Huskers Set to Start New Season

The Nebraska men's basketball team begins a new season as it jumps into the conference schedule this weekend when it plays host to No. 12/14 Oklahoma at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. It will be the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams.

The Huskers and Sooners will tip off at 12:47 p.m. and the game will be seen throughout the Big 12 region as part of the league's television package on ESPN+. The Phillips 66 Big 12 Studio Show begins at 12:30 p.m. to highlight all the teams in the conference.

In Lincoln and Hastings, ESPN+ games will be carried this season by KLKN Channel 8, while Cox 2 in Omaha has acquired the rights to Big 12 regional contests along with KIIT in North Platte. Fred White (play by play) and Reid Gettys (color) will call the action for the regional television audience.

Randy Lee (play by play) and Matt Davison (color) of the Pinnacle Sports Network will handle the radio broadcast, which can also be heard worldwide on the Internet at Huskers.com.

Nebraska Day at the Devaney Center
The Nebraska Athletic Department announced Wednesday that it will honor the men’s basketball team members from around the state and their local communities as part of Nebraska Day during Saturday's contest with Oklahoma

"This is a great opportunity as we start Big 12 Conference play to honor Nebraska’s communities that have helped bring outstanding players and young men to the University of Nebraska," said Executive Associate Athletic Director Marc Boehm. "Towns and cities throughout the state have a reason to be proud of these student-athletes and the way they carry themselves on and off the court."

The Cornhuskers have four players on the roster from the state of Nebraska, including: Jason Dourisseau (Omaha), Bronsen Schliep (Fairfield), Tony Wilbrand (Alliance) and Wes Wilkinson (Grand Island). Each player will be recognized along with the fans from their hometowns and surrounding areas.

Husker fans who want to be a part of the celebration can buy a reserved ticket in the C Section padded chairbacks for $20. The Rebounders Club will also sponsor a luncheon at the Devaney Center beginning at 11:15 a.m. which will feature a pregame chat with an assistant coach and Randy Lee, the Voice of the Huskers. Cost for the luncheon is $10.

Fans should contact the Nebraska Athletic Department to reserve their ticket and a spot for the luncheon by 3 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 6. To make reservations, send an email to Wendy Andersen at wandersen@huskers.com or call 402-472-5069.

Huskers Shooting Into Conference Play
Despite a poor shooting second half Tuesday in a 10-point win over Northern Colorado, the Huskers enter Big 12 play having hit 46.6 percent from the field over the past five games, a three percentage point increase over their season average.

Nebraska has averaged 74.0 points per contest during the past five games with 17.2 assists against 16.0 turnovers per game. In their first eight games of the season, the Huskers averaged 13.5 assists and 17.6 turnovers per game. Nebraska has recorded an assist on 65 percent of its field goals in that recent stretch, after gaining an assist just 56 percent of the time in the opening eight games.

After not getting a shot off in the first half of his previous two games, senior co-captain Wes Wilkinson hit all four of his 3-point attempts in the opening frame Tuesday night in the final non-conference tuneup and finished with a game-high 17 points while adding seven boards and three blocked shots. Wilkinson, who leads the league in 3-point percentage and blocked shots, finished by hitting a career-high five treys on six attempts. He has hit 61.9 percent from 3-point range in the past five games while averaging 13.2 points per contest, trailing only the 14.4 points per game posted by sophomore Joe McCray.

McCray has picked up the offensive pace as well as he hit 43.6 percent (17-of-39) from 3-point range in the final five non-conference games. He also averaged 6.4 rebounds over that span by recording 32 boards ? more than half of his season total through 13 games. Freshman Marcus Walker, who has already earned Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors this season, has also helped the Husker offense by gaining 9.8 points while dishing out 4.6 assists per game over the past five contests.

Opening Up
The game against Oklahoma will be Nebraska's first of 16 contests in the wide-open Big 12 Conference, including eight home tilts over the next two months. It will also be one of three home conference games at the Devaney Center in January (also Iowa State, Jan. 17, and Missouri, Jan. 28).

Nebraska opens the Big 12 slate at home for only the second time in 10 seasons, and the second consecutive year. The Huskers were 0-8 in league openers in the first eight years of the league with all eight contests taking place away from the Devaney Center. 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.

