Nebraska Takes on Tigers at Big 12 Championship

After finishing the regular season with a 17-12 record, including a sixth-place finish in the Big 12 Conference standings, the Nebraska men's basketball team hits the road to face Missouri in the first round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on Thursday, March 9.

 

The Cornhuskers and Tigers will tip off at approximately 8:20 p.m. in a game that will be carried nationally on ESPN2. Ron Franklin (play by play) and Fran Fraschilla (color) will call the action in Nebraska's third nationally-televised game of the season.

 

All Nebraska men's basketball games can also be heard on the radio through the Pinnacle Sports Network. The 26-station network can be heard all around Nebraska and in parts of western Iowa, and is available worldwide on the Internet at Huskers.com. Randy Lee will handle play-by-play duties while Matt Davison serves as color analyst.

 

Huskers Face Familiar Foe in First Round of Championship

After ending the regular season on a three-game losing streak, including the last two by a combined three points, the Huskers enter the league tournament looking to regain some momentum while solidifying a postseason berth. Nebraska, which owns 17 victories on the season including seven in the rugged Big 12 Conference, is vying for its second postseason berth in three seasons and a win in the opening round will go a long way to helping the Huskers reach that goal.

 

Nebraska's first-round opponent is a familiar one, as the No. 6 seed Cornhuskers faced No. 11 seed Missouri in the regular-season finale on March 5. NU dropped a one-point decision, 64-63, despite leading by 11 points with more than four minutes to play in the contest.

 

The Huskers' first priority in the championship opener will be to establish a presence in the paint. Sophomore center Aleks Maric, an honorable-mention all-league selection by the coaches, did not get into the flow Sunday until the second half, as he missed all three of his first-period attempts. He then dominated the early portion of the second half when he hit 7-of-10 attempts from the field, although he had only one attempt in the final five minutes.

 

Maric has been a beast in the paint this season for the Huskers, averaging 10.9 points and a team-best 8.3 rebounds per game. His total ranks third in the league while his 9.3 rebounds per contest in conference-only games paced the league.

 

Maric enters the championship tied for second in the Big 12 with 10 double-doubles this season, including a league-high seven in conference-only games.

The 6-11, 265-pounder just missed a double-double Sunday, posting 16 points and nine rebounds with three blocked shots. In two games vs. MU this season, Maric averaged 12.0 points and 8.0 rebounds while hitting 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from the field. In five career games, he has hit 57.5 percent (23-of-40) from the floor against the Tigers while averaging 11.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

 

The Huskers will also need consistent production from their other four starters against Missouri, especially senior forward Wes Wilkinson and senior guard Jason Dourisseau. Wilkinson has averaged 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game against the Tigers this season while Jason Dourisseau has added 8.5 points and 8.5 boards.

 

Wilkinson leads Nebraska with 12.1 points per game this season and moved onto the NU single-season blocked shots chart this past weekend with two blocks at Missouri. Wilkinson now has 57 rejections this season to rank 10th, and will finish his career ranked seventh in NU history.

 

Dourisseau has provided NU with a unique weapon as he has averaged 10.7 points and an impressive 7.3 rebounds per game this year while being generally viewed as Nebraska's best man-to-man defender. On Sunday, he tied his career high with 12 rebounds, his fifth double-figure rebounding effort of the season, but posted only four points. Two of his points came on a pair of free throws in the final minute that put Nebraska back on top for the last time.

 

Nebraska at the Big 12 Conference Championship

After 16 conference games over two months, the seedings for the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship finally fell into place on March 5, the last day of the regular season.

 

With Nebraska's loss to Missouri, the Tigers moved up to the No. 11 seed and the two teams now turn around to face each other in the first round on Thursday. The winner then advances to play No. 3 seed Oklahoma on Friday, March 12, at 8:20 p.m.

 

It will be the second straight season and third time in four years the Huskers and Tigers are squaring off in the first round of the tournament.

 

Overall, Nebraska and Missouri are facing off in the league championship for the fourth time (also 1997, 2003 and 2005) since the start of Big 12 Conference play in 1997, easily making MU the Huskers' most common tournament opponent. NU has also faced Kansas twice (both times after the first round) and Baylor twice, along with Texas Tech, Kansas State, Colorado and Oklahoma.

