Huskers Look to Sustain Momentum

>>>Game Information
Game: 3
Game Date: Nov. 21, 2006
Release Date: Nov. 20, 2006
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Kent Pavelka, play by play; Matt Davison, color)
TV: None
Internet: Huskers.com (live radio, stats, video)
Halftime Entertainment: Scarlet Dance Team
Anthem: Big Red Express (Nebraska pep band)
Corporate Sponsor: None

Coming off an impressive victory over nationally ranked Creighton last weekend, the Nebraska basketball team gets right back into action as it returns to the court for a contest against Lubbock Christian at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Tuesday, Nov. 21. Tip off for the contest will be at 7:05 p.m. and doors to building open 90 minutes before tip.

Season ticket holders are reminded to use the ticket for Game 18 for entrance into Tuesday's contest against LCU. The team on the ticket is listed as TBA and it is the final ticket in the season packet. Season tickets were sent before the schedule was finalized and a letter was sent soon after to let fans know how to use the ticket for this game.

The Nebraska-Lubbock Christian contest can be heard on 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 and will be joined by fourth-year Husker Sports Network analyst Matt Davison, who will provide color commentary. 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.

The game against the Chaps will be the third of a five-game home stand to open the season, the third time in four years the Huskers have opened the season with at least five straight games at the Devaney Center. With two wins last week, Nebraska improved to 358-114 in the building, which is in its 31st season as the home to the Husker men's basketball team. Nebraska's victory over No. 20/25 Creighton on Saturday also gave the program its 1,300th career victory in the program's 111th season of existence.

The Huskers, who have won their first three home games each of the last five years, hope to keep momentum on their side when they take on the Chaps. Nebraska has improved its production by playing with more energy and in a more efficient manner in each of its last two games. NU has started the season on fire from the field as it has hit 61.4 percent (51-of-83) of its shots while winning its first two games by an average of 13.0 points, including draining an impressive 68.5 percent (24-of-35) after halftime. The Huskers missed only four shots ? out of 17 ? after the intermission in the upset of No. 20/25 Creighton on Saturday.

Nebraska's strong offensive play has come hand-in-hand with the return of junior center Aleks Maric to the lineup. After missing 11 days of practice and both exhibition games, Maric came back to average 23.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in 28.5 minutes per game while helping NU give coach Doc Sadler a pair of victories to open his career in Lincoln.

Maric has hit 65.5 percent (19-of-29) from the field, and amazingly his percentage is not first among Huskers with at least 15 field-goal attempts. Freshman Ryan Anderson, a 6-4 guard who is playing out of position in the 4 spot, has averaged 14.0 points per game in his first week of college ball while hitting 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. Anderson is also second on the squad with 8.5 rebounds per game and has added five assists.

>>>Better Looking
One of the glaring differences between the box scores from the exhibition games and the first two regular-season contests 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 first two games of the regular season, 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 24 3-pointers attempted while making 11 (45.8 percent). The Huskers hit 8-of-14 3-point attempts against nationally ranked Creighton, including hitting 4-of-6 from long range in the second half when they pulled away for the win.

In addition to the long-range shooting, the Huskers have shown great patience in shot selection overall as they have hit 61.4 percent from the floor in two games.

>>>The Series
Nebraska and Lubbock Christian are meeting for the first time in history when they square off on Tuesday. The Chaps, however, are likely to know a little about what Nebraska may try to do as they faced a Doc Sadler-coached squad last season during exhibition play.

Sadler, who was the head coach at Texas-El Paso each of the past two seasons when the Miners posted a 48-18 record, guided UTEP to a 76-44 victory over LCU last season. Four Miners finished in double figures and UTEP held the Chaps to 29 percent shooting.

The game will mark the Huskers' final contest of the season against a non-Division I squad. NU is 1-0 in the regular season against non-Division I schools, and went 1-1 in exhibition play.

>>>Scouting the Chaparrals
Lubbock Christian University is an NAIA school located just minutes away from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. The Chaparrals return eight letterwinners and three starters from last year's 7-22 squad.

