Huskers Prepare for Matchup with Alabama A&M

|+| Game Information

Game: Game 2                         
Game Date: Nov. 17, 2007
Game Time: 1:05 p.m. CST                   
Release Date: Nov. 14, 2007
Television: None
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Kent Pavelka, play-by-play; Matt Davison, color)
Internet: Huskers.com (live radio, stats)
Satellite Radio: None
Venue: BobDevaneySportsCenter (13,595)

 

|+| Huskers Set for Matchup with Alabama A&M Bulldogs

With a week to prepare following its season-opening victory, the Nebraska men's basketball team returns to the court on Saturday, Nov. 17, when it takes on Alabama A&M in the second of three straight home games to begin the 2007-08 campaign.

The Huskers and Bulldogs will tip off at 1:05 p.m. at the BobDevaneySportsCenter and the game will be heard throughout the country and around the world live on the Internet on Huskers.com. The Husker Sports Network, which consists of 30 stations around Nebraska and Iowa that carry coverage of Nebraska athletic events, will broadcast every Husker game this season with veteran play-by-play man Kent Pavelka calling the action while Matt Davison adds color commentary.

Nebraska looks to run its mark to 7-0 in the month of November under second-year Coach Doc Sadler when it faces the Bulldogs on Saturday. Last weekend, the Cornhuskers opened the 2007-08 campaign with a 15-point victory over PresbyterianCollege, giving NU is 18th consecutive victory in a home season-opener. Nebraska also improved to 9-0 in home non-conference games under Sadler since he took over the program last season.

Overall, the Huskers have won 14 straight home non-conference games dating to a 73-72 loss to UAB in the 2005-06 campaign. Nebraska is 77-13 in non-league tilts at the DevaneyCenter since the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996-97.

The Huskers hope to continue their solid offensive play after hitting an impressive 61.0 percent (25-of-41) from the floor in the opener. It was the fifth time in the Sadler era the Huskers topped 60 percent shooting in a contest.

Senior center Aleks Maric and junior guard Ade Dagunduro led the charge as the pair combined to hit 10-of-11 shots from the field, including a perfect 5-for-5 night by Maric. The big man posted a game-high 14 points to go with six rebounds while playing 32 minutes.

While the offense was running hot, the defensive pressure was stiffling in the first half as NU allowed the Blue Hose to hit just 23.1 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes. Dagunduro and freshman Cookie Miller, who each made their Nebraska debuts as part of the starting lineup, pressured Presbyterian all night while Maric stuffed the Blue Hose in the paint as he picked up four blocked shots, tying the second-highest total of his career.

 

|+| Toys for Tots Collection on Saturday

Husker fans are encouraged to bring new, unwrapped gifts to Saturday's game to donate to the Toys for Tots campaign. Members of the U.S. Marine Corps will be on hand at the DevaneyCenter to collect the presents for the program that distributes gifts around the holidays to needy children in the Lincoln area.

Gifts can be provided at the collection points around the DevaneyCenter at the men's contest against Alabama A&M and at the 5 p.m. women's game between Nebraska and Florida. Husker fans attending the Nebraska-Oklahoma volleyball match can also donate Saturday at the NU Coliseum.

 

|+| Huskers Run Past Presbyterian

 Behind an outstanding and balanced first-half effort on both sides of the court, the Nebraska men's basketball team built a commanding 43-16 halftime advantage before cruising to a season-opening 67-52 victory over the Presbyterian Blue Hose at the Devaney Center.

The win was NU’s seventh straight in a season opener, with each victory coming by at least 12 points. Aleks Maric led Nebraska with a game-high 14 points to lead three Huskers in double figures, including 12 from Jay-R Strowbridge and 11 from newcomer Ade Dagunduro.

Nebraska shot an outstanding 61 percent from the field, while limiting Presbyterian to 35 percent shooting. A solid defensive effort was tainted somewhat by a hot-shooting Blue Hose squad from 3-point range in the second half.

After hitting just 23.1 percent from the field in the first half and only 16.7 from behind the arc, Presbyterian hit 50 percent (11-of-22) in the second period, including 10-of-15 from long range. On the game, Nebraska held the Blue Hose to just 5-of-21 shooting (23.8 percent) from inside the arc, compared to 44.4 percent (12-of-27) from 3-point range.

