Red Hot Huskers Look for 8th Straight Win

Nebraska Cornhuskers
Game: 12
2010-11 Record: 9-2, 0-0 Big 12
Head coach: Doc Sadler
    Record at Nebraska: 79-60 (5th year)
    Record at Division I: 127-78 (7th year)
    Career Record: 247-117 (13th year)

Grambling State Tigers
Game: 11
2010-11 Record: 2-8, 0-0 SWAC
Head coach: Bobby Washington
    Record at EWU: 9-29 (2nd year)
    Career Record: Same

Broadcast Information
Television:  Television: None
Internet Video: HuskersNside (subscription required)
Radio: IMG Husker Sports Radio Network stations
      Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka
      Color: Matt Davison
Internet Radio/Stats: Free on Huskers.com
Satellite Radio: None

Red Hot Huskers Look for 8th Straight Win
The Nebraska men's basketball team looks to finish the month of December in style, as the Huskers try and extend their winning streak to eight games against Grambling State Tuesday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Tipoff for the contest between the Tigers and Huskers is set for 7:06 p.m. and tickets for Tuesday's game can be purchased for as little as $5 at Huskers.com or at the Devaney Center beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. In addition, seating in the Red Zone is available for purchase for just $15 ($2 for UNL students with ID) and can be purchased on Huskers.com or by calling 800-8BIGRED.

The game can be watched on the Internet on HuskersNide (subscription required). It will be the fourth of six games shown on HuskersNside during the 2010-11 season. To sign up and watch Saturday's game, go to Huskers.com and click on the HuskersNside icon on the right side of the page.

Nebraska's game with Grambling State will also be carried across the state on the 32-station IMG Husker Sports Radio Network with Kent Pavelka and Matt Davison on the call, including KFAB 1110 AM in Omaha, KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln and KRVN 880 in Lexington. Free audio will also be available on Huskers.com.

The Huskers (9-2) are coming off their best defensive performance of the season, holding Eastern Washington to a season-low 42 points in a 72-42 victory. EWU, which was averaging 75 points per game entering Saturday's game, shot just 21.1 percent from the floor, including just 7-for-31 from 3-point range. 

The Huskers had three players in double figures, led by Jorge Brian Diaz's 14 points and five rebounds, as the Huskers shot 50 percent from the floor. Diaz has been a consistent performer on the interior for the Huskers, averaging 12.0 ppg on 64 percent shooting during Nebraska's seven-game win streak.

If the Huskers can win on Tuesday, it will be NU's first perfect December since 1994, as well as NU's longest win streak since a 10-game win skein during that same season.

Grambling State (2-8) has been off since Dec. 11, when they  defeated Central Arkansas, 70-60 to snap a four-game losing streak. The Tigers have been on the road for most of the season, play at Baylor, Vanderbilt and Arkansas among their first 10 games.

Pregame Pictures with Santa and Herbie
Fans will have an opportunity to take photos with Santa and Herbie Husker prior to Tuesday's game against Grambling State. Santa and Herbie Husker will be available for photos in the Southwest Concourse beginning at 5:30 p.m. and fans are encouraged to bring their camera to Tuesday's game to get pictures.

Scouting Grambling State
Grambling State comes to Lincoln with a 2-8 record following a 70-60 win over Central Arkansas on Dec. 11. The Tigers have spent most of the season on the road and have played one home game this season. GSU has faced a difficult schedule, including setbacks at Baylor (87-52), Rice (86-57), Arkansas (75-52) and Vanderbilt (92-59) among others.  Bobby Washington is in his second year at the school after serving as the interim head coach last year. He previously served as head men's basketball coach at Seminole Community College in Sanford, Fla., for five years and as an assistant coach at Florida A&M for three seasons. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under current Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford at Eastern Kentucky. Grambling returned only four letterwinners from last year, but all four were in the starting lineup. This season, all 12 players on the roster have started at least one game, as junior Justin Patton leads the Tigers in both scoring (14.1 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg).