 

The Huskers own a 2-9 overall record since the start of the Big 12 Tournament. Nebraska has lost seven straight first-round games and has not won a contest since defeating Texas Tech, 69-50, in the first round of the 1999 tournament.

 

Overall, Nebraska is 12-29 all-time in conference tournament play since 1977, including an 0-2 mark in Dallas. The Huskers are 3-5 against league teams away from Lincoln this season and are 3-7 overall.

 

The Nebraska-Missouri matchup marks the first time since 1991 and 1992 league tournaments that the Huskers have faced the same team in consecutive years in the first round. Those seasons, NU faced Oklahoma, with the Huskers winning in 1991, 117-113 in overtime, while OU won in 1992, 107-85.

 

The 1992 season also marks the last time Nebraska faced an opponent in the regular-season finale and then turned around to face the same team in the first round of the conference tournament. Nebraska lost both of those games before finishing with a 19-10 overall record after an 86-65 loss to Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament.

 

The sixth-place finish in the final regular-season standings is Nebraska's highest ranking since earning a tie for fifth with a 10-6 record in 1999. NU finished this season with a 7-9 league mark. The final placement marked the third consecutive year with an improvement in the standings, as NU moved from 12th in 2003 to tied for ninth in 2004 and tied for eighth last year.

 

Nebraska's No. 6 seed is its second-highest seeding since the formation of the league in 1996-97, and is its highest placement since earning the No. 6 seed in 1999. The Huskers' highest seed was No. 4 in 1998.

 

This season the Huskers will be the higher seed for the first time since 2001, when NU was the No. 7 seed and lost to No. 10 seed Kansas State, 62-58. Nebraska is 2-2 as the higher seed since the formation of the league. The other loss came in the inaugural tournament in 1997 when the No. 7 Huskers lost to the No. 10 Missouri Tigers, 78-72.

 

The Matchup

Nebraska and Missouri are meeting for the 207th time in the series that dates back to the 1907-08 campaign when Nebraska won a pair of contests. Overall, Missouri holds 121-85 advantage after winning  10 of the past 12 games.

 

The Tigers own a 78-34 advantage in games played away from Lincoln, including a 7-1 record against the Huskers in the conference tournament. MU owns a 4-0 mark against Nebraska in Big 12 Championship action, including knocking NU out of two of the last three postseason league tournaments. 

 

Nebraska's only victory over Missouri in the league tournament came in the 1994 semifinals when the Huskers won 94-91 over No. 3 MU while on their way their first-ever league tournament title.

 

2003 in Dallas (MU 70, NU 61) -- Andrew Drevo recorded his sixth double-double of the year and the Huskers hit a season-high 10 3-pointers, but couldn’t get over the top as Missouri hit 53 percent from the floor in the second half to pull away for a 70-61 victory over the Huskers in the first round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament. With the loss, Nebraska ended the season with an 11-19 record.

 

Nebraska started strong, running to a 10-2 lead in the first 2:20 of the contest. John Turek started with a layup and Nate Johnson added a 3-pointer just 24 seconds later to make it a quick 5-0 Husker advantage. Drevo scored the Huskers' next five points on a pair of free throws and a trey to put NU ahead by eight.

 

The Huskers extended the lead to 16 points over the next three minutes. Corey Simms' 3-pointer gave NU an 18-2 advantage as Nebraska hit five of its first nine shots from the floor. Defensively, NU held the Tigers to just two baskets over the first eight minutes of the opening half.

 

Nebraska pushed the lead to 22-4 at the 12:21 mark on a Drevo jumper before the Tigers began to rally. Missouri clamped down on defense, holding the Huskers to 1-of-7 shooting over the next six minutes, to get back in the contest.

 

Ricky Clemons hit a 3-pointer to start the Tiger rally. Clemons added another basket and Rickey Paulding contributed five points as MU went on a 15-2 run to cut the Huskers' advantage to 24-19. After Brian Conklin's 3-pointer put the Huskers up eight, 29-21, with 4:17 left before intermission, the Tigers scored 11 of the last 15 points of the period to go into the locker room down just one, 33-32.

