Huskers Welcome Nationally Ranked Bluejays

>>>Game Information
Game: 2
Game Date: Nov. 18, 2006
Release Date: Nov. 17, 2006
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Kent Pavelka, play by play; Andy Markowski, color)
TV: NET2 throughout the state; Channel 21 in Lincoln (Greg Sharpe, play by play; Matt Davison, color)
Internet: Huskers.com (live radio, stats, video)
Halftime Entertainment: Frisbee Dogs
Anthem: Heidi Joy
Corporate Sponsor: First National Bank
Other Events: Read to Succed Book Drive

After picking up the first win in the Doc Sadler era on Tuesday, the Nebraska men's basketball team returns to the court for the second contest of a five-game homestand to open the 2006-07 season when it plays host to in-state foe Creighton on Saturday, Nov. 18. The game against the No. 20/25 Bluejays will tip off at 7:05 p.m. at the sold out Bob Devaney Sports Center. Doors to the arena open 90 minutes before tipoff.

The contest between Nebraska and Creighton can be heard over the radio on the Husker Sports Network, which consists of a 25-station network throughout Nebraska. All Husker regular-season games can be heard on the network and around the world on the Internet on Huskers.com. The new play-by-play voice of the Husker basketball program, Kent Pavelka will call the action Saturday and will be joined by former Husker letterwinner Andy Markowski, who will provide color commentary.

Markowski will fill in on several Husker broadcasts this season when Matt Davison slides over from radio to television. Saturday's game will be seen around the state on NET2 through a cooperative effort between NET Television, Cox Communciations Omaha and the Nebraska Athletic Department. Davison will handle color duties on the telecast and will be joined by Greg Sharpe, who returns for his third year calling the action on NU telecasts.

Free live statistics during the game are also available on Huskers.com and video of the game will be streamed live on HuskersNside.com, the premium subscription site of Nebraska athletics.

>>>Huskers Searching for Strong Start
Nebraska opened the season with a 14-point victory over Nebraska-Omaha on Tuesday and hopes to carry some momentum into Saturday's contest when the Huskers face their third in-state opponent this season.

Nebraska posted a solid first half against the Mavericks and finished the game hitting 56.5 percent from the field, its best percentage in a season-opener since hitting 62.0 percent (31-of-50) against UNC Greensboro on Nov. 14, 1998. Overall it was the Huskers' best field-goal percentage since hitting 66.1 percent (37-of-56) against St. Francis (Pa.) on Jan. 6, 2004. Last season's high field-goal percentage was 53.3 on two occasions.

Sophomore guard Jamel White, who was one of two Huskers in double-figures with 18 points, was the only Nebraska player with more than one attempt to hit less than 50.0 percent, as he was 5-for-11 (45.4 percent) from the field. White also hit 8-of-10 from the free throw line to pace the Huskers.

Freshman guard Sek Henry hit all three of his field-goal attempts Tuesday, including his only 3-point try. Henry finished with eight points against the Mavericks after averaging 20.0 points in two exhibition games.

>>>Now for the Good News
The biggest storyline for the Huskers in the preseason should have been on its first-year coach, Doc Sadler, who took over the program in August after two successful years guiding the Texas-El Paso Miners to the postseason. But Sadler's first preseason in Lincoln has been marred by injuries, which have dominated the headlines. Nine Huskers have missed practice time this season, forcing Nebraska to practice with as few as six scholarship players in the first weeks of the season. Senior Charles Richardson Jr. appeared to be the 10th Husker with an injury (nose) in the UNO contest, but returned a few minutes later and has not missed any practice time.

Nebraska finally received some good news before the start of the season opener as junior center Aleks Maric was cleared to play just 11 days after undergoing an appendectomy on Nov. 3. The 6-11 Aussie had entered preseason in top condition and it showed Tuesday, as he made an impressive debut by posting 29 points and 10 rebounds for his 14th career double-double. Maric is one of the top returning centers in the league after producing a league-high seven double-doubles in conference-only games last season.

>>>Searching for a Bit of History
After a 1-1 exhibition season, the Huskers came out on the winning end of their season opener, extending their streak of home-opening victories to 26 while grabbing their sixth straight season-opening win.

Also of note in Tuesday's victory was Doc Sadler's first win as Nebraska's head coach. It was his 49th win in three seasons as a Division I head coach and win No. 169 in his career. Sadler posted the seventh-highest win total by a first-year Division I head coach in NCAA history with his teams' 27 victories in 2004-05 and with 48 wins over his first two years, he was just two victories out of the all-time top 10 for coaching wins in the first two seasons at Division I.

