Huskers Tip Off 2010-11 Season Friday Night

Nebraska Cornhuskers
Game: 1
2010-11 Record: 0-0, 0-0 Big 12
Head coach: Doc Sadler
    Record at Nebraska: 70-58 (5th year)
    Record at Division I: 118-76 (7th year)
    Career Record: 238-115 (13th year)

South Dakota Coyotes
Game: 1
2010-11 Record: 0-0, 0-0 Great West
Head coach: Dave Boots
    Record at USD: 465-182 (23rd year)
    Career Record: 580-245 (30th year)

Huskers on TV/Radio/Internet
Television: Fox Sports Midwest (DirecTV ch. 675, Dish ch. 450, Ch. 37 on Time Warner Cable; Ch. 47 on Cox Cable) 
   Play-by-play: Greg Sharpe
   Color: Eric Piatkowski
Radio: Select IMG Husker Sports Radio Network stations
   Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka
   Color: Matt Davison
Internet Radio/Stats: Free on Huskers.com
Satellite Radio: Sirius Ch. 154

Huskers Open Season vs. South Dakota
The Nebraska basketball team opens the 115th season in program history on Friday, Nov. 12, when the Huskers play host to the University of South Dakota at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The contest will tip off at 7:07 p.m. and will be broadcast across the state on the 32-station IMG Husker Sports Radio Network with Kent Pavelka and Matt Davison on the call.

Friday's game can be seen around the state of Nebraska on Fox Sports Midwest and nationally on ESPN FullCourt. The Husker telecast will feature Greg Sharpe (play by play) and Eric Piatkowski (analyst) and will be seen on channel 37 in Lincoln; channel 47 in Omaha; DirecTV channel 680; and Dish Network channel 451.

Tickets for Friday's season-opener are available by calling 800-8-BIGRED or visiting Huskers.com. Fans can also purchase tickets at the Devaney Center beginning at 5:30 p.m. Fans are advised to check out the parking map on page 3 of the release, as both the Huskers and Lincoln Stars hockey team are home on Friday evening.

The 2010-11 Huskers are a much more experienced squad than the team that took the floor at the start of last season.  Nebraska, which finished 15-18 and missed postseason play for the first time in three years, returns 10 lettermen from a year ago, including four players (Lance Jeter, Jorge Brian Diaz, Brandon Ubel and Brandon Richardson) who made at least 15 starts. In addition, NU also has four other players who have made multiple starts during their Husker career, including sophomore Christian Standhardinger (4); junior Toney McCray (3 in 2008-09), sophomore Ray Gallegos (3) and sophomore Eshaunte Jones (2).  That is a far cry from a year ago, when Nebraska had three players making their Division I basketball debut in the starting lineup, including a pair of freshmen in Ubel and Diaz.

If the Huskers are going to win their 10th straight season opener Friday night, one of the catalysts will be Jeter. The 6-foot-3 point guard averaged 7.5 points and a team-high 4.1 assists per game, as he started all 33 contests last season.

Jeter will be helped by a frontcourt that is the deepest in Sadler's five years at Nebraska. During the exhibition season, four of the Huskers' top five scorers were post players, as Diaz paced Nebraska with 15.0 points on 78 percent shooting,  5.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game while hitting. Standhardinger (12.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg), Ubel (8.5 ppg., 3.5 rpg) and junior college transfer Andre Almeida (10.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 4.5 apg) all enjoyed strong exhibition season, as the Huskers hit 52 percent of its shots in the two wins.

Depth across the board has been the buzzword for Nebraska, as the 10 players averaged at least 17 minutes per game in the two exhibitions and that did not count expected contributors Christopher Niemann (knee), Brandon Richardson (ankle) and Toney McCray (foot), who all missed at least one exhibition contest. Richardson and McCray may both be available for action on Friday.

