Huskers Ready to Take on North Carolina Central

|+| Game Information

Game: Game 11                                   
Game Date: Saturday, Dec. 22, 2007

Game Time: 7:05 p.m. CST                   
Release Date: Friday, Dec. 21, 2007

Television: None

Radio: Husker Sports Network (Kent Pavelka, play-by-play; Matt Davison, color)

Internet: Huskers.com (live radio, stats, video)

Satellite Radio: Sirius Satellite Radio channel 107

Venue: BobDevaneySportsCenter (13,595)

 

|+| Huskers Return to DevaneyCenter for Start of Winter Break Games

Coming off an exciting victory over a nationally ranked squad last week, the Nebraska men's basketball team returns to the BobDevaneySportsCenter court on Saturday, Dec. 22, when the Huskers take on North Carolina Central. The game will tip off at 7:05 p.m. and will be the first of three home non-conference games over the winter break before the start of conference play on Jan. 12 against No. 3 Kansas at home.

Saturday's contest against North Carolina Central can be heard on the radio as the Husker Sports Network, which consists of 30 stations around Nebraska and Iowa that provide coverage of Nebraska athletic events, will broadcast every Husker game this season. Veteran play-by-play man Kent Pavelka will call the action while former Husker Matt Davison adds color commentary. The broadcast will be carried around the world live on the Internet on Huskers.com.

NU's games can typically also be heard on satellite radio. The Nebraska broadcast of Saturday's contest against NCCU will be heard on Sirius Satellite Radio on channel 107.

Coming off possibly the biggest win in the Coach Doc Sadler era, the Huskers will look to continue their strong play on both ends of the court. Over the past three games at the Devaney Center, Nebraska has allowed just 45.0 points per game. Only one team, IPFW, has scored more than 52 points against the Huskers in the DevaneyCenter this season.

Senior center Aleks Maric has racked up impressive numbers early on. The Sydney, Australia, native is leading the Huskers with 16.6 points and 8.8 rebounds this season, including three 20-plus point contests. Before the new year, Maric could move into sole possession of second place on the Nebraska career rebound chart, as he needs just 15 boards to pass Leroy Chalk for the runner-up spot behind all-time leader Venson Hamilton. Maric has 768 career rebounds entering Saturday's matchup, while Chalk had 792 from 1969 to 1971. Hamilton had an astounding 1,080 rebounds from 1996 to 1999.

 

|+| Holiday Hoops Special Ticket Offer

Fans looking for one last stocking stuffer before Christmas can now purchase tickets for upcoming Nebraska men’s basketball home contests at a special rate of $5 apiece. The Holiday Hoops special ticket offer began Monday, Dec. 17 and will run through Dec. 29. 

The Holiday Hoops special is for tickets in the upper bench area at the DevaneyCenter. It will be for two games including Saturday, Dec. 22 against North Carolina Central and Saturday, Dec. 29 against AlcornState. 

Fans can also enjoy reserved seating in the Red Zone student section during the winter break games.  Tickets are $15 each and include limited availability on the floor.

General public single-game tickets for Big 12 Conference play will go on sale on Tuesday, Jan. 8, at 8 a.m. Tickets can be purchased for single games between the Huskers and nationally ranked Kansas as well as Baylor, Texas Tech, Missouri, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Colorado. 

For more information on the Holiday Hoops special or single-game tickets for upcoming contests, log onto Huskers.com
or contact the Nebraska Athletic Ticket office at 402-472-3111.

 

|+| Stepping Up

Junior guard Ade Dagunduro has made quite a splash in his first season at the Division I level. The Inglewood, Calif., native has stepped up to provide another offensive option behind all-conference center Aleks Maric, and is currently second on the team with 11.8 points per game and has added 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Possibly the team's best athlete, Dagunduro has hit 52.5 percent from the floor and an impressive 47.6 percent from 3-point range.

The younger brother of former Husker football defensive lineman Ola Dagunduro, Ade has been one of Nebraska's most consistent offensive players with six double-figure scoring games, including five of the last six contests. On the defensive end, Dagunduro has shown the potential to become the team's defensive stopper night in and night out, according to Coach Doc Sadler, and is second on the team with 17 steals and third in rebounding.