Sadler will be chasing his 50th career victory at this level Saturday against nationally ranked Creighton. He will also be chasing a bit of Cornhusker history. Sadler was the first Husker coach since Joe Cipriano in 1963 to win his first career game as a Husker, something that Moe Iba, Danny Nee and Barry Collier did not do. With a win Saturday, Sadler would be the first Nebraska coach since Harry Good in 1946 to start his Husker head coaching career with a 2-0 mark.

First-Year NU Head Coaches, Year, First two games
Doc Sadler, 2006-07, ???
Barry Collier, 2000-01, 1-1
Danny Nee, 1986-87, 1-1
Moe Iba, 1980-81, 0-2
Joe Cipriano, 1963-64, 1-1
Jerry Bush, 1954-55, 1-1
Harry Good, 1946-47, 2-0
L.F. Klein, 1945-46, 1-1
A.J. Lewandowski, 1940-41, 1-1
William H. Browne, 1932-33, 0-2
Charles T. Black, 1926-27, 0-2
Ernest Berg, 1925-26, 0-2
W.E. Kline, 1923-24, 1-1
Owen Frank, 1921-22, 1-1
Paul Schlisser, 1919-20, 2-0
Dr. E.J. Stewart, 1916-17, 2-0
Sam Waugh, 1915-16, 2-0
E.O. "Jumbo" Stiehm, 1911-12, 2-0
O.F. Field, 1910-11, 1-1
T.J. Hewiat, 1909-10, 0-2
R.G. Clapp, 1903-04, 1-1
Walter Hiltner, 1902-03, 1-1
Fred Morrell, 1901-02, 2-0
E. Berry, 1900-01, 2-0
T.P. Hewitt, 1899-1900, 2-0
Frank Lehmer, 1896-97, 2-0

>>>Better Looking
One of the glaring differences between the box scores from the exhibition games and the first regular-season contest came on the 3-point stat line.

Over the course of two preseason games, the Huskers attempted 54 3-pointers, making 18 (33.3 percent). During the season opener, the Huskers worked the ball around the floor better and got it into the paint more with the return of center Aleks Maric to the lineup. The result: Nebraska accounted for just 10 3-pointers attempted, although the percentage was virtually the same with three made, as Charles Richardson Jr., Sek Henry and Ryan Anderson each hit one.

>>>The Series
Nebraska and Creighton are renewing the in-state series for the 30th consecutive season when they face off at the Devaney Center on Saturday night. The Huskers own the series lead by a 22-17 margin.

The first meeting between the teams came in the 1922-23 season when Creighton earned a 46-24 home victory. The series went back and forth the next 10 meetings with each team taking five wins before the Huskers gained control of the series with 15 wins over the next 18 seasons.

Since the 1997-98 campaign, the Bluejays have turned the tables on the Huskers as CU owns eight wins in the last 10 meetings with the Huskers' only regular-season victory in that span coming with a 76-60 home win in 1998. Nebraska also owns a postseason victory over the Bluejays during that stretch as it won a thriller, 71-70, in Omaha on a last-second Nate Johnson shot in the first round of the 2004 NIT.

At the Devaney Center, the Huskers own a 12-3 series advantage, and are 13-5 overall in Lincoln. The Bluejays have won three straight on the Huskers' home court.

>>>The Last Meeting
Nebraska's 13-0 run midway through the second half was not enough to overcome a slow start as the Huskers dropped a 70-44 contest to Creighton in Omaha.

Nebraska hit just 4-of-26 shots in the first half and committed 17 turnovers that contributed to the Huskers trailing 31-11 at the intermission. Despite the poor start, NU was still in the game until Creighton closed the half on an 11-0 run. While Nebraska shot just 15 percent from the field in the first half, the Huskers’ defense limited the Bluejays to just 28 percent shooting.

Senior forward Wes Wilkinson finished with six points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while Joe McCray added eight points and nine rebounds. Senior Jason Dourisseau, an Omaha native, pulled down 11 boards.

Nebraska shot a season-low 27 percent for the game (17-of-62) and committed a season-high ? and school record ? 31 turnovers. NU was also just 2-of-7 from the free-throw line, setting a season-low in free throw percentage (.286), as well as free throws made and attempted. The Huskers were averaging 28 free throws per game entering the contest.

NU's defense held Creighton to just 29.7 percent shooting and set a season-high with 11 blocks. Johnny Mathies led Creighton with a career-high 29 points.