South Dakota will provide the Huskers a good opening test, as the Coyotes returned a pair of starters from a team that went 22-10 last season and advanced to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).  USD was picked to finish third in the Great West Conference preseason poll and are led by senior guard Kendall Cutler, who averaged 8.5 points and league-high 4.6 assists per game.

Parking Changes for 2010-11 Season
With the creation of UNL Innovation Campus on the property previously used for the Nebraska State Fair, fans will be charged $3 per car to park in the public lots this season. 

Two cashier stations will be set up on the Saltcreek Roadway Extension to assist fans entering and exiting the parking area on gamedays.

Fans can purchase parking passes in advance by calling UNL Parking & Transit Services at (402) 472-1800, as season and 10-game packets are available.

Here is a quick primer on the parking areas and how to access them.

• Public Parking Lots: From 27th Street: Enter from the east on North Fair Park Drive, which winds around to the public cashier entrance into the north entrance of the lot. Please exit the same way you entered. From Military Road or Antelope Valley Parkway: Take the Saltcreek Expressway to the public cashier entrance and head north into public parking area. Please exit the same way you entered.
• Lot 51: - Enter from Antelope Valley Parkway (formerly 14th Street) onto West Entrance Road. Exit to Antelope Valley Parkway.
• VIP Lot and Lot 52: Enter from the west at the intersection of Military Road and Antelope Valley Parkway. Take a right to curve around the west side of the Devaney Center to Court Street. Please exit the same way you entered.
• Lot 56: Enter from Antelope Valley Parkway heading north. Exit to Antelope Valley Parkway heading north.
• Lot 57-58: Enter from Antelope Valley Parkway to West Entrance Road. Exit to West Entrance Road to Antelope Valley Parkway.
• Lot 59: Enter from 10th Street or Antelope Valley Parkway to Military Road. Exit to Antelope Valley Parkway heading north.

Scouting South Dakota
Under longtime coach Dave Boots, South Dakota was one of the premier programs at the Division II level before making the jump to Division I. Boots, who has won 465 games in 22 years at South Dakota, has guided USD to seven straight 20-win seasons, including a 22-10 record last year. The Coyotes won the Great West Conference with an 11-1 record and reached postseason play for the first time as a Division I program.

In 2010-11, South Dakota returns six lettermen including a pair of starters and was picked third in the league's preseason poll. Sophomore guard Jake Thomas was a preseason first-team All-GWC selection after averaging 13.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game as a freshman. Senior guard Kendall Cutler averaged 8.5 points and 4.6 assists per game and was the MVP of the Great West Conference Tournament.

Nebraska-South Dakota Series
While the teams share a common border, it has been a while since the Huskers and Coyotes have squared off on the basketball court. Nebraska leads the all-time series, 30-5, that goes back to 1911, but the teams have not met since a 101-69 Husker victory at the Devaney Center on Dec. 1, 1984. To put that in perspective, no Husker player was born at the time of the last matchup and the No. 1 song in the country that day was Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham. Nebraska has won all 16 matchups since the end of World War II.

Early Opening
The Nov. 12 opener is the second-earliest season-opening date in school history, only behind the Nov. 10 season opener in 2007 (67-52 win over Presbyterian). Last year's Nov. 14 opener was tied for the second-earliest season opener (also in 2006 and 1998).

• Nebraska has won nine straight season openers since an 87-83 setback at Oral Roberts in 2000. Overall, Nebraska is 12-2 in season openers during the Big 12 era, and 75-39 all-time.
• The last time Nebraska lost a season opener at home was 1980 when NU fell to Wyoming, 62-59, in overtime. The Huskers have won 20 straight season openers at home since that loss.
• Doc Sadler is 6-0 in season openers as a Division I head coach with each of the wins coming by double figures.

