start of the Big Eight Conference (1958-59) with the Wildcats holding a 5-3 advantage. The last time NU made its first conference road trek at Manhattan, the Huskers dropped a 97-79 contest in 2000. The last league road opener at KSU that resulted in a Nebraska win came in 1991 when the No. 19 Huskers earned a 74-69 victory.

 

The Matchup

Nebraska and KansasState will be meeting for the 209th time in series history with the Wildcats holding a 119-89 all-time advantage. KSU holds a 13-4 all-time record over the Huskers in Bramlage Coliseum.

 

KSU has won six of the last 10 meetings overall, and has won 10 of the last 11 matchups in Manhattan, Kan., including four straight. The Wildcats have recorded three straight double-digit victories over the Huskers away from Lincoln.

 

Nebraska's last road victory in the series came in 2001 when the Huskers swept the regular-season series before dropping a four-point contest to the Wildcats in the league tournament. The Huskers earned a 63-61 victory in Manhattan that season as Kimani Ffriend blocked a pair of shots in the final 13 seconds to snap Nebraska's 18-game road losing streak. He finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots while Cookie Belcher had 15 points.

 

Last year, the teams split a pair of regular-season games with the home team winning each time. Nebraska pulled out a 95-85 double-overtime victory at home in the Big 12 opener and then dropped a 73-53 contest at KSU in the season finale.

 

The Wildcats used a 17-3 run midway through the second half to break open a tight game in Manhattan. Jeremiah Massey scored 25 points for KSU, which held a 36-26 advantage on the glass, including a 14-5 lead on the offensive end. Joe McCray led NU with 14 points, including 10 after the intermission.

 

Scouting the Wildcats

Kansas State enters the midweek matchup with a solid 9-3 record despite losing two of its last four games. The Wildcats are undefeated at home, however, as they have posted a 9-0 record in Bramlage Coliseum.

 

KSU's three losses have come on the road, including a two-point setback, 72-70, in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday night in their conference opener against IowaState. KSU had the ball twice in the final 40 seconds, but turned it over each time. The Wildcats finished with 24 turnovers and ISU recorded 13 steals.

 

The Wildcats hit 71 percent (15-of-21) from the field in the second half, including David Hoskins' perfect half (7-of-7) from the floor, as it erased a 12-point halftime deficit. Hoskins finished with a game-high 25 points and six boards while Cartier Martin had 21 points and nine rebounds as KansasState hit 57.4 percent from the field in the game.

 

KSU has shot an impressive 47.8 percent from the floor this season and is averaging 73.8 points per game while allowing 61.5 points per contest. KSU has held a +6.0 rebounding advantage (36.8 to 30.8) and has moved the ball well, gaining 17.9 assists while posting 15.8 turnovers per game.

 

Kansas State is hitting 38.1 percent of its attempts from 3-point range, but has taken just 126 3-point shots, only half of its opponents' total (247). The Wildcats have averaged just 4.0 made treys per game through 12 contests.

 

Martin is second in the conference in scoring at 19.6 points per game while hitting 55.3 percent (78-of-141) from the field and an impressive 82.7 percent (62-of-75) from the charity stripe. He has also added 7.7 rebounds per game and is one of five KSU players with at least 30 assists already this season. Hoskins is second on the squad with 14.7 points per contest and has connected at a team-high 61.7-percent pace this year. Martin, Hoskins and Lance Harris (11.9 ppg) have combined to take 55.5 percent of the Wildcats' shot attempts this winter. 

 

Kansas State is coached by Jim Wooldridge (Louisiana Tech, 1977), who is in his sixth year guiding the Wildcats and 19th year as a college head coach. Wooldridge owns a 306-227 career record and a 77-80 mark at KansasState.

 

Quick Shots

? The Huskers' 11-3 record marks their best start to a season in a decade, since the 1995-96 squad went 12-3 to open the year.

? With an 11-1 home record, the Huskers have tied for the second-best start at home in the past 15 years. Nebraska was 12-1 in 2004 to open the year and also went 11-1 in 1992-93.

? With a 10-3 mark through non-league play, the Huskers won at least 10 non-conference regular-season games for just the second time since the formation of the Big 12 (also 2003-04 season when Nebraska went on to reach second round of NIT).

? Nebraska has held six of its 14 opponents to 60 or fewer points this season, and owns a 6-0 record in those contests. NU is 39-11 under Coach Barry Collier when holding foes to 60 or fewer points.

? Nebraska is holding opponents to 63.4 points per game on 38.5 percent shooting. Nebraska ranked 21st nationally in opponent shooting percentage last week and is currently third in the Big 12 Conference.

