Huskers Set for Final Non-Conference Tilt

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Game Date: Jan. 5, 2010
Tipoff Time: 7:06 p.m.
Venue: Devaney Center
Capacity: 13,595

Nebraska Cornhuskers
Game 15 Notes
2009-10 Record: 11-3
Head coach: Doc Sadler
Record at Nebraska: 66-43 (4th year)
Record at Division I: 114-61 (6th year)
Career Record: 234-100 (11th year)

Southeastern Louisiana Lions
Game 13
2009-10 Record: 8-4
Head coach: Jim Yarbrough
Record at SELU: 70-60 (5th year)
Career Record: 167-102 (10th year)

NU's Possible Starting Lineup                                                                             2009-10 stats         
No.          Name                                      Yr.           Ht.           Wt.          Pts.          Rbs.       
3              Brandon Richardson            So.          6-0           190          7.5           1.9          
5              Sek Henry                              Sr.           6-4           200          7.9           3.8          
13            Brandon Ubel                        Fr.           6-10         220          5.9           1.9          
34            Lance Jeter                            Jr.            6-3           225          7.6           3.9*         
44            Ryan Anderson                     Sr.           6-4           195          11.3         4.9          
*assists per game                            

SELU's Possible Starting Lineup                                         2009-10 stats         
No.          Name                                      Yr.           Ht.           Wt.          Pts.          Rbs.       
4              Patrick Sullivan                      Sr.           6-9           215          15.6         9.2          
11            Robert Tibbs                          Sr.           6-6           190          6.7           4.6          
20            Deshawn Patterson                               So.          6-4           220          4.4           3.1*         
23            Damon Forest                        Jr.            6-3           175          11.2         2.4          
30            Gary Dixon                            Jr.            6-3           170          8.2           1.1          
*assists per game

Nebraska Makes Final Tuneup Before Big 12 Play
The Nebraska basketball team looks to end non-conference play on a strong note this week as it takes on Southeastern Louisiana before starting Big 12 action this weekend at Texas A&M.

The Cornhuskers and Lions will tip off on Tuesday, Jan. 5, at 7:06 p.m. at the Devaney Center. The game will be heard live on the IMG Husker Sports Network and for free around the world on the Internet at Huskers.com with veteran play-by-play man Kent Pavelka calling the action while former Husker Matt Davison adds color commentary.

Fans looking to watch the streaming video can sign up for a subscription at HuskersNside.com. This will be the last HuskersNside.com production for men's basketball, as the rest of the games that will have a video stream will be seen only on ESPN360.com.

Nebraska will be looking for its 12th win in non-conference play, a mark that would be the most regular-season non-conference wins by the Huskers since posting a 13-2 record during the 1994-95 campaign. The only other time NU had more than 12 wins in non-conference play during the regular season came during the 1990-91 campaign when the Huskers went 15-1.

The Cornhuskers have averaged 84 points over the past two games with five players averaging at least 10 points per contest. Senior guard Ryan Anderson has led the way with 26 points over the past two games, including 17 against Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday.

Anderson now has 921 career points and needs just 79 points to become the 25th Husker in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. He would be the first to accomplish the feat since his former teammate, Aleks Maric, reached the mark during his junior season in 2006-07. 

Along with his scoring - Anderson leads the team this season with 11.3 points per game on the year - he has also paced the squad in rebounds (64; 4.9 rpg) and steals (28) during non-conference play. He is nearing the 500-rebound plateau as he now has 484 career rebounds while already standing seventh all-time at Nebraska with 141 career steals.

Anderson's 2.15 steals per game this year lead the Big 12 entering the week. His defense has helped the Huskers limit opponents to 58.1 points per game this year, the best mark in the Big 12 Conference and No. 16 in the nation.

Scouting the Southeastern Louisiana Lions
Southeastern Louisiana enters the mid-week matchup sporting an 8-4 overall record, although it has won just two of its last five contests, including a 74-68 victory over William Carey on Saturday. The Lions are just 1-4 away from home with the lone victory coming in a 77-55 win over another Nebraska opponent, Jackson State, on Dec. 5.

