Nebraska Returns Home to Face Cyclones

 

The Nebraska men's basketball team returns home for the second time in conference action when it plays host to IowaState on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at the BobDevaneySportsCenter.

 

The Huskers and Cyclones will tip off at 6:35 p.m. in a game that will be televised on both school's third-tier packages. The start time is earlier than most Husker night games so that it could be televised and still not interfere with the Big 12 package game at 8 p.m.

 

The NU telecast will be on FSN Midwest in the state of Nebraska and can be seen 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. Greg Sharpe (play-by-play) and Matt Davison (color) will call the action.

 

All NU men's basketball games can be heard on the radio through the Pinnacle Sports Network. The 26-station network can be heard throughout Nebraska and parts of western Iowa, and is available worldwide on the Internet at Huskers.com. Randy Lee will call the action while Mike Babcock adds color commentary. The Husker broadcast of Tuesday's game against ISU will also be broadcast on Sirius satellite radio on channel 143.

 

Huskers Ready to Defend Home Court

Nebraska enters the week as one of only two league teams, along with top-10 rated Texas, without a blemish on its conference record. The Huskers are looking to improve to 3-0 in league action for the first time since beginning Big Eight play with four straight wins in 1976, the last year the Huskers played home contests in the NU Coliseum.

 

The Huskers jumped out to a 2-0 start in league play behind a tenacious defense that ranks as one of the best in the country. The Huskers have allowed just 100 combined points in their first two Big 12 Conference games, and the scoring defense (50.0 ppg allowed) easily ranks first in the conference-only standings. Only two other teams ? Oklahoma (58.0 ppg) and Texas A&M (59.7 ppg) ? have allowed fewer than 60 points per game so far in league action while six Big 12 teams have allowed 64.0 or more points per game, including three giving up more than 70.0 points per game.

 

NU has needed the solid defensive play as it has been limited on offense, averaging only 58.0 points per game in the first two league contests. Nebraska has won back-to-back games while scoring fewer than 60 points for the first time since 1984. The last time Nebraska won three consecutive games while not topping the 60-point plateau was 1958 with wins over Colorado (50-41), No. 4 Kansas (43-41) and No. 1 Kansas State (55-48).

 

Nebraska has scored more than 70 points seven times in 15 games this season but has allowed more than 70 points only four times, including just once in the past seven games. Last week, the Huskers held KansasState to 42 points in NU's 15-point road victory. It was the fewest points the Huskers had allowed a conference opponent in a true road game since 1966 when NU won 45-41 in overtime at OklahomaState.

 

Fast Break

Nebraska is off to its best start in six seasons under Coach Barry Collier with a 12-3 overall record, equalling the program's best start since the 1995-96 campaign. That year, Nebraska had a 12-3 record through 15 games before going on to win five straight games in the NIT to earn its only postseason men's basketball championship in program history and finish the year with a 21-14 record.

 

The last time the Huskers won at least 13 of their first 16 games came in the 1994-95 season when Nebraska opened with a 14-3 record. NU then finished the season with an 18-14 record, including a home win in the postseason NIT.

 

Battle of the Boroughs

Three of the five boroughs of New York City will be represented Tuesday when Nebraska and IowaState face off on the hardwood. On Nebraska's side, a pair of freshmen come from New York in Jamel White (Brooklyn) and Mike Smith (Bronx), while the ISU contingent also represents the Bronx (Curtis Stinson) and Brooklyn (Coach Wayne Morgan), along with Queens (Rahshon Clark).

 

Smith, who is redshirting this season as a freshman, grew up in the same building and went to the same school (Regional) as Stinson, while Clark and White played together during the AAU season for the Long Island Panthers.

 

The Matchup

Nebraska and IowaState will be meeting for the 223rd time in the series with the Huskers holding a 127-95 all-time lead. The Huskers have been strong at home over the years, holding a 76-30 advantage in Lincoln although the Cyclones trail by just eight games, 19-11, when playing in the DevaneyCenter.

 

The Huskers have won three of the last five meetings with ISU, including three of the last four matchups in the DevaneyCenter. Last year, the teams split the season series for the fourth straight season with the visiting team winning each game in 2004-05.

 

Each of the last seven contests between the Huskers and Cyclones in the Devaney Center have been decided by six or fewer points, including five decided by three or fewer points. Overall, 16 of the past 26 matchups have been decided by six points or less, including five of the last 13 being decided by three points or less.

 

Last year, ISU pulled out a 65-60 win in Lincoln, earning their fourth straight league victory after starting conference play with an 0-5 record. ISU forced Nebraska into 19 turnovers and the Huskers shot just 40 percent from the floor, including 26 percent from long range. Joe McCray scored a career-high 26 points and the Huskers led with about seven minutes left, but ISU made a run to put the game away.

 

In the rematch late in the season, the Huskers returned the favor by winning on ISU's home court, snapping a six-game losing streak in Hilton Coliseum. Aleks Maric, who was sick and played only five minutes in the first contest, recorded a double-double in the first half and finished with 13 points and 12 boards in NU's 76-69 win. Jason Dourisseau scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, helping the Huskers on a 12-0 run to put the game out of reach with just over seven minutes left in the contest. Wes Wilkinson also added 16 points in the second matchup.

