Huskers' Strong Effort Comes Up Short at No. 1 Kansas

Lawrence, Kan. --- Nebraska took a four-point lead with less than 16 minutes remaining but preseason first-team All-Americans Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich powered a 15-1 run that helped No. 1 Kansas grab control of the game as KU held off the Huskers 75-64 at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday.

The duo combined for 25 points on the day, including eight straight to start the run, as the Jayhawks improved to 22-1 on the season and 8-0 in league play. The Huskers, which played two of their best offensive games of the season against Kansas, fell to 13-10 on the year and 1-7 in Big 12 action.

Kansas led by four, 37-33, at the half, but the Huskers came out red-hot, using a 10-2 run in the first four minutes of the period to move ahead by a 43-39 margin and forcing a Jayhawk timeout. KU needed two timeouts to regroup and slow the Huskers in the first half, but this one proved more effective.

Collins came out and promptly hit a 3-pointer to pull KU within a point before Aldrich, who had been straddled with early foul trouble and held scoreless in the opening period, recorded a powerful dunk off a missed 3-pointer. Aldrich then connected on the back end of a pair of free throws and completed a traditional three-point play to push KU to a 48-44 advantage and power the momentum into Kansas' favor.

The Jayhawks continued the offensive push behind the charged up crowd, moving ahead by as many as 19 points, 67-48, as KU extended the run to 28-5. When the Huskers finally responded, it came in decisive fashion despite being too late into the contest to change the outcome.

With just less than five minutes remaining, Lance Jeter drained a 3-pointer and Ryan Anderson added his third trey of the game to start a quick 8-0 Husker run completed on Jorge Brian Diaz's jumper with 3:18 to play. Diaz then added another basket less than a minute later to post his second 20-point game of the season.

Diaz finished with 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting and added nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks for his best all-around game of the season. He helped Nebraska keep close on the glass against the talented Jayhawks. KU finished with just a 36-35 rebound margin as the Huskers trailed by just one, 15-14, on the offensive glass.

Anderson and fellow senior Sek Henry hit 3-pointers down the stretch to help pull Nebraska within 11 points for the final margin, the Huskers' best showing on the Jayhawks' home court since missing the final shot in a two-point loss to No. 2 Kansas in 2005. Henry and Anderson helped Nebraska hit 10-of-17 3-point attempts (58.8 percent) on the day but the Huskers were only able to hit 13-of-37 (35.1 percent) inside the arc against the tough Jayhawk defense.

KU hit 48.1 percent from the floor with Marcus Morris leading the way, nailing 9-of-15 shots for 20 points while adding 11 rebounds. Collins also had 17 points and six assists as the Jayhawks had 19 assists against 13 turnovers while forcing the Huskers into 19 miscues. Kansas also blocked nine shots.

Anderson finished with 12 points for the Huskers on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range as became the 25th Husker in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau, improving his career totals to 1,010 points, 526 rebounds and 163 3-pointers. He became just the eighth player in the Big 12 era and the third Husker ever to reach the 1,000-point, 500-rebound and 150 3-pointers plateau in a career.

Kansas started the game red-hot, hitting seven of its first 10 shots while running out to a 20-13 lead with 12 minutes left before intermission. The Jayhawks, who came into the weekend hitting better than 39 percent from long range to rank among the national leaders this year, did much of their damage from beyond the arc to open the game, hitting four of their first six long-range attempts as they took control of the game.

But foreshadowing the second period, the Huskers showed they were not going to go away easily, cutting the lead to just three points twice in the final 10 minutes. NU started by using an 8-2 run, including five straight points by Christian Standhardinger, to pull within 24-21 with 9:31 to play. Standhardinger added a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer in the run and finished the first half with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting while adding two steals with his hustle plays.

Following their second timeout of the half, the Jayhawks rolled off three straight baskets to move back ahead by nine points, 30-21, before Nebraska made a final push in the period. Nebraska cut the deficit to just four points, 37-33, at the break by scoring 12 of the last 19 points of the period. Quincy Hankins-Cole hit 3-of-5 free throws in the stretch, after entering the game hitting just 36.2 percent from the charity stripe.

Along with Hankins-Cole, freshman Brandon Ubel stemmed any chance of an early big KU run with a pair of 3-pointers. Ubel, who entered the contest hitting 50 percent from long range this season, canned a trey with one second on the shot clock to pull the Huskers within 30-26 with 4:49 to play and added his second straight triple just 38 seconds later to counter a Kansas 3-pointer by Collins.

The Huskers had the ball with a chance to pull within one in the final 20 seconds but a turnover and missed KU attempt in the final seconds left NU down by four at the break. Nebraska had an uncharacteristic 11 turnovers in the opening period and hit just 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from the field, but connected on 4-of-6 3-pointers to offset the miscues.

Kansas, which was among the top 10 nationally in field-goal percentage defense coming into the weekend, also  had a fair number of turnovers, finishing the period with nine while hitting 46.7 percent (14-of-30) from the field.

Nebraska returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 10, when the Huskers play another nationally televised contest on ESPN2 as NU plays host to No. 20 Baylor in Lincoln. If the Bears, who lost at Texas A&M Saturday, remain ranked, it will be the second straight ranked opponent to enter the Devaney Center and the third of what would likely be five straight ranked opponents for the Huskers.