Huskers Open Road Slate at Saint Louis

Nebraska Cornhuskers<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

Game Notes: Game 2

2009-10 Record: 1-0

Head coach: Doc Sadler

Record at Nebraska: 56-40 (4th year)

Record at Division I: 104-58 (6th year)

Career Record: 224-97 (11th year)

 

Saint Louis Billikens

Game Notes: Game 2

2009-10 Record: 1-0

Head coach: Rick Majerus

Record at SLU: 35-29 (3rd year)

Career Record: 457-176 (23rd year)

 

Huskers on TV/Radio/Internet

Television: FS Midwest (in Nebraska) and ESPN FullCourt

            Play-by-play: Greg Sharpe

            Color: Eric Piatkowski

DISH Network: Ch. 453
DirecTV: Ch. 652

Radio: IMG Husker Sports Radio Network

            Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka

            Color: Matt Davison

Internet Radio/Stats: Free on Huskers.com

 

Nebraska Media Relations

Associate Media Relations Director: Jerry Trickie

Office: 402-472-7779

Cell: 402-540-0269

E-mail: jtrickie@huskers.com

Address: One Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE 68588

 

Huskers Brace for Road Opener vs. Billikens

After picking up their ninth straight season-opening victory on Saturday night, the Nebraska Cornhuskers hit the road for the first time this year when they travel to St. Louis, Mo., to take on the host Saint Louis Billikens on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at the Chaifetz Arena. The game will tip off at 7:07 p.m. Central.

 

The game between the Huskers and Billikens ? which will be one of four NU contests in an 11-day span to open the season ? will be the first of at least 21 televised Nebraska contests this season, including one of eight on NU’s television package. The game will be seen on FS Midwest in the state of Nebraska and around the nation on ESPN FullCourt and ESPN360.com with Greg Sharpe handling the play by play and former Husker great and NBA veteran Eric Piatkowski as color analyst.

 

The game will also be broadcast by the IMG Husker Sports Radio Network with Kent Pavelka handling play-by-play duties and Matt Davison adding color commentary. It can also be heard for free on Huskers.com.

 

The Cornhuskers hope to continue their strong start as they hit the road for the first of five non-conference games away from Lincoln before Christmas. The game at Saint Louis will match the earliest road contest (true road or neutral site) in Nebraska history, equaling the early opening road date in 2000. That season, NU opened the year at Oral Roberts on Nov. 18, falling by an 87-83 mark.

 

This year’s squad has the benefit of a game under its belt already as the Huskers cruised to a 76-49 victory over South Carolina Upstate on Saturday. The win did not come easily as the Spartans were within four points, 34-30, in the opening minutes of the second half before a 25-2 run put the game out of reach and handed Nebraska its 20th straight win in a season opener in Lincoln.

 

Junior transfer Lance Jeter led the charge as Nebraska’s newest point guard poured in 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting including hitting all three of his 3-point attempts. As a team, the Huskers connected on 11-of-20 (55 percent) 3-point attempts against USCU after going a combined 6-for-26 (23.1 percent) in two exhibition games.

 

Jeter, who added six assists and two steals, was joined in double figures by true freshman Brandon Ubel (12 points, two blocks) and sophomore Toney McCray (10 points, four rebounds). NU hit 48.3 percent (28-of-58) from the floor overall.

 

Nebraska’s Possible Starting Lineup                2009-10 stats               

No.          Name     Yr.           Ht.           Wt.          Pts.         Rbs.        Notes    

5              Sek Henry             Sr.           6-4          200         8.0          3.0          Nebraska active leader in games and assists              

13           Brandon Ubel       Fr.           6-10        220         12.0        2.0          True frosh from Kansas City            

21           Jorge Brian Diaz  RFr.         6-11        235         9.0          11.0        Redshirted with Huskers last season             

34           Lance Jeter           Jr.            6-3          225         17.0        6.0*         JUCO honorable-mention All-American       

44           Ryan Anderson    Sr.           6-4          195         5.0          5.0          NU active leader in pts., reb., 3-ptrs., stls.      

*assists per game

 

Scouting the Saint Louis Billikens

Saint Louis enters Wednesday’s contest with an identical 1-0 record as the Huskers after pulling away for a 59-41 victory against Southeast Missouri State on Saturday. The Billikens hit just 43.1 percent (22-of-51) from the floor, but controlled the boards by a 44-31 margin to earn the season-opening win. SLU also held SEMO to just 1-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc.

 

The Billikens had three players score in double figures with forward Willie Reed leading the way with a double-double as he had 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting while pulling down 12 rebounds. He also posted three blocked shots and two steals, but hit just 3-of-9 attempts at the free throw line. As a team, Saint Louis struggled a the charity stripe, hitting just 11-of-23 (47.8 percent) to open the year.

