Huskers Set for Second-Round Matchup with Jayhawks

|+| Game Information

Game: Game 31                                   

Game Date: Friday, March 14, 2008

Game Time: 6:07 p.m. CST                   

Release Date: Thursday, March 13, 2008

Television: ESPN Plus (Fred White, play-by-play; Paul Splittorff, color)

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

Internet: Huskers.com (live radio); Big12sports.com (live stats, quotes, notes)

Satellite Radio: Games will be carried on XM Satellite Radio on channels 241 and 242

Venue: SprintCenter (18,795)

 

|+| Huskers Set for Second-Round Matchup with Jayhawks

The Nebraska men's basketball team extended its stay at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship with a first-round victory over Missouri on Thursday, reaching the second round of the postseason league tournament for the second time in three seasons.

The Huskers will face the No. 2 seed and fifth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks on Friday, March 14, in a game that will tip off at 6:07 p.m. The contest will be carried regionally by ESPN Plus. Fred White will call the action and Paul Splittorff will add color commentary. The game will be available in select regions around the country and will be seen in Nebraska on KLKN (Channel 8 in Lincoln), KXVO (Channel 15 in Omaha and Lincoln) and KIIT (North Platte).

The contest will also be available on a national basis on ESPN FullCourt and can be seen live on the Internet on ESPN360.com.

For fans who can not attend the game, Nebraska men's basketball contests can be heard live on the radio on the Husker Sports Network, consisting of 30 stations around Nebraska and Iowa that provide coverage of Nebraska athletic events. 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.

Nebraska men's basketball home games have typically also been heard on satellite radio during the regular season. During the postseason, a broadcast of all first- and second-round games from the Big 12 Championship will be heard on XM satellite on channels 241 and 242.

The Huskers gained a spot in the second round after earning a five-point victory over Missouri on Thursday. Nebraska held the Tigers to 31 percent shooting and a season-low point total while hitting better than 46 percent from the floor. NU hit just 12-of-21 from the free throw line, but made up for it by earning a 38-10 advantage in the paint and won the battle on the boards, 42-31.

Senior center Aleks Maric, a first-team all-league performer, led the way again with 17 points and 13 rebounds, his 12th double-double in the last 13 games. His totals put Maric within reach of a pair of incredible milestones as he needs just seven points to reach 1,600 in his career and 12 rebounds to reach 1,000. Maric, who passed both Tyronn Lue and Erick Strickland for sixth on the NU career scoring chart on Thursday, needs 16 points to move into the top five.

Only two players ? Nick Collison of Kansas and Arthur Johnson of Missouri ? in the Big 12 era have scored at least 1,600 points and posted 1,000 rebounds in their career. Only four players ? Collison, Johnson, James Thomas of Texas and Stephane Pelle of Colorado ? have had at least 1,000 rebounds during their career.

Kansas already owns a pair of victories over Nebraska, 79-58 in the league opener for both teams on Jan. 12 and 84-59 in Lawrence on Jan. 26 in the fourth game of the league slate. The losses contributed to Nebraska opening conference play with an 0-4 record. Despite dropping the two contests to KU by an average margin of 28 points, the Huskers have rebounded nicely with eight wins in their last 13 games.

Only Texas has more victories than Nebraska against Big 12 competition since Jan. 27, the day after NU's second loss to Kansas. The Longhorns have 10 wins since then, while Kansas has matched Nebraska's total with eight victories in that span.

|+| Nebraska Faces Familiar Postseason Foe in Jayhawks

After earning a hard-fought, 61-56 victory over No. 10 seed Missouri on Thursday night, the Cornhuskers turn around just 24 hours later to face second-seeded and fifth-ranked Kansas.

The Huskers and Jayhawks will be facing off for the third time this season with KU already owning a pair of victories over the Huskers. Kansas won all three matchups against NU in 2005-06, the last season the teams met three times in a season. In the Big 12 era, NU also faced KU three times in 1997-98 and 1998-99, with Kansas winning each time in the league tourney. NU had defeated Kansas twice in the regular season in 1998-99 before falling to the Jayhawks in Kansas City.

Overall, Kansas and Nebraska have played three games in a season 19 times during the modern era, with KU sweeping the three games eight times and earning two wins four times.

