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Nebraska Cornhuskers
Game 5 Notes
2009-10 Record: 3-1
Head coach: Doc Sadler
Record at Nebraska: 58-41 (4th year)
Record at Division I: 106-59 (6th year)
Career Record: 226-98 (11th year)

USC Trojans
Game 4
2009-10 Record: 2-0*
Head coach: Kevin O’Neill
Record at USC: 2-0* (1st year)
Career Record: 173-180* (13th year)
*not including game on Nov. 27 vs. Coppin St.

Huskers on TV/Radio/Internet
Television: FSN (national) Play-by-play: Steve Physioc Color: Marques Johnson
Radio: IMG Husker Sports Radio Network Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka Color: Andy Markowski
Internet Radio/Stats: Free on Huskers.com

The Nebraska basketball team hits the road for its second game away from home in November as the Huskers take on USC in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 29, at the Galen Center at 3:30 p.m. CT (1:30 p.m. PT). The contest will be a part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series pitting teams from those major conferences. Nebraska is 1-1 in Hardwood Series play, defeating Arizona State at home in 2007 and losing at ASU last season.

Sunday’s game will be the third televised Husker contest of the year, but the first seen nationally as it will be aired throughout the country on FSN with Steve Physioc calling the action and Marques Johnson providing color commentary. It can also be heard on the IMG Husker Sports Radio Network and Huskers.com with veteran play-by-play man Kent Pavelka calling the action and former Husker Andy Markowski as color analyst.

After picking up two wins at home last week behind a solid offensive effort, the Huskers hope to make a better presentation in their second road contest of the year. The first time they traveled away from Lincoln nearly two weeks ago, the Huskers suffered a 69-55 setback at Saint Louis. Nebraska shot just 40 percent from the floor and allowed the Billikens to have the ball on offense for nearly 27 minutes, much more than fourth-year head coach Doc Sadler would like to see.

The defensive-minded coach has worked through a staggering amount of lineups over the past two games, trying to find the right combination of offense and defense. On Wednesday against UMKC, the Huskers started to find their way a little better on defense as they held the Kangaroos to just 48 points on 35.3 percent shooting, including allowing only two baskets over the final 6:50 of the first half during a decisive 21-5 Husker run.

While there is always room for improvement on the defensive end, Nebraska has been on the upswing offensively this season. The Huskers went on a mini scoring tear the past week, posting a Sadler-era high 90 points in a 13-point victory over TCU before coming back against UMKC to reach the 70-point plateau for the third time this year. Each game saw Nebraska move the ball better around the perimeter and enter it into the post, as NU shot better than 53 percent from the field and averaged 17.5 assists per game.

Scouting the USC Trojans
The USC Trojans opened the season with a 10-point win over UC Riverside before falling at home to Loyola Marymount, 67-59, last Saturday. The Trojans enter the weekend with a 1-1 record but will face another foe before taking on the Huskers, as USC and Coppin State will match up at the Galen Center on Friday, Nov. 27.

USC used a short rotation through its first two games, playing only seven players in the season opener and just six in the loss to LMU last weekend. As a squad, USC has averaged 68 points per game and is hitting a solid 47.6 percent from the field, including two players – Nikola Vucevic and Marcus Simmons – who are each hitting better than 55 percent from the floor. USC has been held in check on the glass, getting outrebounded by UCR, 32-28, and holding even against, 28-28. The Trojans have been especially good at the free throw line, hitting 30-of-39 (76.9 percent) at the stripe.

Vucevic leads the team with 18.5 points per contest, one of four Trojans averaging double figures in the first two contests. He has hit 15-of-27 shots from the field and the 6-10 forward has gotten to the line nine times, hitting seven. He also has averaged nearly twice as many rebounds as any other Trojan, pulling down 9.5 boards per game, while ranking second on the team with five assists. He posted 19 points with 11 rebounds and three assists against LMU.

Simmons is third on the team with 14.5 points per game and is hitting an impressive 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. He also ranks second behind Vucevic with 5.0 rebounds per contest. Also averaging double figures for the Trojans is Dwight Lewis (16.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and Donte Smith (11.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg).