Like most teams, the Huskers have had more success at home over the years and it is no different in conference play. Nebraska owns a 6-3 record in conference home openers since the formation of the Big 12 including each of the last two seasons. Overall the Huskers have won the league home opener in four of Coach Barry Collier's first five seasons.

The Matchup
Nebraska and Oklahoma will be meeting for the 181st time in the series Saturday with the Sooners holding a firm 102-78 advantage, including winning the past seven matchups.

OU has won three straight in the Devaney Center, including a 52-50 victory in 2004 that was not decided until the final minutes. Nebraska, which missed 14 of its first 16 shots, trailed by 18 points in the first half but used a 15-0 run in the second frame to get back into the game. NU, which turned up the intensity on defense as it held the 25th-ranked Sooners without a point for 10:18 of the second period, took a 45-44 lead on Brian Conklin's free throws with 3:28 remaining, but OU made more plays down the stretch to hold on for the victory.

Last year, the Huskers dropped an 83-60 contest against the No. 21/22 Sooners in Norman. Joe McCray scored a game-high 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting while adding seven boards and three steals in 35 minutes to lead the Huskers. It was one of McCray's 10 20-point contests on the season, a Nebraska freshman record. Jason Dourisseau did not play in the contest for the Huskers as he was out with an ankle injury. Terrell Everett led the Sooners with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and added six assists without a turnover.

Scouting the Sooners
Oklahoma enters conference play on a three-game win streak after getting past SMU on Tuesday with a 50-47 road victory. It was a season-low point total for the Sooners and marked the second time this season they were held to less than 60 points in a contest, but both were wins (also 57-47 over Coppin State).

Overall, OU is averaging 69.5 points per game while allowing just 60.6 ppg. The Sooners have hit just 43.9 percent from the field as a team, although seniors Kevin Bookout (63.6 percent) and Taj Gray (62.5 percent) rank 16th and 18th, respectively, in the national standings for individual field-goal percentage. OU has also hit just 30.6 percent from the 3-point line.

Opponents have hit 44.8 percent from the field and a solid 39.6 percent from beyond the arc but have scored just 60.6 points per game as OU has taken 86 more shots on the season and has hit nearly as many free throws as its opponents have attempted (174 to 178). The Sooners also hold a commanding advantage on the glass as they have outrebounded their opponents by an average of 38.5 to 24.5.

Gray leads the Sooners with 15.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest to rank 10th and fourth, respectively, in the Big 12 Conference standings. Gray also leads the team with 12 blocked shots and is second with 13 steals. He is one of four players, along with Bookout, Michael Neal and Terrell Everett, to average at least 29 minutes per game.

Bookout is second on the squad with 13.1 points and 7.2 boards per contest to rank 19th and eighth in the league. Neal has come off the bench in nine contests to average 10.7 points per game and has recorded 30 treys, more than half of OU's 3-point total (57) this season. Everett has added 10.4 points and 6.3 assists per game, the second-best assist average in the conference, and has posted a team-best 17 steals.

Oklahoma is coached by Kelvin Sampson (Pembroke State, 1978), who is in his 12th year guiding the Sooners and 23rd year as a college head coach. Sampson owns a 444-250 career record and a 268-102 mark at Oklahoma.

Quick Shots
? Nebraska won 10 of its first 13 games this season, marking just the second time since the formation of the Big 12 that the Huskers have won at least 10 non-conference regular-season games.

? Nebraska is holding opponents to 64.9 points per game on 38.1 percent shooting. Nebraska ranked 21st nationally in opponent shooting percentage this week and is currently third in the Big 12 Conference. ? 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. has been outstanding taking care of the ball this season, as he has a 2.3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio (32:14). He has had 20 assists against just seven turnovers in the past five games, and is averaging just 1.4 turnovers per contest this season.

? Wes Wilkinson leads the conference with 31 blocked shots in 12 games this season (2.6 bpg), and needs just two more to tie his career high of 33 blocks set in 27 games last year. He needs 26 blocked shots to move onto the Nebraska single-season chart.

? Wilkinson has played in 98 career games and will be one of two Huskers (also Jason Dourisseau, currently 97 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. ? The Huskers set a season high with 28 assists as a team against North Carolina A&T, the highest total in Coach Barry Collier’s tenure, bettering the 27 assists set in 2001 against Texas A&M. The 28 assists are the most by the Huskers since recording 35 assists in a 101-60 win over Northeastern Illinois on Dec. 21, 1994.