The defenses dominated the game early, as Wilkinson drained a 3-pointer with 16:11 on the clock to give the Huskers a 3-2 lead. Wilkinson’s trey marked the first made field goal of the game by either team, as both of Creighton’s points came at the charity stripe.

Nebraska’s defense forced the Bluejays to miss their first seven field goal attempts before Johnny Mathies connected on a 3-pointer more than four minutes into the game.

A Husker trey from Marcus Walker cut the Creighton lead to 10-8 before CU’s Nick Porter connected on the game’s first two-point field goal with 11:44 remaining in the first half to push the Bluejays’ lead to four at the second media timeout.

Creighton used three separate 6-0 runs in the first half to take a nine-point lead at 20-11 before the Bluejays closed the half on their 11-0 spurt.

The Huskers closed the gap to 16 early in the second period before Creighton used a 9-0 run to take a 42-17 lead with 13:12 remaining. During that stretch, the Bluejays held Nebraska without a field goal for 4:38. B.J. Walker ended that drought with a bucket that made the score 42-19 and ignited the 13-0 Husker run over a 2:12 stretch. NU made 5-of-6 shots during the run that cut Creighton’s 27-point lead down to 14. Nebraska would get as close as 13 before Creighton pulled away for the victory.

>>>Scouting the Bluejays
The Creighton Bluejays enter Saturday's contest with a top-25 national ranking as they return four starters and have solid depth that makes them the favorite in the Missouri Valley Conference. CU has high expectations again this year after reaching the postseason in 2006 when it played in the NIT and finished with a 20-10 record.

CU's top returnee is also one of the top players in the MVC despite missing most of the last year with an injury. Nate Funk entered 2006-07 as the program's 23rd all-time leading scorer after posting a team-best 17.8 points per game as a junior in 2004-05. He added 5.1 rebounds per game that season and led the squad with 2.3 assists per contest while earning first-team all-league honors. This season, Funk is a preseason third-team All-American and is the favorite for the league's player-of-the-year award.

Funk scored 13 points in the Bluejays' season-opening victory over Mississippi Valley State, as he hit 5-of-11 from the field including 2-of-4 from long range. Senior center Anthony Tolliver, another honors candidate this season, and senior guard Nick Porter led the squad with 14 points apiece, with Porter adding a team-high seven rebounds.

The Bluejays hit 39.4 percent from the field against MVSU while holding the Delta Devils to 30.8 percent shooting. CU connected on just 2-of-13 3-pointers (15.4 percent) but held a commanding advantage at the free throw line where it made 24-of-31 attempts while limiting MVSU to 18 attempts (eight made). The Bluejays also held a +10.0 advantage on the glass by outrebounding Mississippi Valley State, 48-38.

The Bluejays are guided by head coach Dana Altman (Western State, 1981). Altman has taken the Bluejays to nine straight postseason appearances, including six NCAA Tournament bids while winning at least 20 games in every season since 1998-99. Altman owns a 239-130 record in 13 seasons at Creighton and a 322-197 Division I record in 18 years.

Altman will have an assistant on the bench who is familiar with the Devaney Center. Jake Muhleisen, a three-year captain for the Huskers, is in his second year serving as a graduate assistant for the Bluejays.

>>>Early (Bird) Rankings
When Nebraska and Creighton tip off this weekend, it will mark the earliest contest for the Huskers against a ranked team in school history.

The previous earliest game was in the season-opener for the 1996-97 season when Nebraska fell to No. 17 Texas, 83-81, in Austin on Nov. 23, 1996. That season was the first year of Big 12 Conference play, but the Huskers and Longhorns played twice, including the season opener which served as a non-conference game for both teams. Only one other time has Nebraska played a ranked non-conference opponent in November, with that coming on Nov. 28, 1990, when NU stunned No. 5 Michigan State, 71-69, at the Devaney Center.

This weekend's contest will mark the second time in series history that the Bluejays enter the game with a national ranking by the Associated Press. The last time Nebraska faced a ranked non-conference team in the regular season was also against CU on Dec. 21, 2002, when No. 20 Creighton pulled out an 81-73 victory. The Huskers' last win over a non-conference team in the regular season came just two weeks earlier when NU defeated No. 20 Minnesota, 80-60, in the Devaney Center on Dec. 8, 2002.