 

|+| Huskers Pick Up Hardware

A pair of Huskers were honored by the Big 12 Conference on Monday, Dec. 17, as senior center Aleks Maric was named the league’s player of the week and junior guard Ade Dagunduro was selected as the rookie of the week. The honors marked the first time in school history Nebraska players were selected for the accolades in the same week.

Maric picked up his second career nod as player of the week and his third overall honor. He was also selected player of the week on Nov. 20, 2006 and was the league’s rookie of the week on Feb. 28, 2005. He is one of only three Huskers to earn the Big 12 Player-of-the-Week accolade, and he became the third Husker to earn the honor twice. Venson Hamilton also picked up the award twice in his senior season in 1999 (in back-to-back weeks) while Tyronn Lue added two awards as a junior, his last season at Nebraska before making an early entry into the NBA Draft.

Maric is the first Husker ever to be named the conference’s player and rookie of the week in his career, and tied Kimani Ffriend for the most individual weekly honors by a Husker with three. Ffriend was the rookie of the three times as a junior in 1999. Dagunduro is the seventh Husker to earn the newcomer-of-the-week honor and first since Marcus Walker was selected in December, 2005. Only two Husker newcomers have earned multiple awards, with Joe McCray being selected twice in 2004-05 and Ffriend.

Maric and Dagunduro helped the Huskers to a 2-0 record last week and lifted NU to an 8-2 start to the season with their solid play. The Huskers pounded SavannahState last Tuesday, Dec. 11, earning a 45-point victory for the largest win under second-year coach Doc Sadler. Maric and Dagunduro’s defense helped NU to open a 26-2 lead to begin the game, including holding SSU to one field goal for the first 13 minutes of the game.

Last weekend, Maric and Dagunduro helped Nebraska knock off its second ranked non-conference team in two seasons, including NU’s first-ever win over a ranked team outside Lincoln with an 88-79 overtime victory over No. 16 Oregon. It was the highest-ranked non-league opponent Nebraska has defeated since topping No. 15 Michigan State in 1994.

Maric averaged a team-high 16.5 points to go along with 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game last week. His top effort came against the Ducks, as he posted his third 20-point game of the season with a team-best 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Maric recorded 17 points after halftime. He shot 63.2 percent (12-of-19) on the week, plus 75.0 percent (9-of-12) from the free throw line. Maric leads Nebraska with 16.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game this year.

Dagunduro registered 12.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game in the two victories. The junior had 15 points and seven rebounds versus Oregon, helping NU hold the Ducks to 12 points below their season scoring average. He added nine points, four rebounds and four steals earlier in the week.  Dagunduro has scored in double digits in five of his last six outings and is second on the team in scoring this season with 11.8 points per contest.

In addition to Maric and Dagunduro’s individual awards, the Nebraska men’s basketball team was selected as the ?Team of the Week’ by ESPN.com national basketball writer Andy Katz, on Monday, Dec. 17. The honor came after Nebraska’s thrilling 88-79 overtime victory over No. 16 Oregon last Saturday at the Qwest Center Omaha. Katz noted the Huskers’ ability to take care of the ball (only seven turnovers) and solid defensive effort (18 Oregon turnovers) as reasons for earning the weekly honor. Voters in the Associated Press poll also took notice, as Nebraska received two votes in Monday’s poll, one of five Big 12 Conference teams either ranked or earning votes this week.

 

 |+| Taking Care of Business

Coach Doc Sadler stresses the importance of ball security and being smart with every pass. The Huskers have done a solid job of listening to Sadler's direction while taking care of the ball this season as they have averaged just 13.4 miscues per game (134 turnovers in 10 games). The total ranks 52nd in the nation and third in the Big 12 Conference, helping NU's assist-to-turnover ratio sit at 1.1:1. That ratio is third in the league and 45th nation.

On the flipside, Nebraska's defensive pressure has forced teams into an average of 17.5 turnovers per game (175 through 10 games) while allowing just 88 assists. That's nearly two turnovers forced for every assist allowed.

 

|+| Piling Up the Points

Nebraska has struggled at times this season to get the offense in full gear. That is, until last week when the Huskers averaged 85 points per game in their two victories.

The Huskers had one of their most productive offensive games against SavannahState despite playing 14 players (everyone on the roster except five redshirts). All but two players scored in the contest with three earning career highs and one gaining a season high. Eleven Huskers scored at least five points apiece with junior forward Shang Ping leading the way with a game-high 11 points.

