Huskers Prepare for Creighton

Note: Huskers.com will provide men's basketball practice reports on Monday and Thursday afternoons throughout the 2006-07 season.

 

Lincoln ? The Husker basketball team is preparing to face its third and final in-state opponent this season as it takes on No. 20 Creighton at the Bob DevaneySportsCenter at 7 p.m. on Saturday night. The team practiced for about 2 1/2 hours on Thursday afternoon at the DevaneyCenter and has turned its attention to the sold-out contest against the Jays after a 76-62 season-opening win over Nebraska-Omaha on Tuesday.

 

“We’re pretty much working on coming out with the same intensity that we had in the start of the UNO game,” senior point guard Charles Richardson Jr. said. “We want to carry that over to the Creighton game. We have that one game under our belt and we have Aleks (Maric) back so we feel confident.”

 

Maric returned to the Nebraska starting lineup Tuesday night after undergoing an appendectomy on Friday, Nov. 3. The 6-11 center scored 29 points in 29 minutes for a team that has been injury-plagued since August.

 

In the absence of upperclassman like senior guard Marcus Perry, a pair of Husker freshmen have stepped up in a big way, including Sek Henry and Ryan Anderson. Henry, a Los Angeles, Calif., native, scored just eight points in the season-opener but led the team with 40 combined points in exhibition contests against Nebraska-Kearney and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. Anderson also started the season opener against the Mavericks, scoring nine points with 11 rebounds.

 

Henry spoke about the excitement for a freshman playing in the upcoming game.

 

“I know it’s going to be very crazy on Saturday night,” he said. “I’ve seen rivalry games on television, but we’re going to try and stay calm basically.”

 

Saturday’s contest is officially sold out and just standing-room only tickets remain. It will be the first sellout at the DevaneyCenter in two years and attendance could reach the 14,000 mark.

 

“I think they’re going to handle it pretty well, but I’ve been telling them to be prepared for it,” said Richardson, who has played against the Jays four times in his career. “We’re just ready to play ball though. I think that’s the best thing we can do right now is not worry about the crowd, but just go out there and play the game. Obviously, we’re going to take these next couple days for preparation and go over some things we need to use.”

 

Creighton also won its season opener, a 78-42 victory over MississippiValleyState on Monday night in Omaha. The last match-up between the Huskers and Jays in Lincoln went down to the wire, with Marcus Neal’s last-second 3-point attempt bouncing off the front of the rim to give CU a 50-48 win.

 

Saturday night’s game will be televised statewide on NET2.