Nebraska and Kansas will be meeting for the seventh time in the postseason conference tournament when they face off on Friday. Since 1977 when Kansas defeated the Huskers in the first Big Eight Tournament, Kansas is 5-1 against the Huskers in the league championship, including knocking Nebraska out of the 2006 tournament in the semifinal round. That season was just the third time in program history at the Nebraska won two games at the league tournament.

The Huskers' only victory over Kansas in the league championship came during the 1991 season when Nebraska earned an 87-83 victory over the Jayhawks to advance to the title game.

 

|+| By the Numbers

Heading into the final day of the regular season, only four of the 12 seeds for the Big 12 Championship had been set in stone. Nebraska entered the last weekend of the regular season with a chance for a seed anywhere from No. 7 to 10 depending on the outcome of several games. The Huskers had entered the final week of the regular season with a chance of earning as high as a No. 5 seed, but other team's loses moved NU down the seeding ladder.

Nebraska played a large role in the final outcome as the Huskers' victory over Colorado on Sunday pushed NU into a three-way tie for seventh place, where the Huskers earned the tiebreaker to be the No. 7 seed. Nebraska has had a higher seed than its current No. 7 seed just three times in the Big 12 era, with a No. 6 seed in 2006 and 1999 and a No. 4 seed in 1998.

The Huskers have been the No. 7 on two previous occasions at the Big 12 tournament, in 2001 and 1997. The Huskers lost both contests to the lower-seeded No. 10 team, dropping a 62-58 contest against KansasState in 2001 and a 78-72 matchup against Missouri in 1997.

The following is a list of Nebraska's seeds at the Big 12 Championship since 1997, and the team's outcome at the tournament:

 

Nebraska at the Big 12 Championship

Year     NU Seed           Result   Postseason

2007     10         0-1        None

2006     6          2-1        NIT      

2005     9          0-1        None

2004     10         0-1        NIT

2003     12         0-1        None

2002     8          0-1        None

2001     7          0-1        None

2000     8          0-1        None

1999     6          1-1        NIT

1998     4          1-1        NCAA

1997     7          0-1        NIT

 

|+| Huskers vs. Ranked Teams

Nebraska has defeated at least one ranked team for eight straight years since 2000-01, including holding a 3-4 mark against ranked squads in 2007-08 (def. No. 16 Oregon, No. 24 KSU, No. 22 A&M; lost to No. 3 KU, No. 2 KU, No. 20 KSU, No. 9 UT). Nebraska has won two games against ranked teams in two of the past four seasons, and the three wins this year against ranked teams are the most for the Huskers since going 4-1 against ranked squads in 1998-99.

The Huskers are 7-9 in their last 16 games against ranked opponents since defeating No. 4 Oklahoma State in Lincoln in 2005. NU is 1-7 against top-10 ranked teams in that span. The win over OklahomaState was NU's first victory over a top-10 squad since beating No. 7 Iowa State in overtime in Ames during the 1996-97 campaign.

The win against OSU in 2005 was the Huskers' first against a top-five team since the 1994 Big Eight Tournament, when the Huskers knocked off No. 3 Missouri. The last time NU had defeated a top-five team at home was 1993, when the Huskers beat No. 3 Kansas.

Overall, the Huskers own a 54-198 all-time record against ranked teams, including a 19-105 mark against teams ranked in the top 10 and an 11-60 mark against top-five squads. The Huskers are 18-53 against ranked teams in the Big 12 era, including 2-25 against top-10 teams and 1-15 against top-five squads.

 

Nebraska's All-Time Wins Over Top-10 Teams

H/A/N   Date                 Opponent                                  Score

H          2/22/05             No. 4 Oklahoma State                74-67

A          2/22/97             No. 7 Iowa State                        74-69 (ot)

N          3/13/94             No. 3 Missouri                           98-91

H          2/23/94             No. 10 Kansas                           96-87

H          2/7/93               No. 3 Kansas                            68-64

H          2/19/92             No. 3 Kansas                            81-79 (ot)