SELU snapped its two-game losing streak with the six-point win over William Carey, handing the visitor its first loss of the season. The Lions hit 51.9 percent from the field and drained 76.2 percent of its charity shots while earning a 36-26 advantage on the glass. Southeastern Louisiana overcame 15 turnovers on the night by hitting 56 percent from the field after the intermission to pull away after it went into the break ahead by just a single point.

Guard Damon Forest led the charge in his first start of the season as he had 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting, although he was just 1-of-5 from beyond the arc. Center Patrick Sullivan also posted a dominant performance, hitting 9-of-16 shots for 22 points while adding 18 rebounds, exactly one half of the team total. His six offensive boards nearly matched William Carey's team total (7).

On the season, SELU has averaged 77.3 points per game on 46.2 percent shooting, including 38.2 percent from 3-point range. The Lions have also nailed an impressive 75.6 percent at the free throw line and hold a 37.3-34.4 margin on the glass. Defensively, Southeastern Louisiana has held opponents to 64.8 points per game on 39.5 percent shooting. Teams have found it difficult to shoot from long range against the Lions, as foes are hitting just 28.7 percent beyond the arc this season.

Sullivan has been the team's top weapon, averaging 15.6 points per game on 48.1 percent shooting while grabbing an impressive 9.2 rebounds per contest. He also has 34 blocked shots and is second on the team with 16 steals and third with 23 assists. Forest and Trent Hutchin are also averaging double figures with 11.2 and 10.4 points per game, respectively. Hutchin leads the team with 28 3-pointers this year and paces the team by hitting 92.9 percent (13-of-14) at the charity stripe. Forest (29-of-35, 82.9 percent) and Robert Tibbs (30-of-36, 83.3) are 1-2 in free throw percentage among SELU's players with at least 20 attempts.

The Lions are coached by Jim Yarbrough (Florida State, 1987), who is in his fifth year guiding the program. He owns a 70-60 record in Hammond, La., and is 167-102 in 10 years as a head coach.

Series History vs. Southeastern Louisiana
Nebraska and Southeastern Louisiana will be meeting for the first time in program history. The Lions are the fourth team this season that the Huskers have faced for the first time ever.

Nebraska holds a 9-1 all-time record over Southland Conference opponents. The last time the Huskers faced a team from that league was 2002, when Nebraska defeated Texas San Antonio, 69-53, to open the home non-conference slate. Devin Brown tied the Devaney Center building record with eight 3-pointers in that game. The lone loss to a current Southland Conference squad came the previous season, when NU fell to Sam Houston State, 74-70.

50 is the New 60
Nebraska has made it a habit of holding teams to 50 points or less since coach Doc Sadler took over in 2006-07. Since his arrival, the Huskers have held opponents to 50 or fewer points 22 times. In the first 10 years of the Big 12 era before Sadler arrived, Nebraska managed the feat on 26 occasions.

The most times NU has held teams to 50 or fewer points in a season under Sadler is nine times in 2007-08.  This season, the Huskers have already held six teams below 50 points. That defensive effort has helped the Huskers allow just 58.1 points per game, an average that leads the Big 12 Conference and is among the national leaders.

During Nebraska's three home games between Dec. 10 and Dec. 19, the Huskers held all three teams to 44 or fewer points, including 39 points by Chicago State, 44 by Oregon State and 41 by Jackson State. The 39 points by Chicago State tied for the 10th lowest point total allowed by the Huskers since 1947.

The last time a Nebraska squad matched a streak of three straight games holding teams to below 45 points was the 1943 season. In fact, the last time the Cornhuskers even held three straight teams to below 50 points was 1958 as NU won three straight games over Colorado (41 points), No. 4 Kansas (41 points) and No. 1 Kansas State (48) as part of a four-game win streak.

Fast Starts
Nebraska has jumped out to fast starts under coach Doc Sadler. In each of his four seasons in Lincoln (including this year), the Huskers have opened with at least 11 wins before picking up their fourth loss of the year. In fact, this year's squad tied the program's best mark through 14 games to open a season since the formation of the Big 12 Conference for the 1996-97 season.

