Huskers Take on Hofstra Sunday Morning

Nebraska Cornhuskers
Game: 5
2010-11 Record: 2-2, 0-0 Big 12
Head coach: Doc Sadler
Record at Nebraska: 72-60 (5th year)
Record at Division I: 120-78 (7th year)
Career Record: 240-117 (13th year)

Hofstra Pride
Game: 3
2010-11 Record: 1-2, 0-0 Colonial Athletic Conf.
Head coach: Mo Cassara
Record at Hofstra: 1-2 (1st year)
Career Record: 23-32 (3rd year)

HUSKERS ON TV/RADIO/INTERNET
Television: ESPNU (Ch. 208 on DirecTV; Ch. 141; Time Warner Cable Chs. 235-SD and 126-HD; Cox Chs.  220-SD/737-HD)
Play-by-play: Doug Sherman
Color: Mark Gottfried
Sideline:  Andy Katz

Radio: IMG Husker Sports Radio Network, including 1400 AM in Lincoln, KFAB 1110 AM in Omaha and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington
Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka
Color: Andy Markowski
Internet Radio/Stats: Free on Huskers.com
Satellite Radio: None

Huskers Take on Hofstra Sunday Morning
The Nebraska basketball team looks to end the weekend on a winning note, as the Huskers take on the Hofstra Pride in their final game at the Honda Puerto Rico Tip Off in San Juan.

Start time at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico is set for 9:30 a.m. (central) and the game can be seen nationally on ESPNU. The game will also carried across the state on the 32-station IMG Husker Sports Radio Network with Kent Pavelka and Andy Markowski, including KFAB 1110 AM in Omaha, KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln and KRVN 880 in Lexington.

Nebraska (2-2) had opportunities to win both games, but could not take advantage. In the opener against Vanderbilt, the Huskers were held to 35.3 shooting and went 0-for-10 from 3-point range as the Commodores overcame a three-point deficit.

Against Davidson, the Huskers allowed 11 3-pointers and still had a chance to win in the final minute as they trailed by two with 28 seconds left, but could not get the tying basket and dropped to 0-2 in an in-season tournament for the first time since the 1992 Rainbow Classic.

One factor in both games has been the Huskers' 3-point shooting, as Nebraska have hit on just 2-for-21 from long range. Last year, the Huskers hit a school record 39.7 percent from beyond the arc and returned four of the team's top six 3-point threats from a year ago.

While the outside shooting has sputtered, sophomore post players Brandon Ubel and Jorge Brian Diaz have given the Huskers consistency from the paint.

Ubel led the Huskers with 10 points in Thursday's loss and then totaled eight points and grabbed career-high nine rebounds in the three-point setback to Davidson on Friday. He is averaging 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds, while hitting 9-of-10 from the charity stripe.

Diaz had a solid effort against Davidson on Friday with 13 points and three blocked shots. He had nine points and all three blocked shots in the second half and is averaging 10.5 points and a team-best 6.0 rebounds in Nebraska's two games in San Juan.

Hofstra (1-2) looks to pick up its first tournament win after falling to North Carolina and Western Kentucky in the first two rounds in San Juan. On Friday, the Pride saw a 13-point second-half lead evaporate in a 62-60 loss to WKU on Friday.

The Huskers will have to contain Charles Jenkins, who leads the tournament in scoring at 25.5 points per game, including a 24-point effort with four assists and three steals in the loss to North Carolina on Thursday.

Scouting Hofstra
First-year coach Mo Cassara has Hofstra entering Sunday's game with a 1-2 record following a 62-60 loss to Western Kentucky Friday evening. The Pride, which was picked to finish fifth in the CAA following a 19-15 season a year ago, is led by senior guard Charles Jenkins, who was the CAA Player of the Year last season after averaging 20.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. This season, he tops Hofstra in points (25.9), assists (4.3) and steals (4.0) while shooting 67 percent from the floor entering Sunday's game with the Huskers. Junior guard Mike Moore averages 14.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, while senior center Greg Washington is a force in the low post, averaging a team-high 7.3 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game.

Nebraska-Hofstra Series
Sunday's matchup will mark the second meeting between the two squads, as Hofstra downed the Huskers, 73-62 in the 2006 NIT in Hempstead, N.Y. In that game, Loren Stokes and Antoine Agudio totaled 23 and 21 points, respectively, as the Pride shot 48 percent from the field. Jason Dourisseau paced Nebraska with 15 points and eight rebounds in a losing effort. 