The Lubbock Christian Chaparrals enter Tuesday's contest against Nebraska with a 2-0 record after winning a pair of games this past weekend at the Abilene Christian Classic. LCU defeated Concordia (Texas) University, 97-84, and finished the weekend by downing Hillsdale Baptist, 73-43. The first victory of the weekend gave LCU head coach John Copeland his 400th career victory, and he now owns a 401-356 record in his 27th season guiding the Chaps.

Max Eding led the way with 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting against Concordia, while Marques Baldwin hit 8-of-12 shots from the floor for 17 points. Jonah Broussard added 16 and D.J. Cameron came off the bench to chip in 10 points for the Chaps. Eding also led the way against Hillsdale as he had 19 points and three of the Chaps' 17 steals on the night.

LCU has averaged 85.0 points per contest over its first two games while hitting 54.5 percent (60-of-110) from the floor. The Chaps have held opponents to 42.2 percent shooting (43-of-102) while forcing 24.0 turnovers per game. Four players have averaged double figures with Eding leading the way with 21.5 points per game. Blake Huggins has paced the Chaps on the glass with 5.0 boards per contest, as LCU has outrebounded its first two opponents by a 35.0-30.5 margin.

>>>Maric Earns Big 12 Honors
Junior Aleks Maric was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday, Nov. 20, following his performance in the Huskers' first two games of the season. The 6-11, 270-pound center led Nebraska to a 2-0 start by averaging 23.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while hitting 65.5 percent (19-of-29) from the floor.

Maric, who returned to the court 11 days after an appendectomy to start the season opener, posted 29 points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes against Nebraska-Omaha in the Huskers' first regular-season game. He hit 11 field goals on a career-high 18 attempts and missed his second career 30-point contest by just one point. Last year, Maric had 37 points at Iowa State, the fifth-highest single-game mark in program history and the first 30-point game by a Husker since 1997.

Against No. 20/25 Creighton on Nov. 18, Maric posted 17 points and nine rebounds to lead the Huskers to a 12-point victory. Maric was saddled with foul trouble in the first half and played just nine minutes, but came on to play 19 minutes in the second period when he recorded 15 points and eight boards.

Maric is the first Husker to be named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week since 1999 when Venson Hamilton won it in back-to-back weeks on Jan. 18 and 25. Maric is only the third Husker to earn the conference's top weekly award, joining Hamilton and Tyronn Lue, who won the award three times including twice in 1997-98.

Maric earned Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week honors as a freshman on Feb. 28, 2005. He was one of nine Husker newcomers to earn the honor since the formation of the league for the 1996-97 season.

>>>First Time
Nebraska coach Doc Sadler has won at every level, but the Huskers' victory over No. 20/25 Creighton gave Sadler another first in his career. Not only was it his 50th win as a head coach at this level, but Sadler earned his first career victory over a ranked Division I team. Sadler entered the game with the Bluejays with an 0-3 record against ranked squads over the past two years at UTEP, with all three games played away from home.

Here is a look at Sadler's career matchups with ranked squads:

Date Team (rank) Result
Nov. 18, 2006 Creighton (20) W, 73-61
Feb. 2, 2006 at Memphis (4) L, 56-66
March 3, 2005 vs. Utah^ (18) L, 54-60
Feb. 19, 2005 at Pacific (19) L, 66-73
^NCAA Tournament

>>>More Honors
Junior center Aleks Maric was not the only Husker to earn an honor following the first week of the season. On Monday, Nov. 20, Nebraska coach Doc Sadler was tabbed the Coach of the Week on collegeinsider.com's Weekly Honor Roll. The web site said:

"Expectations at Nebraska just got a little higher, and credit new coach Doc Sadler. The Huskers finally ended a seven-game losing streak to in-state rival Creighton, surprising the mid-major darlings 73-61 to open the season 2-0. Nebraska shot 67% from the field, scored on its final 13 possessions of the game, and discovered it has a clutch performer in freshman guard Ryan Anderson (19 points and a key 3 in the final minutes). Yet, it all comes back to Sadler, who came to Lincoln this year after an impressive two-year stint at UTEP. With the win, he has already made a difference, earning some much-needed positive attention for the basketball team at a traditional football school."

>>>Hot Shots
Nebraska scorched the net in a 12-point victory over nationally ranked Creighton on Nov. 18. The Huskers hit an impressive 67.6 percent (25-of-37) from the floor, their top single-game shooting percentage since hitting 72.3 percent (34-of-47) against UNC-Wilmington on Dec. 5, 1997.