 

In the second half, Missouri took its first lead of the game with 18:12 left to play when Paulding hit a layup to give the Tigers a 37-36 advantage. Neither got ahead by more than five points over the next seven minutes before Missouri used an 11-1 run to take a
62-48 lead with 5:04 to play. Arthur Johnson scored 10 points in the run and finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Paulding joined Johnson with a double-double for the Tigers, collecting a team-high 19 points and 11 boards.

 

Nebraska cut the lead to eight twice in the final minute but could not get any closer, as the Huskers hit just 21.2 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes.

 

Drevo finished with team highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds while Johnson was the only other Husker to reach double figures with 12 points. Brennon Clemmons had eight points, seven rebounds and four assists while tying his career high with five steals.

 

2005 in Kansas City (MU 70, NU 67) -- A furious second-half rally by Nebraska fell just short as eighth-seeded Missouri defeated No. 9-seed Nebraska 70-67 in the first round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament. The Huskers trailed by as many as 16 points early in the second half, but the final outcome was not decided until a Husker 3-point attempt rattled out with three seconds remaining.

 

Nebraska trailed 32-25 at intermission, and saw Missouri take solid control of the contest by scoring the first eight points of the second half to open a 40-25 advantage. The Tigers’ Linas Kleiza scored the first six points in that surge, part of his game-high 26 points, along with 11 rebounds.

 

Mizzou twice extended the lead to 16 points, the last time at 46-30 with 15:39 remaining. Nebraska slowly chipped away and got the lead into single digits at 51-42 with 11:33 remaining. The Huskers then pulled within four at 55-51 with 8:52 to play after a Jake Muhleisen steal and two subsequent free throws. The lead fluctuated between four and seven for the next seven minutes.

 

Joe McCray cut the Tiger advantage to four points at 69-65 with a 3-pointer with 1:43 to play. After a Nebraska steal, Muhleisen had a rebound and put-back at the one-minute mark to slice the lead to two, 69-67. Forward Bronsen Schliep then made a steal with 28 seconds left to give Nebraska a chance for victory.

 

Jason Dourisseau missed a driving shot with 10 seconds to play, and Kleiza was fouled and converted on one free throw to give MU the three-point edge. After taking the ball the length of the court following the in-bound pass, Nebraska freed McCray for an open 3-point attempt from the top of the key, but it spun in and out to seal Nebraska’s fate. The loss marked the sixth consecutive year the Huskers dropped a game in the opening round of the league tournament.

 

McCray led Nebraska with 20 points while Jason Dourisseau also produced a solid contest, chipping in 18 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes. Charles Richardson Jr. had eight points and five assists against just one turnover.

 

Missouri led for nearly the entire first half, with Nebraska’s last lead at 5-2. Missouri tied the game at 5-5 shortly after, then led for the remainder of the first period. Missouri’s biggest first-half lead was eight points on two occasions, the last at 21-13. Nebraska pulled within two points at 25-23, but Mizzou finished the first half on a 7-2 run to open a seven-point halftime edge.

 

Both teams struggled offensively before intermission, as the Huskers hit just 35.7 percent (10-of-28) from the floor, while Missouri connected on just 11-of-28 shots. Turnovers also plagued the Cornhuskers, who had 10 miscues before halftime. The Huskers did not commit a turnover in the second half.

 

Scouting the Tigers . . . Again

Missouri enters the Big 12 Championship on a winning note as it snapped a four-game losing streak with a one-point win over Nebraska last weekend in the regular-season finale in Columbia. It was only MU's second win in its last 12 games, with the other being a 74-71 victory over KansasState at home. Overall, the Tigers own a 12-15 record this season and finished the regular season in 11th place in the Big 12 Conference with a 5-11 league mark.

 

The Tigers have averaged 66.4 points per game on the year while shooting 42.7 percent from the field, but have allowed opponents to hit 45.7 percent from the field while scoring 70.4 points per game. MU has also been outrebounded by a 34.6 to 33.9 advantage.

