Nebraska to Face Host Hawaii in Semifinals

>>>Tournament Information
NU Game: 10
Television: Time Warner in Lincoln (channel 110), Charter Communications in Grand Island (channel 17), Cox Cable in Omaha (channel 248), DirecTV (Ch. 25 in Lincoln). (Jim Leahey, play-by-play; Artie Wilson, color)
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Kent Pavelka, play-by-play; Matt Davison, color)
Internet: Huskers.com (live radio)
Event: 43rd Annual Outrigger Rainbow Classic
Venue: Stan Sheriff Center (University of Hawaii)

>>>Following the Huskers this Week
The Huskers are staying at the Outrigger Waikiki Hotel (2335 Kalakaua Ave.; phone: 808-923-0711; fax: 808-921-9749). NU leaves on Dec. 23 at 10:40 p.m. Hawaiian time, and reaches Lincoln about 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 24.

Local media in Hawaii needing interviews with Nebraska coaches or players should contact Assistant Media Relations Director Jerry Trickie at the hotel or via cell phone at 402-540-0269. Players are available only following requests sent through the Media Relations Office. Players and coaches will not be available for interviews on game days until after the contest is completed.

The Nebraska men's basketball team earned a 15-point victory over Wyoming Wednesday in the first round of the Outrigger Rainbow Classic and advanced to Friday's semifinal round against the host Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. The Huskers used solid defensive pressure to limit the Cowboys to 38 percent shooting on Wednesday while keeping them to nearly 20 points below their season scoring average. Nebraska was led by center Aleks Maric's efficient 22 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes while also receiving key performances from point guards Charles Richardson Jr. (season-high 13 points, six assists) and Jay-R Strowbridge (career highs with 14 points and eight assists without a turnover).

Maric returned to the lineup one game after missing action because of a hip injury. While his return was a boost to the Huskers, NU missed the outside shooting touch of senior guard Marcus Perry, who missed his first game in nearly a month because of a foot injury. Chris Balham, who has provided depth in the post behind Maric, was also out Wednesday (lower legs) but could return this weekend.

Nebraska's win over the Cowboys was its first in three tries away from Lincoln this season. The Huskers let a win slip away at Rutgers, where they lost 75-73 after leading by four points with 1:04 remaining in the game, and dropped a tough 68-56 decision against Oregon ? which moved into the national rankings the following week ? after pulling within four points in the final four minutes.

A victory for the Huskers on Friday would put them into Saturday's final contest at 11:30 p.m. CST, and would mark the first time NU advanced to the championship contest of a regular-season bracketed tournament since 2000, when the Huskers went 3-0 to win the San Juan Shootout. Nebraska won the three games that season by a combined four points. Last year, the Huskers went 3-0 on their home court in the John Thompson Basketball Challenge to open the season.

>>>The Series
Nebraska and Hawaii will be meeting for the eighth time in series history and the first time in the regular season since dropping an 87-62 contest against the Rainbow Warriors in the semifinals of the 1997 Rainbow Classic. The Huskers, who went 1-2 in each of their previous three appearances in the Rainbow Classic, have dropped the last three meetings between the teams.

Hawaii leads the overall series standings by a 5-2 mark with Nebraska's only wins coming in the 1976 campaign. NU won twice in consecutive nights against Hawaii that season, pulling out 64-59 and 60-59 victories.

Nebraska's last trip to the island produced one of the most memorable Husker games in recent history despite an 84-83 loss to the Rainbow Warriors. The Huskers came to Honolulu for the 2004 NIT after winning their first two games in the postseason tournament, including an opening-round win over instate foe Creighton, which also is in this year's Rainbow Classic field.

After arriving on Sunday, the Huskers battled Hawaii less than 24 hours later on Monday night, falling behind by 17 points at halftime before making a thrilling rally. The Huskers thundered back with forward Brian Conklin hitting three consecutive 3-pointers during an 18-2 NU run that gave the Huskers a 55-54 lead with 16:04 remaining in the game.

Conklin controlled the tempo of the game as he had 19 of his team- and career-high 24 points in the second half, including hitting five of his six treys after the intermission. Conklin also added six rebounds and four steals, while Marcus Neal Jr. added a career-high 15 points. Charles Richardson Jr., the only current Husker on that NIT squad, had just one rebound in eight minutes during that game.

>>>Scouting the Rainbow Warriors
Tournament host Hawaii enters Friday's semifinal contest against the Huskers riding a two-game winning streak, including hanging on for an 89-85 victory over upset-minded San Francisco on Wednesday night in the opening round of the Outrigger Rainbow Classic. UH owns a 6-4 overall record this season, including a 4-1 mark on its home court.

Hawaii has averaged 72.5 points per game this season while hitting a solid 46.6 percent from the floor. The Rainbow Warriors have also connected on 36.3 percent from long range while knocking down 71.1 percent of their free throws. Contributing to its solid shooting in the paint, UH has forged a +2.3 advantage on the glass, 36.0-33.7.

