Huskers Start Three-Game Home Stretch Thursday

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Game Date: Dec. 10, 2009
Tipoff Time: 7:07 p.m.
Venue: Devaney Center
Capacity: 13,595

Huskers on TV/Radio/Internet
Television: FS Midwest and ESPN FullCourt (Play-by-play: Greg Sharpe, Color: Eric Piatkowski)
Radio: IMG Husker Sports Radio Network (Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka, Color: Andy Markowski)
Internet Radio/Stats: Free on Huskers.com
Video Stream: ESPN360.com

Nebraska Cornhuskers
Game 8 Notes
2009-10 Record: 5-2
Head coach: Doc Sadler
Record at Nebraska: 60-42 (4th year)
Record at Division I: 108-60 (6th year)
Career Record: 228-99 (11th year)

Chicago State Cougars
Game 7
2009-10 Record: 3-3
Head coach: Benjy Taylor
Record at CSU: 33-33 (3rd year)
Career Record: 33-33 (3rd year)

NU's Possible Starting Lineup             2009-10 stats   
No.       Name                            Yr.        Ht.        Wt.       Pts.      Rbs.    
5          Sek Henry                     Sr.        6-4        200       9.1        4.7       
3          Brandon Richardson      So.       6-0        190       5.8        2.3
13         Brandon Ubel                Fr.        6-10      220       5.7        2.4       
34         Lance Jeter                   Jr.        6-3        225       8.3        3.7*     
44         Ryan Anderson             Sr.        6-4        195       11.3      4.0       
*assists per game

CSU's Possible Starting Lineup                       2009-10 stats   
No.       Name                            Yr.        Ht.        Wt.       Pts.      Rbs.    
21         Carl Montgomery           Jr.        6-7        210       14.3      9.5       
24         Antonio Lofton              Jr.        6-5        195       9.5        2.2       
32         Marquis Young              Sr.        6-9        290       10.3      5.7       
20         Christian Wall                Jr.        6-1        185       13.2      3.0*     
22         Damian Windham          Jr.        6-4        220       4.0        4.0       
*assists per game

The Nebraska basketball team begins a three-game homestand this week when it takes on Chicago State at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Thursday, Dec. 10. The contest will mark the front end of the team's quickest turnaround to date, as the Huskers play Thursday vs. the Cougars and then face the Oregon State Beavers at home on Saturday evening.

Thursday's contest against CSU will tip off at 7:07 p.m. and can be seen around the state on FS Midwest (channel 37 in Lincoln; channel 47 in Omaha). It will also be seen around the country on ESPN FullCourt and can be viewed online on ESPN360.com. Greg Sharpe will handle play-by-play duties for the telecast while Husker great Eric Piatkowski provides color commentary.

The game will also be heard on the IMG Husker Sports Radio Network with veteran play-by-play man Kent Pavelka calling the action and former Husker Andy Markowski adding color commentary. The free broadcast will also be heard around the world on the Internet at Huskers.com.

When the Huskers return to the court Thursday, they will be looking to rebound from a hard-fought road loss at Creighton. The Huskers shot the ball extremely well on the road, hitting 50.0 percent from the field but turnovers plagued Nebraska all day. NU had a season-high 20 miscues after coming into the contest with just 14 in its previous two games combined.

In addition to cleaning up the mental mistakes handling the ball, another area Nebraska has focused on improving this week was rebounding. Nebraska was outrebounded 31-25 on Sunday. While it was only the second time this season the Huskers held a deficit on the glass (both games on the road as the other came at USC), Nebraska has seen its rebounding average dip to 32.1 after starting out the season with three straight games of at least 35 rebounds.

The Husker guards have been a bright spot in the rebound battle. Senior Sek Henry currently leads the team with a career-high 4.7 rebounds per game. He has had at least four rebounds in each of the past five games, including twice posting at least seven boards in a game. Sophomore Brandon Richardson also has gotten into the act, recording a career-best five rebounds in each his last two road contests, while junior Lance Jeter added a career-best five on Sunday.

Scouting the Chicago State Cougars

The Chicago State Cougars come to Lincoln this week with a 3-3 record after falling at Central Michigan, 78-40, on Dec. 1. CSU has a nine-day layoff to get ready for Nebraska but will then make a tight turnaround as they play at Hawaii on Saturday, Dec. 12.

In their last outing, the Cougars hit just 34.1 percent (14-of-41) from the floor on the game while watching CMU open a 20-point halftime lead before leading by as much as 42 points in the final four minutes. CSU was outrebounded 35-23 and turned the ball over 25 times, as six players had at least three miscues apiece.

Center Marquis Young was the only Cougar in double figures vs. Central Michigan, finishing with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting. The rest of the team was 8-of-32 (25.0 percent) from the field. Young added a team-high six rebounds in 17 minutes.