2-0 at UTEP
2004	vs. Delaware State	W, 83-50
2005	vs. Western New Mexico	W, 78-51
4-0 at Nebraska
2006	vs. Nebraska-Omaha	W, 76-62
2007	vs. Presbyterian	W, 67-52
2008	vs. San Jose State	W, 63-46
2009	vs. South Carolina-Upstate	W, 76-49

Exhibition Recap: Nebraska 82, Bellevue 58
Behind a 17-point effort from Jorge Brian Diaz, the  Huskers wrapped up the exhibition portion of its schedule with an 82-58 win over Bellevue University Monday night. Diaz led all scorers by hitting 8-of-10 shots from the floor to surpass double figures for the second straight game. Thirteen of his points came in the first half, as Nebraska raced to a 43-25 halftime lead.

The Huskers connected on 58 percent of its field goal attempts (29-of-50) and had thee players in double figures, as Ray Gallegos and Andre Almeida added 10 points apiece.  The Huskers held Bellevue to just 30 percent from the floor, including 9-of-35 from 3-point range.

The Bruins pulled to within 12 points at the 15-minute mark, but the Huskers pulled away, shooting 67 percent (12-of-18) from the floor in the second half.  Junior guard Kamyron Brown dished out a game-high six assists, including three in the first eight minutes of the second half, to help NU hold its double-digit advantage and cruise to a comfortable win.

Exhibition Recap: Nebraska 75, Peru State 43
Christian Standhardinger recorded a double-double and the Husker defense forced 25 turnovers, as the Nebraska men's basketball team kicked off the 2010-11 season with a 75-43 exhibition win over Peru State on Nov. 3.

Standhardinger posted game-high totals of 16 points and 10 rebounds, leading a trio of Huskers in double figures. Jorge Brian Diaz hit 6-of-8 from the field to add 13 points, while junior college transfer Andre Almeida was impressive in his NU debut, making five of his six shots to add 11 points, while also finishing with six rebounds and a game-high six assists.

The Huskers shot better than 46 percent for the game, while Peru State hit only 28.0 percent of its shots. Nebraska recorded 12 steals while forcing Peru State into committing more turnovers (25) than total shots made (22; 14 field goals, eight free throws). Devin Eighmey led the Bobcats with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-5 from beyond the 3-point arc. The Huskers also held a decisive 45-29 rebounding edge over the smaller Peru State lineup.

Nebraska's defense was suffocating from the start, as the Huskers held the Bobcats scoreless for the first 7:57. During that stretch, NU recorded five steals and forced nine turnovers, as Peru State attempted only three shots, as the Huskers built a 16-2 lead in the first 11 minutes of the contest.

Long Time coming
For two of Nebraska's newcomers, it has been awhile since their last game, as Drake Beranek (623 days) and Kamyron Brown (612 days) did not play during the 2009-10 season.

Beranek, who transferred to NU from Division II Nebraska-Kearney, averaged 21.9 points per game at the Division II level in 2008-09 and scored 1,453 points in his three-year career at UNK. His last game was a 27-point effort against Colorado School of Mines on Feb. 28, 2009.

Brown, who spent his first two seasons at Oregon, did not play competitive basketball last season as he was finishing up his associates degree so he could transfer to Nebraska. His last game was on March 11, 2009, against Washington State in the Pac-10 Conference tournament.

Huskers Battling the Injury Bug
The Huskers have been battling the injury bug over the last week. Sophomore center Christopher Niemann will be sidelined for a few weeks, as he underwent surgery on his knee to fix a meniscus on Nov. 3. Later that day,  junior guard Brandon Richardson suffered an ankle injury when he stepped on a referee's foot during the opening minutes of NU's exhibition opener. He did not play on Monday night, but could return to the lineup against South Dakota. Junior Toney McCray has been battling plantar fasciitis and did not play in either exhibition game, but could see time on Friday night.

Walker Looks to Make a Mark
After opening last season with three newcomers in the lineup, the Huskers will likely have a veteran lineup on the floor on Friday night. The one exception may be at the wing, where junior college transfer Caleb Walker has put himself in position to start. The 6-foot-4 guard was a first-team NJCAA All-American at Butler Community College in 2009-10, averaging 16.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game to help Butler CC to its first national tournament appearance since 1996.