With a victory against Southeastern Louisiana, the Huskers would improve to 12-3 and tie for the best start to a season through 15 games in the Big 12 era. The only other time the Huskers have started a year 12-3 since the formation of the Big 12 was in 2005-06, when the Huskers began conference play with a 2-0 record after going 10-3 in non-conference action.

Defense Taking Shape
Coach Doc Sadler's squads have led the Big 12 Conference in scoring defense each of the past two seasons and ranked among the top 25 defenses in the country at the end of those years. After giving up 69 points at Saint Louis and 77 at home against TCU, Sadler put the Cornhuskers back to work on the defensive end as they tried to continue their reputation of defensive dominance.

Sadler's efforts were rewarded as Nebraska held six of its next seven opponents to less than 55 points. The best mark came against Chicago State as the Huskers allowed only 39 points, the 10th fewest points given up by a Nebraska squad since 1947. It was the third time a Sadler-led Nebraska team held an opponent to less than 40 points.

Under Sadler, Nebraska is now 45-4 when holding teams to 60 or fewer points, including 38-1 at home.

The Husker defense is again tops in the Big 12 Conference, as the 58.1 points per game Nebraska has allowed ranks first in the league and ties for 14th nationally entering the week. Earlier in the season, the Huskers had the nation's top-ranked defense as Nebraska entered the Las Vegas Classic on Dec. 22 allowing just 54.1 ppg before giving up 70 and 88 points, respectively, while splitting with Tulsa and BYU on a neutral court.

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 14 games this season, they've proven their mentor right.

The Huskers are hitting a solid 47.4 percent from the field early in the season.  Nebraska has hit at least 50.0 percent from the field six times in 13 games this season.

Nebraska hit a season-high 55.6 percent against Chicago State and had its best half of the year against Southern Utah when it hit 67.9 percent (19-of-28) after the intermission. At Creighton on Dec. 6, the Huskers hit 50.0 percent (24-of-48) from the floor for its best effort on the road since last season at Texas Tech.

Part of the Huskers' offensive effectiveness has come behind solid shooting from beyond the arc, where Nebraska has nailed 86-of-219 from 3-point range (39.3 percent). Nebraska ranked 38th nationally in 3-point percentage entering the week after hitting at least 40 percent from beyond the arc in three of its last four games.

Nebraska's strong shooting from outside was on display as it 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 Nebraska's previous building record of 66.7 percent set three times. 

The Cornhuskers are led in the field by a pair of redshirt freshmen. Center Jorge Brian Diaz has nailed 54.1 percent (53-of-98) of his shots from the floor to lead the team in field-goal percentage while Eshaunte Jones as drained 50.0 percent (38-of-76), including a staggering 52.4 (22-of-42) from beyond the 3-point line. 

Rare Road Win
The Cornhuskers made all the shots when they counted the most, whether at the charity stripe or from the field, as Nebraska defeated one of the favorites in Conference USA, downing Tulsa 74-70 on Dec. 22. The victory was rare, however, as in recent history, it has not been often that Nebraska has grabbed wins away from Lincoln when allowing 70 or more points.

To put it in perspective, the win marked the first time in the coach Doc Sadler era that NU allowed at least 70 points and still won a road/neutral game. In fact, the last time Nebraska won a game away from Lincoln while giving up 70 or more points was a one-point victory at Creighton, 71-70, in the first round of the 2004 National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

Since the start of the Big 12 era in the 1996-97 campaign, Nebraska has now won just eight contests away from home while giving up 70 or more points.

Block Party
Redshirt freshman Jorge Brian Diaz quickly made a name for himself as he posted one of just three Husker 20-point games this season when he had 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting against TCU in his third career game. But it is on the defensive end that he is quickly - and quietly - looking like one of the top freshmen in school history.

Diaz currently leads the Cornhuskers with 22 blocked shots, and his 1.6 blocks per game tie for sixth in the Big 12 Conference entering the week. He is the top freshman and one of only three fresmen in the top 15. Diaz's 22 blocks in 14 games are also four more than last year's individual high by the Huskers (18 by Toney McCray in 30 games).

Diaz's 22 blocks already rank third in the Nebraska freshman record book. The only two rookies to ever record more are Venson Hamilton (1996) and John Turek (2002), who hold the Nebraska freshman record with 39 blocks each in their initial season.