The Huskers have a limited history with teams from the CAA, playing its members a combined five times. NU is 4-1 against the league with its only loss coming to Hofstra (1-0 vs. Old Dominion; 2-0 vs. Georgia State and 1-0 against UNC WIlmington)

Last Time Out: Huskers Fall to Davidson, 70-67
Despite a season-high 17 points by Lance Jeter, the Nebraska basketball team suffered a 70-67 loss to Davidson Friday in the Honda Puerto Rico Tip Off..Jeter hit 7-of-8 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, dished out five assists and matched his career high four steals, but the Huskers (2-2) were unable to slow down the Wildcats' sharp shooting from 3-point range.

Davidson hit 11-of-28 from beyond the arc, including six from Brendan McKillop, who finished with a game-high 21 points and five assists to lead four Wildcats in double figures. McKillop had 15 of his 21 points after halftime, including back-to-back 3-pointers to break a 40-all tie, and gave Davidson, which hit 7-of-14 from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes, a lead they would not relinquish. 

The Huskers trailed 58-52 with 5:01 remaining before sophomore Jorge Brian Diaz led the Huskers back. Diaz, who finished with 13 points, three blocks and four rebounds, scored eight straight NU points as the Huskers pulled within 63-62 on a Jeter jumper with 1:01 remaining.

On Davidson's next possession, McKillop missed a 3-pointer, but Tom Droney hauled in the offensive rebound and converted both free throws to push the lead back to three points. NU cut it to 65-64 on Drake Beranek's two foul shots and had the ball trailing 66-64, but a costly turnover on its next possession put the Huskers in a position to foul.

Davidson extended lead to 69-64 before Jeter's 3-pointer made it a two-point lead with two seconds remaining. The Huskers had one final opportunity to send the game to overtime after Droney split the three throws, but Brandon's Richardson's desperation heave fell short.

Sophomore Christian Standhardinger joined Jeter and Diaz in double figures, finishing with 14 points, including 10-of-12 from the foul line, and five rebounds.

Nebraska got off to a quick start, jumping out to an 11-2 lead in the first four and a half minutes, as Jeter had all seven of his first-half points in the spurt.

Davidson fought back, getting two quick 3-pointers to trim the margin to 11-8 before the Huskers got baskets from Standhardinger and Diaz to push the lead back to seven points.

Davidson would get back into the game behind the play of Jake Cohen, who had 15 of Davidson's 28 first-half points. Trailing 17-10, Cohen's basket sparked a 12-3 Wildcat run, taking the lead at 22-20 on Clint Mann's jumper.

Davidson eventually got the lead to 28-24, before the Huskers closed the first half on a 6-0 run, as a Brandon Richardson jumper and four points from Brandon Ubel, who finished with seven points and a career-high nine rebounds, gave NU a 30-28 halftime lead.

Postgame Notes vs. Davidson
*-Davidson was the first team to shoot over 40 percent against Nebraska, as the Wildcats hit 43.4 percent from the floor, including 11-of-28 from 3-point range. Prior to today, NU was holding opponents to just 25.8 percent from 3-point range. Davidson's 70 points was also an opponent high against Nebraska this season.

*-Brandon Ubel's nine rebounds against Davidson nearly doubled his previous best of five set twice last season (vs. TCU and vs. BYU).

*-Lance Jeter matched career-high in steals (four) and field goals made (seven), while his 18 points against Davidson is the second-highest total of his Nebraska career. Jeter's 18 points also marks the first time in four games that the Huskers' leading scorer was in the starting lineup that day.

*-Jorge Brian Diaz tied a career with three blocked shots against Davidson, matching a feat he had done five other times, most recently against Iowa State on Jan. 16, 2010. Diaz's 13 points was also a season high, marking the second time in as many games in Puerto Rico he has set season bests in points.

*-Christian Standhardinger reached double figures for the third time this season with 14 points off the bench. He also set personal bests for free throws made (10) and attempted (12), as Nebraska went 23-of-31 from the foul line.

*-Nebraska had a 35-31 advantage on the boards, marking the sixth straight opponent dating back to last season Nebraska has out-rebounded dating back to last season. It is the second time in Sadler's five seasons that Nebraska has out-rebounded six consecutive opponents.