? Nebraska recorded seven turnovers against North Carolina A&T, the fewest turnovers in a game since posting seven against Arizona State on Dec. 3, 2003.

? Nebraska recorded a season-high 16 3-pointers against North Carolina A&T, just two off the school record of 18 set in 2002 in a one-point home loss to No. 1 Kansas. The Huskers’ 36 attempts from 3-point range were also one off the school record of 37 also set against No. 1 Kansas in 2002.

Wilkinson Adds Another Dimension For Huskers
Senior forward Wes Wilkinson missed the Louisiana Tech game with an injury but returned in fine fashion against Southeast Missouri State (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 14.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game over the past 10 contests. He has hit 56-of-105 attempts (53.3 percent) from the floor and has played a team-high 27.9 minutes per game in that span.

The Big 12 leader in blocked shots, Wilkinson has shown his versatility by also connecting on an amazing 26-of-43 (60.5 percent) attempts from 3-point range over the past 10 games. He 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 2.4 3-pointers per game in 2005.

On the year, Wilkinson has averaged a team-best 13.8 points to go with 7.3 rebounds per game. He has hit 52.5 percent (63-of-120) from the floor, including 29-of-51 (56.9 percent) from long range.

Following the game against Northern Colorado, Wilkinson led the Big 12 Conference in blocked shots per game and 3-point field-goal percentage, was seventh in rebounds per game, ranked ninth in field-goal percentage and was 14th 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 31 of Nebraska's 53 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 (83) currently is tied for seventh in the NU record book with Cookie Belcher and he would need 61 more to move into a tie for sixth.

If he can keep up his current Big 12-leading pace of 2.58 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 23rd nationally in blocks per game on Dec. 19, is on pace for 75 blocks (assuming he plays every remaining game of the regular season), which would tie for fifth 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 five games. During that span, McCray has led the Huskers with team highs of 14.4 points and is second with 6.4 rebounds per game. He has also added 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals per contest.

McCray has connected on 21 of his last 54 3-point attempts (38.8 percent) in the past seven 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 38 treys to take over seventh place (Tyronn Lue made 145 treys in 1996-98).

Last year, McCray set the Nebraska freshman scoring record with 15.5 points per game, the eighth-highest 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 Oklahoma State’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 Dakota State. 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 Chicago State.

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 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 Florida State.

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 in non-conference games. Nebraska has averaged 23.3 free throw attempts per game (303 total attempts in 13 games) while allowing its opponents to get to the stripe just 15.3 times per game (199 attempts combined). NU has made nearly as many free throws as its opponents have attempted (187 to 199).

Nebraska has hit 61.7 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 78 times while no other player on the team has reached the line 50 times.

Record Night
Nebraska picked up its 350th all-time victory at the Bob Devaney Sports Center 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 six times this season.

Through 13 contests, Marcus Walker leads the newcomers by averaging 7.8 points per game while B.J. Walker has added 7.5 points and 5.4 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 108 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 Mexico State) and Stefan Blaszczynski (Nicholls State). Blaszczynski is one of five Australians on the Nicholls State roster, the most of any school in the United States.

Along with Nebraska, major conference schools including Arizona, Baylor, Georgia, Indiana and Washington State 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), Kent State (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 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 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 13 games this season, Nebraska ranks third in the Big 12 Conference in rebound average at 41.9 boards per game with Wes Wilkinson (7th, 7.3 rpg), Jason Dourisseau (9th, 7.2 rpg) Aleks Maric (11th, 6.6 rpg) and B.J. Walker (16th, 5.4 rpg) 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.

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 Bob Devaney Sports Center single-season record 19 home games this season. The Huskers will break the record of 18 home games at the Devaney Center 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 352-110 all-time record in its 30th year at the Devaney Center. 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 Devaney Center 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 Lloyd Noble Center and Iowa State'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 37.4 percent from the field through the first 11 games of the season.

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.

What's On Tap Next
Nebraska hits the road for the third time this season ? and only the second time out of state ? when it takes on Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan., on Wednesday, Jan. 11. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and can be seen in the states of Nebraska and Kansas on FSN Midwest.