Walt Allen paced Blue Hose with 13 points, as he was one of three Presbyterian players to hit three 3-pointers. Behind the hot-shooting, PC outscored Nebraska 36-24 in the second half.

The Nebraska offense was clicking from the start as the Huskers hit 9-of-10 from the field to open the game, including 5-of-6 from behind the arc in the first eight minutes of the contest. Strowbridge got the Huskers going early, hitting a pair of 3-pointers as Nebraska raced to a 10-0 lead before Presbyterian broke its scoreless drought at the 14:22 mark. Strowbridge’s third 3-pointer of the first 6:15 put NU back on top by 10 before a second 10-0 run put the Huskers in front 23-5.

A quick 4-0 spurt to start the second half built Nebraska’s lead to 31, its largest of the game. Just as they did in the first half, the Huskers were lethal from the field early in the second period, connecting on their first five shots.

Five 3-pointers over the next six minutes kept Presbyterian even with the Huskers, while it took the Blue Hose just 7:38 to score more points in the second half than it did in the first. After knocking down just 2-of-12 from behind the arc in the first half, PC hit 9-of-10 through the first 14 minutes of the second period.

The Blue Hose got as close as 15 with 4:04 left on another 3-pointer, but the Husker defense tightened and did not allow Presbyterian another field goal for the remainder of the contest.

 

|+| Recapping the Exhibition Season

Nebraska completed its exhibition season earlier this week with a 74-51 victory over WayneState, the second of two straight in-state foes. With the win, NU ended exhibition play with a 2-0 record, the 15th time since 1988 that the Huskers were perfect in the preseason. Overall, Nebraska now owns a 44-6 record since its first exhibition contest against the Swedish National Team in 1966.

Coach Doc Sadler was able to evaluate the vast majority of the roster as 18 of the 19 players saw action. Only sophomore forward Alex Chapman, who had preseason surgery and is still returning to action, sat out the two games so that he did not lose his ability to redshirt. Sadler has said that no determination about redshirting any players, including Chapman, will be made for another week or two.

Senior center Aleks Maric led the way with 17.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while hitting 51.7 percent from the field in the two exhibition contests. Junior guard Ade Dagunduro and junior forward Shang Ping also showed great promise as they averaged 14.5 and 9.5 points, respectively. Dagunduro hit 60.0 percent from the floor and Ping knocked down 70.0 percent while getting to the free throw line a team-high 14 times.

Despite the trio of Maric, Dagunduro and Ping draining shots, the Huskers did not shoot exceptionally well as a team. NU hit 42.3 percent from the floor and just 25.8 percent from 3-point range.

Freshman Cookie Miller added 5.0 points per game and was solid in orchestrating the offense from the point. The Huskers' starter in each contest, Miller posted a team-high 11 assists against just three turnovers as NU had  1.5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio (36:24).

 

|+| Meet the Bulldogs

Alabama A&M enters this weekend's contest at the DevaneyCenter coming off an 88-81 overtime victory over OakwoodCollege. With the win, the Bulldogs own a 1-2 record this season, with their two losses coming on a neutral court against Gardner-Webb, 69-55, and Central Arkansas, 69-59, in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament.

The Bulldogs have been led by Evan Hilton, the only player averaging double figures with 12.3 points per game. Hilton has hit 13-of-29 (44.4 percent) from the floor and is second on the team with 4.3 rebounds per game.

Along with Hilton, Johnathan Inman (9.3 ppg), Trant Simpson (8.7), Mickell Gladness (8.3) and Jabari Deshields (8.0) each average at least 8.0 points per game for the Bulldogs, who are shooting just 36.9 percent from the floor as a team. Alabama A&M has allowed opponents to hit just 38.7 percent.

Gladness leads the team with 10.3 rebounds per game and the reigning NCAA blocked shots champion is back into his old habits as he has an amazing 26 blocked shots through the first three games of the year. He has 10 more blocked shots than the three teams AA&M has played this year combined.