H          2/5/92               No. 2 Oklahoma State                85-69

H          3/3/91               No. 10 Kansas                           85-75   

H          11/28/90            No. 5 Michigan State                  71-69

H          2/19/86             No. 10 Oklahoma                       66-64

A          2/6/82               No. 1 Missouri                           67-51

H          1/25/78             No. 8 Kansas                            62-58

H          12/9/69             No. 7 Duquesne             82-77

H          1/18/66             No. 6 Kansas                            83-75

H          12/12/64            No. 1 Michigan                          74-73

H          *3/3/58              No. 1 Kansas State                    55-48

H          *2/22/58            No. 4 Kansas                            43-41

H          2/7/53               No. 5 Kansas State                    80-67

N          12/28/50            No. 9 Missouri                           54-52

*consecutive games

 

|+| Full Throttle

Nebraska has been up and down throughout the season with its offensive performance, but has seen its best ball movement and execution over the last seven games. During that span, the Huskers have gone 5-2 while connecting at a 49.3 percent clip from the floor.

Nebraska hit at least 50.0 percent in each of the first four contests in the stretch, knocking down 51.9 percent against KansasState, 59.0 percent at Texas A&M and 50.0 percent against both Oklahoma and OklahomaState. NU hit 44.8 percent at Texas to snap the streak and connected at 45.5 percent against CU and 46.9 percent against Missouri in the first round of the Big 12 Championship.

The four-game stretch to start the surge marked the first time in the Big 12 era that Nebraska hit at least 50.0 percent against four consecutive league teams. NU's previous high was two straight games at or above 50 percent.

Nebraska's 59.0 percent shooting (23-of-39) at Texas A&M was the second-highest single-game shooting performance by Nebraska against a league squad since the formation of the Big 12 Conference. The highest game total was 66.0 percent against Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., in 1999.

Nebraska hit better than 44 percent in a game just once in its first 10 conference games before the recent efficient offensive streak.

 

|+| Uncharted Territory

Senior center Aleks Maric has been a steady force for the Huskers during the last 13 games as he has averaged 16.7 points and 12.9 rebounds per game since going scoreless at Kansas on Jan. 26. In that span, Maric has 12 double-doubles and has hit 60.3 percent from the field and 75.3 percent from the free throw line.

With the strong surge, Maric has moved into rare company.

Maric is now sixth in scoring in Nebraska history, as he passed former Huskers Tyronn Lue (1,577 points) and Erick Strickland (1,586) on the scoring chart with 17 points against Missouri in the first round of the Big 12 Championship. Maric needs 16 points against Kansas to tie Jaron Boone for fifth on the NU career chart with 1,609 points.

 

Nebraska Career Scoring Chart

No.       Name (Years)                                        Career Points

1.         Dave Hoppen (1983-86)                           2,167

2.         Eric Piatkowski (1991-94)                       1,934

3.         Jerry Fort (1973-76)                                1,882   

4.         Andre Smith (1978-81)                            1,717

5.         Jaron Boone (1993-96)                            1,609

6.         Aleks Maric (2005-pres.)             1,593

7.         Erick Strickland (1993-96)                       1,586

8.         Tyronn Lue (1996-98)                              1,577

9.         Cookie Belcher (1997-2001)                    1,552

10.        Rich King (1988-91)                                1,475   

Maric earned a spot on the Big 12 era career rebounds chart with 17 rebounds against No. 24/25 KansasState at home. Maric improved that to a top-5 position in the regular-season finale against Colorado with 16 rebounds. He now needs 12 boards against Kansas to become just the fifth player in Big 12 history to record 1,000 career rebounds.

 

Big 12 Conference Career Rebound Leaders

No.       Player, School (seasons)                                    Rebounds

1.         Nick Collison, Kansas (1999-2003)                      1,143

2.         Arthur Johnson, Missouri (2001-04)                      1,083

3.         James Thomas, Texas (2001-04)             1,077

4.         Stephane Pelle, Colorado (1999-2003)                 1,053

5.         Aleks Maric, Nebraska (2005-08)             988

6.         Ivan McFarlin, Oklahoma State (2001-05) 967

7.         Chris Mihm, Texas (1998-2000)                           945

8.         Eric Chenowith, Kansas (1997-2001)                   933

9.         Venson Hamilton, Nebraska (1997-99)                 919

10.        Eduardo Najera, Oklahoma (1997-2000)               910

 

|+| Harley Riding High

While it took him some time to get going, junior guard Steve Harley came on strong in the conference season when the Huskers needed him most.

Harley has played his best basketball and looked the most comfortable on the court over the second half of the league season. In the last nine games, Harley ranks second on the squad by averaging 13.3 points per game while hitting 53.4 percent from the floor including 45.5 percent from 3-point range.