Overall, the Huskers own an 8-31 record against ranked non-conference teams in the regular season. Here is a quick look at the Huskers' early season matchups with ranked teams over the past 20 years:

Date Team (rank) Result
Dec. 21, 2002 Creighton(20) L, 73-81
Dec. 8, 2002 Minnesota (20) W, 80-60
Dec. 12, 1999 vs. Arizona (4) L, 59-80
Dec. 19, 1998 Minnesota (17) L, 51-55
Dec. 31, 1996 vs. Cincinnati (6) L, 73-84
Dec. 21, 1996 Minnesota (16) L, 56-70
Nov. 23, 1996 at Texas (17) L, 81-83 (ot)
Jan. 1, 1996 Texas (23) W, 85-69
Dec. 30, 1995 vs, Mississippi State (17) L, 66-69
Dec. 10, 1994 Michigan State (15) W, 96-91 (ot)
Dec. 28, 1992 vs. Michigan (6) L, 73-88
Dec. 4, 1991 at Michigan State (22) L, 78-101
Nov. 28, 1990 Michigan State (5) W, 71-69
Dec. 14, 1988 at Ohio State (14) L, 76-103
Dec. 19, 1987 at Wyoming (6) L, 58-87

>>>Full House
Nebraska will be playing in front of a packed house in Coach Doc Sadler's second regular-season game Saturday when No. 20/25 Creighton comes to the Devaney Center. The game officially sold out on Wednesday, Nov. 15, and 500 standing-room only tickets were then put on sale on a first-come, first-served basis.

Saturday's game will mark the first home sellout for the Huskers since Feb. 5, 2005, a span of 24 home games. That contest was also against a ranked opponent as No. 3 Kansas earned a 78-65 victory. This weekend's contest will also be the first non-conference sellout since the Bluejays last came to Lincoln on Dec. 11, 2004. CU pulled out a two-point victory, 50-48, in that game as Marcus Neal's 3-pointer at the buzzer fell short.

If all 500 standing-room only tickets are sold, the Huskers would be looking at the possibility of their first crowd of 14,000-plus since 2002 when Nebraska fell by a point, 88-87, against No. 1 Kansas. NU has had 79 crowds of at least 14,000 since the building opened for the 1976-77 season.

>>>For (Freshmen) Starters
While first-year coach Doc Sadler would like to give his younger players time to adjust to the rigors of college basketball, he has had little choice but to start two freshmen in each of the Huskers' exhibition contests and their season opener. Guards Sek Henry and Ryan Anderson have performed well under pressure so far, especially Anderson who at 6-4 is playing out of position at the 4 spot.

Henry led the team in scoring in the exhibition season with 20.0 points per game and hit all three of his field-goal attempts Tuesday in the regular-season opener while scoring eight points. He also was one of three Huskers to dish out four assists in the game.

Anderson made his presence felt in the Huskers' first game as he hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds remaining, helping NU to a 74-72 victory over Nebraska-Kearney. In his first regular-season contest, Anderson posted nine points with a game-high 11 rebounds, becoming the second Husker freshman in three years to post double-figure rebounds in his first career game. Center Aleks Maric was the last as he had a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds against Arkansas-Pine Bluff to open his career in 2004.

According to official box scores, Henry and Anderson are the first pair of true freshmen to start the season opener for the Huskers since the 1973-74 season when Mark Enright and Ron Taylor matched the feat. Henry and Anderson are the third and fourth true freshmen since 2001 to start their first career game at Nebraska, joining Jake Muhleisen (2001) and Marcus Walker (2005).

>>>Injuries Deplete Frontcourt Depth
The Huskers entered the season thin on experience across the front line, and the rash of injuries already seen this season has been felt most signifcantly in the paint.

Because of the lack of depth, Nebraska has started 6-4 freshman Ryan Anderson, who is listed as a guard, at the 4 spot in each exhibition contest and the season opener. Sophomore Jim Ledsome, who had played 61 career minutes entering the season, started each exhibition game before center Aleks Maric gave the Huskers a bit of good news with his return to the lineup in the season opener. Nebraska's only other front-court returnee to play in a regular-season game is sophomore Kyle Marks, who is recovering from knee surgery. Marks played 122 minutes last season.

Redshirt freshman Chris Balham (legs) also missed time earlier this season and was not cleared to play until just hours before the first exhibition game. Freshman forward Kris Douse is the only Husker over 6-4 who has not had an injury and missed practice time in the preseason.

>>>Earning Their Keep
Following a rash of injuries, the Nebraska coaching staff held open tryouts for students on Oct. 12, a day before the official start of preseason practices. At times this fall, the Huskers have practiced with only six healthy players who are currently listed on the official roster.