On the season, the 6-9 Young is third on the team in scoring with 10.3 points per game while starting all six contests. He is second on the squad in rebounding with 5.7 boards per game, trailing only forward Carl Montgomery's 9.5 rebounds per contest. Montgomery was held to two points on 1-of-2 shooting with three rebounds in 19 minutes against Central Michigan, but is averaging a team-best 14.3 points per game on the season. Guard Christian Wall is the Cougars' other double-figure scorer, punching in 13.2 points per game while tying for the team lead with six 3-pointers. He also leads the squad with 18 assists over five contests.

The Cougars are hitting only 41.8 percent from the field  and just 30.3 percent from 3-point range. CSU has held a 39.7 to 31.0 advantage on the glass this season with a frontcourt of three regulars that each stand at least 6-8.

Chicago State is coached by Benjy Taylor, who is in his third season with the Cougars and owns a 33-33 record. It is his first head coaching position. Among Taylor's assistant coaches is James Farr, who has ties to the state as a 1989 graduate of Creighton. He played two years for the Bluejays and was a student coach under Tony Barone to begin his coaching career.

Series History vs. Chicago State

Nebraska and Chicago State have a slim history, having met on the hardwood just twice before. The Cornhuskers lead the series by a 2-0 margin, winning by 35 points in the first meeting in 1990 and then by just nine points in 2005. Both contests were in Lincoln.

Chicago State is part of the newly formed Great West Conference, that is transforming into a Division I all-sports conference. The league is made up of the Division I Independent schools. Nebraska owns a 12-0 record against teams in the league, including an 81-53 victory over Texas-Pan American last week at the Devaney Center. 

Huskers Finding the Mark

Nebraska coach Doc Sadler has said from Day One that he thought this team "could shoot the ball well," and through the first seven games, they've proven their mentor right.

The Huskers are hitting a solid 48.7 percent from the field early in the season, knocking down 175-of-359 shots from the floor.  Nebraska has hit at least 50.0 percent from the field four times this season, including each of the past two games. In 2008-09, NU hit at least 50.0 percent of its shots in just 5-of-13 games during non-conference play.

Last weekend, the Huskers hit 50.0 percent (24-of-48) from the floor on the road. It was their first game away from Lincoln that they hit at least half their shots since winning at Texas Tech last season.

Part of that effectiveness has come as the Huskers have been outstanding from beyond the arc, nailing 43-of-96 from 3-point range (44.8 percent). Nebraska tied a Devaney Center record and set a team building record by hitting 75.0 percent (9-of-12) from 3-point range against Texas-Pan American on Dec. 2. The Huskers hit seven straight at one point and bettered the previous team mark of 66.7 percent set three times. 

The Cornhuskers are led in the field by freshman Ray Gallegos, who is hitting 61.1 percent (11-of-18) in his five games played. He is 6-of-10 from 3-point range as well. Also knocking down shots consistently in the back court is junior Lance Jeter, who has hit 56.4 percent (22-of-39) from the field including a team-best 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from 3-point range. 

Taking Care of the Ball

Nebraska has been solid with the ball during coach Doc Sadler's tenure in Lincoln. Last season, the Huskers  ranked 18th nationally in turnovers per game, giving up the ball just 11.5 times per game (357 in 31 games). Nebraska has started the 2009-10 season in much the same way, as it is fourth in the Big 12 Conference with 12.7 turnovers per game (89 in seven games) despite turning it over a season-high 20 times against Creighton.

The Huskers have had more than 14 turnovers only twice this season. In fact, they put together back-to-back impressive games handling the ball when they turned it over just 14 combined times against UMKC and at USC, including seven turnovers in each contest. The last time Nebraska had back-to-back games with a combined 14 turnovers was during the 2001-02 season when NU had a school-record three miscues at Iowa State and seven turnovers at Texas A&M.

Senior guard Sek Henry entered the week ranked sixth in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.6-to-1 and currently has 23 assists against just nine turnovers this season. Point guard Lance Jeter is 13th in the league with a 1.6-to-1 ratio.

Taking the Shot

With so many new faces on the squad, it was only a matter of time before one of the youngsters was asked to step up and make a game-changing play. At USC on Nov. 29, it was more than just a game-changing play... it was a game-deciding shot.

Redshirt freshman Eshaunte Jones, playing in his ninth career game, had made just two field goals in the first half and had only been off the bench for a total of five minutes in the second period before being called upon with less than a minute to play in a tie game. Jones didn't hesitate as the burried the game-winning shot from the corner, a 3-pointer with 11.7 seconds remaining. The shot was reviewed at length by the officials who determined it was indeed a 3-pointer. From there, the Huskers defended the perimeter well and USC only managed to get off an off-balance desperation shot at the buzzer.

Jones finished with seven points, and his 3-pointer gave the Huskers their first road win of the season, and just the second true road win over a non-conference opponent under fourth-year coach Doc Sadler. It was NU's first road victory over a non-conference BCS team since defeating Tennessee, 62-61, in Knoxville in 2004.

Senior Moments

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 guards Sek Henry and Ryan Anderson have each had a turn taking the coach's words to heart this season while leading their team to victory.

