Huskers Brace for Three Games in Six Days

>>>Game Information
Game: 4
Game Date: Nov. 27, 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

After a short break for the holiday, the Cornhusker basketball team gets right back into action as it continues its season-opening five-game home stand with a contest against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday, Nov. 27, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The game will begin at 7 p.m. and doors open to the general public 90 minutes prior to tip off.

All Nebraska men's basketball games 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 while fourth-year Husker Sports Network analyst Matt Davison provides 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 contest against UAPB will be the fourth consecutive home contest for the Huskers and the first of three games in six days this week. Following the matchup with the Golden Lions, NU makes a quick turnaround with a game against North Texas at the Devaney Center on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. The matchup will be the fourth in series history between the Huskers and Mean Green, but the first meeting since 1989. NU is 3-0 in the series overall.

Nebraska then makes its first road trip of the season for a Saturday, Dec. 2, matchup against Big East Conference foe Rutgers. The contest against the Scarlet Knights will tip off at 3 p.m. CST and will have an Internet-only radio broadcast as the Husker football team's appearance in the Big 12 Championship Game will be heard live on the Husker Sports Network around the state of Nebraska and throughout the country on Sirius Satellite Radio.

The Huskers' trip to Piscataway starts a month-long trek around the United States which will see Nebraska travel more than 15,000 miles and spend 14 nights on the road in the month of December. Nebraska will play six of its seven games in the month away from Lincoln and will compete in the Eastern, Central and Pacific time zones during the four-week span. The only home game in the month will be a Sunday afternoon matchup on Dec. 17 against Alabama A&M at the Devaney Center.

>>>Huskers Look to Extend Streak vs. UAPB
The Huskers come into Monday's game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff looking to extend their season-opening win streak to four games. NU has won at least four games to open a season three times in the past five years, but is looking to start 4-0 in consecutive years for the first time since the 1991-92 and 1992-93 campaigns.

With a victory over the Golden Lions, Doc Sadler would become the first Nebraska head coach to open his career in Lincoln with four straight victories since Paul Schlisser went 6-0 to start the 1919-20 season. Sadler would also become only the fifth coach in program history to win his first four games as the Huskers' mentor.

Nebraska has played solid defense while winning its first three games, as the Huskers have held opponents 55.0 points per game, the third-best average among Big 12 teams through Nov. 24. Nebraska's field-goal percentage defense also ranked third entering the weekend as opponents have hit just 36.4 percent from the floor against an improving Husker defense.

>>>Heating Up the Floor
Entering the season, Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said that the thought the Huskers would be a solid shooting team. Through the first three games of the season, Sadler's prediction has been an understatement. According to ESPN.com, the Huskers' rank second in the nation in field-goal percentage (through Nov. 24) by hitting 59.7 percent (77-of-129) from the field.

The Huskers have hit at least 55.0 percent from the floor in each of their first three games to open the season. That is the longest stretch by a Nebraska squad since the 1991-92 team connected on 55.2, 55.2 and 63.4 percent against Wisconsin, Texas A&M and Eastern Washington, respectively.

The last time Nebraska posted four straight games of at least 55.0 percent shooting was the fifth through eighth games of the 1990-91 season. Nebraska topped the mark by hitting 65.0 percent against Eastern Illinois, 57.6 percent against Creighton, 56.1 percent against Toledo and 63.8 percent against Wisconsin.

Nebraska opened the season hitting 56.5 percent (26-of-46) from the floor against Nebraska-Omaha, the second time in three years the Huskers hit at least 50 percent of their shots in a season opener. As a follow-up, NU scorched the nets by hitting more than two-thirds of its field-goal attempts (67.6 percent, 25-of-37) in an upset of No. 20/25 Creighton in the second game of the year and first against a Division I team. Nebraska continued its strong shooting by hitting 56.5 percent (26-of-46) against Lubbock Christian.

Freshman guard Ryan Anderson has led the way in the early contests as the Seattle, Wash., native has hit 72.7 percent (16-of-22) of his shots from the field to rank 17th nationally, including 12 of his last 14 over the past two games. Anderson led the Big 12 in field-goal percentage entering the weekend, while teammate Aleks Maric ranked third in the league and 27th in the nation by hitting 71.4 percent (25-of-35) from the floor. Overall, five of the six Huskers with at least 10 shot attempts this season have hit at least 50.0 percent from the field.