Nebraska-Grambling State Series
Nebraska is 2-1 all-time against Grambling, but the two teams have not met since the championship of the 1997 Ameritas Classic. In that game, Tyronn Lue, Venson Hamilton and Cookie Belcher tied for team-high scoring honors with 13 points apiece, as Nebraska put seven players in double figures. The Huskers limited Grambling to 24.3 percent shooting.  The Huskers are 15-1 all-time against SWAC opponents, with the only loss coming in a 71-68 overtime loss to Grambling on Jan. 6, 1988. NU is 3-0 against SWAC schools this year, posting victories over Arkansas Pine Bluff (83-40), Jackson State (76-57) and Alcorn State (78-57).

Last Time Out: Huskers Fly Past Eagles
Brian Jorge Diaz led 11 Huskers in the scoring column with a game-high 14 points as Nebraska held Eastern Washington to 21 percent shooting from the field in a 72-43 win Saturday evening at the Devaney Center.  With the victory, the Huskers won their seventh straight game, matching NU's longest winning streak of the Big 12 era.

Diaz finished in double figures for the sixth time this season and scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half on 5-of-6 shooting, as he led the Huskers to a 33-22 halftime lead. Nebraska shot 50 percent for the game (28-of-56), including 54 percent shooting (15-of-28) in the second half when the Huskers outscored the Eagles, 39-20. Eastern Washington struggled offensively against NU's defense and connected on just 12-of-57 attempts from the field for a season-low 21 percent shooting.

Saturday was a night of firsts for the Huskers, as senior transfer Drake Beranek earned his first career start, while sophomore center Christopher Niemann made his first appearance in a Husker uniform after coming back from two ACL surgeries. Beranek had five points and three rebounds, while Niemann had a bucket with five minutes remaining to give NU a 57-36 lead.

NU extended its 11-point halftime lead to 47-26 just eight minutes into second half as the Huskers held Eastern Washington without a point for five minutes. The Eagles scored just seven points in the first 13 minutes of the second half and shot just 3-of-20 during that stretch. Ray Gallegos led the burst by scoring all nine of his points in the final 20 minutes.

Nebraska's 39-point second half was a significant turnaround after a slow start to game. The Huskers hit just 1-of-5 field goals to open the contest, while EWU was 1-of-6. Nebraska did not get on the board until four minutes into the game when Lance Jeter went coast-to-coast to tie the contest 2-2 and kick start a 12-3 run. Diaz scored five of next seven points to put NU ahead 9-5, followed by an Eshaunte Jones 3-pointer to make 12-5. The Huskers used a 9-0 run later in the half to build its double-digit advantage, capped by a Beranek 3-pointer to give NU a 25-14 lead. Jeter would add another trey with 49 seconds left in the first half, as he finished with 11 points. The senior guard was joined by a third Husker in double figures, as junior guard Caleb Walker added 10.

Quick Notes from the Eastern Washington Game
Nebraska is now 45-1 at home against non-conference opponents and has won 21 straight home games against non-conference foes...The Huskers have won seven straight games for the first time since the 1997-98 season, and have matched the program's longest winning streak in the Big 12 era....Nebraska has held seven straight opponents to under 60 points for the first time since the 1981-82 season. NU has now held nine of 11 opponents to under 60 points this season...Eastern Washington's 42 points against NU is a season low, as their previous 2010-11 low was 54 points against Boise State on Nov. 24.  EWU entered Saturday's game averaging 75 points per game in nine contests....Toney McCray's 11 rebounds is a career high, topping his 10 rebound effort against TCU last Saturday. It is his second straight game with at least 10 rebounds...Jorge Brian Diaz reached double figures for third straight game with his 14 -point effort against Eastern Washington. Diaz had 12 of his points in the first half, hitting 5-of-6 shots from the floor...Nebraska had 11 players in the scoring column tonight, including sophomore Christopher Niemann, who made his Husker debut. Niemann had two points and a rebound in seven minutes in the second half...Nebraska shot 50 percent for the sixth time in 11 games and the fifth time in its current seven game win streak.