Huskers March On

Dallas - With a win Friday night, Nebraska reached the Big 12 Championship semifinals for the only the second time since the formation of the league and the first time since the 1997-98  campaign. The Huskers will face No. 2-seed Kansas on Saturday, March 11, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

 

The Huskers and Jayhawks will tip off at approximately 3:20 p.m. or 30 minutes after the first semifinal matchup between Texas and Texas A&M. The game will be seen on ESPN2 as well as most stations that carry syndicated Big 12 games. Dave Armstrong (play by play) and Paul Splittorff (color) will call the action for the second consecutive Husker contest.

 

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.

 

Nebraska Continues Solid Play to Reach Big 12 Semifinal

The Nebraska Cornhuskers enter their Big 12 Championship semifinal contest against No. 17/18 Kansas with a 19-12 record, and are just one win away from their 12th 20-win season in school history. The 19 wins are the most under Coach Barry Collier, topping the 18 victories Nebraska posted in 2004 when reaching the second round of the NIT.

 

Nebraska is looking to extend its winning streak to three games, a mark it has reached five time this season. The Huskers won three straight against league opponents twice during the regular season, and had three- and five-game winning streaks against non-conference opponents.

 

The No. 6 seed in the 12-team field, the Huskers are the lowest seed remaining in the championship, as the No. 1, 2 and 4 seeds each advanced to the semifinals. On Friday night, Nebraska knocked off the No. 3-seed Oklahoma Sooners, 69-63, in the final game of the day. The victory followed a 71-64 win over Missouri in the first round and marked the first time Nebraska has won consecutive games at the conference tournament since the formation of the Big 12 Conference before the 1996-97 campaign.

 

Friday's outcome marked the first time this season the Huskers won on the road after trailing at the intermission. NU had been 0-7 away from home when trailing at the break.  

 

Nebraska's victory Friday night over Oklahoma ? its second over a ranked Sooner squad this season ? was the first for the Huskers over a ranked team at the league tournament since 1994, when NU earned a 77-68 victory over No. 23 Oklahoma State in the championship game of the Big Eight Tournament. Since that contest against the Cowboys, the Huskers have dropped three straight games against ranked teams in league tourney action, most recently a 91-59 loss to No. 4 Kansas in 1998.

 

In their two wins this week in the league championship, Nebraska has averaged 70.0 points while hitting 46.3 percent from the field and has held opponents to 63.5 points per game on 42.5 percent shooting. Nebraska has also held a 35.0 to 29.5 rebounding advantage.

 

One of the most important improvements for the Huskers this weekend has been their ability to efficiently manage the offense. Nebraska has averaged 17.5 assists per game (35 assists on 44 baskets) during its two tourney contests while posting just 11.0 turnovers per game. Nebraska has also gotten to the free throw line twice as much as its opponents, hitting 39-of-60 (65.0 percent) from the charity stripe this week while allowing foes to get to the line just 30 times, where they have made 21 (70.0 percent).

 

Freshman Jamel White has led the way this week, as he has posted 17.0 points per game on 45.0 percent shooting. White scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half Friday in the upset of the Sooners. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native hit 6-of-11 attempts from the floor, including just 1-of-3 from 3-point range, while connecting on 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. It was White's fewest 3-point attempts in a game since going 1-of-2 from beyond the arc against Kansas in the Huskers' home loss to the Jayhawks in early February.

 

White joined fellow freshman Marcus Walker as the pair scored the final 13 points of the contest, including nine straight by White. Walker had his best game against a conference team this season as he finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists without a turnover. It was his ninth double-figure scoring game of the season and first since posting 14 points against IowaState on Jan. 17.

 

Along with White, senior Jason Dourisseau has been impressive during the Big 12 Championship, as he is second on the team with 15.0 points per game while hitting 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from the field. Dourisseau has added a team-high 8.0 rebounds per contest this week after recording his third double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds Friday night against the Sooners while also helping Nebraska's defensive effort limit OU to 39.7 percent shooting.

 

Junior guard Marcus Perry also came off the bench to hit all three of his 3-point attempts, with each coming at key moments. Perry has averaged 7.5 points per game during the championship event while hitting 62.5 percent (5-of-8) from beyond the arc.

 

Nebraska at the Big 12 Conference Championship

Nebraska has a chance to reach uncharted territory this weekend as a win Saturday against the nationally ranked Kansas Jayhawks would put the Huskers into the Big 12 Conference final for the first time since the formation of the league for the 1996-97 campaign.