Walker, who originally played both basketball and football at Butler CC, took summer classes at NU and was the only newcomer on the Bahamas trip. He was third on the team in both scoring (11.5 ppg) and rebounding (4.5 rpg) in helping the Huskers to a 4-0 record on the trip. Walker is the second first-team NJCAA All-American recruited by Sadler to Nebraska, joining Steve Harley, who started on the Huskers' NIT teams in 2008 and 2009. 

Holding court
Nebraska has been strong on its home court over the years, and will try to continue an impressive run at home under Coach Doc Sadler. In the history of the Bob Devaney Sports Center, Nebraska has posted a 410-131 record for a .757 winning percentage.

In the past four seasons under Sadler, Nebraska has dominated to the tune of a 54-17 record (.761 winning percentage) against all teams. Facing non-conference opponents, the Huskers have been nearly unbeatable at home under Sadler. During his tenure, the team has earned a 37-1 record at the Devaney Center, with the lone loss coming in the 2008-09 season. The Huskers enter the 2010-11 campaign with a 13-game home winning streak against non-conference foes.

Huskers Get Bigger, Stronger
One of the focuses in the offseason for the Huskers was to increase size and strength to be able to withstand the rigors of an entire season. Under strength coach Rusty Ruffcorn, nearly the entire team stayed in Lincoln during the offseason for the first time under Coach Sadler, and the gains in strength and size are noticeable. Here are some of the biggest gainers from last season to today. 

Player	2009-10 Weight	2010-11 Weight	Difference
Brandon Ubel	220	240	20
Jorge Brian Diaz	230	245	15
Drake Beranek	185	200	15
Eshaunte Jones	190	200	10

Huskers Go Perfect in Bahamas
The Nebraska basketball team spent part of August in the Bahamas, taking on teams from the Bahamas Basketball Federation in an exhibition tour. The Huskers went 4-0 on the trip, their first overseas travel since going to Australia in 2004. Sophomore forward Christian Standhardinger led the Huskers in both points (15.3 ppg) and rebounds (7.5 rpg) on the tour and joined sophomore forward Brandon Ubel (12.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and junior college transfer Caleb Walker (11.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg) in averaging double figures. The Huskers averaged 96.0 points per game, as the team played FIBA rules, including a 24-second shot clock.

Standhardinger Looks to Enjoy Full Season
One Husker who is looking to get off to a quick start to the 2010-11 season is Christian Standhardinger. The 6-foot-9 sophomore forward had to sit out all of the Huskers' non-conference schedule (15 games) last year because of an NCAA amateurism ruling, but still averaged 8.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in his debut season. Standhardinger showed a knack of getting to the foul line, as his 58 attempts in Big 12 play led all Huskers. 

One of the areas Standhardinger has worked on is becoming a better rebounder and its been evident since the end of last season. He averaged a team-high 7.5 rebounds during the Huskers' trip to the Bahamas, and paced NU with 18 rebounds in two exhibition games. He had 10 rebounds in the opener against Peru State before grabbing eight boards in just 13 minutes of second-half action on Monday against Bellevue.

New Faces on the Bench
One of the biggest changes for the Huskers is on the sideline, as assistant coaches Wes Flanigan and Tracy Webster are in their first year at Nebraska, while Chris Croft moved from an administrative role to the bench this season.

Flanigan came to Nebraska from UAB, where he spent two seasons helping the Blazers to 47 wins and a pair of postseason appearances. He also served as an assistant at Arkansas-Little Rock and Northwest Mississippi CC following his playing career at Auburn, where he was an All-SEC performer.

Tracy Webster comes to Nebraska after previously serving coaching stints in the Big East, Big Ten and Southeastern Conferences. Last season, he was an assistant at DePaul before being promoted to interim head coach on Jan. 12, 2010, where he finished the season. He has also been an assistant at Kentucky, Illinois, Purdue and Ball State following a decorated playing career at Wisconsin, where he was an All-Big Ten guard for the Badgers.