? The Huskers have recorded at least eight 3-pointers in each of the past seven games after gaining more than five treys just three times in their first seven games.

? NU is 8-0 this season when outshooting its opponent and 8-1 when its bench outscores the opponent's bench. The Huskers are also 9-1 when leading with 5:00 remaining in the game.

? Nebraska has not allowed a team to shoot 50.0 percent from the field for a whole game yet this season.  ChicagoState shot an opponent season-best 47.9 percent against NU before Christmas.

? Nebraska will be seen on television 15 times during 16 Big 12 Conference contests. The only non-televised league game for the Huskers will be on Feb. 22 when Colorado comes to Lincoln.

? Charles Richardson Jr. recorded three 3-pointers on five attempts against Oklahoma after entering the game hitting 2-of-6 treys in his first 10 games combined.

 ? Richardson also had two offensive rebounds against the Sooners after the 5-9 point guard posted seven offensive boards in his first 66 career games.

? Wes Wilkinson leads the conference with 34 blocked shots in 13 games this season (2.62 bpg), and has already set a new career high. His previous high of 33 blocks was set in 27 games last year. He needs 23 blocked shots to move onto the Nebraska single-season chart.

? Wilkinson is also drawing comparisons to former Husker Brian Conklin for his strong outside shooting. Conklin, a 6-11 forward, set the Big 12 record by hitting 55.9 percent from 3-point range as a senior. This year, the 6-10 Wilkinson leads the league by hitting  53.7 percent from outside the arc.

? Wilkinson has played in 99 career games and will be one of two Huskers (also Jason Dourisseau, currently 98 games) who will play in their 100th career game this season.

? Marcus Walker has 16 3-pointers this season to rank third on the team. He needs just one more to move into 10th place on the Nebraska freshman chart.

? Walker also has a team-best 42 assists and needs 19 assists to move into the Nebraska freshman top 10. He ranks second among freshman in assists per game this season in the Big 12 Conference.

? Nebraska recorded seven turnovers against North Carolina A&T, a season-low and the fewest turnovers in a game since posting seven against ArizonaState on Dec. 3, 2003. The only other time this season Nebraska recorded 10 or fewer turnovers in a game came in a one-point victory over No. 12/14 Oklahoma, when NU had nine miscues.

? Nebraska recorded a season-high 16 3-pointers against North Carolina A&T, two off the school record of 18 set in 2002 against No. 1 Kansas. NU's 36 attempts from 3-point range were also one off the school record of 37 also set against KU in 2002.

 

10th Anniversary Fan Voting

The Big 12 Conference is celebrating its 10th anniversary and is selecting special teams to honor the top players in the first nine years of the conference.

 

Followers of the Big 12 can vote for the top five men’s basketball players in league annals by visiting the conference web site at www.big12sports.com. Click on the “Vote Now” button on the left side of the home page. Users may also go directly to this link for voting information: www.big12sports.com/10th-anniversary/

Winners will be announced live on the ESPN Plus Studio 66 halftime show in early February.

 

Opening Up

Nebraska opened the Big 12 slate at home for the second consecutive year when it knocked off No. 12/14 Oklahoma, 59-58, at the DevaneyCenter on Jan. 7. The Huskers won their second straight conference opener after dropping their first eight attempts in the Big 12 era with all eight losses taking place away from the DevaneyCenter.

 

Last year, the Huskers opened conference play at home for the first time and pulled out a dramatic, double-overtime victory against Kansas State, 95-85, and went on to its best start to the league season in the Big 12 era with a 2-0 record.

 

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 (career-high 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 a team-best 12.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game this season. He has hit 50.8 percent (64-126) from the field, including a conference-leading 53.7 percent (29-of-54) from 3-point range. Wilkinson still leads the conference 3-point percentage standings by more than eight percentage points (53.7 to 45.0 by CU's Richard Roby) despite going 0-for-3 from beyond the arc Saturday against Oklahoma.

 

Wilkinson had 10 treys combined in his freshman and sophomore seasons and owned 34 career 3-pointers entering the season (he has 29 treys this year alone). He averaged 0.39 treys per game in his first three seasons but has connected on 2.2 3-pointers per game in 2005.

 

Following the game against Oklahoma, Wilkinson led the Big 12 Conference in blocked shots per game and 3-point field-goal percentage, was seventh in rebounds per game and was 19th in scoring. He was one of four seniors ranked among the top 20 scorers in the Big 12.