On the heels of his strong finish, Harley was one of two Huskers (along with junior guard Ade Dagunduro) named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team selected by sportswriters who regularly cover the conference.

Harley's improvement was dramatic. In 13 non-conference games to open the season, he averaged just 6.6 points per game on 37.3 percent shooting, including hitting only 27.3 percent from beyond the arc.

 

|+| Finding the Range

Nebraska has struggled at times finding consistency from long range this season, as the Huskers have hit 34.2 percent from beyond the arc on the year. NU has made up for it with strong play in the paint, converting at a 51.3-percent clip on two-point attempts.

Recently, however, the Huskers have done a better job of getting looks from long range and connecting. Junior guard Paul Velander has been the biggest boost to the Huskers' recent surge from long range as he has connected on 11-of-24 3-point attempts in the last five matchups. Velander hit 18-of-52 from long range in the first 25 games.

 

|+| Free Throw (Not So) Woes

Nebraska's occasional struggles at the free throw line have been well documented this season, but one Husker who may be overlooked for coming on strong at the end of the season at the free throw line is senior center Aleks Maric.

After hitting 58.9 percent (53-of-90) in non-conference play, Maric has been more focused against league foes, knocking down 72.4 percent (76-of-105) since the start of Big 12 play.

Maric has hit 66.1 percent from the line in his career, connecting on 441-of-667 attempts. His attempts are second in the NU record book only to Dave Hoppen's 724 free throw tries, while Maric's made free throws rank third in Nebraska history behind Hoppen (559) and Jack Moore (446).

 

|+| Maric Approaches Rare Numbers

Nearing the end of a solid career in the powerful Big 12 Conference, senior center Aleks Maric can certainly stand up statistically with the best post players in the Big 12 era. Maric is tied for fifth among the Big 12 career leaders in double-doubles and is 36 points from moving into the top 20 scorers. With his first rebound against KansasState at home, Maric moved among the Big 12's top 10 rebounders and currently stands in fifth place.

With 10 free throws against Texas Tech, Maric reached 400 in his career, becoming only the eighth player in the Big 12 era with 400 or more made free throws. He hit 12-of-14 against Missouri to move into fourth in the Big 12 era and now trails only Texas Tech's Martin Zeno (1st), Texas A&M's Joseph Jones (2nd) and former Texas A&M guard Bernard King (3rd).

With 11 rebounds against Oklahoma, Maric became the all-time Big 12 leader in conference-only rebounds.  He finished his career with 574 boards in the regular season vs. Big 12 teams, passing the previous mark of Texas's James Thomas, who held the former record with 535 rebounds in league games between 2001 and 2004.  

One impressive list Maric joined against Texas A&M is the 1,500-point, 900-rebound club. During the Big 12 era, Maric is only the sixth conference player to reach the mark, joining players from Kansas (2), Missouri (1), Oklahoma (1) and OklahomaState (1).

 

Big 12-era Players with 1,500-Points, 900-Rebounds*

No.       Player (school, years)                            Points   Rebounds

1.         Nick Collison (KU, 2000-03)                    2,097    1,143

2.         Arthur Johnson (MU, 2000-04)                 1,759    1,083

3.         Eduardo Najera (OU, 1997-00)                 1,646    910

4.         Aleks Maric (2005-pres.)             1,593    988

5.         Ivan McFarlin (OSU, 2001-05)                  1,526    978

            Drew Gooden (KU, 2000-02)                    1,526    905

* List sorted by points

** Currently only one other Big 12-era player has at least 1,500 points and 800 rebounds (Wayne Simien, KU, 2002-05; 1,593 points; 884 rebounds) although Texas A&M's Joseph Jones (2005-pres.) is closing in on that level with 1,641 points and 808 rebounds.

 

|+| Leader of the Pack

Preseason all-conference center Aleks Maric is Nebraska's leader and is one of the top centers in the nation. The senior from Sydney, Australia, led NU to 17 wins last season under first-year coach Doc Sadler while earning second-team all-conference honors.

This year, Maric has earned first-team honors from the media and second-team honors from the coaches as he and freshman Michael Beasley of Kansas State were the only players in the Big 12 ranked among the league's top eight in scoring (Maric, 6th; 16.1 ppg), rebounding (3rd; 10.3 rpg) and field-goal percentage (2nd; 57.7) during the regular season.