 

The Huskers have earned a bid to the league tournament semifinals only one previous time during the Big 12 era. In 1998, Nebraska received a bye in the first round as a No. 4 seed and defeated No. 5-seed Baylor, 65-46, in the quarterfinals before falling to No. 1 seed Kansas, 91-59.

 

With wins over Missouri, 71-64, and No. 22/19 Oklahoma, 69-63, Nebraska has won two conference tournament games for the first time since 1994 when NU won three straight games to earn the Big Eight Conference title, its first conference tournament championship. Overall, Nebraska now has a 4-9 record in Big 12 Conference tournament play and a 14-29 all-time record in league tourney action.

 

The Huskers now own a 2-2 record in action at the AmericanAirlinesCenter and with the win Friday, improved to 5-5 against Big 12 teams away from Lincoln this season. In total, Nebraska has posted a 5-7 record away from the DevaneyCenter this season.

 

Nebraska and Kansas have only met five times in postseason conference tournament action, with the Jayhawks holding a 4-1 advantage. Nebraska's lone win in the league tourney against KU came in an 87-83 Husker victory in 1991 when NU reached the finals of the Big Eight Tournament while running off a school single-season record 26 wins.

 

The last time the Huskers and Jayhawks played in the league tourney was 1999, when Kansas earned a 77-53 victory over Nebraska to move onto the league tourney semifinals. KU was the No. 3 seed that year and Nebraska had won two games over the Jayhawks in the regular season. Kansas picked up the double-digit win and went on to defeat No. 7 seed KansasState and No. 5 Oklahoma State to earn the league title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

 

The Matchup

Nebraska and Kansas are meeting for the 229 time in the series with the Jayhawks holding a 158-71 all-time record.

 

The KU-NU matchup is the longest conference rivalry in the Husker record book in terms of all-time meetings. The first contest between the teams came in the 1899-1900 season when the Huskers handed KU its most lopsided loss in school annals when Nebraska won 48-8 in Lincoln.

 

Kansas won both of the regular-season matchups with NU this season by an average of 31.5 points per game, including a 96-54 victory in Lawrence and a 69-48 win in Lincoln. The last time the Jayhawks swept the Huskers over three games during one season was 1998 when KU won by 20, 11 and 32 points.

 

Overall, the Jayhawks have won five straight contests against the Huskers dating back to a 74-55 NU home victory over KU in 2004. Kansas has won 14 of the past 15 overall matchups. KU has won two straight neutral-site matchups, as the last time the Huskers defeated KU on a neutral floor was 1991, when Nebraska earned a hard-fought 87-83 victory while on its way to the league championship final.

 

The Jayhawks own a 17-4 record on a neutral site court against the Huskers, including a 4-1 advantage in the Big Eight/Big 12 Championship. The last meeting between the teams in the tournament was 1999 when KU pulled out a 77-53 victory after being swept by the Huskers during the regular season. 

 

Nebraska fell by 42 in the first contest this season in Lawrence, as KU held the Huskers to 27.4 percent shooting including 19.0 percent (4-of-21) from 3-point range. The Jayhawks forced 24 turnovers and Nebraska posted just six assists in a game that tied for the fourth-largest losing margin in school history.

 

The Huskers shot just 24.6 percent and committed 19 turnovers in the second meeting, a 69-48 KU victory in the DevaneyCenter. NU missed all six of its 3-point shots in the second period as NU dropped its fourth straight to the Jayhawks.

 

In the rematch, the Huskers fell by 21 points at home, 69-48. KU's Mario Chalmers went for 20 points and Jeff Hawkins came off the bench for 11 points but the Jayhawks hit 41.9 percent from the field.

 

Scouting the Jayhawks

Kansas enters the weekend with a 23-7 record on the season after winning its opening-round game by one point, 63-62, over the Oklahoma State Cowboys Friday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship. The Jayhawks have won 14 games against league foes this season (including the league tourney). The Jayhawks are 10-5 overall away from Lawrence, including 4-3 in neutral-site games.

 

One of the youngest teams in the league -- if not the country -- the Jayhawks are averaging 74.9 points per game while hitting a hefty 47.5 percent from the floor including an impressive 37.4 percent from 3-point range. KU also owns one of the top rebounding margins in the Big 12 Conference, as the Jayhawks have outrebounded opponents by a 39.9 to 34.1 average (+5.8).

 

Freshman guard Brandon Rush, who was selected first-team All-Big 12 by the league coaches earlier this week, paces the squad as he has averaged 13.8 points per game on the year. Rush has hit an impressive 49.2 percent from the field and 51.1 percent from 3-point range. He has averaged a team-best 6.0 rebounds per game and ranks fourth on the squad in assists (63) and blocked shots (22) while ranking third among Jayhawks with 29 steals.