 

Along with Reed, forward Brian Conklin had 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting and added eight rebounds. Guard Kwamain Mitchell added 13 points while taking 15 shots (six made) and led the way with 32 minutes played. Guards Kyle Cassity and Christian Salecich added five and four points, respectively, with Cassity adding a game-high four assists. In fact, SEMO had only three assists (against 14 turnovers) as a team. Saint Louis did not receive much production off its bench as it had six points and three assists from Justin Jordan while Cory Remekun added one point to go with his five rebounds.

 

During exhibition play, the Billikens earned a 79-51 victory over Arkansas-Fort Smith ? the same team Nebraska opened exhibition play against (NU won 86-66) ? before earning a 61-47 win over St. Ambrose. Reed and Mitchell each averaged 13.5 points per game in the two games, with Reed hitting 13-of-14 (92.9 percent) from the field while averaging 8.0 rebounds per game. As a team, SLU hit 48.2 percent (53-of-110) from the floor in exhibition play but knocked down just 11-of-36 (30.6 percent) from beyond the arc and 23-of-45 (51.1 percent) at the free throw line.

 

The Billikens are guided by head coach Rick Majerus, who is in his third season leading the Saint Louis program. Majerus is 35-29 with the Billikens and owns a 457-176 record in his 23rd year as a head coach. He has taken his teams to the postseason 15 times, including 11 NCAA Tournament berths. As the coach at Utah, he helped the Utes reach at least the Sweet 16 on four occasions, including a national runner-up finish in 1998.

 

Saint Louis’s Possible Starting Lineup                        2009-10 stats               

No.      Name         Yr.           Ht.           Wt.          Pts.         Rbs.        Hometown (Last School)  

14       Brian Conklin           So.          6-6          230         15.0        8.0          North Eugene, Ore. (North Eugene)               

33       Willie Reed               So.          6-9          220         15.0        12.0        Kansas City, Mo. (Bishop Miege)    

3          Kwamain Mitchell    So.          5-10        175         13.0        2.0          Milwaukee, Wis. (Dominican)          

15       Christian Salecich   Fr.           6-3          190         4.0          2.0          Gold Coast, Australia (Institute of Sport)        

23       Kyle Cassity              So.          6-3          200         5.0          3.0          Tamaroa, Ill. (Pinckneyville)             

 

The Last Meeting ? Nebraska 71, Saint Louis 57

The Huskers and Billikens are meeting for the second straight season and eighth time in series history with Nebraska holding a slim 4-3 series advantage. The Huskers have won two straight in the series, which dates back to the first meeting in 1929. The first five matchups came before World War II, with the only other meeting before last season coming in 1990 at the San Juan Shootout.

 

Last year, Nebraska ran to a 71-57 victory in the Devaney Center on Nov. 25. The win propelled the Huskers to a perfect 4-0 start on the season.

 

Guard Sek Henry led all scorers in last season’s contest, posting a season-high 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including knocking down a pair of 3-pointers, while adding four assists. Guards Ade Dagunduro (14 points) and Steve Harley (12 points) helped the Huskers hit 59.1 percent (26-of-44) from the field while holding SLU to just 41.7 percent (20-of-48). Brian Conklin led SLU with 18 points and six boards while the only other double-figure scorer was Ruben Cotto with 10 points off the bench.

Versatile Anderson in elite company

Ryan Anderson joined an elite club last year as he became just the seventh Husker to record at least 100 3-pointers, 100 assists and 100 steals in a career. Among that short list are Eric Piatkowski, Tyronn Lue, Erick Strickland, Cookie Belcher, Cary Cochran and Jaron Boone, along with Anderson.

 

He showed exactly that versatility in the season opener when he had an uncommon stat line that included five points, five rebounds, five assists and six steals in 27 minutes of action against USC Upstate. The six steals were a career high for Anderson and were the most by a Husker since 2001 (Cookie Belcher had season high of eight that year). With that total, Anderson moved within nine steals of reaching the Nebraska career top 10 as he now has 119 steals over the past three-plus seasons.

 

In fact, Anderson has 132 3-pointers, 119 steals and 165 assists in his career. He now needs 18 treys and 31 steals to join Strickland as the only two Huskers ever with at least 150 in each category.

 

Fresh Faces

Nebraska has an inexperienced roster entering 2009-10, as the Huskers return only four scholarship players from last season’s 18-win campaign. Among the veterans on the squad this season are seniors Ryan Anderson and Sek Henry, along with sophomores Toney McCray and Brandon Richardson.