The Bulldogs are coached by L. Vann Pettaway, who has guided the program for 20 years. Pettaway joined the 400-win club last season and now owns a 407-214 career record with Alabama A&M.

 

|+| Under Pressure

Since his introductory press conference, Coach Doc Sadler has said that he wants to get to the point where his team can pressure the opponent for 94 feet. With an upgrade in athleticism, speed and talent, that philosophy will come into play more often this year.

If the early season has been any indication, Sadler's penchant for a disruptive defense will be widely embraced by the players and fans alike. In three games (two exhibitions and the regular-season opener), Nebraska forced 66 turnovers and recorded 43 steals, including 11 players with at least two steals each. In the opener last weekend, six of the nine players who saw court time recorded at least one steal.

 

|+| New Faces Gain Court Time

Despite returning eight letterwinners from a year ago, the Huskers knew there would be a completely different look to the squad this season. Among the 19 players on the roster, eight are scholarship newcomers. There are also two walk-ons who redshirted last year in the program and one new invited walk-on, giving the Huskers 11 faces that could see the first action of their career this season.

Coach Doc Sadler started two newcomers in the opening lineup  of the season opener last weekend against Presbyterian, including junior Ade Dagunduro and freshman Cookie Miller. Sadler played a total of four players who had never worn a Nebraska uniform before in the first game as juniors Steve Harley and Shang Ping also came off the bench to join the nine-man rotation last week.

Sadler has said that it will be some time in the first couple weeks of the regular season that he will decide on players' status in terms of redshirting this season. Three freshmen ? Brandon Richardson, Alonzo Edwards and Toney McCray ? along with sophomore Alex Chapman were held out last week as a determination on their availability has not been made.

 

|+| Sadler Opens Second Season with Huskers

After a whirl-wind first season that saw several solid performances despite fielding an undersized and oft-injured team, Coach Doc Sadler returns for his second year on the Husker sideline looking to push Nebraska back to the postseason. Sadler, who owns a 66-32 record as a Division I head coach, guided the Huskers to 17 wins last season, making him the third-winningest first-year coach in Nebraska history.  NU also finished with a 6-10 record to tie for seventh in the Big 12 standings after earning a ranking of 10th or 11th in every preseason conference poll.

With a year under their belts coaching in the Big 12 Conference, Sadler and his staff brought in a recruiting class that ranked among the top 25 in the nation by several media sources, including ESPN.com's Bob Gibbons (21st) and CSTV.com's Van Coleman (12th). The class is considered one of the deepest in Nebraska history, and is possibly the largest ever with eight scholarship newcomers.

Sadler also has a strong staff helping him on the bench and on the recruiting trail. Overall, the Husker staff has combined for 85 years coaching on the sideline and helped 21 teams to Division I postseason appearances. Together the Husker staff has produced 31 NBA players and more than 660 career victories as head coaches.

 

|+| Opening It Up

Nebraska opened the regular season at home last Saturday night with a 67-52 victory over PresbyterianCollege. With the win, the Huskers improved to 55-11 in program history when opening the season at home in Lincoln (although information on two years in the early 1900s are incomplete), including winning their 18 straight season opener at the Devaney Center since falling 62-59 against Wyoming in overtime in 1980.

The Huskers will play a total of 19 home games during the regular season, including 18 at the BobDevaneySportsCenter, one off the facility record. The other home contest will be at the QwestCenter in Omaha when the Huskers take on Oregon (Dec. 15), a preseason top-15 team.

 

|+| All-American Aussie?

After a solid junior campaign that saw him average 18.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, center Aleks Maric is the top returning scorer and rebounder in the Big 12 Conference and will contend for All-America honors this winter.

A second-team all-league selection following last season, Maric was named an Athlon Sports magazine third-team  preseason All-American this fall and was a member of the  preseason All-Big 12 team selected by the coaches. If he picks up All-America honors, Maric would become just the ninth Husker ever to earn postseason All-America honors and the first since Carl McPipe in 1978.

In addition to the preseason honors, Maric is among 50 players named to the initial watch lists for two prestigious player-of-the-year honors, the Wooden Award and the Naismith Trophy.