As a team, the Huskers own 50 blocked shots this season in 14 games, averaging 3.6 per game. Last year, Nebraska had just 52 blocks in 31 games.

Bench Production
The Cornhuskers have spread the scoring around this season with only one player averaging double figures while seven other active Huskers are averaging at least 5.0 points per game. Much of that production has come from the bench, as Nebraska has a deeper roster than many recent seasons.

The Husker bench outscored opponents in each of the first eight games and 12 times overall this season. The top production came as Nebraska held a +28 advantage in bench scoring against Chicago State and NU has had three other games (TCU, +19; UTPA, +20; SUU, +21) with at least 19 more points off the bench than the opponent.

On the season, Nebraska has gotten 413 points from its bench. That's 42.4 percent of the production that has come from outside the starting lineup. The most points by a Husker off the bench this year is 22 by Jorge Brian Diaz, who went 9-of-10 against TCU after coming in as a sub, while Eshaunte Jones added 21 points, including five 3-pointers, in a loss to BYU.

Senior Moments
Coach Doc Sadler has said that he's been 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 first 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.

The Seattle, Wash., native added another veteran contest as he produced 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in the Huskers' 50-44 victory over Oregon State. Anderson had seven rebounds in the first eight minutes of the game and collected his final one of the night with less than five seconds remaining. He was fouled after grabbing the board and hit two free throws for the final margin, helping Nebraska defeat its second Pac-10 team of the season.

Anderson leads the squad with 11.3 points per game after posting 17 points against Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday. He had five points and two assists in a crucial 13-3 run to break the game wide open early in the second period.

Anderson has gotten to the free throw line more frequently than any Husker, where he has hit 32-of-41 (78.0 percent). He is also tops on the squad with 28 steals to rank first in the Big 12 Conference at 2.2 steals per game. Henry is third on the squad in scoring (7.9 ppg) and is second in assists (39) and third rebounding (3.8 rpg).

Off to the Races
Nebraska has shown the potential to be an efficient force on the offensive end with its revamped roster. One of the prime examples came as the Huskers posted 90 points against TCU. It was the first time NU topped the 90-point plateau since 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. The trend has continued as Nebraska has hit at least 50.0 percent from the field in five games at the Devaney Center, and six games overall.

The Huskers scored 81 points against Texas-Pan American on Dec. 2 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. In Nebraska's 74-39 win over Chicago State on Dec. 10, the Huskers hit a season-high 55.6 percent.

Against Southern Utah, Nebraska moved NU to 31-3 - including 29-0 at home - under Sadler when connecting on 50.0 percent of its shots from the floor as it hit 54.1 percent from the field, including 67.9 percent (19-of-28) in the second half.  The Huskers won the contest 94-61, making it the Huskers' highest-scoring game in the Doc Sadler era at Nebraska while also helping NU improve to 17-0 under Sadler when reaching at least 80 points.

Nebraska scored at least 70 points in each of its first five home games this season (7-of-9 at home overall). Last year it took nine games at the Devaney Center before the Huskers recorded their fifth 70-point effort.  The Huskers have also posted one 70-point game away from Lincoln this season during a 74-70 victory over Tulsa in Las Vegas.

Board Support
Nebraska has won the rebounding advantage eight times this season, including seven times at home. The Huskers are 8-0 in those contests. In five games away from Lincoln, Nebraska was outrebounded by USC, Creighton and BYU and tied with Saint Louis. NU picked up its only rebounding win away from Lincoln when it held a 33-27 advantage over Tulsa in the Las Vegas Classic. 

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.

Nebraska posted a season-high 41 rebounds against each Chicago State and Jackson State. Overall, the Huskers have recorded at least 35 rebounds in five games so far, after reaching the mark in only six games all of last year.

In the regular-season opener, Jorge Brian Diaz had 11 rebounds to go with nine points in his first career game. He added a second double-figure rebounding game with 12 boards against Chicago State. At the time, Diaz's season high was the most by a Husker 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.

