Huskers Look to Top Cowboys in Kansas City

Game 31: vs. Oklahoma State
Game Date: March 9, 2011
Tipoff Time:  11:37 a.m.
Venue: Sprint Center
Capacity: 18,758

Nebraska Cornhuskers
Game: 31
2010-11 Record: 19-11, 7-9 Big 12
Head coach: Doc Sadler
    Record at Nebraska: 89-69 (5th year)
    Record at Division I: 137-87 (7th year)
    Career Record: 257-126 (13th year)
    at Big 12 Championship: 2-4

Oklahoma State Cowboys
Game: 31
2010-11 Record: 18-12, 6-10 Big 12
Head coach: Travis Ford
    Record at Oklahoma State: 63-35 (3rd year)
                Career Record: 253-181 (14th year)

Broadcast Information
Television: Big 12 Network and ESPN Full Court  (KLKN Ch. 8 in Lincoln, KXVO Ch. 15 in Omaha; Altitude in North Platte.
      Play-by-Play: Dave Armstrong
      Color: Reid Gettys
Internet Video: ESPN3.com

Radio: IMG Husker Sports Radio Network 
      Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka
      Color: Matt Davison
Internet Radio/Stats: Huskers.com
Satellite Radio: (XM Ch. 231; Sirius Ch. 126)

Huskers Look to Top Cowboys in Kansas City
For the Nebraska basketball team, the postseason begins Wednesday morning, as the Huskers head to the Sprint Center in Kansas City for the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.

The Huskers, who are the eighth seed, will take on ninth-seeded Oklahoma State in Wednesday's first-round opener at 11:37 a.m. The game will be televised around the region on the Big 12 Network, including KLKN (Ch. 8) in Lincoln, KXVO (Ch. 15) in Omaha and Altitude in North Platte. In addition, the game will be available on ESPN Full Court and on the Internet at ESPN3.com.

Fans can also listen to the action 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 and also on Huskers.com.

The Huskers come to Kansas City with a 19-11 record after falling at Colorado, 67-57, Saturday evening in the regular season finale. Nebraska was within 44-43 with 10:47 remaining, but Colorado used a 6-0 spurt to seize control and hit free throws down the stretch. CU went 12-of-14 from the foul line in the second half to not let Nebraska back into the game. Lance Jeter and Toney McCray had 10 points apiece in the losing effort.

Despite the loss at Colorado, the Huskers (19-11) still have plenty to play for as they embark on their final trip to Kansas City for the Big 12 Championship. With a win over Oklahoma State, the Huskers will reach the 20-win mark for the 13th time in school history and second time in Doc Sadler's five seasons. Prior to Sadler's arrival, Nebraska had not had a 20-win season since the 1998-99 campaign. Sadler would also join Danny Nee and Joe Cipriano as the only three coaches in program history with multiple 20-win seasons, and Nebraska would earn a third crack at Big 12 regular-season champion Kansas on Thursday.

If the Huskers are to make an extended stay in Kansas City, the key will be guard play, and Nebraska has one of the Big 12's best in senior Lance Jeter. The Beaver Fall, Pa., native leads the Huskers in scoring (11.5 ppg) while ranking among the Big 12 leaders in both assists (4.6, 3rd), steals (1.7, sixth) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3-to-1, second) to earn third-team All-Big 12 honors.  He has been at his best down the stretch, averaging 16.0 points on 54 percent shooting, 7.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in Nebraska's last four contests.

To get that shot at the Jayhawks, Nebraska would have to top an Oklahoma State team that has postseason aspirations of its own. The Cowboys are 18-12 on the year and look to bounce back after falling at Oklahoma, 64-61, on Saturday. The Cowboys, who lost at Nebraska, 65-54, in Lincoln on Feb. 12, feature one of the Big 12's best interior players in Marshall Moses, who averages 14.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

Quick Look at Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State comes into Wednesday's Big 12 Championship opener with an 18-12 mark, including a 6-10 ledger in the Big 12. The Cowboys started the year by winning 11 of their first 12 games with the only loss coming to Virginia Tech in Anaheim.