 

When NU hit the court for its season opener last weekend, it had two freshmen ? forward Brandon Ubel  (true frosh) and center Jorge Brian Diaz (redshirt frosh) ? in the starting lineup, marking the second time in coach Doc Sadler’s tenure that NU had two freshman start a season opener. The last time it happened was Sadler’s first year at Nebraska when Anderson and Henry opened the campaign in the starting lineup.

 

That season, they started 14 games together including the first nine of the year. Along with Anderson and Henry, former Husker Jay-R Strowbridge made it three freshmen in the same starting lineup on Dec. 23, 2006, in a 70-56 win over Houston in the Rainbow Classic in Hawaii.

 

Ubel and Diaz became the fourth set of freshmen in the Big 12 era to start games together for the Huskers, including:

 

? 2009-10 with Diaz (1 start) and Ubel (1)

? 2006-07 with Anderson (25), Henry (18) and Strowbridge (13)

? 2004-05 with Joe McCray (24) and Aleks Maric (10)

? 2001-02 with Jake Muhleisen (27) and John Turek (15)

 

Ubel and Diaz were the seventh and eighth freshmen to start a season opener for Nebraska in the Big 12 era. However, they were only the second and third freshmen who stood over 6-4 to start for the Huskers in a season opener during that span, joining 6-11 Brian Conklin, who started six games as a redshirt freshman in 2000-01, including the opener at Oral Roberts. The full list of Nebraska’s frosh starters in an opener since 1996-97 includes:

 

? Jorge Brian Diaz, 6-11, C, 2009-10

? Brandon Ubel, 6-10, F, 2009-10

? Cookie Miller, 5-7, PG, 2007-08

? Sek Henry, 6-3, G, 2006-07

? Ryan Anderson, 6-4, G, 2006-07

? Marcus Walker, 6-2, PG, 2005-06

? Jake Muhleisen, 6-4, PG, 2001-02

? Brian Conklin, 6-11, F, 2000-01

? Cookie Belcher, 6-3, G, 1996-97

 

Overall, Nebraska has now had 20 freshmen start games during the Big 12 era. That list includes:

 

Jorge Brian Diaz, 2009-10 (1 start); Brandon Ubel, 2009-10 (1); Toney McCray, 2008-09 (3); Alonzo Edwards, 2008-09 (1); Cookie Miller, 2007-08 (24); Ryan Anderson, 2006-07 (25); Sek Henry, 2006-07 (18); Jay-R Strowbridge, 2006-07 (13); Jamel White, 2005-06 (13); Marcus Walker, 2005-06 (12); Joe McCray, 2004-05 (24); Aleks Maric, 2004-05 (10); Charles Richardson Jr., 2003-04 (10); Jason Dourisseau, 2002-03 (3); Wes Wilkinson, 2002-03 (2); Jake Muhleisen, 2001-02 (27); John Turek, 2001-02 (15); Brian Conklin, 2000-01 (6); Chad Johnson, 1997-98 (10); Cookie Belcher, 1996-97 (33).

 

Youth Movement

While Nebraska entered the season knowing it will have a number of young players in the lineup on any given night, it did not realize it would have two of the youngest players in their respective classes.

 

Freshman Brandon Ubel is the third-youngest player overall in the Big 12 Conference this season. Born on Aug. 29, 1991, only Jaye Crockett of Texas Tech (Oct. 16, 1991) and Tyler Stone of Missouri (Sept. 8, 1991) are younger than Ubel.

 

While Ubel is one of the youngest in the league, another Husker is the youngest for his class. Junior college transfer Quincy Hankins-Cole, who graduated high school when he was 16 and played the past two years at Polk (Fla.) CC, will not turn 20 years old until Feb. 18, 2010. The next youngest junior in the Big 12 is Kansas State’s Jacob Pullen, who turned 20 on Nov. 10. In fact, Hankins-Cole is three months younger than redshirt-freshman Jorge Brian Diaz, who turned 20 on Friday, Nov. 13.

 

Reaching Higher

According to statistics provided by kenpom.com, Nebraska was the shortest team in Division I basketball (344 teams) last season. The Huskers’ active roster in 2008-09 had just two scholarship players who stood at least 6-7, while the average height of the 20 players on the full roster was just over 6-4.

 

This season, Nebraska has a taller lineup across the board as the average height for all 18 players on the roster is 6-5 1/2. NU has four active players available in the non-conference slate who stand at least 6-8, with another ? Christian Standhardinger ? who will be eligible at the start of the Big 12 season.