The percentage will likely rank among the best in the country when the first NCAA statistics are released in December, but does not top the Big 12 rankings as Oklahoma State has already hit 67.9 percent (36-of-53) against Florida Atlantic to take the top spot in the league. Last year in all of Division I, Nebraska's 67.6 field-goal percentage would have ranked sixth nationally for a single game.

>>>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 all of the Huskers' games this season. 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. In his first two regular-season games at the college level, Henry has averaged 7.5 points per game while hitting 4-of-7 attempts from the floor, including all three of his shots in the regular-season opener. He also was one of three Huskers to dish out four assists in the game.

Anderson made his presence felt in the Huskers' first exhibition 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. Anderson came back with an even bigger performance against No. 20/25 Creighton as he led the Huskers in scoring with 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting. He hit his first six attempts from the floor and his only miss of the game was a long 3-point attempt in the final 10 seconds of the first half.

According to official box scores, Henry and Anderson were 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 also opened the season in the lineup. 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 significantly 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 regular-season game so far. 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. He then missed the regular-season opener and played his first career contest against Creighton on Saturday when he got in for nine minutes, securing one rebound. Freshman forward Kris Douse is the only Husker over 6-4 who has not had an injury and missed practice time in the preseason.

>>>Road Warriors
The Nebraska basketball team can easily take on the title of 'Road Warriors' during the month of December. After opening the regular season with five straight home games, the Huskers go on the road for six of their next seven contests, leaving them with only one home game (vs. Alabama A&M) at the Devaney Center in December.

The month opens with a trip to New Jersey to take on Rutgers on Dec. 2 followed by a trip to Portland, Ore., to take on the Oregon Ducks on Dec. 9 at the Rose Garden, home of the Portland Trailblazers. Following the Alabama A&M game, the Huskers leave the next morning for Hawaii where it will play three games in the Outrigger Rainbow Classic from Dec. 20-23 before coming home for Christmas. Nebraska ends the month with a road trip to the Orange Bowl Classic in Miami for the second straight season.

All told, the Huskers will travel 15,400 miles during the month, according to the Indo.com web site which tracks distances between cities "as the crow flies." The following are the distances the site lists as one-way trips from Lincoln, Neb. The total for one-way trips from Lincoln is 7,700 miles.

Destination Distance From Lincoln
Piscataway, N.J. 1168 miles (1880 km, 1015 nautical miles)
Portland, Ore. 1345 miles (2165 km, 1169 nautical miles)
Honolulu, Hawaii 3783 miles (6088 km, 3287 nautical miles)
Miami, Fla. 1404 miles (2259 km, 1220 nautical miles)
Total 7,700 miles (12,392 km, 6,691 nautical miles)

The trek around the country will be a new experience for the Huskers. Last year, Nebraska played 10 of its first 11 games of the year at home with the lone road game coming just 60 minutes up I-80 at the Qwest Center Omaha against Creighton. NU's first out-of-state road game last year came on Dec. 31 when the Huskers fell to Florida State in Miami at the Orange Bowl Classic.

Nebraska played five straight road games in 2000-01 when it went played Miami in the Orange Bowl Classic before winning three straight games and the tourney title at the San Juan Shootout. NU ended the road stretch with a contest at Minnesota.

The last time Nebraska played at least six road contests in a seven-game span was 1997-98 when the Huskers played seven straight games away from Lincoln. That stretch started with true road games at Creighton, Minnesota before playing three games at the Rainbow Classic, NU's last appearance in the tournament. NU finished the road trek with games at Kansas and Oklahoma State to open Big 12 Conference play.

>>>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. Andrew Wicklund (Colorado Springs, Colo.) also dressed that night and the duo dressed again when NU played SIUE. This time they were joined by 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 only once time with the team on the day before the opener and was cleared to play 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 knee) 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 and then added 17 points and nine boards against Creighton.

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 at least another week.

>>>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 233 assists in 89 games. He leads the current squad in both categories and is second on the squad in games started with 37. Only Aleks Maric, who has started 38 of 60 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 began on Nov. 17 before the Creighton game while the the final three luncheons (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 available for $120 and packages that include a full table of eight for all four luncheons are $450.