 

Against league teams, the Tigers gained 63.7 points per game but have allowed 73.4 points per contest. Opponents have hit a hefty 47.7 percent from the field while holding the Tigers to 41.8 percent shooting, including 32.6 percent from behind the 3-point line.

 

Missouri is led by third-team all-conference selection Thomas Gardner, who ranks second in the league in scoring (all games and conference-only). Gardner has averaged 19.9 points per game and paces the league with 93 3-pointers on the year while hitting a solid 40.4 percent from beyond the arc. Gardner also adds 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

 

Gardner, who also averaged 19.9 points per game against league teams, is one of just two Tigers scoring double-figures on the season, along with Jimmy McKinney, who has posted 12.5 points per game on 40.3 percent shooting. Kevin Young leads the team with 7.4 rebounds per game while adding 8.7 points while Marshall Brown has gained 9.6 points per game.

 

The Tigers are guided by head coach Marvin Watkins (Charlotte, 1977) who took over the coaching duties in February. He owns a 2-3 record with the Tigers and is 111-135 overall in his career.

 

Quick Shots

? Nebraska has had seven players lead the team in single-game scoring, but until last weekend, no one had led the team in scoring more than two games in a row. Wes Wilkinson paced the squad against Southeast Missouri State (25) and tied for the lead against Marquette (15), which was the only time a Husker had led the squad in scoring in consecutive games until Jamel White paced NU against Texas Tech (18), tied Wilkinson for the lead against Colorado (17) and the posted Nebraska's high total with 16 points against Texas A&M.

? 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.

? Nebraska's freshmen have been prolific from beyond the 3-point line this season. Jamel White (37) and Marcus Walker (26) are the first Husker freshmen to record at least 20 3-pointers in the same season. Only nine freshmen in NU history had recorded at least 20 treys before this year. White is fifth among Big 12 freshman this season in made 3-pointers while Walker is seventh. 

? Sophomore Aleks Maric (8.3), senior Jason Dourisseau (7.3) and senior Wes Wilkinson (6.6) are on pace to give Nebraska its first trio of rebounders with at least 6.0 boards per game since the 1991-92 campaign. That season, Derrick Chandler (8.2), Dapreis Owens (6.8) and Eric Piatkowski (6.3) each reached the mark.

? 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 secured a winning record in the regular season for the third straight campaign by finishing with a 17-12 record. 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 are its most in five years.

? NU is 14-0 this season when outshooting its opponent but fell to 14-2 when leading with 5:00 remaining in the game after dropping the regular-season finale at Missouri.

? With a 93-77 win over Colorado, Nebraska scored its most points in a Big 12 Conference game since posting a 95-85 double-overtime victory over Kansas State to open league play in the 2005 conference slate (Jan. 8, 2005). It is the most points against a conference team in regulation since a 99-82 victory over KansasState on Feb. 9, 2002.

? 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 six-point deficit with four minutes left in a win over OklahomaState on the road and a 10-point deficit against Oklahoma at home to open league play.

? 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.

? 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 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 third this season. 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.

? Wilkinson played in his 100th career game at KansasState and Jason Dourisseau joined him in reaching 100 career games on Jan. 17 against IowaState. It is the second straight season the Huskers had at least two seniors reach their 100th career game.

? 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.

 

Huskers Earn Honors

A trio of Huskers earned honors earlier this week as the coaches' all-conference team and the AP specialty teams were announced Monday.

 

Senior Wes Wilkinson and sophomore Aleks Maric led the way as they were each named honorable mention All-Big 12 by a vote of the league's coaches. It was the first career honor for each.

 

Wilkinson was selected to the Big 12 All-Underrated team by the sportswriters that cover the league, while Maric was named to the All-Improved squad. Freshman Jamel White was also honored by the sportswriters, as he was named to the All-Freshman team and was selected to the All-Reserve squad as well. White is the second Husker in as many years to earn All-Freshman honors.

 

Scorching the Net

Sophomore center Aleks Maric etched his name into the Nebraska record book with a dominating performance at IowaState. The Sydney, Australia, native scored a career-high 37 points with 16 rebounds and four blocked shots.