Nebraska started the game on a 26-2 run and hit 60.0 percent from the floor in the opening half before finishing the game hitting half of its attempts (27-of-54). The 82 points were just one off the season high and tied for the third-highest scoring game in the coach Doc Sadler era. NU improved to 8-0 under Sadler when topping the 80-point plateau, including twice this year.

Nebraska followed with 88 points in an overtime win over then-No. 16 Oregon. The Huskers were already above their season average with 74 points at the end of the regulation, and finished by hitting 47.7 percent from the field against UO.

 

|+| Going 80

Nebraska has topped the 80-point plateau in each of its last two games, and three times this season. The Huskers are 9-0 when scoring at least 80 points under second-year coach Doc Sadler. Nebraska had back-to-back contests reaching at least 80 points only one time last year, when NU posted three straight games over 80 points to end the non-conference season. Overall, NU had six 80-point games last year.

Eight of the nine highest scoring games under Sadler have come at the DevaneyCenter. The only times Nebraska has topped the 80-point plateau away from Lincoln was in an 82-67 victory over Miami on a neutral court last year and the 88-79 overtime win over then-No. 16 Oregon in Lincoln this year, which is Nebraska's highest-scoring game under Sadler.

 

|+| Single Digits Rarity?

In what is typically an uncommon sight, the Huskers held SavannahState without a double-figure scorer in their last contest in the DevaneyCenter. Only two players scored more than five points on the night with Anthony Jones leading the way with eight points.

While it may not be common, it was the second time this year ? and the second time in three home games ? the Huskers held every player on the opposing team to nine or fewer points. Nebraska also turned the trick against Pac-10 foe ArizonaState two weeks ago, when three players each scored eight points to lead the team in a 62-47 lost to Nebraska.

 

|+| Maric Chart Watch

With seven rebounds against Oregon last weekend, senior center Aleks Maric moved into sole possession of fourth place on the Nebraska career rebounding chart. At his current pace, the Sydney, Australia, native will finish his career ranked second in school history, as he needs just 15 rebounds to own sole possession of the runner-up spot. When his career is complete, Maric likely will trail only record-holder Venson Hamilton, who posted an amazing 1,080 rebounds in his career.

Maric is also on pace to soon move into the career top 10 for scoring at Nebraska. Entering Saturday's game against North Carolina Central, Maric has 1,277 career points to rank 13th all-time in Husker history. He needs 23 points to become only the 12th 1,300-point scorer in school history.

Entering the season, Maric already ranked in the NU career top 10 for blocked shots, and currently he sits in eighth place with 110. He needs four to pass Wes Wilkinson for seventh place all-time at Nebraska.

Maric is already in the top 10 for free throws made (354, sixth) and attempted (548, fourth), and will reach the top 10 for field goals, field-goal attempts and games started.

 

|+| Hot Shooting Huskers

After a strong start to the season, it's obvious why Coach Doc Sadler was optimistic about his team's shooting ability. The Huskers have hit 48.0 percent overall from the floor during the opening weeks of the season.

Nebraska began the year by blistering the nets for an impressive 61.0 percent (25-of-41) from the floor in the season opener against Presbyterian. It was the fifth time in the Sadler era NU topped 60 percent shooting. Since then Nebraska has continued its strong pace by hitting at least 50.0 percent in three other contests, including last week's 45-point win over SavannahState.

Three starters have hit at least 50.0 percent from the floor this season to help the Huskers' efforts, including Aleks Maric (57.9; 62-of-107), Ade Dagunduro (52.5; 42-of-80) and Ryan Anderson (50.0; 36-of-72). Shang Ping (59.3, 16-of-27) and Chris Balham (80.0, 8-of-10) lead the way off the bench. Over the past five games, Maric has hit 44-of-72 attempts (61.1 percent).

Maric has been at the front of the offensive charge during all four of his years at Nebraska. Last season he led the Big 12 Conference in field-goal percentage by hitting 56.5 percent for the season. In his career, Maric has hit 52.5 percent (460-of-877) from the field.

 

|+| Little Guy, Big Plays

Diminutive freshman guard Cookie Miller has already shown early in his career that he can play with the big boys.