>>>Second-Half Surge
First-year coach Doc Sadler stresses the importance of taking the first good shot available on each possession and the Huskers have taken that to heart in the second half of games early this season. Through three contests, Nebraska has hit 65.5 percent (38-of-58) from the field after the intermission while averaging 37.3 points per game, a nine-point advantage over their opponents on the scoreboard.

Nebraska's improved second-half shooting has been even more evident from long range as the Huskers have hit 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) of their 3-point attempts in the second period. In contrast, Nebraska has connected on just 7-of-21 (33.3 percent) 3-point attempts in the opening stanza.

The Husker who has made the most strides after the break so far has been guard Jamel White, who has hit 6-of-11 attempts (54.5 percent) from the floor and 8-of-11 free throw attempts (72.7 percent) after halftime. In the first half, White has hit 5-of-15 (33.3 percent) from the field and had just six free throw attempts (five made).

>>>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 three 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 40 3-pointers attempted while making 17 (42.5 percent). The Huskers hit a season-best 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.

>>>The Series
The Cornhuskers and Golden Lions are meeting for the second time in the series and the first time since 2004. Nebraska opened the 2004-05 season at home against UAPB and rolled to a 97-40 victory.

The 57-point win is the largest in the 31-year history of the Bob Devaney Sports Center and the second-largest winning margin in program history. The only win in Husker history by a larger margin was an 82-8 victory ? 74 point margin ? over Crete in the 1906-07 season. The win over UAPB was one of just four in NU history by at least 50 points and two of those victories have come in the past three years (also a 50-point win, 107-57, over North Carolina A&T last year).

Nebraska owns a 5-1 all-time record against Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) teams. NU's last matchup against a SWAC team came last year when the Huskers grabbed a 67-60 victory over Alabama A&M, which also plays at NU this season on Dec. 17.

>>>Scouting the Golden Lions
Arkansas-Pine Bluff comes to the Devaney Center for Monday's contest with an 0-3 record after losing at Air Force (81-45), No. 24 Nevada (82-63) and Fresno State (82-55). Following the game against the Huskers, UAPB travels just 60 minutes up the road to Omaha to take on Creighton on Wednesday, Nov. 29.

The Golden Lions are led by junior forward William Byrd, a 6-7, 180-pound forward from Webb, Miss. Byrd ranks second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference with 16.7 points per game while hitting 60.0 percent from the floor. In three starts, Byrd has also paced UAPB with 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals, 2.0 blocks and 1.7 assists per game.

Byrd is joined by only one other Golden Lion in double figure as Terrance Calvin has come off the bench in all three contests to average 11.0 points on 50.0 percent shooting. Calvin has added 3.3 rebounds per game and is the only player without a start this season averaging better than 2.0 points per contest. Jason Frierson has added 8.0 points per contest while no other Golden Lion has produced better than 5.0 points per game.

As a team, UAPB returned 11 letterwinners and four starters from a squad that went 13-16 last season. Through three contests in 2006-07, Arkansas-Pine Bluff has averaged just 54.3 points per contest while hitting 35.6 percent from the field. UAPB has connected on just 21.6 percent from 3-point range this season.

The Golden Lions are coached by Van Holt (Arkansas AM & N, 1965), who is in his fifth season with the Golden Lions. Holt owns a 25-90 career record, all at UAPB.

>>>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 was 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, a 67.6 field-goal percentage for a single game would have ranked sixth nationally on the 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 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 three regular-season games at the college level, Henry has averaged 7.7 points per game while hitting 7-of-13 attempts from the floor, including all three of his shots in the regular-season opener. He is also second on the team with 12 assists, including posting a team-high six assists against Lubbock Christian.

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. Over the last two games, Anderson has connected on 12-of-14 field-goal attempts.

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 returned from knee surgery to make his season debut against Lubbock Christian. 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 but has played each game since. 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 they 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's most recent long stretch of road games like the upcoming month was in 2000-01 when the Huskers played five straight road games. NU played Miami in the Orange Bowl Classic before winning three straight games and the tourney title at the San Juan Shootout and then 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.) and Choul Laam (Lincoln, Neb.) were the only walk-ons to see action in the exhibition games, while Andrew Wicklund (Colorado Springs, Colo.) also dressed.

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 joined by Laam in the game.

>>>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 to earn honors as the Big 12 Player of the Week.

The Huskers also suffered a loss following the first exhibition game as senior guard Marcus Perry, who had already missed 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. He is scheduled to return to the court and increase his workouts this 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 237 assists in 90 games. He leads the current squad in both categories and is second on the squad in games started with 38. Only Aleks Maric, who has started 39 of 61 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 when Doc talked about the upcoming game against Creighton.

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.