 

Maric's point total was the fifth-highest in school single-game history and tied for the third-most by a Big 12 player during the regular season. It was the most points by a Husker since Eric Piatkowski set the school record with 42 points in the 1994 Big Eight Tournament against Oklahoma and the first 30-point performance by a Husker since Tyronn Lue had 31 against Colorado in 1998.

 

The total was also the most points ever scored by a Husker in a regular-season road contest and set the NU sophomore single-game record, which previously was 33 points shared by Fred Hare in 1964 and Jerry Fort in 1974.

 

Maric scored 18 points in the first half and grabbed eight rebounds. He came back with 19 points and eight more rebounds in 16 minutes in the second period. Maric finished the game hitting 13-of-15 attempts from the field and 11-of-15 from the charity stripe. In his previous three games, Maric combined to hit 16-of-42 field-goal attempts and 7-of-11 from the line.

 

Double Trouble

Since taking an extra few days off over the Christmas break, Aleks Maric has been nearly unstoppable in the paint for the Huskers. After returning from Australia before the Huskers' contest against FloridaState, Maric has led the team with 11.8 points and 8.7 rebounds over the past 18 games while hitting 50.0 percent (75-of-150) from the field. He has also led the team with 20 steals and is second with 24 blocked shots.

 

Maric has been increasingly dependable on the boards in league play as he has averaged 9.4 rebounds per game against Big 12 foes. The total led all Big 12 players in conference-only games during the regular season. Maric is the fourth Husker to lead the Big 12 in rebounding in conference-only games since the formation of the league in 1997. Venson Hamilton was the first to do it with 9.6 boards per game in league play in 1998, while Kimani Ffriend did it with 10.2 boards in 2000 and 9.6 rebounds in 2001.

 

Maric recorded three consecutive double-doubles against OklahomaState, Baylor and Kansas, the most by a Husker since Andrew Drevo had four straight double-doubles in 2002-03. Venson Hamilton, the Huskers' all-time leading rebounder, also had four straight double-doubles in 1998-99 to tie Drevo for the most by a Husker since at least 1975-76.

 

Maric's impressive totals also included five straight double-figure rebounding efforts (vs. Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas, Texas and Iowa State), the most by a Husker in at least 30 years.

 

Maric owns 10 double-doubles this season to lead the Huskers and tie for second in the Big 12 Conference. His total equals the most double-doubles by a sophomore at Nebraska in the past 30 years. Venson Hamilton also had 10 double-doubles as a sophomore in 1998 and Carl McPipe added 10 double-doubles during his sophomore campaign in 1977. Maric also led the league with seven double-doubles in conference-only games.

 

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 roll ever since.

 

The 6-10, 220-pounder has averaged a team-best 12.1 points with 6.6 rebounds and 2.04 blocks per game this season. He has hit 44.4 percent from the field and 44.3 percent from 3-point range.

 

Wilkinson had 10 treys combined in his freshman and sophomore seasons and owned 34 career 3-pointers entering the season (he has 54 treys this year to rank eighth on the NU senior class list). He averaged 0.39 treys per game in his first three seasons but has connected on 1.96 3-pointers per game in 2005.

 

Wilkinson led the Big 12 Conference in blocked shots per game and 3-point field-goal percentage for the majority of the season, but currently ranks third in blocks and does not have enough 3-pointers made to rank on the percentage chart. He also ranks in the top 15 in rebounds per game.

 

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 at home. The rookie had the second-highest scoring game ever by a Husker freshman and became just the eighth freshman in NU 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.

 

In the last 11 games, White has ranked second on the team with 12.9 points per contest (142 total points) while hitting 42.7 percent from the floor, including 43.6 percent (24-of-55) from 3-point range. He just missed his second career 20-point contest when he scored a team-high 18 points against Texas Tech and came back with 17 points in a 93-77 win over Colorado in Lincoln and 16 points at Texas A&M.

 

White and fellow Marcus Walker joined an elite club by posting a 20-point game as freshmen. Walker had 20 points against Alabama A&M to help him win Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors. It is the fourth time in NU history a pair of freshmen recorded 20-point contests in the same season.