From the open tryout, the staff took six players who are working out with the team on a limited basis. Forward Ben Nelson (Atwater, Minn.) was the lone walk-on to see action in the first exhibition, as he got into the game against UNK for three minutes and had one rebound while going 0-for-1 from the floor. Also dressing that night were Andrew Wicklund (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Glenn White (Omaha, Neb.).

The trio also dressed against SIUE along with Choul Laam (Lincoln, Neb.), who played six minutes against the Cougars as the only walk-on to see action.

In the season opener, Nebraska freshman Jay-R Strowbridge sat out with an injury, forcing Coach Doc Sadler to look for a backup point guard. Nick Krenk (Nebraska City, Neb.), who joined the team as a manager a month before, practiced on Monday and was cleared to play Tuesday in Strowbridge's place. Krenk got into the opener against Nebraska-Omaha for 13 minutes. Krenk, the son of former Husker football player Mitch Krenk, was not the only walk-on to play as Laam got into the game for one minute. Nelson and Wicklund dressed for the Huskers but did not play.

>>>Bumps, Bruises and Much More
Seven Huskers returned from last season's NIT squad, including three starters in guards Charles Richardson Jr. and Jamel White and center Aleks Maric. Richardson is the only Husker with significant experience who has not missed practice time with an injury or illness this fall.

Last year, Richardson had surgery on his knee during the preseason and missed the first three games of the season before coming on to start 23 contests. This season, he is one of four players ? including freshmen Sek Henry, Ryan Anderson and Kris Douse ? who have not been sidelined.

On the other hand, nine Huskers have missed time this year with a wide range of injuries that have relegated them to the bench, including: Jamel White (collarbone), Kyle Marks (knee cartilage), Paul Velander (foot), Chris Balham (legs), Jim Ledsome (ankle), Jay-R Strowbridge (thigh) and Mike Smith (thigh).

Aleks Maric joined the growing injured list as he had an appendectomy on Nov. 3. He was not available for the two exhibition games but returned to practice on a limited basis Monday, Nov. 13 and made his season debut on Tuesday, Nov. 14 in the season opener.

The 6-11, 270-pounder provides the majority of Nebraska's bulk in the paint and returned as one of the top centers in the conference after leading the Big 12 in double-doubles in league-only games last year with seven. In his season debut, Maric posted an impressive 29 points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes.

The Huskers also suffered a loss following the first exhibition game as senior guard Marcus Perry, who had already lost practice time because of foot problems, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Nov. 9. Perry, who scored 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting from 3-point range off the bench in the first exhibition, tore cartilage in his left knee and will be lost for a couple weeks.

>>>Leading by Example
Senior guard Charles Richardson Jr. is the proven veteran of the squad as he is the Huskers' only returning three-year letterwinner. In fact, Richardson and junior center Aleks Maric are the only players on the squad with more than one year of Division I experience.

The 5-9, 165-pound Richardson helped the Huskers to a 19-14 campaign in 2006 that included their second NIT bid in three years. Richardson, who has quietly become one of the top floor generals in the Big 12, is chasing his third postseason appearance at Nebraska this season.

Behind his solid junior campaign setting up the Husker offense, Richardson ranked fourth in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.92:1 and was 10th in the league with 3.33 assists per game after gaining 100 assists on the year. His strong hand helped lead the Huskers to two victories at the Big 12 Championship in 2006, only the third time in school history that NU posted more than one win at the league postseason tournament.

For his career, Richardson has 224 assists in 88 games. He leads the current squad in both categories and is second on the squad in games started with 36. Only Aleks Maric, who has started 37 of 59 career games, has more experience in the starting lineup.

With similar statistics to last year, Richardson could move into the Nebraska career top 10 for assists. Currently sitting in 10th place on the list is former Husker and current 13-year NBA veteran Eric Piatkowski, who had 322 assists in his career.

>>>Talk With Doc
Nebraska Coach Doc Sadler will meet fans to talk about recent contests and the game plan for upcoming game with a series of four 'Talk with Doc' luncheons. The luncheons begin on Nov. 17 when Doc talks about the upcoming game against Creighton.

The first luncheon will be held on the floor of the Devaney Center and the final three (Dec. 15, Jan. 19 and Feb. 9) will take place at the Nebraska Club on the 20th floor of the US Bank Building in downtown Lincoln. Cost for the luncheons, which include a full buffet, is $15 per person per luncheon. Tables of eight are availble for $120 and packages that include a full table of eight for all four luncheons are $450.