 

Scouting the Cyclones

Iowa State enters the mid-week matchup with the Huskers owning an 11-5 overall record including a 1-2 Big 12 mark. ISU has lost two straight league games after winning its conference opener with a 72-70 victory at home over KansasState. The Cyclones then dropped a home game against nationally ranked Texas, 78-58, and its first league road game at Texas Tech, 76-73.

 

ISU has averaged 76.7 points per game but holds just a +4.7 scoring advantage as opponents have scored 72.0 points per contest on the year. The Cyclones have allowed 70 points 11 times in 16 games this season, including seven of the past eight contests.

 

Iowa State has connected on 46.8 percent of its attempts from the field, but has allowed opponents to hit 45.4 percent, including 36.2 percent from 3-point range.  The Cyclones have also been solid at the free throw line where they have hit 70.5 percent, but have gotten to the charity stripe 87 fewer times than their opponents. ISU also trails on the glass where it has grabbed 32.3 rebounds per game while allowing opponents to get 35.5.

 

The Cyclones have created 20.3 opponent turnovers per game with a trapping press and scrappy 2-3 zone defense. Junior guards Curtis Stinson and Will Blalock have led the way with 42 and 35 steals, respectively. Listed by many national analysts as one of the top five backcourt tandems in the nation, Stinson (17.6 ppg) and Blalock (14.8) have also powered the Cyclone offense and have combined for 189 assists through 16 games (11.8 apg). Stinson also leads the team with 4.9 rebounds per contest, one of three players with at least four boards per game.

 

Sophomore Rahshon Clark is the only other Cyclone averaging at least 8.5 points per game, as he has hit 51.3 percent from the field and 85.0 percent at the line while posting 14.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Clark leads ISU with 28 3-pointers and 23 blocked shots while ranking third with 26 steals.

 

Iowa State is coached by Wayne Morgan (St. Lawrence, 1973), who is in his third year guiding the Cyclones and ninth year as a college head coach. Morgan owns a 141-114 career record and a 50-30 mark at IowaState.

 

Quick Shots

? The Huskers' 12-3 record marks their best start to a season in a decade, since the 1995-96 squad went 12-3 to open the year. The last time Nebraska opened with at least 13 wins in its first 16 games was 1994-95.

? 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 seven of its 15 opponents to 60 or fewer points this season, and owns a 7-0 record in those contests. NU is 40-11 under Coach Barry Collier when holding foes to 60 or fewer points.

? Nebraska is holding opponents to 61.9 points per game on 37.7 percent shooting. Nebraska ranked 21st nationally in opponent shooting percentage last week and is currently third in the Big 12 Conference. Kansas and Texas ranked 1-2 in the national standings last week.

? NU is 9-0 this season when outshooting its opponent and 9-1 when its bench outscores the opponent's bench. The Huskers are also 10-1 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.

? The 10-point deficit the Huskers overcame against Oklahoma was the largest deficit it has erased to win a game this season and the largest since NU came back from an 11-point deficit in a 74-67 victory over fourth-ranked OklahomaState on Feb. 22, 2005.

? Before the Oklahoma game, the last time Nebraska won after trailing at halftime was against No. 12 /13 Kansas on Feb. 15, 2004, when the Huskers rebounded from a one-point deficit, 28-27, to win 74-55 over the Jayhawks. NU had lost 15 straight contests when trailing at the half before the win over Oklahoma.

? The eight-point halftime deficit against Oklahoma was the largest the Huskers have overcome since also coming back from eight down at the intermission against Kansas State on Jan. 30, 2001. It is tied for NU's second-largest halftime deficit overcome in the Big 12 era, trailing only the 18-point deficit Nebraska fought back from against KansasState on Jan. 15, 1997.

? Nebraska’s 58 points in the opening frame against North Carolina A&T were its most points in any half this season and its 49 points in the second half rank second. It was the most points by the Huskers in any half since scoring 60 in the first half against Texas A&M on Feb. 28, 2001.

? Wes Wilkinson leads the conference with 34 blocked shots in 14 games this season (2.43 bpg), and has already set a new career high. His previous high of 33 blocks was set in 27 games last year.

? 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  51.8 percent from outside the arc.

? Wilkinson played in his 100th career game at KansasState and Jason Dourisseau will join him in reaching 100 career games on Tuesday against IowaState.

? Marcus Walker has a team-best 42 assists and needs 19 assists to move into the Nebraska freshman top 10. He ranks fourth 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.

 

Sharing Time

Entering the season, Nebraska had nine players on the 16-man roster who had never suited up in a Husker uniform. With so many new faces, the coaching staff knew it would be important to find minutes for several players and the result has been nine players averaging double-figure minutes, including six gaining at least 20 minutes per contest. Joe McCray leads the way with 27.1 minutes per game while Wes Wilkinson and Jason Dourisseau each have averaged more than 26 minutes per game.

 

Hitting the Road

Nebraska hit the road in league play for the first time this season when it took on KansasState last week.