 

Along with Rush, freshman guard Mario Chalmers is the only other Jayhawk averaging double figures on the season. Chalmers, a native of Anchorage, Alaska, ? who played high school basketball with current Husker Blackshirt Zachary Bowman, a starting cornerback on the football NU team ? has added 2.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while leading the league with 82 steals on the season.

 

Sophomore guard Russell Robinson has also become a dual threat for the Jayhawks this season as he has averaged 8.7 points and 4.4 assists per game while Julian Wright and Sasha Kaun have added 8.5 and 8.3 points, respectively, to rank fourth and fifth on the squad.

 

The Jayhawks are guided by head coach Bill Self (Oklahoma State, 1985). He owns a 277-128 record overall as a head coach and 70-23 mark with Kansas.

 

Scoring Explosion

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

 

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 13 games, White has ranked second on the team with 13.5 points per contest (176 total points) while hitting 43.1 percent from the floor, including 42.9 percent (27-of-63) from 3-point range.

 

White recorded his second career 20-point game on Friday in the Big 12 quarterfinals against Oklahoma when he posted a game-high 22 points. White hit 6-of-11 shots from the floor and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe while adding five rebounds and two assists in 35 minutes.

 

White is the seventh Husker freshman to record at least two 20-plus point games in their rookie season, and the second in two years. He is tied for fifth in the freshman record book with two 20-plus point games, joining Tyronn Lue (1995-96) and Ron Taylor (1973-74). 

 

White also added solid games recently with a team-high 18 points against Texas Tech, 17 points in a 93-77 win over Colorado in Lincoln and 16 points at Texas A&M.

 

White and fellow freshman 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.

 

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 third in the Big 12 Conference this season behind Texas' LaMarcus Aldridge (14) and alongside P.J. Tucker (11).

 

Maric's most recent double-double came against KansasState at home when he posted 16 points and 12 rebounds while helping Nebraska to 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 during the regular season.

 

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

 

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 to 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 had three other games with at least eight rebounds, but has also picked up three double-doubles this season. 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.

 

Rankings Game

Following Nebraska's 69-63 victory over No. 22/19 Oklahoma on Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship, the Huskers are now 2-1 against ranked teams in 2005-06. The Huskers opened conference play with a 59-58 victory over then-No. 12/13 Oklahoma in the DevaneyCenter and dropped their second game against a ranked team with a 78-59 loss at No. 6/7 Texas on Feb. 11.

 

Overall, the Huskers have won three of their last four games against ranked teams dating back to last season's 74-67 victory over No. 4 Oklahoma State in Lincoln. Nebraska has won at least one game against a ranked squad each of the past six seasons (eight total under coach Barry Collier).

 

The win over OSU last year was NU's first over a top-10 opponent since 1997, snapping a streak of 19 straight losses. Before last season, the Huskers' most recent win over a top-10 club was against No. 7 Iowa State, 74-69, in overtime on the road.

 

Nebraska has 27 victories over ranked teams ? including seven wins over top-10 teams ? in the past 15 years. Three of the wins over top-10 teams were on the road including: at ISU in 1997; over No. 3 Missouri, 98-91, in Kansas City as NU ran to its first-ever Big Eight Conference Tournament title in 1994; and over the Sooners in the 2006 Big 12 Championship.

 

The last time Nebraska defeated ranked teams in consecutive contests was 1999, when NU eased past No. 24 Missouri, 69-61, on Feb. 6 at home and defeated No. 24 Kansas, 64-59, on the road.

 

The last time the Huskers won consecutive games against ranked teams at the league tournament was 1994 when Nebraska won its first-ever conference tournament title. The Huskers opened the week with a 105-88 win over an unranked Oklahoma squad, and then followed with impressive wins over No. 3 Missouri, 96-91, and No. 23 Oklahoma State, 77-68.

 

Dishing It

Rookie Marcus Walker has been solid at the point for the Huskers this season, averaging 5.7 points and 2.4 assists per game. His 73 assists are second on the squad and rank fifth on the NU freshman assists chart. Walker is the fifth freshman in school history to record at least 70 assists in his rookie year.

 

Walker has recorded eight 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's most recent double-figure scoring game came on Friday night when he posted 10 points against No. 22/19 Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship.

 

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.

 

Block Party

Senior forward Wes Wilkinson owns 59 of Nebraska's 120 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.

 

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 59 blocks, three ahead of Venson Hamilton, who had 56 in 1997.