 

Block Party

Senior forward Wes Wilkinson owns 34 of Nebraska's 57 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 this season.

 

Wilkinson is already seventh on the Nebraska class list in 2005-06. Wilkinson's career total (86) currently is seventh in the NU record book and he would need 58 more to move into a tie for sixth.

 

If he can keep up his current Big 12-leading pace of 2.62 blocks per game, Wilkinson could challenge for one of the top spots on the NU single-season chart. The Nebraska single-season record is 91 blocked shots by Derrick Chandler in 1992. Wilkinson, who ranked 21st nationally in blocks per game on Jan. 2, is on pace for 73 blocks (assuming he plays every remaining game of the regular season), which would be sixth in the school record book.

 

 

McCray Heating Up

Sophomore guard Joe McCray took a little time to get into the flow, but the Fort Lauderdale native has been impressive the past six games. During that span, McCray has led the Huskers with a team high of 14.0 points and is second with 5.5 rebounds per game. He has also added 2.2 assists and 1.8 steals per contest.

 

McCray has connected on 25 of his last 62 3-point attempts (40.3 percent) in the past eight contests after hitting just 7-of-34 (20.6 percent) in his first six games. With his recent hot hand, McCray has moved into the Nebraska career 3-point record book where he is eighth and needs 34 treys to take over seventh place (Tyronn Lue made 145 treys in 1996-98).

 

Last year, McCray set the Nebraska and Big 12 Conference freshman record with 80 3-pointers and with 434 points (15.5 ppg) had the eighth-highest scoring total by a league freshman since the formation of the Big 12 Conference. He was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week twice last year and was a Freshman All-Big 12 pick by the media and a third-team Freshman All-American by Rivals.com.

 

Walker Named Big 12 Rookie of the Week

Freshman guard Marcus Walker became the first Husker this season to earn a league honor as he was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week, the conference office announced Dec. 27. A native of Kansas City, Walker led Nebraska to a pair of wins during the week of Dec. 19-25 by averaging a team-best 16.5 points and 5.5 assists per game.

 

In Nebraska’s first victory of the week, Walker helped the Huskers top the century mark for the first time since 1996 as NU posted a 107-57 win over North Carolina A&T. Walker added 13 points and a career-high tying six assists against the Aggies before coming back with a career-best 20 points and five assists against Alabama A&M in a 67-60 win. He posted just four turnovers against 11 assists on the week.

 

Walker hit an impressive 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from the floor, including 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from 3-point range. Against NCA&T, he helped the Huskers to a season-high 16 3-pointers, the second-highest total in school history trailing only the 18 treys Nebraska recorded in a one-point loss to No. 1 Kansas in 2002.

 

Walker is the third Husker to win league rookie of the week honors in the past two seasons. Last year, guard Joe McCray earned the honor twice while center Aleks Maric was tabbed once. Walker was joined by Big 12 Player of the Week David Monds, who recorded his first career double-double in OklahomaState’s win over No. 23 Tennessee in the All-College Classic.

 

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 third 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 Dakota State, while 6-5 guard Joe McCray picked up his second career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds against Alabama A&M.

 

Jason Dourisseau, who has just missed out on a double-double with nine boards three times already this year, grabbed his second career double-figure rebounding total with 11 boards against Creighton. He equalled his season-high mark with 11 rebounds and added nine points against FloridaState.

 

Spreading the Wealth

Nebraska's offensive execution was outstanding in its 107-57 victory over North Carolina A&T. The Huskers recorded a season-best 28 assists on 33 made baskets with three players finishing with at least five assists. The 28 assists were the most by the Huskers since 1994 when they posted 35 in a 101-60 win over Northeastern Illinois. 

 

Charles Richardson Jr., a junior guard, led the way as he came off the bench to record a team season-high eight assists without a turnover. The total was one off his career high of nine assists set two years ago against Tennessee. Along with Richardson, Jason Dourisseau had a career-high tying five assists without a turnover while Marcus Walker tied his career high with six assists against just one miscue.

 

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 this season. Nebraska has averaged 22.7 free throw attempts per game (319 total attempts in 14 games) while allowing its opponents to get to the stripe just 14.7 times per game (206 attempts combined). NU has made nearly as many free throws as its opponents have attempted (197 to 206).

 

Nebraska has hit 61.8 percent from the line this season after connecting on 66.0 percent (409-of-620) last year. Jason Dourisseau has gotten to the line more frequently than any Husker at 83 times while only one other Husker (Aleks Maric, 53) has gotten to the line 30 times.