Defensively, USC is allowing 67.0 points per game on 43.0 percent shooting, including letting opponents hit 50.0 percent (13-of-26) from 3-point range. Opponents have held a 30.0-28.0 advantage on the boards.

The Trojans are coached by Kevin O’Neill, who is in his first season in Los Angeles. O’Neill owns a 172-180 record heading into Friday’s game with Coppin State.

 

Series history vs. USC
Nebraska and USC are meeting for just the seventh time on the hardwood with the Trojans holding a commanding 5-1 series advantage. The Huskers will be looking for their first win on the road against USC, as the Trojans hold a 3-0 lead in Los Angeles.

The first six matchups were evenly split with each team hosting on its home court three times, including playing on back-to-back days in 1962 for the first meetings of the series. USC won both of those contests and went on to win on back-to-back dates a year later in 1963 to sweep the first four contests. The Huskers’ lone win in the series came in 1991 when NU earned the victory in a high-scoring affair, 93-84, in Lincoln. USC then picked up a 74-64 win in the most recent contest in 1992.

Nebraska owns a 36-47 all-time record against Pac-10 teams with the most recent meeting with a team from the conference being a 64-63 road loss last season at Oregon State. The Huskers and Beavers will play again this year on Dec. 12 in Lincoln, marking the third straight season NU has played two Pac-10 teams in the non-conference slate. Overall, it will be the fourth straight season Nebraska has faced a Pac-10 squad, as the Huskers played a two-game series with Oregon in 2006-07 and 2007-08 and Arizona State in 2007-08 and 2008-09, along with the Oregon State matchup last season.

 

McCray Shuts It Down for the Season
Nebraska coach Doc Sadler announced following Tuesday’s game against UMKC that sophomore guard Toney McCray will have surgery on his elbow in the next couple weeks and will be out the remainder of the season. The 6-6 McCray injured the elbow in a pickup game in early September, sustaining a torn ligament that now needs repair.

McCray tried to play through the pain as doctors assured him that it would get no worse if he waited until after the season to have surgery. But Sadler said that McCray indicated he had little confidence in his elbow and wasn’t able to help the team the way he wanted to and thought it would be better to have surgery now and be ready for the offseason in the spring of 2010.

McCray averaged 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds over three games this year, hitting 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from the field. He played 18.3 minutes per game.

 

Freshman Sensation
A game after playing just four minutes at Saint Louis because of an injury that included a pair of loosened front teeth and a cut inside his mouth, redshirt freshman Jorge Brian Diaz made his presence felt early and often as the Huskers raced past TCU on Nov. 21 in a 90-77 victory.

The newcomer from Caguas, Puerto Rico, set a team season high with 22 points as Nebraska reached the 90-point plateau for the first time since 2006. He was the first Husker this season to hit the 20-point mark.

Diaz became the first freshman since Sek Henry in 2006 to post a 20-point contest for the Huskers. Henry’s outburst came one day after Ryan Anderson put his name on the list with 29 points, the second-highest total by a Husker freshman ever.

Overall, Diaz is the 21st freshman to record a 20-point game for the Huskers since freshmen were reinstated by the NCAA for the 1972-73 season. Joe McCray set the record with the most 20-point games by a Husker freshman when he had 10 contests with at least 20 points in 2004-05. Only six Husker freshmen in history have had multiple 20-point contests.

Against TCU, Diaz connected on 9-of-10 shots from the floor, with only a first-half miss keeping him from the NU record book. The Husker single-game record for most field-goals attempted without a miss is nine set on five occasions, including last year by Ade Dagunduro.

Over his past two games (TCU and UMKC), Diaz has come off the bench twice and averaged 16.0 points per game while hitting 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) from the field.

 

Senior Moment
Coach Doc Sadler has said that he’s trying to find ways to get his team to be more aggressive since the start of practice in September, letting them know that he wants them going after other teams and not sitting back and waiting for opponents to come at them. Senior guard Sek Henry took the coach’s words to heart against TCU as he had easily the best statistical game of his career.

