Huskers Get Ready for First Road Trip

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

The 5-0 Nebraska men's basketball team went through about two hours of practice at the Devaney Center on Thursday afternoon as its prepared for its first road game at Rutgers on Saturday. The Huskers will add one more practice early Friday morning in Lincoln before leaving for Piscataway, N.J., in the afternoon.

 

Rutgers is 1-5 this season and ended a three-game road trip on Wednesday night when it dropped a 77-54 decision at Temple. Saturday’s game will be the first home game for RU since a one-point loss, 71-70, to JacksonState on Nov. 21.

 

Saturday will be a new experience for many Huskers playing in their first collegiate road game, including freshmen Sek Henry and Ryan Anderson, who have started every game this season.

 

“Honestly, I haven’t told them anything different than before,” senior Charles Richardson Jr. said. “We just need to go out and play and not worry about the crowd. We can’t get involved with their student section or anything like that, and we should be fine.”

 

Despite being 1,300 miles away from the DevaneyCenter, the team is expecting a large number of supporters as nearly 200 friends and family of Jamel White (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Jim Ledsome (Severna Park, Md.) and Mike Smith (Bronx, N.Y.) are expected to make the trek to Piscataway. Their attendance could be of importance, especially since The “RAC” (RutgersAthleticCenter), is known as one of the loudest arenas on the East Coast.

 

However, the 8,000-seat arena has not been filled to capacity in 2006-07 as the Scarlet Knights have averaged 3,710 fans through three homes games.

 

“It’s going to be a really good basketball game,” Anderson said. “It will be a different environment and everything, but really it’s the same ? just playing basketball. We’re believing in coach and buying into his system so I’m not nervous or anything. It’s just another game.”

 

This marks the first of two straight road games for Nebraska as they travel to 6-0 Oregon next Saturday, Dec. 9.

 

“We have to keep our confidence level high,” Richardson said. “We need to get road wins to get ready for the Big 12 and let the new guys know that road games aren’t as easy as at home.”