Miller's first explosive offensive game came against Creighton when he took over the Husker offense in its bid for a comeback victory that fell short. Miller, who had recorded 11 points in his first three games combined, posted a game-high 19 points against the Bluejays. After scoring eight in the first half, Miller came out on fire in the second period when he scored another 11 points to help NU outscore Creighton 42-27 after the intermission. Miller hit 7-of-13 attempts from the floor against CU.

While his offense has come in surges, Miller has been steady as a ball-distributor and defender. The true freshman leads the team with 36 assists (3.6 apg) against 22 turnovers and has posted a team-high 19 steals, including two games with at least four steals. Miller needs just three steals to move onto the Nebraska freshman top-10 list. The NU freshman and career records are also owned by a Husker named Cookie, as Cookie Belcher had 87 steals as a freshman in 1997 and finished with 353 steals in his career.

 

|+| Meet the N.C. Central Eagles

North Carolina Central comes into Saturday's contest looking to end a long week that included road games at Western Kentucky on Tuesday and Creighton on Thursday before trekking to the DevaneyCenter. After the two losses this week, the Eagles stand at just 1-14 on the season and have lost nine straight games.

NCCU has struggled on offense as its hitting just 36.2 percent from the floor while scoring only 53.7 points per game. The first-year provisional Division I school from Durham, N.C., has allowed opponents to score 87.1 points per game on 48.9 percent shooting from the field, including five straight games of allowing at least 80 points. Three of the Eagles' first four games saw opponents top the century mark, including Duke, Florida and North DakotaState. North Carolina Central has played three Nebraska opponents, losing on the road to Rutgers, 73-48, WKU, 84-53, and Creighton, 88-54.

The Eagles are led by forward Charles Futrell, who is averaging 14.7 points per contest on 47.8 percent shooting. He also leads the squad with 7.4 rebounds per game and owns the team's top totals with 16 blocked shots and 27 steals while logging a team-high 36.1 minutes per game. Along with Futrell, guard Bryan Ayala is the only other Eagle averaging more than seven points per game. Ayala has gained 13.6 points per contest on 35.1 percent shooting. He poured in a season-best 26 points on 8-of-22 shooting against Creighton on Thursday night. It was his third 20-point game of the season. 

 

|+| Getting Defensive

Nebraska has shown the ability to put on a strong defensive performance at times this season.

The most recent show-stopper came against SavannahState when the Huskers ran out to a 26-2 lead and went on to allow just six points in the first 18:22 of the game. SSU went 6:07 without scoring a point to open the game and then after their first field goal, did not score another point for another 7:46.

Savannah State finished the half with 12 points, tying the opponent record low for the DevaneyCenter set three previous times. The Tigers then scored 25 points in the second period. Their 37 total points were the fewest the Huskers have allowed since MorganState had 34 in 2004. MSU also only scored 12 points in the second half.

In what was expected to be its toughest home matchup to date, Nebraska also put on a defensive clinic against ArizonaState. The Huskers held ASU to just 47 points, including allowing only 31 points with 6:40 remaining in the contest.

After trailing by seven, 17-10, midway through the first half, NU clamped down on defense to take control of the game. Nebraska allowed just one basket ? and only four points total ? over the final 11:26 of the opening period. NU went on a 16-0 run to go into the intermission ahead by nine, 30-21.

After a 3-pointer at the 8:36 mark, ASU had just four more shots in the half and missed all of them while committing eight turnovers in the stretch. The Sun Devils then recorded one basket in the first 11:03 of the second period. That made it 12:48 between baskets (8:36 in first half to 15:48 in second half) and a stretch of 19:39 with only one made field goal and 14 total points (one 3-pointer and 11 free throws).

The performance against ASU (12:48 between field goals) was the second-longest opponent drought in the Sadler era. Overall, NU has held an opponent without a field goal for at least five minutes 10 times this year (also 5:38 vs. Presbyterian; 5:05 and 5:28 vs. Alabama A&M; 5:28 vs. Alabama A&M; 7:59 vs. Norfolk State; 5:02 and 5:33 vs. Rutgers; 6:07, 7:46 and 5:05 vs. Savannah State).

Last year, Nebraska saw several similar stretches of strong defensive play. The Huskers recorded 20 stretches of at least 5:00 off the clock without allowing a field goal, including a season-high 14:28 for Houston between baskets in the second half.

