Huskers Look to Trap Bears

Game 23: at Baylor
Game Date: Feb. 9, 2011
Tipoff Time:  7:04 p.m.
Venue: Ferrell Center
Capacity: 10,284

Broadcast Information
Television: Big 12 Network (KLKN in Lincoln; KPTM's Digital Channel 42.2 in Omaha). A list of national outlets can be found by clicking here. Wednesday's game will be on ESPN Full Court
 Play-by-play: Doug Bell
 Color: Reid Gettys
 Sideline: Melissa Knowles
Internet Video: ESPN3.com
Radio: IMG Husker Sports Radio Network
 Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka
 Color: Andy Markowski
Internet Radio/Stats: Free on Huskers.com
Satellite Radio: Ch. 130 (Baylor  feed)

Nebraska Cornhuskers
Game: 23
2010-11 Record: 15-7, 3-5 Big 12
Head coach: Doc Sadler
 Record at Nebraska: 85-65 (5th year)
 Record at Division I: 133-83 (7th year)
 Career Record: 253-122 (13th year)

Baylor Bears
Game: 23
2010-11 Record: 15-7, 5-4 Big 12
Head coach: Scott Drew
 Record at Baylor: 124-110 (8th year)
 Career Record: 144-121 (9th)

Huskers Head to Baylor on Wednesday
The Nebraska basketball team looks to snap a two-game losing streak Wednesday night, as the Huskers travel to Waco, Texas, for a matchup with the Baylor Bears.

Tip off at the Ferrell Center is slated for 7:04 p.m. and the game will be televised through parts of the country on the Big 12 Network. In Nebraska, the game will be shown on KLKN (Ch. 8) in Lincoln and KPTM's digital channel (My 42.2) in Omaha with Doug Bell, Reid Gettys and Melissa Knowles on the call.  A complete list of Big 12 Network stations is on page 11 of today's release, and the game can also be seen on ESPN Full Court and ESPN3.com.

Wednesday's game will be available on the  32-station IMG Husker Sports Radio Network with Kent Pavelka and Andy Markowski on the call, including KFAB 1110 AM in Omaha, KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln and KRVN 880 in Lexington.

The Huskers (15-7, 3-5 Big 12) ran into a hot-shooting Kansas team in an 86-66 loss Saturday afternoon. The No. 2 Jayhawks were 13-of-24 from beyond the arc and converted 23 free throws in handing the Huskers their first home loss of the season.

Despite the loss on Saturday, one of the encouraging signs was the play of Brandon Richardson. The junior guard led the Huskers with 16 points against Kansas, hitting 5-of-9 shots from the floor.

Richardson, who got off to a slow start this season, has been playing his best basketball in recent weeks and is averaging 12.3 points on 56 percent shooting per game over the Huskers' last four games.  He was averaging just 5.4 points on 41 percent shooting in Nebraska's first 18 contests.

Richardson's offensive emergence has given the Huskers an effective backcourt partner for Lance Jeter, who is fourth in the Big 12 in assists (4.6 per game) and leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.7-to-1).

Jeter comes off his first double-double of the season, as he had 10 points and a season-high 10 assists against Kansas. He became the first Jayhawk opponent since current Charlotte Bobcats point guard D.J. Augustin to dish out 10 assists in a game against KU, as he accomplished the feat during the 2006-07 campaign. 

Baylor (15-7, 5-4 Big 12) is coming off an impressive 76-74 overtime win at Texas A&M on Saturday. Freshman forward Perry Jones had 27 points and seven rebounds, while senior guard LaceDarius Dunn finished with 17 points, including five 3-pointers as the Bears picked up an important road win.

The Huskers are looking for their first road win of the season and will look to pick it up at a place where they enjoyed their last Big 12 road triumph in 2009.

Quick Look at Baylor
The Bears come into Wednesday's game with a 15-7 record and a 5-4 Big 12 record following a 76-74 overtime win at Texas A&M on Saturday. Baylor sits in third place in a jumbled Big 12 pack at 5-4, as only 1.5 games separate third place from 10th place in the Big 12 standings. The Bears won their first seven games and were ranked as high as ninth in the national polls, before dropping three of four. The Bears then won their next four games, including Big 12 wins at Texas Tech and against Oklahoma, but have not won two in a row since Jan. 11

The Bears, who are 12-1 at home this season, feature two of the league's best performers in senior LaceDarius Dunn and freshman Perry Jones III. Dunn averages a conference-best 20.5 points per game and averages a league-best 3.8 3-pointers per contest. He ranks 17th in NCAA history with 371 3-pointers and is second in Big 12 history in that category. Jones has been the league's top freshman, averaging 14.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. In conference action, he has been even better, averaging 18.9 ppg on 63 percent shooting. He comes off one of the best performances of the year, totaling 27 points and nine rebounds at No. 16 Texas A&M.  Jones, who is expected to be a high first-round pick in June's NBA Draft, has led Baylor in scoring in four of their last six contests.

Junior forward Quincy Acy provides a big spark off the bench, averaging 12.9 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game, as he averages 32 minutes per contest. The Bears shoot 48 percent as a team and out-rebound their opponents by nearly seven rebounds per game. Defensively, they are holding opponents to 62.5 points per game.

Nebraska-Baylor Series
Nebraska and Baylor are meeting for just the 22nd time in series history on Wednesday, and the 18th time in the Big 12 era. The Huskers hold a 12-9 advantage in the all-time series, including a 9-8 mark since the formation of the Big 12 in 1996-97.

• The teams have played each of their last four regular-season matchups to within four points. Overall, seven contests in the series have been decided by four or fewer points.
• Baylor has won four of the past five matchups, including a 55-53 win in Lincoln last season. In that game, Ekpe Udoh's basket with 26 seconds remaining gave BU a 54-53 lead. After Lance Jeter misfired on a 3-pointer, Quincy Acy extended the Bears' lead to 55-53 with a free throw with nine seconds left. Jeter and Brandon Richardson also each had a look at a 3-pointer in the final seconds, but Acy rejected Jeter's final shot at the buzzer. The Huskers' bench accounted for 37 points, including 11 from Myles Holley and 10 each from Eshaunte Jones and Richardson. LaceDarius Dunn led all scorers with 19 points.
• Nebraska's last win over BU came in the 2009 regular-season finale when the Huskers earned a 66-62 road victory. In that game, Toney McCray had a career-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor.
• Nebraska won four straight over Baylor between 1998 and 2000, the longest streak by either team in the series. Baylor has won consecutive games on four occasions for its longest win streak.
• Nebraska has held Baylor to less than 70 points in 14 of the past 16 meetings, including three times (1998, 2004 and 2006) under 50 points.

Last Time Out
No. 2 Kansas handed the Huskers their first home loss of the season last Saturday, 86-66 in front of a sellout crowd of 13,602 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.  The Huskers saw their home winning streak snapped at 14, two shy of the school record spanning the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons

Kansas knocked down 55.6 percent of its shots, including a 13-of-24 effort from 3-point range. The 13 3-pointers were a season high for the Jayhawks and marked the most 3-pointers Nebraska has allowed this season. Four Jayhawks reached double figures, led by Brady Morningstar's season-high 19 points that included hitting 5-of-7 from the 3-point line. Markieff Morris added 17 points and his brother Marcus added 16 points and a game-high seven rebounds.

Junior Brandon Richardson scored 16 points to lead four Huskers in double figures in a losing effort. Junior Toney McCray added 11 points off the bench, while junior Caleb Walker and senior Lance Jeter each scored 10. Jeter also dished out a season-high 10 assists to pick up a double-double.

Kansas used strong 3-point shooting to build a 42-34 halftime lead. The Jayhawks hit a trio of 3-pointers in a 11-2 spurt that gave Kansas a 20-10 lead, and hit 7-of-12 from long distance in the first half. Nebraska chipped away at the lead, as Richardson scored seven straight points to pull NU with 44-41. Kansas answered with back-to-back 3-pointers from Marcus Morris and Morningstar to spark an 8-0 run that gave the Jayhawks a 52-41 lead.

The Huskers made one last run, pulling to within 60-54 after Jeter's basket with 10:10 left, but Kansas scored the next seven points over the next 1:46, pushing the lead back into double figures.

Noting the Kansas game

• The sellout crowd of 13,602 was the largest of the season and the first sellout since the 2007-08 campaign.
• Kansas' win on Saturday snapped Nebraska's 14-game home win streak.
• Kansas became the second Husker opponent to shoot 50 percent against Nebraska, as Kansas shot a season opponent best 55.6 percent.
• Kansas is only the third team to score more than 70 points against Nebraska this season. In the first meeting, the Huskers held Kansas to a season-low 63 points.
• Kansas hit a season-high 13 3-pointers on Saturday, the most allowed by Nebraska this season (12 vs. Colorado and Jackson State). KU's 54.2 percent shooting from 3-point range was the second-highest percentage this season (54.5 vs. Jackson State).
• Lance Jeter had a season-high 10 assists today and moved past Ryan Anderson (228, 18th) and tied David Ponce (235) for 17th on Nebraska's career assist list. Jeter is now second among two-year players in career assists at Nebraska.
• Lance Jeter dished out a season-high 10 assists against Kansas, bettering his previous season high of nine against Colorado. It was the second time in his career he had at least 10 assists in a game.
• It was Jeter's first double-double of the season and second of his career, as he had 12 points and a career-high 12 assists at Kansas State last season. It is also the Huskers third double-double of the season (Toney McCray and Jorge Brian Diaz vs. TCU).
• Brandon Richardson reached double figures for the third time in the last four games with a team-high 16 points. Richardson is averaging 12.3 points per game over the Huskers' last four contests. Richardson has now also made 21 consecutive free throws dating back to Jan. 18 and is hitting 96 percent (25-of-26) in Big 12 play.
• Nebraska had four players score in double figures for only the second time in Big 12 play.

 A Win Would on Wednesday at Baylor would...

• Improve the Huskers' record to 5-5 against teams currently in the top 100 in the NCAA's latest RPI.
• Move Doc Sadler into a tie for fifth place on Nebraska's career wins list with 86, matching the total by Harry C. Good (1947-54).
• Be the Huskers' second straight win in Waco and improve NU to 13-9 all-time against Baylor, including 5-4 in Waco
• Snap a two-game losing streak to Baylor dating back to the 2009 Big 12 Tournament
• End a 12-game road losing streak in Big 12 play dating back to the start of the 2009-10 season, as well as be the first road win since Nov. 29, 2009 (at USC).
• Allow the Huskers to eclipse last year's entire season victory total with seven regular-season games remaining.

Huskers Enjoying Strong Season
Nebraska comes into the Baylor contest with a 15-7 record and looking to end a two-game losing streak following Saturday's loss to Kansas. Of the Huskers' seven losses this season, five are teams in the top 35 in the NCAA's latest RPI rankings (2 vs. Kansas, 1 each vs. Vanderbilt, K-State and Missouri). Of those five losses, only the Kansas one was at home.

• It is the third time in the Big 12 era that Nebraska has been 15-7 after 22 games (also 2005-06 and 2008-09).
• The last time Nebraska had a better mark after 22 games was in 1991-92 when Nebraska was 16-6 and on its way to a 19-10 record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
• Nebraska's quick start was recognized on Jan. 10, when the Huskers received four points in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. It was first time since Jan. 16, 2006, that Nebraska had received any points in the coaches poll. NU received votes in both the AP and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll on Jan. 30, the first time that has happened in Doc Sadler's five seasons.

Down to the Wire
One of the keys to Nebraska's success this season has been the ability to get into close contests.