The Rainbow Warriors have also been solid on the defensive end as they have forced 15.9 turnovers per game while allowing just 10.9 assists per contest. UH holds foes to 41.5 percent shooting and 34.4 percent from long range.

Guard Matt Lojeski has led the Warriors throughout the season as he leads the team with 17.2 points per game while adding 5.7 rebounds per contest. Lojeski is a do-it-all player for the Rainbow Warriors as he also leads the team with 51 assists, 18 steals and is second on the squad with nine blocked shots. Lojeski has hit just 29.0 percent (9-of-31) from 3-point range, but has been efficient inside the arc where he has hit an impressive 54-of-86 (62.8 percent).

Along with Lojeski, UH has three other players averaging double figures in Matt Gibson, Robby Nash and Ahmet Gueye. Gibson is second on the squad with 11.1 points per game and 34 assists while tying Lojeski for the team lead with 18 steals. Nash has added 10.9 points per contest and is one of the team's top weapons at the charity stripe where he has connected on 85.0 percent, while Gueye has posted 10.7 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game.

>>>New Day, New Lineup
After opening with the same lineup for the first six games of the season, the Huskers have put a new starting five on the floor each of the past three games. Charles Richardson Jr., Sek Henry, Ryan Anderson, Jamel White and Aleks Maric dominated the lineup while helping the Huskers to a 5-1 start before White, who stayed home to concentrate on academics, was replaced with Marcus Perry at Oregon. The following game against Alabama A&M, Maric was unable to play because of a hip injury and was replaced with Jim Ledsome.

Maric returned on Wednesday for the first round of the Rainbow Classic, but Perry did not play because of a foot injury, leading to Jay-R Strowbridge's first career start. In the last three games, the Huskers own a 2-1 record while starting different lineups each contest. Last year, the Huskers had 11 different lineups during the season, with only one lineup playing together for more than four games.

>>>Stepping Up
Coach Doc Sadler continually talks about the need for the Huskers to play hard on every play, every time they step on the court. He has repeatedly told his players that they need to be ready to step up on any given night, and that they may never know when the opportunity for increased playing time may present itself.

That was exactly the case on Wednesday during the first round of the Rainbow Classic, as freshman point guard Jay-R Strowbridge was called on to step in for injured senior Marcus Perry. A native of Ardmore, Ala., Strowbridge had played in eight games and logged more than 11 minutes in a contest just three times before earning the start.

Strowbridge responded in solid fashion as the sharpshooter connected on 4-of-7 shots from the floor and all five free throw attempts for a career-high 14 points. More impressively, Strowbridge ? who was the second point guard on the floor along with senior Charles Richardson Jr. ? easily set a career high with eight assists against zero turnovers. Strowbridge had recorded just 10 assists in his first eight games combined.

>>>Making His Mark
Sophomore forward Kyle Marks is still working his way back into top shape following preseason knee surgery, but has made solid strides over the past few games.

A native of Riviera Beach, Fla., Marks tied his career high with six points while adding a season-high tying three rebounds in 13 minutes of action Wednesday in the victory over Wyoming. That effort came just three days after he posted five points while hitting each of his first two field-goal attempts for the season. Marks, who played just four minutes in the first six games of the year because of the injury, has played at least 11 minutes each of the past three games while giving the Huskers a little more depth in the frontcourt.

>>>Getting the Ball Rolling
Freshman guard Jay-R Strowbridge came close to joining elite company with his impressive performance during his first career start on Wednesday. Strowbridge got the Husker offense going in high gear as he posted eight assists without a turnover while helping the Huskers score at least 70 points for the second time in three road games this year.

Strowbridge's eight assists are the most by a Husker true freshman since Charles Richardson Jr. had nine assists against Tennessee in 2003. Strowbridge missed joining Richardson in the double-figure assist club by two. Richardson had 15 assists, a team season high, on the road against Rutgers to start the month of December. That was the most by a Husker since Brian Carr set the school record with 18 assists against Evansville in 1985 and the first time a Husker had double-figure assists since Jake Muhleisen, a current graduate assistant for Creighton, had 10 against Minnesota in 2003.

>>>Youth Movement
Nebraska has had a youthful look all season long with freshmen Ryan Anderson and Sek Henry in the starting lineup for every game this season. They were the first pair of true Husker freshmen since Mark Enright and Ron Taylor in 1973-74 to start the season opener. Henry and Anderson were the third and fourth true freshmen since 2001 to start their first career game at Nebraska, joining Jake Muhleisen (2001) and Marcus Walker (2005).

The lineup got even younger on Wednesday when Jay-R Strowbridge joined the opening lineup, giving the Huskers three true freshmen in the starting rotation.

Wednesday's contest is believed to be the first time since freshmen were re-instated to play in 1972 that the Huskers started three true freshmen. The last time three true freshmen started at least one game each during the same season was 1992-93 when Jaron Boone, Erick Strickland and Andre Wooldridge each made starts. Nebraska's last pair of freshmen to start a game together was Muhleisen and John Turek in 2001-02.