With continued improvement from last season, Maric will have a chance to earn several postseason honors as he is one of the top returning players in the country. Between players from BCS conferences, Maric is third among returning scorers from last year, trailing only Chris Lofton of Tennessee (20.8 ppg) and Sean Singletary of Virginia (19.0 ppg). Maric is also sixth among returning BCS conference players in field-goal percentage and seventh in rebounding average.

 

|+| Anderson Looks for Repeat Performance

Entering last season with only a handful of players with Division I experience meant that some newcomers would have to step up. The first to answer Coach Doc Sadler's call was Ryan Anderson, who despite standing just 6-4, played the majority of the season at the 4 spot and created offensive mismatches against opponents on a nightly basis.

As one of five returning scholarship players, the Seattle native hopes to improve on his stellar first season with the Huskers. Last year, Anderson was second on the team with 10.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, while ranking among the top 10 freshmen all-time at Nebraska in points scored, field goals, rebounds, 3-pointers and steals. Though he battled an injury early in the conference season that slowed his production for a couple of weeks, Anderson put up some of his best games against the top competition as he averaged a team-best 15.8 points over four games against ranked teams while hitting 55.0 percent from the floor.

Anderson was second on the squad with 48 3-pointers, the second-highest total by a freshman in Nebraska history. He tied the NU single-game 3-point percentage record with a 5-for-5 effort from beyond the arc at Rutgers and equalled NU freshman record with seven treys against Hawaii.

Anderson had a dominant performance against the Rainbows as he finished the game with 29 points, six rebounds, five assists (one turnover) and a steal in a career-high 38 minutes. The 29 points were the second-highest freshman single-game scoring total in NU history, trailing only Tyronn Lue's 30 points in a game in 1996.

 

|+| Strowbridge on the Mark

Sophomore guard Jay-R Strowbridge has received great praise from Coach Doc Sadler during the preseason as one of the most improved players on the team.

Despite suffering an injury that slowed him in the preseason, Strowbridge came on strong enough to earn a starting nod in the season opener against Presbyterian. He rewarded Sadler's faith with a strong opening performance as he posted 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range while playing 27 minutes. His 12 points were two off his career high with the four treys tied his career-best total.

Last year, Strowbridge averaged 3.9 points and 1.5 assists per game as a true freshman, and was an extremely valuable asset from beyond the arc where he ranked fifth on the squad with 25 3-pointers. Strowbridge was on target more often than not as he led the team in 3-point percentage, hitting 46.3 percent from downtown. His mark ranked third in single-season history and was the highest mark in the freshman record book. Strowbridge is one of three Huskers who hit at least 25 treys last year.

 

|+| One for the Record Book

Already among the best centers all-time at Nebraska, Aleks Maric became only the second player in NU history to record at least 1,000 points and 600 rebounds before the end of his junior season. Entering this weekend's contest with Alabama A&M, Maric now has 1,125 career points and 686 rebounds.

 By matching his production from last year (556 points, 260 rebounds), Maric would finish his career ranked fifth all-time on the Nebraska scoring chart and second in rebounds. He needs just 97 rebounds to take over second place on the career chart and has a chance to rank on top 10 career lists in at least eight other categories.

 

 |+| Experience At A Premium

Nebraska entered the 2007-08 season with five returning scholarship players and eight scholarship newcomers. Of the five returnees, only one ? center Aleks Maric ? had more than one year of Division I action under his belt.

The lack of experience put Nebraska in a unique situation as a poll of media relations directors from around the country during the preseason indicated that every other BCS conference school has more than one returning scholarship player with at least two years of Division I experience.

 

|+| Diverse Lineup

Entering the year, Nebraska had 19 players on the roster and only two ? walk-ons Nick Krenk and Cole Salomon ? hailed from the CornhuskerState.

The unique layout of the roster includes players from a total of 12 states and two foreign countries. Nebraska leads all Big 12 schools with four players from the state of California. In addition, NU has two players from the Pacific Northwest, two from Texas and three from the East Coast, making it possibly one of the most diverse teams in the country.