 

Dishing It

Rookie Marcus Walker has been solid at the point for the Huskers this season, averaging 5.8 points and 2.3 assists per game. His 66 assists are second on the squad and are tied for No. 7 on the NU freshman assists chart. Walker has a chance to become just the fifth freshman in school history to record at least 70 assists in his rookie year.

 

Despite suffering through a recent shooting slump, Walker has also 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, ranking third on the team in scoring.

 

On the Mark

For the second straight season, a pair of Husker freshmen have played a large role in Nebraska's offensive success.

 

Marcus Walker's 26 3-pointers this season rank fourth on the team and are tied for eighth in the NU freshman record book with Beau Reid. 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 became the fifth freshman under Collier to make the list when he recorded his 20th trey of the year against Kansas, matching Tyronn Lue's freshman output that ranked 10th at the time. He then added two more against No. 6/7 Texas to knock Lue off the list and currently sits in fourth on the list with 37
3-pointers this season to rank third on the team.

 

White needs three treys to become only the third NU freshman in history to post 40 3-pointers. He has had at least two 3-pointers in the past seven contests.

 

White is fourth on the team while averaging 10.1 points per game in Big 12 contests and has hit a team-best 40.0 percent from 3-point range against league foes. On the season, White has posted solid numbers with 8.2 points and 2.9 rebounds per game while adding 48 assists to rank third on the squad. His 237 points entering the Big 12 Championship rank 10th on the NU freshman points scored chart, six points behind Erick Strickland (243, 1993).

 

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.

 

Block Party

Senior forward Wes Wilkinson owns 57 of Nebraska's 113 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 fifth on the Nebraska senior class list in 2005-06 and became the seventh player in NU history to record 100 career rejections when he picked up three blocks against Colorado in Lincoln. Wilkinson will finish his career ranked seventh on the NU blocks chart.

 

Despite a slowdown in production in the middle of the Big 12 slate, Wilkinson picked up enough blocks to move onto NU single-season top 10 chart. The Nebraska single-season record is 91 blocked shots by Derrick Chandler in 1992 while Wilkinson enters the league championship in 10th place with 57 blocks, one ahead of Venson Hamilton, who had 56 in 1997.

 

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 16 games (19 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 a career-high 84 assists against 47 turnovers in 26 games this season. Richardson, who has had at least four assists in a game 13 times this season, ranks fifth in the league in assist:turnover ratio and 12th in assists per game.

 

Richardson has shown glimpses of a better offensive 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 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.

 

Richardson has had at least five points in a game 11 times in league play, mostly in part by getting to the free throw line a career-high 53 times (made 45, 84.9 percent). He also scored 12 points in a home victory over Colorado, his third career double-figure scoring effort and second straight year with double figures at home against the Buffs.

 

Sharing Time

Entering the season, Nebraska had nine players on the 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 eight current players averaging double-figure minutes, including five gaining at least 20 minutes per contest.

 

Jason Dourisseau leads the way with 29.9 minutes per game while Wes Wilkinson is second as he has averaged 28.9 minutes per game. Over the past five games, Dourisseau has been an iron man as he has averaged 35.4 minutes per contest, while Jamel White (35.0) and Wes Wilkinson (33.0) have also averaged at least 30.0 minutes per game in that span.

 

On the road against OklahomaState, the Huskers had five athletes ? all the starters ? play at least 30 minutes in a contest for the first time this season. NU's previous high this year was four players with at least 30 minutes on one occasion ? during a road win at KansasState.

 

Before the win over OklahomaState, the last time the Huskers had five players record at least 30 minutes of action in a game was Jan. 8, 2005, when NU defeated Kansas State, 95-85, in double overtime at home. The last time NU had five players record at least 30 minutes in a regulation game was March 13, 2003, as NU fell to Missouri, 70-61, at the Big 12 Tournament. 

 

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' 5-3 record to open league play was their best through eight conference games since posting an identical 5-3 mark to open the 1999 Big 12 season ? and was only the second time in the Big 12 era the Huskers finished the first half of the season with a record above .500.