In Big 12 action, OSU was 4-5 entering their trip to Lincoln last month, but finished the year just 2-5 down the stretch, including a loss at Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon. Against the Sooners, Marshall Moses led OSU with 16 points and nine rebounds to lead four Cowboys in double figures. The Cowboys out-rebounded Oklahoma, 35-25, but committed 17 turnovers and shot just 40 percent, including 2-of-11 from 3-point range.

Moses leads the Huskers with 14.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, as he ranks fourth in the Big 12 in rebounding and third in field goal percentage (.555). Keiton Page is second on the team in scoring at 13.1 ppg while hitting 31 percent from 3-point range and a conference-best 90 percent (120-of-133) from the foul line. Jean-Paul Olukemi is the third Cowboy who averages double figures, as he comes of the bench and averages 11.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest. In Big 12 play, Okukemi led OSU at 12.7 points per game.

Last Matchup vs. Oklahoma State
Lance Jeter scored a team-high 16 points, leading Nebraska to a 65-54 win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 12. Jeter's 16-point effort helped the Huskers snap a season-long three-game losing streak. The senior hit 7-of-8 from the foul line, as the Huskers connected on  15 of 18 from the charity stripe and out-rebounded Oklahoma State, 38-28.  While Jeter led Nebraska's balanced offense which saw nine players crack the scoring column, the Husker defense buckled down to hold OSU to 36 percent shooting, including 31 percent in the second half. 

Nebraska took control of the contest in the final minutes of the first half, using a 10-2 run and holding OSU to one field goal over a seven-minute span to build a six-point halftime lead. The Cowboys pulled to within 37-32 early in the second half, but a 6-0 run capped by Caleb Walker's 3-pointer pushed the Husker lead to 43-32. Nebraska eventually pushed the lead to 15 at 60-45 and was in control the rest of the contest.

Nebraska-Oklahoma State Series
Nebraska and Oklahoma State will meet for the 117th time on Wednesday morning. Nebraska leads the all-time series, 63-53, and snapped a four-game losing streak to the Cowboys last month with a 65-54 win.

• The Huskers have won four of the six matchups between the teams in Big Eight/Big 12 Tournament history, including the 1994 Big Eight Championship title game.
• Oklahoma State held Nebraska to just 39 points the last time these two teams met at the Big 12 Championship, posting a 54-39 win in 2007.
• The last time NU won twice in a season against OSU came during the 1993-94 season.

Nebraska's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship History
The Cornhuskers start the second season as they enter Championship Week facing Oklahoma State in the 8/9 matchup Wednesday morning. NU owns a 6-14 overall record at the Big 12 Championship. Since the Big Eight postseason tournament started in 1977, the Huskers own a 16-34 all-time record, which includes winning the 1994 Big Eight tournament title over Oklahoma State.

• The Huskers' best run in the Big 12 Championship came in 2006 when Nebraska won two games before falling to eventual champion Kansas in the semifinals.
• The Huskers are just 4-9 in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament, but 2-2 in Doc Sadler's four seasons at Nebraska.
• Nebraska has four wins at the Big 12 Championship in the past five years, after posting just two wins in the first nine years of the Big 12 tourney.
• Nebraska is 2-4 in four trips to the Big 12 Championship under coach Doc Sadler, including a win over No. 5 seed Missouri in 2010. It was only the second time in 14 years that a No. 12 seed defeated a No. 5 seed in the Big 12 Championship.
• Nebraska is 4-2 against Oklahoma State in conference tournament action, picking up wins in 1978 (71-63), 1982 (60-49), 1986 (82-75), and 1994 (77-66). The win in 1994 was in the Big Eight Championship game. NU's two losses against the Cowboys came in 1995 (48-68) and 2007 (39-54).

A Win in the Big 12 Championship Opener vs. Oklahoma State Would...