Croft served as NU's director of operations for the last four seasons, but had previously been an assistant coach at the Division I level for eight years. He had been an assistant at Washington State, Southern Miss and Maryland-Eastern Shore and was the head coach at Martin Methodist College for three seasons.

Husker Youth Movement
Although the Huskers return 10 letterwinners this fall, it is still a rather young team. NU has two scholarship seniors (Lance Jeter and Drake Beranek) and only two players on the roster have played multiple seasons (Brandon Richardson and Toney McCray). In fact, Husker freshmen accounted for 848 of the Huskers' 2,194 points (38.7 percent) and 348 of the Huskers' 1,069 rebounds (32.5 percent).  The 2009-10 Huskers set  school marks for number of freshmen to start games (5 on the season; 3 in a single game) and for number of freshman to record 20-point games in the same season (3). Freshmen accounted for 51 starts on the season.

Huskers Look to Reclaim Big 12 Defensive Title
Throughout Doc Sadler's four seasons at Nebraska, the Huskers have been one of the Big 12's top defensive teams. In 2009-10, NU was fourth in the Big 12 in scoring defense, allowing 65.7 points per game. That snapped a two-year streak where the Huskers led the conference in scoring defense. In 2008-09, Nebraska allowed just 60.4 points per game to rank 22nd nationally and lead the Big 12. A year earlier, it gave up just 60.7 ppg and held on to a final No. 18 national ranking in that category.

Huskers Hail from Everywhere
The 2010-11 Huskers feature some international flavor with a pair of Germans (Christian Standhardinger and Christopher Niemann), a Brazilian (Andre Almeida) a Puerto Rican (Jorge Brian Diaz) and players from 10 states across the USA on its 20-player roster. There are five Nebraskans on the roster, including senior Drake Beranek, while no other location features more than two players.

Freshmen Made Their Mark on Husker Record Lists
With five freshmen in the Huskers' playing rotation during the 2009-10 season, it was natural that some of the Husker rookies would find their way on to NU's single-season freshman charts. A school-record five freshmen made at least one start (Jorge Brian Diaz -26; Brandon Ubel-16; Christian Standhardinger-4; Ray Gallegos-3; Eshaunte Jones-2) last season.

Diaz set NU's freshman record with 41 blocked shots, topping the old mark of 39 set by Venson Hamilton (1996) and John Turek (2002).  Diaz also finished in the top 10 among Husker freshmen in field goals made (133, fourth), points (291, eighth), rebounds (133, seventh) and  points per game (8.82, 10th).

Eshaunte Jones proved to be one of the Huskers' best long-range shooters, finishing his redshirt freshman year ranked second in 3-point shooting percentage (38.8 percent) and fifth in 3-pointers made (40).

Nebraska Coach Doc Sadler
Nebraska Coach Doc Sadler begins his fifth season on the Husker sideline. Sadler has guided the Huskers to postseason appearances in two of the last three seasons and his 70 wins after four seasons is the second-highest total by a Husker coach in his first four years at Nebraska (Moe Iba, 71). He has guided teams to postseason berths in four of his six years as a Division I head coach, as both of his UTEP squads reached postseason play before taking over the Nebraska program in August of 2006. Sadler enters the 2010-11 season looking to climb Nebraska's all-time wins chart, as he is in seventh place, but is just 16 wins shy of cracking the top five on the list.

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-present	70	70-58 (.547)
8.	William Browne, 1933-40	64	64-87 (.424)

Academic success Under Sadler
Under Doc Sadler, the Huskers have enjoyed success in the classroom. In all, 10 of 12 seniors who have completed eligibility under Sadler have received their degrees from Nebraska.  This season, senior Matt Karn is the 11th senior to earn a degree under Sadler, participating in commencement ceremonies earlier this year.  Fellow seniors Drake Beranek (May of 2011) and Lance Jeter (August of 2011) are on schedule to complete their course work  in the next year. The Nebraska basketball program ranks second among Big 12 programs with an 82 percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in the most recent rankings released on October of 2010.