 

The Huskers continued their winning ways away from Lincoln as they won their league road opener for the second straight season with a 57-42 victory over the Wildcats. NU snapped a 10-game losing streak in conference road openers last year 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.

 

Taking the Floor

Charles Richardson Jr. has become the Huskers' floor general this season and has taken control of the point guard spot in the starting lineup the past three games (five times overall). The Maywood, Ill., native has proven effective at getting the team up the floor and into the offense and ranks second on the team with 40 assists against just 19 turnovers in 12 games this season.

 

Richardson has also been more offensive in his own game, setting career highs for points (15) and 3-pointers made (3) in a win over No. 12/14 Oklahoma, easily surpassing his single-game point total of 10 last year against Colorado. It was the second double-figure scoring mark of his career.

 

Richardson hit three 3-pointers on five attempts against the Sooners after entering the game hitting just 2-of-6 treys in his first 10 games combined. He also had two offensive rebounds after posting just seven offensive boards in his first 66 career games.

 

On the Mark

For the second straight season, a Husker freshman has played a large role in the Nebraska offense.

 

Rookie Marcus Walker has been solid at the point for Nebraska, averaging 7.5 points and 2.8 assists per game. His 42 assists lead the squad. Walker has recorded six double-figure scoring contests this season, including a 20-point outburst against Alabama A&M that led to him being named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week on Dec. 27.

 

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.

 

Among league freshmen with at least 10 games played this season, Walker ranks sixth in scoring, third in 3-pointers made, fourth in 3-point percentage and fourth in assists.

 

Walker's 19 3-pointers this season ranks third on the team and are 10th in the NU freshman record book. Walker is the fourth freshman to play under Coach Barry Collier to gain a spot on the Husker freshman top 10 3-pointer list.

 

Walker's solid play comes a year after the Huskers had a pair of freshmen earn honors. Last year, Joe McCray and Aleks Maric saw 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.

 

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.

 

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 Conference 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.

 

Nebraska followed the win over OU with a 57-42 road victory at KansasState to mark the second straight season NU opened league play with a 2-0 record. Last year, the Huskers also won their first league road contest with a 68-61 victory at Colorado.

 

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 led the team since.

 

The 6-10, 220-pounder has averaged a team-best 12.2 points with 7.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game this season. He has hit 49.6 percent (66-133) from the field, including a conference-leading 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from 3-point range. Wilkinson still leads the conference 3-point percentage standings by more than seven percentage points (51.8 to 44.2 by CU's Richard Roby) despite going a combined 0-for-5 from beyond the arc against Oklahoma and KansasState.

 

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). He averaged 0.39 treys per game in his first three seasons but has connected on 2.1 3-pointers per game in 2005.

 

Entering the game with IowaState, Wilkinson leads the Big 12 Conference in blocked shots per game and 3-point field-goal percentage and is ninth in rebounds per game.

 

Block Party

Senior forward Wes Wilkinson owns 34 of Nebraska's 59 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 2.43 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 ranked 21st nationally in blocks per game on Jan. 9.

 

 

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 seven games. During that span, McCray has led the Huskers with a team high of 13.4 points and is one of four Huskers with five or more rebounds per game.

 

McCray has connected on 27 of his last 68
3-point attempts (39.7 percent) in the past nine 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 32 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 boards in the opening period.

 

Wilkinson's 16 rebounds are the second-highest total by a Husker this season, as Aleks Maric added 17 boards against KansasState. Maric's 17 rebounds are the most by a Husker since 2000 when Brian Conklin also grabbed 17 rebounds at home against KSU.

 

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 four double-doubles, which also ranks third in the Big 12 Conference this season. Maric's most recent double-double came against KansasState when he had 15 points and 17 rebounds, the highest single-game rebounding mark so far this season in the Big 12 Conference.

 

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 23.3 free throw attempts per game (349 total attempts in 15 games) while allowing its opponents to get to the stripe just 15.2 times per game (228 attempts combined). NU has made nearly as many free throws as its opponents have attempted (216 to 228).

 

Nebraska has hit 61.9 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 93 times while only one other Husker (Aleks Maric, 62) has gotten to the line 35 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.

 

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 114 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.

 

This season, Nebraska ranks fourth in the Big 12 Conference in rebound average at 41.2 boards per game with Aleks Maric (7th, 7.2 rpg), Wes Wilkinson (9th, 7.0 rpg) and Jason Dourisseau (10th, 6.8 rpg) ranking among the top 10 individuals in the league.

 

Nebraska also holds a +4.5 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 37.7 percent from the field through the first 15 games of the season, including 35.0 percent in Big 12 contests.

 

What's On Tap Next

Nebraska returns to the court on Saturday, Jan. 21, when it hits the road to start a two-game road stretch as it plays against the Kansas Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse. The game between the Huskers and Jayhawks will tip off at 3 p.m. and can be seen nationally on ESPN.

 

The Huskers then head west to take on Colorado on Wednesday, Jan. 25, in Boulder, Colo. The game at the CoorsEventsCenter will tip off at 8 p.m. CST and will be seen in the state of Nebraska on FSN Midwest.