 

Standhardinger Sitting Down

Although it was expected all along, Nebraska is in the unenviable position to have to replace the scoring punch provided during the exhibition season by freshman forward Christian Standhardinger.

 

After leading the Cornhuskers with 17.5 points per game in the exhibition season, Standhardinger must sit out 50 percent of the Huskers’ games this season ? a total of 15 games, equalling all of the non-conference schedule ? because of a ruling by the NCAA regarding his amateur status when he played with a club team in his native Germany. He will be allowed to practice with the Huskers during the non-conference slate but will not be able to travel with the team until he is eligible for competition on Jan. 9 at Texas A&M.

 

Standhardinger came from the same school and club team that produced sophomore center Christopher Niemann, who was forced to sit out all of his first season with the Huskers.

Board Support

So far this season, one area that has jumped out on the box score, especially in comparison to last year,  is the rebound column. During exhibition play, Nebraska held a 45.5-28.5 advantage on the glass against Arkansas-Fort Smith and Hastings College, and in the season opener when it finally counted, it continued the solid play on the boards.

 

NU held a 39-27 rebounding advantage in the season opener against South Carolina Upstate. The total was the best for the Huskers since last season’s opener when NU had 42 rebounds vs. San Jose State. The +12 advantage was also better than all but one game last year (+14 vs. Florida A&M).

 

Leading the way in the exhibition slate was redshirt-freshman Jorge Brian Diaz, who had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Arkansas-Fort Smith and added eight points and nine rebounds vs. Hastings. In the regular-season opener, he had 11 rebounds to go with nine points in his first career game. NU did not have a player with a double-double last season as Ryan Anderson had the team’s high for single-game rebounds with 10 boards against Missouri on Jan. 10, when he had just eight points.

 

Niemann Out for Season

After making what looked to be a successful return from a torn ACL suffered in the final week of the regular season last year, 6-10, 265-pound sophomore center Christopher Niemann had a major setback as he tore the same ACL for a second time in late August. After surgery to repair the damage that occurred during a non-basketball conditioning workout, Niemann will be out for all of the 2009-10 campaign.

 

Niemann is currently making good progress through rehab again, and is on pace to join the team for offseason workouts in late spring. He will have three years remaining on his original eligibility clock to play three seasons with the Huskers.

 

Nebraska Receives Rare Waiver

Nebraska petitioned the NCAA with a waiver that was granted in early September, allowing the Huskers to have 14 players on scholarship for the 2009-10 season. The rare allowance given to NU is only for this season and Nebraska will be required to return to 13 scholarships for the 2010-11 season.

 

New Faces Line Husker Roster

While the Huskers will rely on their four returning scholarship players for leadership early in the season, most of the eyes will be focused on the faces of several newcomers who will dot the NU roster in 2009-10.

 

Among those scholarship newcomers looking for playing time are two juniors (Lance Jeter and Quincy Hankins-Cole), a sophomore (Myles Holley), a redshirt freshman (Jorge Brian Diaz) and four freshmen (Adrien Coleman, Ray Gallegos, Christian Standhardinger {eligible Jan. 9}, Brandon Ubel). Also back this season is another “newcomer” in Eshaunte Jones, who played four games as a true freshman last year before undergoing foot surgery and redshirting the season.

 

2009-10 Scholarship Breakdown

Seniors: 2

Juniors: 2

Sophomores: 4

Freshmen and Redshirt Freshmen: 6

 

NU Looking for Fifth Postseason Berth in Seven Years

Despite their lack of experience entering the year, the 2009-10 Huskers will be shooting for the program’s fifth postseason berth in seven years and third straight under coach Doc Sadler. Overall, Nebraska’s NIT bid at the end of the 2008-09 campaign was the Huskers’ 22nd all-time postseason appearance. NU has 16 appearances in the NIT, including the 1996 title, and six berths in the NCAA Tournament.

Huskers Look to build on 8-8 League Mark

While the Huskers have more than two months before they start league action, Nebraska will have one thing in mind while it prepares for facing arguably the nation’s toughest conference: continuing its upward momentum against Big 12 foes.

 

Last year, the Huskers finished with an 8-8 record in Big 12 Conference play, their best mark in a decade and just the third time since the formation of the league that NU has finished at .500 or better. That mark came as the Huskers won each of their last two regular-season games, giving Nebraska its third straight season with a better league mark. NU had six league wins in 2007 and seven in 2008.

 

Since the start of the 2007 conference season, only three teams in the Big 12 have improved their win total in league play each of the past three years. That small group includes Nebraska, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

 

This year, Nebraska will try to do something done only once before in program history as the only other time the Huskers improved their conference win total for four straight years was from 1952 to 1955.