 

|+| Shutting It Down

Nebraska has held opponents to 36.8 percent shooting from the field through 10 games, including limiting three opponents to less than 28 percent.

Over consecutive games, the Huskers held Alabama A&M to just 27.6 percent shooting from the floor while allowing NorfolkState to connect on only 26.8 percent of its shots. The percentages were the lowest under Coach Doc Sadler, respectively, until NU held Savannah State to just 26.4 percent shooting two weeks ago.

The last time Nebraska held back-to-back opponents to less than 28 percent shooting was in 2003 when Tennessee hit 27.9 percent followed by Bethune-Cookman hitting a DevaneyCenter opponent-low 21.2 percent. Bethune-Cookman scored just 26 points in that contest, also a building record opponent low.

Nebraska has now held opponents to less than 30 percent shooting 18 times during the Big 12 era.

 

|+| Slowing the Scoring

Nebraska has been solid on defense this season and has allowed a Big 12-leading 56.4 points per game over the first 10 contests. Entering the week, the Huskers ranked 16th nationally in scoring defense and 14th in field-goal percentage defense.

NU has held teams to less than 50 points four times on the young season, including an opponent season-low 45 points against Alabama A&M. Last year, the Huskers held just two opponents to under 50 points including a Division II school.

The most high profile team Nebraska has held under 50 points this season was ArizonaState. The Pac-10 opponent recorded just 21 points in the first period and 26 in the second. In fact, NU turned up the defensive pressure enough that the Sun Devils had just 31 points with 6:40 to play in the contest.

Overall, Nebraska held its first three opponents to 52 or fewer points, the first time NU had accomplished the feat to open the season since 1946-47. The last time Nebraska held three straight opponents to 52 or fewer points at any point in a season was 1981-82.

The 145 combined points allowed through the first three games were the fewest allowed to open a season since 1949-50 when Nebraska allowed just 135 points while going 2-1 to open the year. That season, Nebraska finished 16-7 overall and 8-4 in the Big Seven Conference, the last time Nebraska earned a share of the conference regular-season title.

 

|+| Redshirt Decisions Made

Coach Doc Sadler announced on Saturday, Nov. 17, that two newcomers had made the decision to redshirt this season to better acclimate to Division I play. Sadler said that sophomore transfer Alex Chapman and freshman Brandon Richardson will redshirt this season.

After taking a while longer to decide, Sadler said on Dec. 2 that freshmen Alonzo Edwards and Toney McCray, who have dressed for every game this season, also decided to redshirt, giving NU a solid core for the future.

Also redshirting this season is true freshman walk-on Mike Diacos, a native of Ventura, Calif.

 

|+| Huskers Continue Strong Non-Conference Run

Nebraska improved its mark to 9-1 in the month of November under second-year Coach Doc Sadler when it defeated IPFW. The Huskers then continued the strong surge into December, where they now own an 8-4 record under Sadler. Nebraska is just 4-0 at home in the month of December under Sadler as last season the Huskers played 6-of-7 December contests away from Lincoln. 

Overall, Nebraska is 16-0 in home non-conference games under Sadler since he took over the program last season. The Huskers are 4-5 against non-league teams away from Lincoln, including 0-4 in true road games.

The Huskers have won 21 straight non-conference,  regular-season games as the home team dating to a 73-72 loss to UAB in the 2005-06 campaign (including the Oregon game in Omaha). Nebraska is 83-13 in non-league tilts at the DevaneyCenter since the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996-97.

 

|+| 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. Through 10 games, Nebraska has forced 175 turnovers and recorded 91 steals while allowing opponents to record just 88 assists. Ten players have posted a steal in a game this year, including five players averaging at least one steal per game.

Nebraska posted a season-high 14 steals against Alabama A&M and came back with 11 steals against NorfolkState, the first consecutive games with at least 10 steals by NU since 2005-06.

With 12 steals against Oregon, Nebraska has now recorded seven games with double-figure steals under Coach Doc Sadler.

The Huskers posted at least nine steals in five straight games ? and seven overall this season ? and have had at least seven steals in all but one game (Western Kentucky). Nebraska had just four games with at least nine steals in 2006-07.

 

|+| 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.

Coach Doc Sadler started two newcomers in the opening lineup of each of the first two games of the season opener, including junior Ade Dagunduro and freshman Cookie Miller.  Junior Steve Harley also started two contests for the Huskers, making him the third newcomer to join the starting five.