Henry’s strong play was highlighted by his unselfishness as he distributed the ball efficiently, posting a career-best 11 assists. He is the first Husker since Charles Richardson Jr. (15 at Rutgers in 2006) to post more than 10 assists in a game. Overall, Henry’s assist total ranks second on the Nebraska single-game chart for the Big 12 era, and ties for the ninth-best total by a Husker in any game since the 1983-84 season.

Along with his 11 assists, Henry posted 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots in 30 minutes of action. He missed the school’s first regular-season triple-double by three rebounds. The only known triple-double by a Husker came when Brennon Clemmons had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in an exhibition game in 2002 vs. Northwest Sports Tours. In the 15 years before that, the closest a Husker came to a triple-double in a game that counted was Beau Reid’s 14-point, 12-rebound, 8-assist performance against Toledo in 1990.

Henry came back the next contest against UMKC to produce a game-high 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including drilling both of his 3-point attempts. The treys came less than 30 seconds apart and started a game-changing 21-5 run to end the first half. Henry added five rebounds, four assists and two blocks against the Kanagroos.

 

Off to the Races
While the season is still young and the Huskers have yet to enter the meat-grinder portion of the schedule known as the Big 12 Conference slate, Nebraska has quietly become an efficient force on the offensive end with its revamped roster.

The Huskers posted 90 points against TCU, making it the highest-scoring game for the Huskers in the Doc Sadler era at Nebraska. In fact, the last time NU topped the 90-point plateau was 2006 when the Huskers earned a 93-77 victory over Colorado. NU improved to 14-0 under Sadler when topping 80 points.

The Husker offense was running in high gear against the Horned Frogs as Nebraska hit 54.0 percent (27-of-50) from the field. They made it two straight games knocking down at least 50 percent from the floor when they hit 53.1 percent against UMKC on Tuesday. The last time Nebraska hit at least 50 percent in three straight games came in a four-game stretch in 2008 Big 12 play. With the win over UMKC, NU improved to 28-2 – including 26-0 at home – under Sadler when topping the 50.0-percent mark. On the young season, Nebraska is averaging 73.7 points per game while hitting 47.5 percent from the floor.

Making the Right Choice
Coach Doc Sadler continually talks about how important shot selection is and the Huskers have taken that to heart, especially from the 3-point line. Nebraska has averaged about 13 attempts per game from long range this year, and have hit an impressive 46.2 percent (24-of-52).

Newcomer Lance Jeter, a junior college All-American last year, has led the charge by hitting 6-of-8 attempts from beyond the arc, including a 3-for-3 effort in the season opener. Redshirt freshman Eshaunte Jones and senior Sek Henry are tied for second on the team with five treys apiece, including Henry hitting 50 percent from beyond the arc.

Line Time
Part of Nebraska’s ability to put away TCU came with solid effort knocking down free throws. The Huskers hit 73.2 percent from the line on the day, including draining 13-of-15 in the final 3:24 of the game.

Overall, Nebraska got to the line 41 times against the Horned Frogs, making 30. It was the most free throw attempts by a Husker squad since 2005 when Nebraska hit 32-of-45 (71.1 percent) against Texas A&M. Sophomore Brandon Richardson led the charge this time, hitting 9-of-10, while Ryan Anderson (6-of-7) and Sek Henry (4-of-5) each only missed one with at least five attempts.

Henry’s miss snapped a personal streak of 18 straight made free throws dating back to last season, over a total of eight games. He hit a NU postseason record seven free throws without a miss at New Mexico last year and added a 6-of-6 effort last week at Saint Louis.

Henry’s 18 straight made free throws ties for the third-longest Husker streak without a miss in the Big 12 era. On the season he has hit 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the stripe, after coming into the season a career 64.0 percent shooter at the line.

 

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 once it finally started to count, NU has continued the solid play on the boards.

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

Nebraska came back to post 35 boards against both Saint Louis and TCU, giving the Huskers three straight games of at least 35 rebounds for the first time since the final three games of non-conference play in the 2007-08 campaign. Last year, the Huskers did not have consecutive games with at least 35 rebounds and had only six games all year with 35 or more boards.  

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, Diaz 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.

Against Saint Louis, Diaz left in the first minute of the game after he was hit in the mouth while going for a rebound. He has two severely loosened teeth and a cut inside his mouth, keeping him out until the 8:21 mark of the second half. He only played a total of four minutes and had one rebound. Sophomore guard Toney McCray helped pick up the slack as he had eight rebounds, one off his career high, while newcomer Quincy Hankins-Cole added six, including three offensive boards.

On the year, the Huskers have outrebounded their opponents by a 35.5-29.0 margin, winning the rebound battle in all four contests. Nebraska has had four players lead the team in rebounding in individual games, including a different person in each of the first three contests. In NU’s last game, seniors Ryan Anderson and Sek Henry led the way with five boards apiece. Henry also led the team with seven rebounds last weekend against TCU. 

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 when he had an uncommon stat line that included five points, five rebounds, five assists and six steals in 27 minutes of action in the season opener 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).

For his career, Anderson now has 134 3-pointers, 122 steals and 171 assists and needs 16 treys and 28 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 returned 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 sophomore Brandon Richardson. Sophomore Toney McCray also returned but played just three games before sitting out the rest of the season with an injury.

When NU hit the court for its season opener, 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 that happened was Sadler’s first year at Nebraska when Anderson and Henry opened the campaign in the starting lineup.

That season, Anderson and Henry started 14 games together including the first nine of the year. The duo was joined by former Husker Jay-R Strowbridge to make 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.

 

This week vs. UMKC, another freshman made an appearance in the starting lineup as redshirt freshman Eshaunte Jones earned his first career start. Together, the threesome has joined an elite set of freshmen to start games for the Huskers in the Big 12 era, including:

• 2009-10 with Ubel (4 total starts), Diaz (2), Jones (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 21 freshmen start games during the Big 12 era. That list includes:

Brandon Ubel, 2009-10 (4 starts); Jorge Brian Diaz, 2009-10 (2); Eshaunte Jones, 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).

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.

 

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.

 

While the Huskers were able to receive the waiver, the stipulation was that one player had to redshirt to get the active roster down to 13 scholarship players. Unfortunately with Christopher Niemann’s preseason injury, he is out for the year and it was determined that he would count as the one who would sit out. 

New Faces Line Husker Roster

While the Huskers will rely on their 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 inexperienced Nebraska roster.

Among those scholarship newcomers who have already seen action for the first time in their Husker careers are juniors Lance Jeter and Quincy Hankins-Cole, sophomore Myles Holley, redshirt freshman Jorge Brian Diaz and freshmen Ray Gallegos, Brandon Ubel and Adrien Coleman. Freshman Christian Standhardinger (sitting out because of NCAA ruling) is still counting the games until he becomes available to play on Jan. 9.

Including walk-ons Matt Karn and Mike Fox, more than 50 percent (9 of 15; 60.0 percent) of the Huskers who have recorded time during the regular season are playing for the first time in a Nebraska uniform. Another Husker – Eshaunte Jones - played only four games last year before an injury forced him to redshirt.

 

2009-10 Scholarship Breakdown

Seniors: 2 (returnees Sek Henry and Ryan Anderson)

Juniors: 2 (transfers Lance Jeter and Quincy Hankins-Cole)

Sophomores: 4 (returnees Toney McCray, Brandon Richardson and Christopher Niemann*; newcomer Myles Holley)

Redshirt Freshmen: 2 (Eshaunte Jones and Jorge Brian Diaz)

True Freshmen: 4 (Brandon Ubel, Ray Gallegos, Christian Standhardinger, Adrien Coleman)

*sat out last season per NCAA ruling on amatuer status; has not played at Nebraska

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.

 

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 six weeks 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 seasons, 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 Looks 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. Over its next two games, Nebraska allowed 69 and 77 points, before getting back on track by holding UMKC to 48 points on 30.1 percent shooting. On the season Nebraska has now allowed opponents 60.8 points per game on 41.0 percent shooting.

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 play 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 faces 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 45-11 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.

• 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.