>>>Testing the Waters
Doc Sadler was the biggest addition to the Nebraska program this summer, but the largest returnee on the floor for the Huskers ? literally and figuratively ? was junior center Aleks Maric.

The 6-11, 270-pound Maric entered his name into the NBA Draft on April 28, 2006. After testing the waters, Maric withdrew his name before the deadline and, since he did not hire an agent, was able to return to the Huskers for the 2006-07 campaign.

However, Maric wasn't initially convinced that he would return to Lincoln following Barry Collier's resignation as head coach in August. To help Maric make up his mind, Doc Sadler got on a plane to Australia less than 48 hours following his appointment as head coach and spent a few days with Maric and his family so they could get to know each other. The following week Maric announced he would return to Lincoln in time for the start of fall classes.

Maric, who will miss the UNO contest after undergoing an appendectomy on Friday, Nov. 3, was the first Husker underclassman to declare early for the draft since Tyronn Lue announced his decision to forgo his senior season in 1998. Lue remained in the draft and was a first-round selection of the Denver Nuggets. He is still in the NBA playing for the Atlanta Hawks, one of three former Huskers currently in the league.

Maric was one of eight underclassmen from the Big 12 Conference to declare early for the draft, a high for any conference. Six of the players remained in the draft, with Maric and Colorado's all-league guard Richard Roby being the only two to pull out. Of the six who stayed in the draft, four were selected in the first two rounds.

>>>Early (Bird) Rankings
When Nebraska and Creighton played on Nov. 18, it was 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 campaign 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.

Nebraska improved to 2-0 all-time against ranked non-conference teams in the month of November. The only other time Nebraska has played a ranked non-conference opponent that early came on Nov. 28, 1990, when NU stunned No. 5 Michigan State, 71-69, at home.

Before the win over Creighton, the Huskers' last victory over a non-conference team in the regular season came on Dec. 8, 2002 when NU defeated No. 20 Minnesota, 80-60, in the Devaney Center.

The Huskers now own a 9-31 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:

>>>Quick Shots
? Nebraska's game against Nebraska-Omaha on Nov. 14 marked the earliest season-opener in program history, tying the mark set in the 1998-99 campaign. Prior to this season, Nebraska had played only four games before Nov. 19, but played twice this year before that date.

? Nebraska has a young lineup for the second straight season in 2006-07. Last year's inexperienced squad posted 19 victories and gave NU its second postseason berth in three years. This season the Huskers hope to have a similar outcome despite entering the year with even less experience. Only two players ? senior Charles Richardson Jr. and junior Aleks Maric ? entered the year with more than one season of Division I experience.

? NU has the players in place to challenge for one of the top spots in the Husker 3-point record book this winter. Nebraska has posted at least 200 3-pointers as a team only three times in school history ? all since 2000 ? including hitting 221 treys last year to rank second all-time. When finally healthy, returning guards Jamel White, Marcus Perry, Paul Velander and Charles Richardson Jr., along with newcomers Ryan Anderson and Sek Henry, will form an impressive long-range attack for the Huskers this season.

? Maric's 10 double-doubles last year tied for fifth in NU single-season history. With 14 career double-doubles, Maric is ranked eighth on the NU career chart. Maric needs six to move into the top five and with another 10, he would move to third on the list. Venson Hamilton, the 1999 Big 12 Player of the Year, leads the list with 45 double-doubles, while Carl McPipe is second with 25 and Dave Hoppen third with 22.

? Maric has 439 career rebounds and by posting the same total as he had last year (251), he would move into 10th on the Husker career rebounds chart. Entering the season, Maric was just 10 rebounds behind the total Hamilton had at the end of his sophomore season. Hamilton is the only player in NU history to post more than 1,000 career rebounds.

? Maric will likely move into the NU career top 10 for blocked shots in 2006-07. He owns 58 blocks in his career and needs just seven to take over sole possession of 10th place.

? By duplicating his rookie campaign, guard Jamel White will challenge for a spot on the Nebraska career top-10 chart for 3-pointers. White ranked second in the freshman record book with 44 treys last year and now needs 57 to move into a tie for 10th place with Chris Cresswell.

? Nebraska has had one rookie selected to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team each of the past two years. Last year, White earned the honor after moving into the NU freshman record book in six categories.