Overall, Sadler has played a total of six players this season who had never worn a Nebraska uniform before, including bringing Shang Ping, Cole Salomon and Andrew Wicklund off the bench. Four of them ? Dagunduro, Miller, Harley and Ping ? have played in every game and are all averaging at least 12 minutes per contest. Salomon and Wicklund are walk-ons who made their first career appearances this season.

 

|+| 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. A starter in all of the Huskers' contests this year, Anderson has been solid but has not had a breakout contest. He posted his most complete game against then-No. 16 Oregon, pouring in 21 points on 5-of-9 shooting and adding nine rebounds and four steals as the Huskers knocked off the nationally ranked Ducks.

Anderson, who also knocked down four 3-pointers on his way to 14 points with seven rebounds and two steals against ArizonaState, is averaging 10.6 points per game this year to rank third on the squad and has pulled down 6.2 rebounds per contest, second only to Aleks Maric's 8.8 boards per game. Anderson owns the team lead with 17 3-pointers and has been on the floor more than anyone, averaging a team-high 29.2 minutes per contest.

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 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 earned a starting nod in each of the season's first four games but has come off the bench the past six contests. He posted a strong opening performance against Presbyterian, as Strowbridge gained 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range while playing 27 minutes. Strowbridge's 12 points were two off his career high while the four treys tied his career-best total.

After struggling some early in the year, Strowbridge started to find his stroke against Rutgers as he buried a pair of 3-pointers to help the Huskers overcome a seven-point deficit. He continued his strong play against then-No. 16 Oregon as he came off the bench to score 10 points while handing out five assists without a turnover.

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 current 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 Saturday's contest with North Carolina Central, Maric now has 1,277 career points and 768 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 15 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.

 

|+| 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.

 

|+| Making History

Coach Doc Sadler is quickly making a name for himself at Nebraska. Last season, he was the third-winningest first-year coach in program history by helping the Huskers to 17 victories.

This year, Sadler became one of only two coaches in program history to win at least three straight games to open the season in each of his first two years on the Husker bench. He joined E.O. 'Jumbo' Stiehm who opened 1911-12 and 1912-13 with five victories each year.

This is the third consecutive season Nebraska opened with three wins in the first three games. The last time Nebraska won at least three contests to open a campaign in three straight seasons was 1977-78 to 1979-80.

 |+| 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. This season, Maric has already had a game with 16 rebounds (against Alabama A&M) ? his fifth career game with at least 15 rebounds ? and needs just 15 rebounds this season to take over sole possession of second place on the Husker chart.

 

|+| 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 added 10 double-doubles last season and now has 25 in his career, a total that is tied for second in Nebraska history. Maric added his first double-double of the 2007-08 campaign with a workmanlike 21 points and 16 rebounds against Alabama A&M and posted 17 points and 13 rebounds at Western Kentucky.

 

|+| Last-Second Shots

? The Huskers’ 45-point victory against SavannahState was the largest under Coach Doc Sadler at Nebraska, and also marked NU’s most lopsided victory since defeating North Carolina A&T by 50 in 2005-06.

? Nebraska held its first three opponents to 52, 45 and 48 points, respectively, the first time since the 1946-47 that all of NU’s first three opponents failed to score more than 52 points. In the exhibition season, the Huskers’ opponents scored 50 and 51 points respectively. 

? The Huskers’ 88 points against Oregon in overtime were a season high, and the most scored by the Huskers under Coach Doc Sadler. With 82 points last week against against Savannah State, Nebraska has topped the 80-point plateau in two straight games and three times overall this season. NU improved to 9-0 under Sadler when scoring at least 80 points in a game.

? Maric has 22 blocked shots through 10 contests and now has 110 in his career. He ranks eighth all-time at Nebraska, three behind Wes Wilkinson (7th, 113).

? Maric only has 20 fouls through 10 games (including three against Creighton and Western Kentucky) after averaging 2.7 fouls per game last year.

? The loss at Creighton was Nebraska's 12th straight loss in a true road opener, including six losses at CU in that span.

? Five players are averaging at least 1.0 steal per game this season, including Aleks Maric who has 12 steals (1.2 spg) through 10 games. He had just 15 steals in 30 games last year. His single-season career best is 25 steals as a sophomore.