Along with Diaz, Ryan Anderson and Myles Holley have each had a double-figure rebounding game this season. Anderson had a career-best and team-season high 14 rebounds to go with 16 points in a win over Oregon State while Holley had his first double-figure rebounding game with 11 boards and seven points against Southern Utah.

Diaz is currently second on the team with 4.4 rebounds per game, including three games with at least seven boards. Anderson is now averaging 4.9 rebounds per game this season to lead the squad, and needs 16 rebounds to reach 500 in his career.

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 144 3-pointers, 141 steals and 186 assists. He needs six treys and nine steals to join Strickland as the only two Huskers ever with at least 150 in each of the three categories.

Freshman Highlights
One of the least experienced teams in the Big 12, the Cornhuskers have had to rely on a number of youngsters stepping into the lineup as they prepare for the difficult conference slate that awaits in January. Two of those players - redshirt freshmen Jorge Brian Diaz and Eshaunte Jones - have shown promise as they put up individual performances that stack up among the best in Husker freshman history.

Diaz made his presence felt early and often as the Huskers raced past TCU on Nov. 21 in a 90-77 victory, just one game after he had a pair of front teeth knocked loose and suffered a cut inside his mouth in the opening minute at Saint Louis. 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 to hit the 20-point mark this season.

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.

Jones followed with the team's third 20-point game of the year as he produced 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting in a loss to BYU in the title game of the HoopTV Las Vegas Classic. He hit 5-of-7 3-point attempts while adding three rebounds and two assists without a turnover.

Overall, Diaz and Jones are the 21st and 22nd freshmen 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.

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 buried 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.

Jones also led the Huskers in scoring in both games at the HoopTV Las Vegas Classic just before Christmas. He posted 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, all from 3-point range, to lead the Huskers to a victory over Tulsa, and came back a night later to record a career-best 21 points. He hit 6-of-11 shots from the field with five made baskets from 3-point range (seven attempts).

Standhardinger Nearing Return
Although it was expected all along, Nebraska has been in the unenviable position of having to replace the scoring punch provided during the exhibition season by freshman forward Christian Standhardinger. He is the Huskers' second German recruit in as many years, coming from the same school and club team that produced sophomore center Christopher Niemann, who was actually forced to sit out his first season.

After leading the Cornhuskers with 17.5 points per game in the exhibition season, Standhardinger was required to 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.

Standhardinger, who was not allowed to travel with the team, has been practicing with the Huskers during the non-conference slate and now has one game remaining to sit out before becoming eligible for competition on Jan. 9 at Texas A&M.

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 would have surgery on his elbow and 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 that week and is doing well, as he is on pace to try 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. 

While the Huskers received the extra scholarship, they will enter Big 12 play with 13 on scholarship, including only 11 active players. Toney McCray and Christopher Niemann are out for the season with injury while Adrien Coleman transfered out of the program at the end of the first semester.

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 and Brandon Ubel. Freshman Christian Standhardinger (sitting out because of NCAA ruling) is still counting the games until he becomes available to play on Jan. 9, while freshman Adrien Coleman also played in the first semester before transfering at the holiday break. 

Including walk-ons Matt Karn and Mike Fox, more than 50 percent (8 of 13 active players; 61.5 percent) of the Huskers who have recorded time during the regular season are playing for the first time in a Nebraska uniform this year. 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: 3 (Brandon Ubel, Ray Gallegos, Christian Standhardinger)
*sat out last season per NCAA ruling on amateur 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.

Nebraska gave up a season-low 39 points to Chicago State and then held Oregon State to just 44 points. The Huskers came back to allow only 41 points to Jackson State a week later, including a season-low nine points in the first half.

On the year, Nebraska has now allowed opponents 58.1 points per game on 40.7-percent shooting while leading the Big 12 Conference in scoring defense. The Huskers ranked first in the nation in scoring defense to start the week of Dec. 21 and currently are tied for 14th in the nation this week.

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).

Huskers Look to Build on 8-8 League Mark
The Huskers have just a week before they start league action, when they will have one thing in mind despite facing arguably the nation's toughest conference: continuing their 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.

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.             Doc Sadler, 2007-pres.         66            66-43 (.602)
8.             William Browne, 1933-40      64            64-87 (.424)