Sadler Setting New Marks

Nebraska coach Doc Sadler has said from the beginning that he hopes to do something at Nebraska that’s never been accomplished before: get to the NCAA Tournament and win a game. Since he’s been at NU, his record has spoken volumes as he has reached marks never before seen in Lincoln.

 

Over his first three years, Sadler had more victories than any Husker coach to open a career. Through his first three years, Salder owned a 55-40 mark, two more wins than Moe Iba had in his first three years and four more than Danny Nee. Sadler also had the most wins in the first two years at NU (37) and is the first coach in school history to win at least 17 games in each of his first three years guiding the Cornhuskers.

 

The Huskers’ win over Texas Tech on the road on Jan. 31, 2009, marked Sadler’s 50th victory at Nebraska. He was the fourth-fastest coach to reach 50 wins at NU in program history and among the three who reached the mark faster at NU, two of those men coached in Lincoln before World War I.

 

Coaching Wins at Nebraska (first three seasons only)

No.       Coach, First Three Years            Wins     Record

1.         Doc Sadler, 2007-09      55         55-40

2.         Moe Iba, 1981-83           53         53-34

3.         Danny Nee, 1987-89      51         51-46

 

NU Aims for Defensive 3-peat

In 2009-10, Nebraska looks to continue its dominance on the defensive end under coach Doc Sadler. Each of the past two seasons, the Huskers have led the Big 12 Conference in scoring defense and ranked among the national leaders.

 

The Huskers started this year in solid fashion, allowing just 49 points on 19-of-49 shooting (38.8 percent) in the season opener against South Carolina Upstate. Last year, Nebraska allowed just 60.4 points per game to rank 22nd nationally while a year earlier, it gave up 60.7 ppg to rank No. 18 in the nation. Nebraska also led the league in conference-only defense in 2009 by giving up just 62.5 ppg to league teams. NU finished as one of only two teams (also Kansas, 65.4 ppg) that allowed less than 69.0 points per game in Big 12 play.

 

The Huskers’ top-ranked defense last year marked the first time NU had led the league in scoring defense in the Big 12 era. Dating to the 2007-08 season, Nebraska has held seven of its last 10 Big 12 Conference opponents in the Devaney Center to 57 or fewer points, including three times under 50 points. NU held five teams to less than 57 points in Big 12 play last year, including Missouri (51), Kansas State (51), at Colorado (53), Texas (55) and vs. Colorado (41).

 

Huskers Face Difficult Schedule

Nebraska faces a rugged schedule as it will play 16 of its 31 regular-season games against teams that reached the 2009 postseason. Among the Huskers’ opponents that reached last year’s NCAA Tournament were: Elite Eight participants Missouri (twice) and Oklahoma, Sweet 16 participant Kansas (twice), NCAA second-round qualifiers Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and USC. NU will also 2009 postseason NIT qualifiers Baylor (runner-up), Creighton, Kansas State (twice) and Tulsa, along with CBI champion Oregon State. At the Las Vegas Classic, NU will also face either BYU or Nevada, which played in the NCAA and NIT, respectively, last year.

 

? The Huskers are set to play 18 regular-season games at the Bob Devaney Sports Center for the third straight season. Last year, the Huskers went 14-4 in the building and NU is now 43-11 at home under coach Doc Sadler.

 

? Nebraska will look to keep an outstanding home winning streak alive in 2009-10 as the Huskers’ look for their 34th straight winning season at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The Huskers have never had a losing season in the Devaney Center since the building opened for the 1976-77 campaign.

 

? Nebraska’s second home win of the season will mark it’s 400th all-time win in the Devaney Center. After picking up a season-opening win over USC Upstate, the Huskers now own a 399-125 record at home in the building since 1976-77 campaign.

 

? For the third straight season, the Huskers will have at least 21 games televised regionally or nationally, including three games set to be seen around the country on the ESPN family of networks. The Huskers have averaged more than 13 televised contests (national, regional and local) each of the past eight years.

 

? Nebraska will play five games away from the Devaney Center in non-conference action for the first time since Doc Sadler’s first season when the Huskers went 3-3 away from Lincoln in 2006-07. It is the second straight season NU has played three true road games in non-conference play, the most by the Huskers since playing four true road games in 1997-98.

 

? The Huskers will face USC in the third annual Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Classic on Nov. 29. Nebraska will start the series with USC on the road, with the Trojans returning the game to Lincoln in 2010-11.

 

? Nebraska will face Tulsa and either BYU or Nevada at the Las Vegas Classic on Dec. 22-23. It will be NU’s first regular-season tournament since competing in the 2006 Rainbow Classic, where the Huskers went 2-1.