Henry's strong play was highlighted against TCU as he distributed the ball efficiently, posting a career-best 11 assists, becoming 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.

Anderson had his moment against Texas-Pan American on Dec. 2, as he helped bust the game open in the middle of the second half. After UTPA pulled within five, 45-40, Anderson guided Nebraska on a 22-2 run to put the game out of reach, scoring 11 points while adding three steals, two rebounds and an assist in less than four minutes. He finished the game with 21 points, the second-highest scoring effort of his career, on 8-of-9 shooting as Nebraska pulled away for an 81-53 win.

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 shown the potential to be an efficient force on the offensive end with its revamped roster.

The best example came as 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.

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 four days later.

In their most recent home game, the Huskers scored 81 points against Texas-Pan American while hitting 53.7 percent from the field, including tying the Devaney Center record by hitting 75.0 percent (9-of-12) from 3-point range. During the victory, the Huskers improved to 15-0 under Sadler when reaching 80 points. NU also hit 50.0 percent at Creighton, but fell to 29-3 - including 27-0 at home - under Sadler when connecting on 50.0 percent of its shots from the floor.

Nebraska has scored at least 70 points in each of its four home games this season. Last year it took eight games at the Devaney Center before the Huskers recorded their fourth 70-point effort.

Line Time

Part of Nebraska's ability to put away TCU on Nov. 21 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 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 73.7 percent (14-of-19) from the stripe, after coming into the season a career 64.0 percent shooter at the line. He is 5-of-9 at the stripe since seeing his career-high streak come to an end.  

Nebraska's shooting at the line has not been consistent as the Huskers hit just 3-of-11 attempts (27.2 percent) at USC, their lowest free throw percentage for a game since hitting just 20 percent (1-of-5) at Missouri to open the 2002 Big 12 slate. The Huskers returned one game later to hit 73.7 percent (14-of-19) at the charity stripe against Texas-Pan American, a season-high percentage.

Board Support

So far this season, one area that has jumped out on the box score at times, 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 games finally started to count, NU has continued the solid play on the boards.

Nebraska has won the rebounding advantage four times this season, all at home. The Huskers are 4-0 in those contests. In the three road games, Nebraska was outrebounded at USC and Creighton and tied with Saint Louis.

NU started the season on a strong note as it 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.  

In the regular-season opener, Jorge Brian Diaz, who had a double-double in the exhibition season, had 11 rebounds to go with nine points in his first career game. His total was the most since 2007-08 as NU did not have a player with a double-double last season. Ryan Anderson had the team's high for single-game rebounds last year with 10 boards against Missouri on Jan. 10, when he had just eight points.

Diaz, who left in the first minute of the game at Saint Louis after he was hit in the mouth while going for a rebound (two severely loosened teeth and a cut inside his mouth), is not the only one making a mark on the boards. Senior Sek Henry has averaged 5.5 rebounds per game over the past five contests, including a season-high eight against Texas-Pan American, one off his career best.

On the year, the Huskers have outrebounded their opponents by a 32.1-30.1 margin. NU has had six players lead the team in rebounding in individual games, including a different person in each of the first three contests.

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 138 3-pointers, 131 steals and 175 assists and needs 12 treys and 19 steals to join Strickland as the only two Huskers ever with at least 150 in each of the three categories.

Freshman Highlight

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. Diaz's .900 shooting percentage is the second highest in the Big 12 this season, trailing only Texas's Dexter Pittman, who hit 10-of-11 in a contest.

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, McCray 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 the first week of September. 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 coach Doc Sadler announced following Nebraska's game against UMKC on Nov. 24 that sophomore guard Toney McCray will have surgery on his elbow and will also be out for the remainder of the season. McCray injured the elbow in a pickup game in early September, sustaining a torn ligament.

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 had successful surgery on Dec. 7 to repair the UCL in his elbow. He started rehab later that week and is doing well, as he is on pace to rehab the injury and be able to join the team in the spring during offseason workouts.

Both Niemann and McCray were looked at as possible starters heading into the start of the season. 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. Niemann has yet to play a game in a Husker uniform.

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 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 three straight opponents under 55 points, including 48 (UMKC), 48 (USC) and 53 (Texas-Pan American) points. On the season Nebraska has now allowed opponents 58.7 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.

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).

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.

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, Sadler 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

All-Time Coaching Wins at Nebraska

No.       Coach, Years                            Wins     Record

1.         Danny Nee, 1987-2000               254       254-190 (.572)

2.         Joe Cipriano, 1964-80                253       253-197 (.562)

3.         Moe Iba, 1981-86                       106       106-71 (.599)

4.         Barry Collier, 2001-06                 89         89-91 (.494)

5.         Harry C. Good, 1947-54             86         86-99 (.465)

6.         Jerry Bush, 1955-63                   81         81-132 (.380)

7.         William Browne, 1933-40            64         64-87 (.424)

8.         Doc Sadler, 2007-pres.              60         60-42 (.594)

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 46-11 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.