Walk-on Tradition Continues
While the Nebraska football program is nationally known for its walk-on program, the Husker basketball team has gotten major contributions from walk-ons in Doc Sadler's four seasons. The most notable was Paul Velander, who received the Jack Moore Award, symbolizing the team's MVP, after helping the 2008-09 squad to the NIT.

At the start of the semester senior guard Drake Beranek was recognized for his hard work, as he was placed on scholarship for the 2010-11 year.  Beranek walked on to the program after spending three years at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. He scored 1,453 career points at UNK and ranked 11th nationally in Division II with 21.9 points per game in 2008-09.

For the 2010-11 season, the Huskers added five walk-ons, including in-state products Trevor Menke (Beatrice), Kye Kurkowski (Grant) and Jordan Tyrance (Lincoln), as well as Marshall Parker (Fort Smith, Ark.) and Bo Spencer (Baton Rouge, La.).

Regular-Season Schedule Notes

• Nebraska faces a rugged schedule with a minimum of 16 regular-season games against teams that reached the 2010 postseason. Among the Huskers' opponents that reached last year's NCAA Tournament were: Elite Eight participants Kansas State (twice) and Baylor, NCAA second-round qualifiers Kansas (twice), Missouri (twice), Texas A&M along with NCAA qualifiers Arkansas Pine-Bluff, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma State and Texas. NU will also face 2010 postseason NIT qualifiers Jackson State and Texas Tech, along with CIT qualifiers South Dakota and Creighton. In addition, the Huskers could face two more postseason qualifiers in Puerto Rico, including Final Four participant West Virginia, NCAA qualifier Minnesota, NIT runner-up North Carolina and CBI qualifier Hofstra.
• The Huskers are set to play 19 regular-season games at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, the most regular-season home games since the 2005-06 season. Last year, the Huskers went 12-6 in the building and NU is 54-17 at home under Coach Doc Sadler. The Huskers also played 18 regular-season home games in 2007-08, but one game (vs. Oregon) took place at the Qwest Center in Omaha.
• Nebraska heads to San Juan for the Puerto Rico Tip-off. This will be the fifth time the Huskers have traveled to Puerto Rico for a tournament and first since winning the San Juan Shootout title in 2000. That season, Nebraska won its three games by a total of four points, earning one-point wins over Iona and Kent State before winning the title with a 72-70 win over SMU. Nebraska is 8-4 in its four previous tournaments in Puerto Rico, reaching the finals of the 1990 San Juan Shootout and placing third in the 1994 San Juan Shootout.
• The Huskers will have at least 20 games televised regionally or nationally, including five games set to be seen around the country on the ESPN family of networks and another nationally televised on Fox Sports Net. The Huskers have averaged more than 20 televised contests (national, regional and local) each of the past four years.
• The Huskers' schedule features a school-record 10-game homestand beginning with the USC contest on Nov. 27. Prior to this season, the longest stretch of home games in school history was seven, which had been done four other times, most recently during the 2007-08 season.

Huskers to Enter Big Ten in 2011-12
June 11, 2010, was a historic day for the University of Nebraska, as NU was admitted to the Big Ten Conference as the 12th member of the nation's oldest conference. The Cornhuskers will begin play in the Big Ten in 2011-12. The Huskers have played Minnesota the most of any Big Ten opponent, as the teams have squared off 63 times dating back to 1902. The teams could meet again as non-conference foes, as both teams are in the field for the Honda Puerto Rico Tip-off next week.

Up Next
The Huskers return to action Monday night when they take on NCAA Tournament qualifier Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and single-game tickets are available on Huskers.com and by calling the NU Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED.