Huskers Set to Play Host to Jayhawks

Playing at home for the second time in five days, the Nebraska men's basketball team opens the second half of the Big 12 slate when it plays host to Kansas at the BobDevaneySportsCenter on Wednesday, Feb. 8. The Huskers and Jayhawks will tip off at  6:35 p.m. The early tip off was scheduled so that both teams could televise the game within its home state. 

 

The Huskers' telecast will be seen in the state of Nebraska on FSN Midwest, including Channel 37 on Time Warner Cable in Lincoln; channel 47 on Cox Cable around Omaha; channel 26 on Charter Cable; channel 33 on Qwest; channel 32 on Cable One; channel 658 for DirecTV; and channel 446 for Dish Network. Greg Sharpe (play-by-play) and Matt Davison (color) will call the action. 

 

All NU men's basketball games can also 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. The game will also be heard on Sirius Satellite Radio on channel 131. Randy Lee (play by play) and Mike Babcock (color) will call the action. 

 

Tickets Still Available for NU-KU Matchup
Plenty of tickets are still available for the Nebraska and Kansas men's basketball game. Tickets are available on Huskers.com, by phone (1-800-8BIGRED) and in person at the Athletic Ticket Office.

Available tickets include some chairback seating ($20) and upper-level bench seats ($15). 

 

Nebraska Aims for Fourth Straight Victory in Rematch with KU
Nebraska enters the week riding a wave of momentum after rolling off three straight victories to move into a tie for third place in the league standings. Against Kansas, the Huskers are gunning for their first four-game conference winning streak since 1999 when NU won four straight and nine of 10. NU has had three-game win streaks in league play each of the last two years. 

 

The Huskers finished the first half of the conference schedule with a 5-3 record ? tying for their best mark through the first half of the league season since the formation of the Big 12 Conference. Nebraska also opened with a 5-3 mark in 1999 and ran to a 9-3 mark before dropping three of its last four regular-season games. The matchup Wednesday between the Huskers and Jayhawks will be the first between teams in the top five of the conference standings during the second half of the 2006 league slate.

 

With 15 total victories this year, Nebraska has secured a winning record in the regular season for the third straight campaign. Nebraska earned a 14-13 mark in the regular season last year and finished 14-14 overall. That campaign followed an 18-13 season which included a 16-11 regular season. NU's 29 regular-season games this year are its most in five years. 

 

Nebraska, which owns a 12-2 home record this season, has been solid defensively in its five league victories, allowing opponents just 50.8 points per game as  foes have shot 36.7 percent from the floor and 36.0 percent from 3-point range. The Huskers have also commanded a +3.8 advantage (35.4 to 31.6) on the glass in its league wins.

 

The Huskers have found success in league play when they are able to stay out of foul trouble. Nebraska has gotten to the free throw line more than twice as often as its opponents in its league victories, making 83-of-111 attempts at the charity stripe while foes have connected on 36-of-53 attempts. 

The Matchup
Nebraska trails in the series, which dates back to the 1899-1900 campaign, by a 157-71 margin against the Huskers' oldest conference rival. Nebraska won six of the first seven games in the series and was tied a 20 wins apiece through the first 15 season of competition. More recently, the Jayhawks have dominated the series as they have won 18 of the last 21 games over the past 10 seasons, although two of the Huskers' wins have come at home in that span. 

 

Nebraska's last victory over Kansas came during the 2004 campaign when the No. 12-ranked Jayhawks fell to NU, 74-55, in the DevaneyCenter. The win was Nebraska's largest over a Kansas squad in more than 20 years, since a 75-55 home victory over the Jayhawks in 1982. Overall, the Huskers hold a 17-11 record against KU at the DevaneyCenter and a 57-44 lead in Lincoln. 

 

Nebraska is 7-10 against KU at home since 1988, the last time the Jayhawks came to the DevaneyCenter unranked in the top-25 national polls. KU is receiving enough votes to place 27th in both the AP and coaches poll this week. Over the last 40 years, the Huskers have faced an unranked Jayhawk squad at home on 14 occasions with NU claiming an 11-3 mark in that time span. 

 

2005 in Lincoln (KU 78, NU 65) --- Guard Jason Dourisseau scored a career-high 24 points, but the No. 3-ranked Kansas Jayhawks still rolled to a 78-65 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 13,821 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Dourisseau hit 8-of-12 shots from the floor and added five rebounds and three steals. 

 

Dourisseau was one of three Huskers to finish in double figures. Wes Wilkinson had 12 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, while John Turek added 12 points and seven rebounds. 

 

Keith Langford paced Kansas by matching his career high with 27 points, including 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. Wayne Simien finished with 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor and grabbed 14 rebounds. The Jayhawks enjoyed a 38-33 advantage on the boards and held NU to just 36.5 percent shooting. 

 

The Huskers, who nearly topped the Jayhawks before losing 59-57 in the first meeting of the 2005 season in Allen Fieldhouse, used the shooting of freshman Joe McCray to take an early lead. McCray scored all seven of his points in a 9-2 Husker run that staked Nebraska to its largest lead at 19-12 on a Dourisseau jumper with 10:06 remaining in the half.

 

Kansas quickly responded, as 3-pointers from Aaron Miles and Langford keyed a 12-1 spurt for the visitors, including an 8-0 run capped by Langford's layup that gave the Jayhawks a 20-19 advantage with 8:48 before halftime. After a Turek free throw tied the game, jumpers by Michael Lee and Simien pushed the Jayhawk advantage to 24-20, a lead they would not relinquish over the final 27 minutes. 

 

A Wilkinson 3-pointer sliced the Husker deficit to 32-31 with 2:28 left in the half but that would be as close as the Huskers got in the final minutes of the period. Free throws by J.R. Giddens and a 3-pointer by Lee with 4.3 seconds left in the half sent the Jayhawks to the locker room with a 36-31 lead. 

 

Langford, who had 16 of his 27 points in the second half, came out firing after the intermission. KU hit a pair of 3-pointer to quickly push the margin to 42-31 just two minutes into the period. 

 

Dourisseau scored 18 of his points in the final minutes to keep the Huskers within striking distance. But Kansas kept the lead hovering in double digits until the final seven minutes.

Trailing 62-50, Wilkinson's 3-pointer started an 8-2 Husker run that pulled NU within eight points at 66-58. Wilkinson ended the run with a pair of free throws with 4:31 remaining. 

 

A pair of baskets by Christian Moody and two Giddens free throws helped KU run off six unanswered points and push the margin to 70-58 with 1:52 remaining. 

 

The Huskers had only one field goal in the final six minutes ? a 3-pointer by Dourisseau with three seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 13 points.

 

Scouting the Jayhawks
Kansas enters the midweek matchup as one of the hottest teams in the league as it has won 12 of its last 14 contests after opening the season with a 3-4 record over the first seven games. The youthful Jayhawks own  an identical overall record as the Huskers at 15-6 and are second in the conference standings with a 6-2 mark against Big 12 opponents.

 

The Jayhawks have rolled off five straight wins following a two-game losing streak with setbacks against KansasState, 59-55, and at Missouri, 89-86, in overtime. KU started the win streak with a dominating 96-54 performance against the Huskers on Jan. 21 at Allen Fieldhouse. Following the win over NU, Kansas won a pair of road games by double figures before an 86-52 romp over Texas Tech. In its last outing, KU came from 15 points down in the second half to hold off nationally ranked Oklahoma, 59-58, at home. 

 

A trio of talented freshmen led the way Sunday against the Sooners as guard Brandon Rush paced KU with 18 points and forward Julian Wright scored 14 points while grabbing eight rebounds. Guard Mario Chalmers added 10 points and four assists while helping the Jayhawks hold OU to 34.8 percent shooting, including 27.4 percent in the second period. 

 

Entering last week, Kansas was the top-rated defensive unit in the country in terms of field-goal percentage allowed. KU has allowed opponents to hit just 35.7 percent from the field, including 32.7 percent from 3-point range. Opponents have averaged just 61.3 points per game, leaving KU with a +15.5 scoring margin for the season as it averages 76.8 points per contest. 

 

In comparison, the Jayhawks have hit a solid 48.3 percent from the field and rank among the top 10 teams in the country with 18.2 assists per game against 15.9 turnovers. KU holds a +6.6 rebounding advantage (41.1 to 34.5) and adds 9.0 steals and 5.9 blocks per game.

 

Rush leads seven players averaging at least six points per game as he has posted a team-best 14.8 points per game ? the only freshman in the league to rank in the top 20 in scoring. Rush, who leads the team with 5.9 rebounds per game, has hit 52.4 percent from the floor, including 53.2 percent from long range while pacing KU in 3-pointers made with 33. He has averaged 30.2 minutes per game to lead KU, one of nine players gaining at least 15 minutes per contest. 

 

Rush is the only double figure scorer on the squad as Chalmers ranks second on the team with 9.5 points per game on 43.6 percent shooting. Chalmers is second in the league in steals per game (2.57, 54 total) and paces the Jayhawks with 86 assists, as his 4.1 assists per game ranks sixth in the league standings.

 

Sasha Kaun leads the team by hitting 57.7 percent from the field while gaining 9.1 points per contest to rank third on the squad. He has added 5.8 rebounds per game and is one of three Jayhawks with at least 20 blocked shots. 

 

The Jayhawks are guided by third-year head coach Bill Self (Oklahoma State, 1985). Self owns a 62-22 record at Kansas including a 6-1 mark against the Huskers. He owns a 269-127 mark in 13 seasons as a head coach. 

 

Quick Shots
? Nebraska has had seven players lead the team in single-game scoring, although only once this year has a player topped the squad in points for consecutive games. Wes Wilkinson paced the squad against SoutheastMissouriState (25) and tied for the lead against Marquette (15). He has led the Huskers a team-high nine times this year.

? Freshman Jamel White came off the bench to score 28 points for the Huskers against Missouri, the most points by any non-starter in a Big 12 contest this season. White outscored the MU bench 28-0.

? The Huskers tied their second-best start at home in the past 15 years by winning 11 of their first 12 tilts in Lincoln. Nebraska was 12-1 in 2004 to open the year and also went 11-1 in 1992-93. The Huskers now own an 12-2 record at the DevaneyCenter this season, marking the 16th time in the building's 30-year history that NU has had at least 12 home wins.

? 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).

? NU is 11-0 this season when outshooting its opponent and 12-1 when leading with 5:00 remaining in the game.

? The 11-point deficit the Huskers overcame against Baylor was the largest deficit they 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. NU also erased a seven-point deficit in a win over OklahomaState on the road and a 10-point deficit against Oklahoma at home to open the conference slate.

? Before the Oklahoma game, the last time Nebraska won after trailing at halftime was on Feb. 15, 2004, against No. 12 /13 Kansas when the Huskers rebounded from a one-point, 28-27, deficit at the intermission 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.

? The Huskers held KansasState to 42 points in a 15-point victory in their first conference game away from home. 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.

? 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 2.11 blocked shots per game (40 blocks) in 20 games this season, and has already set a new career high. His previous high of 33 blocks was set in 27 games last year.

? Wilkinson is 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 is hitting 48.7 percent from outside the arc to rank first in the league rankings.

? Wilkinson played in his 100th career game at KansasState and Jason Dourisseau joined him in reaching 100 career games on Jan. 17 against IowaState.

? Marcus Walker has a team-best 52 assists and needs nine to move into the NU freshman top 10.

? 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 conference 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.

Scoring Explosion
Nebraska has had a pair of freshmen produce impressive single-game results this season. 

 

Most recently, guard Jamel White, a freshman from Brooklyn, N.Y., burst onto the Big 12 radar with a 28-point performance off the bench against Missouri. The rookie had the second-highest scoring game ever by a Husker freshman and became just the eighth freshman in school history to produce at least 25 points in a contest.

In his first 18 games as a Husker, White had scored 95 total points to average 5.3 points per game. He had shot 28.0 percent (28-of-100) from the floor and 26.0 percent (13-of-50) from 3-point range, but drained 7-of-9 attempts from the field against the Tigers, including all four of his 3-point attempts. White also nailed 10-of-11 attempts at the free throw line against the Tigers to produce the most points by a Husker freshman in a decade.

Freshman Marcus Walker and White joined an elite club this season as they are just the 17th and 18th freshmen, respectively, in school history to post a 20-point game. Walker had 20 points against Alabama A&M to win Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors. It is just the fourth time in Nebraska history that two freshmen recorded 20-point contests in the same season.

 

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

 

Nebraska's 2-0 record to open conference play also matched its best mark to start a league slate since the formation of the Big 12. The Huskers' current 5-3 record is their best through eight league games since posting a 5-3 mark to open the 1999 Big 12 season ? and is only the second time in the Big 12 era the Huskers finished the first half of the season with a record above .500.

 

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 eight games (10 times overall). 

 

The Maywood, Ill., native has proven effective at getting the team up the floor and into the offense and leads the team with 56 assists against 32 turnovers in 18 games this season. Richardson ranks seventh in the league in assist:turnover ratio.

 

Richardson has also been more offensive in his own game, setting career highs for single-game points (15) and 3-pointers made (3) in a win over No. 12/14 Oklahoma, easily surpassing his career-best 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 pair of Husker freshmen have played a large role in the Nebraska offense. 

 

Rookie Marcus Walker has been solid at the point for Nebraska, averaging 6.7 points and 2.5 assists per game. His 52 assists are second on the squad and he needs just nine to move into the NU freshman top 10. Walker has recorded seven 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. 

 

Walker's 23 3-pointers this season ranks third on the team and are tied for eighth in the NU freshman record book with Brian Conklin, who went on to set the Big 12 single-season record for 3-point percentage as a senior in 2004. Walker moved onto the list when he passed Tyronn Lue on the rookie chart with two 3-pointers in the Huskers' contest against IowaState. Walker is the fourth freshman to play under Coach Barry Collier to gain a spot on the Husker freshman top 10 3-pointer list. 

 

Jamel White has a chance to become the fifth freshman under Collier to make the list as he has 19 treys so far this season and needs one to match Tyronn Lue's freshman output. White is fourth on the team while averaging 7.5 points per game in Big 12 contests and has hit 40.5 percent (8-of-19) from 3-point range against league foes. On the season, White has posted solid numbers with 6.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game while adding 38 assists to rank third on the squad.

 

White and Walker's solid play comes a year after the Huskers had a pair of freshmen earn league and team 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 while breaking the Big 12 Conference freshman record with 80 3-pointers. Maric set the Nebraska freshman rebound record with 169 boards.

Hot Shots
Nebraska owns a 3-1 record this season in games decided by five points or less thanks in part to a couple of amazing last-second shots. 

 

The Huskers' most recent amazing finish came on the road in Stillwater, Okla., when NU pulled out a 59-57 victory thanks to the quick play of freshman Jamel White. Following a timeout with 5.6 seconds left, the Huskers inbounded the ball to senior Wes Wilkinson, who drove to the top of the key and launched a 3-point attempt for the win. Wilkinson's shot came up a foot short but White, who had slipped away from his defender and was unguarded in the paint, collected the ball for a rebound and in one motion put the ball back up off the glass and into the basket with 1.1 seconds remaining for the winning margin. 

 

White's game-winning bucket was the Huskers' second in the final 10 seconds of a game this season. Earlier in the year, 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. Until White's basket vs. OSU, 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. Johnson also hit a basket and converted the foul shot with less than eight seconds remaining in regulation to send a game at Oklahoma State in 2004 into overtime before the Cowboys won by four.

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.

 

Wilkinson Adds Another Dimension For Huskers
Senior forward Wes Wilkinson has made the most of his opportunities this season when healthy. After missing a game with an injury, Wilkinson returned to post a career-high 25 points against Southeast Missouri State and has been on a role ever since. 