Along with his powerful offensive game, Maric has improved defensively as well. He is third in the league in blocked shots (1.70 bpg) and has set a single-season career high with 38 steals.

In Big 12-only games, Maric was second in the league in rebounding at 11.6 boards per game, just behind Beasley (11.8 rpg), while ranking sixth in scoring at 15.9 points per contest.

Maric is the active career leader in the Big 12 for rebounds (988), double-doubles (38) and double-figure rebound games (41). Freshman Michael Beasley of Kansas State is the only other player in the league with 20 career double-doubles or double-figure rebounding games, as he has an NCAA freshman record and Big 12 single-season record 27 double-doubles this season.

 

|+| Chairman of the Boards

Senior center Aleks Maric was 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 league foes. The active career leader in the Big 12 Conference, 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 had four home games with at least 16 rebounds (17 vs. KansasState; 16 vs. Alabama A&M, Missouri and Colorado). He now has nine career games with at least 15 rebounds. With eight rebounds against Maryland Eastern Shore on Jan. 4, he took over sole possession of second place on the Husker career chart.

 

Nebraska Career Rebound Leaders (since 1952)

No.       Player (seasons)                        Rebounds

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

2.         Aleks Maric (2005-present)         988

3.         Leroy Chalk (1969-71)                782

4.         Dave Hoppen (1983-86)               773      

5.         Rich King (1988-91)                    761

6.         Andre Smith (1978-81)                753

7.         Chuck Jura (1970-72)                 740

8.         Carl McPipe (1976-79)                723

9.         John Turek (2002-05)                  682

10.        Rex Ekwall (1955-57)                 679

 

|+| 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 had 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 11 double-doubles last season and, after posting 14 this season, now has 38 in his career, a total that ranks second in Nebraska history. He is currently tied for fifth in double-doubles Big 12 Conference history. Maric has 26 double-doubles in Big 12 play to rank first in league-only games, bettering the mark of NU's Venson Hamilton who had 24 double-doubles in Big 12 action from 1997-99.

Maric added his first double-double of the 2007-08 campaign with 21 points and 16 rebounds against Alabama A&M and posted 17 points and 13 rebounds at Western Kentucky. He then went 11 games without a double-double until posting 13 points and 13 rebounds at Missouri.

During his 11-game stretch without a double-double he had nine rebounds and double-figure points five times.

Between Jan. 30 against Missouri and Feb. 20 against KansasState, Maric recorded seven straight double-doubles, the longest streak of his career. Last year, Maric finished the season with six straight double-doubles. During the seven-game surge, Maric averaged 14.4 rebounds per game, including 5.9 offensive boards per game.

The streak came to an end against the huge frontcourt of Texas A&M, as Maric had just five rebounds while helping NU upset the No. 22 Aggies. He then returned to his normal ways by posting double-doubles in each of the past five games, including three contests away from home.

 

Nebraska Career Double-Doubles

Rank     Player (Years)                                       Double-Doubles

1.         Venson Hamilton (1996-99)                     46

2.         Aleks Maric (2005-present)                     38

3.         Carl McPipe (1976-79)                            25

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

 

Big 12 Career Double-Doubles

Rank     Player, School (Years)                                       Double-Doubles

1.         Chris Mihm, Texas (1998-00)                              47

2.         Venson Hamilton, Nebraska (1997-99)                 46

3.         Drew Gooden, Kansas (1999-02)             44

4.         Raef LaFrentz, Kansas (1996-98)                        40

5.         Aleks Maric, Nebraska (2005-present)                 38

            Wayne Simien, Kansas (2001-05)                       38

6.         Stephane Pelle, Colorado (1999-03)                     37

            Nick Collison, Kansas (1999-03)                          37

9.         Arthur Johnson, Missouri (2001-04)                      36

10.        Eduardo Najera, Oklahoma (1997-00)                   30

 

Big 12 Career Double-Doubles (conference-games only)

Rank     Player, School (Years)                                       Double-Doubles

1.         Aleks Maric, Nebraska (2005-present)                 26

2.         Venson Hamilton, Nebraska (1997-99)                 24

3.         Chris Mihm, Texas (1998-00)                              22

4.         Stephane Pelle, Colorado (1999-03)                     20

            Drew Gooden, Kansas (1999-02)             20

6.         Raef LaFrentz, Kansas (1996-98)                        19

7.         Wayne Simien, Kansas (2001-05)                       16

            Kimani Ffriend, Nebraska (2000-01)                     16

9.         Eduardo Najera, Oklahoma (1997-00)                   14

10.        Michael Beasley, Kansas State (2008)                13

 

|+| Sadler Quickly Setting Marks

Coach Doc Sadler will give all the credit to the players for making plays on the court, but he has put Huskers in position to find success like no coach in program history.