 

Record Night

Nebraska picked up its 350th all-time victory at the BobDevaneySportsCenter in high fashion as the Huskers scored at least 100 points in a contest for the first time since 1996 with a 107-57 win over North Carolina A&T on Dec. 19. Marcus Perry’s free throw with 3:00 left gave the Huskers’ their 100th point of the night.

 

The last time the Huskers scored at least 100 points came against Oklahoma on Jan. 13, 1996, in a 117-100 triple overtime loss to the Sooners. In fact, each of the last two times the Huskers hit the century mark they lost, including a 109-104 setback to Northern Iowa on Dec. 16, 1995. The last time Nebraska collected at least 100 points in a victory came on Feb. 8, 1995, in a 100-86 win over Colorado.

 

The 107 points are the most by the Huskers since a 114-106 victory over Oregon on Nov. 25, 1995, while the 50-point margin of victory tied for the third largest in Devaney Center history and tied for the seventh largest win in program history overall.

 

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 11 career starts, is not the only newcomer to earn a start, as B.J. Walker has been in for the tip off seven times this season.

 

Through 14 contests, Marcus Walker leads the newcomers by averaging 7.3 points per game while B.J. Walker has added 7.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest. Marcus Walker was especially strong in December, as he averaged 10.9 points and 3.3 assists per game over seven contests during the month. He also hit 49.1 percent from the floor, including 40.0 percent from 3-point range, while ranking third on the team in scoring.

 

Walker's 16 3-pointers this season leave him just one away from breaking into the NU freshman top-10 list, where he would equal the mark set by Jaron Boone when he had 17 as a Husker freshman in 1993.

 

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.

 

McCray Moving Up Chart

Guard Joe McCray set several Nebraska freshman records last season and has already broke into the NU career record book as a sophomore.

 

McCray, who now has 112 career 3-pointers, moved into the Nebraska career top 10 against North Carolina A&T in just his 38th career game. McCray recorded five treys against the Aggies to pass former Huskers Jake Muhleisen and Jamar Johnson, who each had 95 career treys, for 10th place on the list. Against Alabama A&M, McCray became the 10th player in Nebraska history to reach 100 career treys. 

 

McCray is only the second Husker ever to reach 100 career treys during his sophomore season. He joined Cary Cochran, who had 101 3-pointers after two full seasons (61 games) playing for the Huskers, while McCray took just 39 games to reach the century mark. 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.

 

Family Affair

A new member was added to the Husker family on Friday, Dec. 16, when Akayla Perry was born to junior guard Marcus Perry and his wife, Portia. The couple also has another daughter, three-year-old Azzariah.

 

Following the birth, Perry missed the Huskers' game on Dec. 17 but came back to score a career-high 13 points against North Carolina A&T on Monday, Dec. 19, in his first contest following Akayla's birth. He also added an assist, steal and his first career blocked shot in 21 minutes of action.

 

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 to the title. Maric also pulled in 10.7 rebounds per game on the weekend 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 has looked for its depth this season from mostly by new faces. Overall, the Huskers have three returning redshirts and six newcomers on the squad (although two newcomers have elected to redshirt). 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 B.J. 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 2005-06 season.

 

Dourisseau and Wilkinson are the only two scholarship players on the roster from Nebraska and have stepped up during the summer 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 was to come this 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 perfect '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 14 games this season, Nebraska ranks fourth in the Big 12 Conference in rebound average at 40.8 boards per game with Wes Wilkinson (7th, 7.2 rpg), Jason Dourisseau (9th, 6.9 rpg), Aleks Maric (12th, 6.4 rpg) and B.J. Walker (t-18th, 5.2 rpg) ranking among the top 20 individuals in the league.

 

Nebraska also holds a +4.1 rebounding margin to rank seventh in the league standings. 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.

 

Tough Schedule

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 set three times before and 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 353-110 all-time record in its 30th year at the DevaneyCenter. The Huskers picked up their 350th all-time win in the building in grand fashion as they earned a 107-57 win over North Carolina A&T on Dec. 19. The win marked the seventh-largest victory margin in school history and the third-largest in building history. It was also the first 100-point scoring effort for the Huskers since 1996.

 

The DevaneyCenter is one of just three current Big 12 arenas where the home team has won at least 350 games, including Kansas' Allen Fieldhouse, Oklahoma's LloydNobleCenter and IowaState's Hilton Coliseum.

 

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.

 

Record Home Streak

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 the Huskers opened the season with seven straight home contests.

 

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 have started a year with six consecutive home games as recently as the 2001-02 campaign.

 

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 38.5 percent from the field through the first 14 games of the season.