Nebraska is also represented by two players from foreign countries. Senior Aleks Maric was born and raised in Australia but also has a great pride in his Serbian heritage. Junior Shang Ping is a native of Haerbin, China, and is believed to be one of only three Division I Chinese players this season.

In addition to Maric and Ping, sophomore Chris Balham grew up in France until the eighth grade when his family moved to the United States.

 

|+| Newcomers Earn Praise

While they still have a lot to prove on the floor, the newest group of Huskers were welcomed to Lincoln with impressive fanfare by the recruiting analysts. As a group, this year's recruiting class was ranked among the top 25 in the country by several top analysts, including No. 11 by Van Coleman (CSTV.com) and No. 21 by Bob Gibbons (ESPN.com). Clark Francis of HoopScoop had the Huskers as high as No. 5 among early signing classes.

Individually, several new Huskers joined the program after all-star caliber careers in junior college and high school. Guard Steve Harley, a transfer from South Plains (Texas) College, was a two-time All-American, including earning first-team honors last year, and was ranked No. 4 in the country among guards by nbadraft.net. Shang Ping was ranked No. 8 at small forward by the same service. Alonzo Edwards was No. 18 among small forwards and in the top 125 overall  by ESPN.com.

 

|+| Bombs Away

Last year, the Huskers made 244 3-pointers on the season, the second-highest total in school history, while hitting a solid 37.5 percent from beyond the arc. Nebraska lost its top 3-point threat in graduated senior Marcus Perry, but the Huskers returned a trio of shooters who could again make their mark from downtown.

Returning this season are junior Paul Velander and sophomores Ryan Anderson and Jay-R Strowbridge. The trio combined for 105 of the 3-pointers last season, including 48 by Anderson, the second-highest total by a freshman in school history. In the season opener last weekend, the threesome combined for six of Nebraska's eight 3-pointers.

 

|+| Chairman of the Boards

Senior center Aleks Maric is the top returning rebounder in the Big 12 Conference after posting 8.7 rebounds per contest last season, including 9.4 boards per game against Big 12 foes. Maric set his career high with 19 rebounds against Missouri at home last year, bettering his previous mark of 17 at KSU as a sophomore.

With 252 rebounds last season, Maric moved into ninth place on the Husker rebounds chart. Maric needs just 97 rebounds this season to take over sole possession of second place on the Husker chart.

 

Nebraska Career Rebound Leaders (since 1952)

No.    Player (seasons)                           Rebounds

1.      Venson Hamilton (1996-99)            1,080

2.      Leroy Chalk (1969-71)                   782

3.      Dave Hoppen (1983-86)                  773

4.      Rich King (1988-91)                       761

5.      Andre Smith (1978-81)                   753

6.      Chuck Jura (1970-72)                    740

7.      Carl McPipe (1976-79)                   723

8.      Aleks Maric (2005-present)            686

9.      John Turek (2002-05)                     682

10.     Rex Ekwall (1955-57)                    679

11.     Eric Piatkowski (1991-94)              669

12.     Mikki Moore (1994-97)                   661

13.     Bob Siegel (1974-77)                     632

14.     Herschell Turner (1958-60)             626

15.     Bruce Chubick (1991-94)               618

 

|+| Doubling Down Low

Center Aleks Maric established himself as a dual threat in the post from his first career game when he recorded 12 points and 14 rebounds in the season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 2004. Maric went on to record three double-doubles as a freshman and had 10 as a sophomore. Each of the marks in his first two years tied the NU class record.

Maric's 10 double-doubles last season gave him 23 in his career, a total that ranks him third in Nebraska history. Maric needs two more double-doubles to tie Carl McPipe for second on the all-time list.

 

Nebraska Career Double-Doubles

Rank     Player (Years)   Double-Doubles

1.      Venson Hamilton (1996-99)               45

2.      Carl McPipe (1976-79)                      25

3.      Aleks Maric (2005-present)               23

4.      Dave Hoppen (1983-86)                     22

5.      Rich King (1988-91)                          21

6.      Derrick Chandler (1992-93)                19

7.      Kimani Ffriend (2000-01)                   18

8.      Steffon Bradford (2000-01)                 16

         Andre Smith (1978-81)                      16

10.     Mikki Moore (1994-97)                      11