• Nebraska has been within five points with 2:30 left eight times this season, including four of the Huskers' seven Big 12 games. NU has a 4-4 mark in those games this season.
• In four of NU's seven losses (Vanderbilt, Davidson, Kansas and Texas Tech), Nebraska was within five points with 2:30 left. In the loss at Missouri, Nebraska used a late run and cut a nine-point deficit to four points with 31 seconds left.
• The 2010-11 season marks the first time in six years that Nebraska has been involved in multiple one-point games (63-62 win over Iowa State on Jan. 8; 72-71 loss at Texas Tech on Jan. 22).

A Defense that Would Make the Blackshirts Proud
As is typical with Doc Sadler-coached teams, the Huskers' forte is on the defensive end. Nebraska is in the top 10 nationally in both opponent field goal percentage (.375) and points per game (58.4) entering this week's action.
The Huskers have held 13 opponents under 60 points and only three opponents have scored more than 70 points through the first 22 games.  That is made more impressive when you consider that Nebraska has played four games currently among the nation's top 12 in scoring offense.

• With 86 points on Saturday, Kansas became the first time in 22 games to better its 2010-11 scoring average against Nebraska. In the first matchup, the Huskers held the Jayhawks to a season-low 63 points.
• Nebraska has held seven teams (Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Vanderbilt, Hofstra, Eastern Washington, Grambling State, Kansas and Texas A&M) to its season low point total.
• Nebraska held 10 straight opponents to under 60 points earlier this season, the longest stretch by a Nebraska team since a 21-game stretch covering the 1948-49 and 1949-50 seasons.
• Nebraska's defense has been stingy at home, allowing just 53.0 points per game in 14 home contests.
• The Huskers held four straight foes to under 50 points - the first time since February of 1949 that has happened at Nebraska.
• The biggest beneficiary to the Huskers defense has been the fans at the Devaney Center. In 11 of 14 home games, fans have earned products from Runza Restaurants, whether its a Runza or burger (50 or less), chili or soup (51-55) or an order of fries or onion rings (56-60).
• Nebraska opponents have been held to 25 percent shooting three times this season, including 21.1 percent by Eastern Washington on Dec. 18.
• Nebraska's defensive excellence has been established under Sadler, as the Huskers led the conference in defense twice in his first four years at NU (2007-08, 2008-09).
• Nebraska's defense was put to the test during a two-week stretch to open Big 12 play. The Huskers' first four opponents were among the top five scoring offenses in the Big 12. The list features three teams (Missouri, Kansas and Colorado) all ranked in the top 11 nationally in scoring offense entering this week's action. In those games, NU allowed an average of 67.2 points per game.

More than Just Defense

• Nebraska's .472 field goal percentage is on pace to be the Huskers' best shooting since the 2000-01 squad that shot .487 and ranked 11th nationally in field goal percentage. That is Nebraska's best field goal percentage in the Big 12 era. The Huskers are fourth in the Big 12 35th in the country in field goal percentage.
• The Huskers' current scoring average of 67.9 points per game is on pace to be the highest in Doc Sadler's five seasons (current high is 67.1 in 2007-08) and the most since averaging 70.7 points per game in 2003-04.
• The Huskers have also been solid at the free throw line this season, as their .714 percentage from the charity stripe is on pace to be the best free throw percentage since the 2002-03 season (.725).

The Sum is Greater than the Parts
When talking about the 2010-11 Huskers, Nebraska Coach Doc Sadler mentioned that this is the deepest team he has had in his five seasons. The Huskers have relied on that depth, as 10 players have averaged at least 12 minutes per game and no player is averaging at least 30 minutes per game. While the Huskers do not have a player in the top 20 in the league in either scoring or rebounding, they rely on a balanced attack with nine players averaging between 4.4 and 10.9 points per game.

• NU has had 10 different players lead the team in scoring at least once, as the only regular who has not accomplished the feat is senior Drake Beranek.
• A total of 11 players have scored in double figures at least once, while Nebraska has had just two current players score 20 or more points this season (Andre Almeida vs. South Dakota; Brandon Richardson at Texas Tech).