 

The 6-10, 220-pounder has averaged a team-best 12.8 points with 6.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game this season. He has hit 48.7 percent (94-193) from the field, including 48.8 percent (40-of-82) from 3-point range. Wilkinson hit at least two 3-point attempts against Iowa State, Colorado, Oklahoma State and Baylor but was held without a trey in four other Big 12 games.

 

Wilkinson had 10 treys combined in his freshman and sophomore seasons and owned 34 career 3-pointers entering the season (he has 40 treys this year). He averaged 0.39 treys per game in his first three seasons but has connected on 2.0 3-pointers per game in 2005.

 

Entering the game with Kansas, Wilkinson leads the Big 12 Conference in blocked shots per game and 3-point field-goal percentage while also ranking 11th in rebounds per game. 

 

Block Party
Senior forward Wes Wilkinson owns 40 of Nebraska's 74 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 sixth on the Nebraska senior class list in 2005-06 and Wilkinson's career total (92) currently is seventh in the NU record book. 

 

If he can keep up his current Big 12-leading pace of 2.0 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 while 10th place is held by Venson Hamilton with 56 in 1997. 

 

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 seven boards against ChicagoState.

 

Wilkinson is not the only player doubling up this season, as sophomore center Aleks Maric owns the team lead with six double-doubles, which also ranks third in the Big 12 Conference this season behind Texas' LaMarcus Aldridge (11) and P.J. Tucker (9). Maric's most recent double-double came against Baylor when he had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Earlier during conference play, Maric had 15 points and 17 rebounds against Kansas State, posting the highest single-game rebounding mark this season in the Big 12 Conference (Wilkinson is tied for second with 16 boards).

 

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 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 at least 10 points to go with nine boards four times this year, picked up his second career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds on the road against Colorado and added another against Baylor with 16 points and 10 boards. He also had 11 boards against Creighton and equalled his season-high mark with 11 rebounds against FloridaState but did not reach double-figure points in those contests.

 

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 23.0 free throw attempts per game (484 total attempts in 21 games) while allowing its opponents to get to the stripe just 15.4 times per game (324 attempts combined). 

 

Nebraska has hit 66.1 percent (320-of-484) 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 119 times while only two other Huskers (Aleks Maric, 94; Jamel White, 51) have gotten to the line 50 times. 

 

Dourisseau has hit just 56.9 percent from the stripe on the season but has made a dramatic improvement in conference play as he has hit 70.7 percent (29-of-41).

Nebraska ? which hit 61.8 percent from the line in non-conference play ? has seen that number rise to 73.5 percent to rank second in league-only games. The Huskers have hit better than 70 percent in five of their last six contests, including a season-high 90.9 percent (20-of-22) against Baylor. The Huskers, who have connected on 36-of-40 over the past two games combined, had topped 70 percent at the line in three of their first 15 games.

 

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. 

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

Huskers 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.

 

Board Games
Nebraska looked 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. 

 

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.

 

This season, Nebraska ranks fourth in the Big 12 Conference in rebound average at 39.1 boards per game and is seventh in rebounding margin at +3.3. Aleks Maric (6th, 7.3 rpg), Jason Dourisseau (9th, 6.9 rpg) and Wes Wilkinson (11th, 6.8 rpg) rank among the top 15 individuals in the league. 

 

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 state following Nebraska with the most current Huskers is New York with two, while the other nine players are from eight other states and one foreign country. Overall, the Husker roster consists of players from 10 states and two countries. 

 

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 356-111 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. 

 

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 40.0 percent from the field through 21 games this season, including 43.5 percent in Big 12 contests.

What's On Tap Next
Following the Kansas game, the Huskers start a two-game road swing as they travel to Austin to take on No. 8 Texas at the FrankErwinCenter. In their last trip to Austin, the Huskers dropped a two-point contest, 63-61 against No. 18 Texas in 2004, as Jake Muhleisen's 30-footer at the buzzer bounced off the rim and let UT hold on for a come-from-behind victory.

Nebraska then heads to Ames, Iowa, for showdown with the Iowa State Cyclones on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum. Last year, the Huskers split the season series with the Cylones as each team won on the road.