 

The Huskers earned a 7-9 league record during the regular season, tying their best Big 12 mark since posting a 10-6 mark during the 1998-99 season.

 

Hot Shots

Nebraska owns three wins 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. The play was No. 1 on SportsCenter's Plays of the Day.

 

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.

 

Doubling Up

Sophomore center Aleks Maric has been dominant in the paint since the start of conference play and now owns the team lead with 10 double-doubles. His total is tied for second in the Big 12 Conference this season behind Texas' LaMarcus Aldridge (13) and alongside P.J. Tucker (10).

Maric's most recent double-double came against KansasState at home when he posted 16 points and 12 rebounds. He helped Nebraska its fifth straight game with a rebounding advantage.

 

Maric posted seven double-doubles in league play and led all Big 12 players in conference-only games with 9.4 rebounds per contest.

 

Maric scored a career-high 37 points and 16 rebounds on the road against IowaState, his third double-double away from Lincoln this season. Earlier during conference play, Maric had 15 points and 17 rebounds against KansasState, which ties P.J. Tucker for the highest single-game rebounding mark this season in the Big 12 Conference (Wes Wilkinson and Maric each have 16-board games to tie for third).

 

Senior 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 added his third career double-double and first in league play when he broke out of a slump with 17 points and 13 rebounds at home against Colorado.

 

Maric and Wilkinson are not the only ones hit the boards hard, as Nebraska has had three other players record at least 10 rebounds in a contest this season, including B.J. Walker (11 boards vs. South Dakota State) Joe McCray (14 points and 10 rebounds against Alabama A&M) and Jason Dourisseau, who has just missed out on a double-double with at least 10 points to go with nine boards seven times this year.

 

Dourisseau has also had three other games with at least eight rebounds, but has picked up two double-doubles this season with 14 points and 10 rebounds on the road against Colorado and against Baylor with 16 points and 10 boards. He also had a career-high tying 12 rebounds at Missouri in the regular-season finale and 11 boards against Creighton and 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 22.7 free throw attempts per game (657 total attempts in 29 games) while allowing its opponents to get to the stripe just 15.9 times per game (463 attempts combined).

 

Nebraska has hit 66.8 percent (439-of-657) 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 152 times while only two other Huskers (Aleks Maric, 149; Jamel White, 71) have gotten to the line 60 times.

 

Dourisseau has hit just 58.6 percent from the stripe on the season but has made a dramatic improvement in conference play as he is tied for 13th in league-only games by hitting 67.6 percent (50-of-74).

 

Nebraska ? which hit 61.8 percent from the line in non-conference play ? has seen that number rise to 71.2 percent to rank fifth in league-only games. The Huskers hit better than 70 percent in nine of their last 14 regular-season contests, including a season-high 90.9 percent (20-of-22) against Baylor. The Huskers had topped 70 percent at the line in three of their first 15 games.

 

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.

 

The last time the Huskers scored at least 100 points was 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 was 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 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). Redshirt freshman Paul Velander also made his career debut this season after returning from injury to play against Baylor.

 

Marcus Walker went on to earn 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 12 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.

 

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.

 

Defensive Mind Set

The Huskers are continuing a recent tradition of success on the defensive end of the court.

Nebraska has held opponents to less than 64.0 points per game each of the past two years, and is limiting foes to 65.6 points per game in 2005-06. The last time Nebraska held opponents to fewer than 66.0 points per game in consecutive seasons was 1982 (55.3 ppg), 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 (not including 2005-06).

 

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.

 

Nebraska enters the Big 12 Championship ranked fourth in the Big 12 Conference in rebound average at 39.1 boards per game and fifth in rebounding margin at +3.8. Aleks Maric (3rd, 8.3 rpg), Jason Dourisseau (6th, 7.4 rpg) and Wes Wilkinson (11th, 6.6 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.

 

Tough Schedule

Nebraska has faced 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.

 

The Huskers finished the regular season with a 5-9 record against those teams that played in the postseason in 2005.

 

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 hit 40.4 percent from the field during the regular season, including 42.5 percent in Big 12 contests.