In his first two seasons in Lincoln, Sadler's teams have already posted 36 wins with at least 17 victories in each season. Sadler is the first coach in Nebraska basketball history to post at least 17 victories in each of his first two seasons at the helm of the program.

Sadler is 12th overall in victories at Nebraska among 26 all-time NU head coaches. He has 36 overall wins, a total that ranks second among Husker coaches in their first two years at NU. Only Paul Schlisser had more with 37 combined wins at Nebraska in the 1920 (22 wins) and 1921 (15 wins) seasons. Danny Nee, who holds the Nebraska career head coaching record with 254 victories in 14 seasons, had 34 wins in his first two years, including 21 victories in 1987 and 13 wins in 1988.

Coach                          2-year win total            Years

Paul Schlisser               37 (22, 15)                     1920-21

Doc Sadler                    36 (17, 19)                     2007-08

Danny Nee                    34 (21, 13)                     1987-88

Moe Iba             31 (15, 16)*                   1981-82

E.O. 'Jumbo' Stiehm       31 (14, 17)                     1912-13

Barry Collier                  27 (14, 13)                     2001-02

W.E. Kline                    23 (11, 12)                     1924-25

Harry Good                    21 (10, 11)                     1947-48

R.G. Clapp                    20 (9, 11)                      1904-05

*first two years listed as full-time head coach

 

|+| Three Huskers Honored by League Coaches and Media

The honors rolled in throughout the day as Nebraska senior center Aleks Maric was named to the All-Big 12 team by several media services and the league’s coaches on Monday, March 10.

Maric was named to the All-Big 12 second team by the conference coaches early Monday morning. Later in the day he was selected to the Associated Press All-Big 12 first team, and was also selected to the All-Big 12 second team by Rivals.com.

It is the second consecutive year Maric was named to the second team by the league's coaches. It is Maric’s third all-league honor from the coaches, as he was also named honorable mention all-conference as a sophomore. Maric is only the second Husker to earn first- or second-team accolades twice in his career, joining Tyronn Lue, who was a second-team selection in 1996-97 and earned first-team accolades in 1997-98. Maric is the first Nebraska player to earn a spot on any of the coaches All-Big 12 teams three years in a row.

Maric is the first Husker to earn first-team all-conference accolades (media or coaches) since Venson Hamilton was a first-team selection by the coaches and media, and was the league’s player of the year in 1999. During the Big 12 era, only Hamilton and Tyronn Lue (1998) were selected to the coach's first team.

The awards were among several Maric is expected to receive this postseason. Last week, he was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 12 team and on Sunday, March 9, he was selected to the All-Big 12 first team by the Kansas City Star.

Along with Maric, a pair of Nebraska newcomers earned honors Monday, March 10, from the Associated Press. Junior guards Steve Harley and Ade Dagunduro were each named to the league’s all-newcomer team in a vote of sportswriters who regularly cover the Big 12.

Harley, a two-time junior college All-American at South Plains (Texas) CC, is second on the team in scoring this season at 9.2 points per contest and is one of four Huskers with at least 40 assists and 30 steals on the year. After a slow start to non-conference play, Harley picked up the pace, scoring in double figures 10 times in 16 league games after posting at least 10 points twice in the first 13 games of the year. Harley was second on the squad in scoring during league play, averaging 11.2 points per game while hitting 45.6 percent from the floor, including 48 percent from 3-point range.

Dagunduro is fourth on the team in scoring (8.3 ppg) and third in rebounding (3.7 rpg) while also posting 47 assists, 27 steals and eight blocked shots. He scored in double figures 12 times this season, including posting 15 points and seven rebounds in an upset of then-No. 16 Oregon in Omaha.