• Improve the Huskers' season record to 20-11, which would match the Huskers' best record after 31 games in the Big 12 era (also 1997-98).
• Help Nebraska reach the 20-win mark for the 13th time in school history and second time in Doc Sadler's five seasons at Nebraska. Sadler would become the third NU head coach with at least two 20-win seasons at Nebraska, joining Danny Nee (seven times) and Joe Cipriano (twice). Nee is the only coach in the program's 115-year history to record a pair of 20-wins seasons in his first five years at Nebraska.
• Match the Huskers' highest win total of the Big 12 era, as Nebraska also won 20 games in 1997-98, 1998-99 and 2007-08.
• Improve Nebraska's record to 8-8 against teams in the top 100 of the RPI this season and give the Huskers a two-game sweep of Oklahoma State since 1993-94.
• Give Nebraska a 5-9 record in the first round of the Big 12 Championship (3-2 under Sadler) and put Nebraska into the Big 12 quarterfinals against Kansas on Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
• Give Nebraska Coach Doc Sadler his 90th win at Nebraska, moving past Barry Collier for sole possession of fourth place on Nebraska's career wins list. Sadler would also have four 20-win seasons in his seven years of coaching at the Division I level (2 at UTEP; 2 at Nebraska).

Last Time Out
Lance Jeter and Toney McCray had 10 points apiece, but Colorado used a hot start and pulled away down the stretch for a 67-57 victory.  Jeter had 10 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while McCray had 10 points and seven boards before fouling out, but Nebraska committed 15 turnovers which led to 18 Colorado points. Marcus Relphorde paced four Buffaloes with 19 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. Three of Colorado's seniors, Relphorde, Cory Higgins (12) and Levi Knutson (13) combined for 44 of Colorado's 67 points.

Colorado got off to an electric start, hitting their first six shots from the floor to jump out to a 14-3 lead in the first four minutes of the game and built the lead to as many as 12 points before NU fought back. The Huskers used a pair of 5-0 spurts to pull within six and trailed only 33-28 at the break. Nebraska, which never led, pulled to within 44-43 with 10:47 left, but the Buffaloes ran off seven straight points to extend the margin to 50-43. The Huskers pulled to within 52-48 after a Brandon Richardson 3-pointer from the top of the key, but a Knutson 3-pointer and a Roberson tip in pushed the lead back to nine points and the Huskers were unable to get closer than seven the rest of the way.

Noting the Colorado game

• Nebraska finished Big 12 play with a 7-9 record, tying Baylor for seventh in the final standings. The seventh-place finish matches the Huskers' best finish in Big 12 play under Sadler (also 2006-07 and 2007-08). The Huskers were picked 10th in the preseason poll by the league coaches.
• Lance Jeter finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists against Colorado, and finished Big 12 play averaging 5.2 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game. Jeter became only the third player in Big 12 history to average more than 5.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds in league play, joining Iowa State's Jamaal Tinsley (1999-2000) and Kansas' Kirk Hinrich (2001-02).
• With his seven assists vs. Colorado, Jeter now has 138 assists, which ties for eighth on NU's single-season list.
• Colorado's five turnovers were an opponent season low (previous low was 9 at Missouri and at Iowa State). The Buffaloes had 16 turnovers in the first matchup.
• The Huskers held Colorado to just 67 points, the sixth time this year that Colorado has been held under 70 points. CU entered the game averaging 79.7 points per game to rank 12th nationally.
• Nebraska held a 34-32 advantage on the boards, the fifth straight game NU has out-rebounded its opponent.

Huskers Enjoying Strong Bounce Back Season
After a disappointing 2009-10 campaign, the Huskers have bounced back this season, entering this week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in contention for a postseason bid with a 19-10 record. Nebraska finished at 7-9 in the Big 12, the third-toughest league in the country according to the RPI, and finished one game out of fifth place in the final league standings. The Huskers easily topped last year's win total of 15 and are seeking their 13th 20-win season in program history.

• Nebraska's 19-11 mark is the Huskers' best after 30 games in 13 years. Only the 1997-98 Huskers, which were 20-10 after 30 games, have had a better mark at this point of the season in the Big 12 era.
• Nebraska has three wins over ranked teams, only the third time in the last 15 seasons the Huskers have knocked off three ranked teams in a season (also 1998-99 and 2007-08).
• Nebraska picked up its first win over a team ranked in the top three in 17 seasons when the Huskers stunned No. 3 Texas, 70-67 on Feb. 19.
• Nebraska matched a school record with 17 home wins, going 17-2 at the Devaney Center this season.
• Of the Huskers' 11 losses this season, six are teams currently in the top 35 in the NCAA's latest RPI rankings (2 vs. Kansas and K-State, 1 each vs. Vanderbilt and Missouri).
• The Huskers swept the two Oklahoma schools for the first time since 2005-06 and only the second time in the Big 12 era.
• Nebraska ran off 11 straight wins earlier this year, the longest win streak in 18 years.
• Nebraska's performance was recognized on Jan. 10, when the Huskers received four points in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. It was the 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 played 11 games decided by five points or less. That is a dramatic change from last year, where Nebraska played just 10 games decided by 10 points or less.

• Half of the Huskers' Big 12 games were decided by five points or less and NU went 3-5 in those games.
• Nebraska has been within five points with 2:30 left in regulation 12 times this season, including eight times in conference play. NU has a 5-7 mark in those games.
• In seven of NU's 11 losses (Vanderbilt, Davidson, Kansas, Texas Tech and Baylor), Nebraska was within five points with 2:30 remaining. In addition, Nebraska used a late run at Missouri, cutting a nine-point deficit with 2:30 left to four points with 31 seconds left.
• Nebraska has had four one-point games this season, going 2-2 in those contests.

Kansas City Homecoming for Two Huskers
This week's Big 12 Championship is a homecoming for Caleb Walker and Brandon Ubel, who both have Kansas City ties and are vital members of the Huskers' rotation. Walker lived in Kansas City before moving to Hutchinson, Kan., at age 13 to live with his father, while Ubel is from Overland Park, Kan. and attended Blue Valley West High School. Walker has started 25 contests, averaging 6.3 points and a team-high 4.7 rebounds per game.  Ubel has played in every contest, averaging 5.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. The sophomore comes off one of his best weeks of the season, averaging 10.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in Nebraska's last two contests.

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 15 nationally in both opponent field goal percentage (.386) and points per game (60.2) entering this week's Big 12 Championship in Kansas City.  The Huskers lead the Big 12 in scoring defense and are second to Texas in field goal percentage defense.

Nebraska's defense is on pace to be one of the best in school history, as the Huskers' 60.2 points per game allowed is the lowest since the 1981-82 campaign (55.3 ppg). In fact, only five Husker teams have allowed less than 60 points per game, and just one since 1952.

• The Huskers have held 16 opponents under 60 points and only five opponents have scored more than 70 points this season. That fact is made more impressive when you consider that Nebraska has played seven games against teams which rank in the top 15 nationally in scoring offense (Kansas-2x, Missouri-2x, Colorado-2x and South Dakota).
• Nebraska is holding opponents to 38.6 percent shooting, which is the lowest by a Husker team since the 1960-61 campaign (36.7).
• Nebraska has allowed only three teams to eclipse its season scoring average in the first 30 contests.
• Nebraska has held seven teams (Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Vanderbilt, Hofstra, Eastern Washington, Grambling State, Kansas and Texas A&M) to season lows in points.
• 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 was stingy at home, allowing just 56.2 points per game in 19 home contests.
• The Huskers held four straight foes to under 50 points - the first time that has happened at NU since 1949.
• Nebraska opponents have been held to 25 percent shooting three times this season, including 21.1 percent by Eastern Washington on Dec. 18.
• In Nebraska's 11 losses, the Huskers have allowed an average of 71.0 points per game, while allowing just 54.0 points per game in its 16 wins.
• 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).

More than Just Defense

• Nebraska's .469 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 currently second in the Big 12 in shooting percentage, and 32nd nationally.
• While Nebraska typically relies on its defense and is 11th in the league in scoring offense, the Huskers' current scoring average of 67.4 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.
• Nebraska is also in the top half of the league in rebounding margin (+3.9, sixth) and turnovers (13.5, sixth), while Nebraska tops the league in defensive rebounding percentage.