Huskers Tip Off Season vs. South Dakota

NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS
Game: 1
2011-12 Record: 0-0, 0-0 Big Ten
2010-11 Record: 19-13, 7-9 Big 12
Head coach: Doc Sadler
 Record at Nebraska: 89-71 (6th year)
 Record at Division I: 137-89 (8th year)
 Career Record: 257-128 (14th year)

SOUTH DAKOTA COYOTES
Game: 1
2010-11 Record: 18-15
Head coach: Dave Boots
 Record at South Dakota: 483-196  (24th year)
 Career Record: 598-259  (31st year)

HUSKERS ON TV/RADIO/INTERNET
Radio: IMG Husker Sports Radio Network
 (including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln;
 KFAB 1110  AM in Omaha; KRVN 880 AM in Lexington)
 Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka
 Color: Andy Markowski
Live Video (subscription required): BTN.com
 Broadcasters: Jake Sorensen and Ryan Swanigan
Internet Radio/Stats: Free on Huskers.com
Satellite Radio: None

The Nebraska basketball team begins its 116th season of basketball on Friday, Nov. 11, as the Huskers host South Dakota at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.  Tipoff is slated for 7:05 p.m. and tickets can be purchased by visiting Huskers.com or by calling 800-8-BIGRED.

The game will be broadcast across the state on the 30-station IMG Husker Sports Radio Network with Kent Pavelka and Andy Markowski on the call, as Pavelka begins his 25th season of calling Husker basketball games. The game can be heard for free on Huskers.com and audio packages are also available for purchase on the Huskers' App for your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Friday's game will also be video streamed on the Internet at BTN.com (subscription required), as the site will carry all three of Nebraska's non-televised conference games in 2011-12 (South Dakota, South Dakota State, Florida Gulf Coast).

The Huskers tuned up for the season with a 75-54 win over Doane College on Monday night. Juniors Brandon Ubel and Dylan Talley had 12 points apiece for Nebraska, as the Huskers shot 53 percent and enjoyed a 48-24 advantage on the boards.

Nebraska coach Doc Sadler, who begins his sixth season at Nebraska, brings back four starters and nine letterwinners from a team that went 19-13 last season and reached postseason play for the third time in four years in 2010-11.
The Huskers are led by center Jorge Brian Diaz, as the 6-foot-11 junior averaged 10.5 points on 54 percent shooting, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 2010-11. Diaz, who had nine points, six rebounds and four blocks on Monday night against Doane. He is one of a pair of two-year starters back this season, as fifth-year senior Brandon Richardson returns after averaging 6.1 points and 1.8 assists per game. Richardson had nine points and three assists in Monday's win.  Nebraska, which started four guards for most of last year, also returns starting wing players Toney McCray (8.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and Caleb Walker (6.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg). Walker had six points and three rebounds Monday, while McCray missed the contest with a toe injury.

South Dakota returns four starters from a team that went 18-15 and fell one game shy of postseason play. USD is led by senior Charlie Westbrook, who averaged 16.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in 2010-11 and had 24 points in last year's game with NU.

HUSKER TIP OFF
1) Nebraska's nine returning letterwinners have combined to make 186 career starts for the Huskers, led by Jorge Brian Diaz (56) and Brandon Richardson (42).  In addition, transfers Bo Spencer (63 starts at LSU) and Dylan Talley (14 starts at Binghamton) also have starting experience at the Division I level.
For comparison, last year's roster began the year with a combined 115 starts at the Division I level. 

2) Jorge Brian Diaz leads Nebraska's returnees, as he averaged 10.5 points per game as a sophomore. His points per game average is the second-highest total by a returnee in the last six seasons.

Player Previous Year PPG
Aleks Maric (2007-08) 18.5
Jorge Brian Diaz (2011-12) 10.5
Ryan Anderson  (2007-08) 10.1

3) Nebraska will play its 50th home non-conference game under Doc Sadler on Friday night, and the Huskers are 48-1 at home in non-conference games over the past five seasons.

HUSKER HOOPS OFFERS COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS
FOR VETERANS/ACTIVE MILITARY PERSONNEL
In honor of Veterans Day Friday, the Nebraska men's and women's basketball programs have announced a special Military/Veterans Appreciation Promotion for Friday's home home opener against South Dakota, as well as the women's season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday. Tickets will be for upper chair-back seats for the men's game on Friday or general admission seating for the women's game on Saturday.

To take advantage of this promotion, visit Huskers.com. Click on the promotions banner and enter the promo code MIL. The complimentary tickets can be picked up at the Devaney Center Will Call on the day of the game, and military ID must be presented when tickets are picked up.  The promotion for the men's game applies to upper chair-back seats priced at $10 apiece. The women's Military/Veterans Appreciation Promotion applies to general admission tickets that cost $5 for adults and $3 for youth and senior citizens.

EARLY OPENING
The Nov. 11 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). The Huskers will look to continue their run in season openers  against the Coyotes on Friday.

• Nebraska has won 10 straight season openers since an 87-83 setback at Oral Roberts in 2000. Overall, Nebraska is 13-2 in season openers in the last 15 years and 76-39 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 21 straight season openers at home since that loss.
  
• Doc Sadler is 7-0 in season openers as a Division I head coach.

SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA
Under Head Coach Dave Boots, South Dakota welcomes back four starters and seven letterwinners from a team that went 18-15 and closed the year by reaching the championship game of the Great West Tournament. USD won six of its last eight contests with both losses coming by a point,  including a double overtime loss to North Dakota in the Great West Tournament championship game. The Coyotes return Charlie Westbrook, who averaged 16.2 ppg while shooting 48.6 percent from the floor. Westbrook had 24 points and five rebounds against Nebraska last season in Lincoln. He is joined by senior guard Louie Krogman (14.8 ppg, 78 3-pointers) from an offense which averaged nearly 80 points per game last season.

NU-SOUTH DAKOTA SERIES
The series between the Huskers and Coyotes dates back to 1911, as Nebraska holds a 31-5 advantage. Prior to last year's matchup, the two teams had not played since a 101-69 Husker victory at the Devaney Center on Dec. 1, 1984. Nebraska has won all 17 matchups since the end of World War II, while South Dakota's last win was on Dec. 7, 1942, a 40-30 win in Vermillion. NU is 4-0 against USD in the Devaney Center.

LAST YEAR VS. USD
Andre Almeida scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds in his Husker debut, as Nebraska began the 2010-11 season with a 76-68 victory over South Dakota. Almeida's impressive performance came on 9-of-12 shooting in just 19 minutes. Brandon Ubel and Christian Standhardinger added 10 points apiece, while Jorge Brian Diaz chipped in eight points, as NU's four post players combined for 48 points against the Coyotes.

Almeida helped bring the Huskers out of a slow start, totaling 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting as Nebraska turned an early three-point defict into a 28-21 lead. NU led 36-31 at the break before getting the ball inside, using a 7-0 spurt to extend the lead to 43-31 after a Ubel free throw. The Huskers eventually extended the lead to 16 points, at 70-54, before USD trimmed the lead to eight points. The Huskers went 19-of-21 from the free throw line.

DOANE RECAP
Brandon Ubel and Dylan Talley had 12 points apiece,  leading Nebraska over Doane College, 76-54, Monday night. Ubel led the Huskers with 12 points, hitting 6-of-9 shots from the floor, and grabbed eight rebounds, as the Huskers shot 53 percent and enjoyed a 48-24 advantage on the glass. Talley came off the bench for 12 points and had six rebounds in 18 minutes of action, as six players had at least eight points and 11 Huskers broke into the scoring column.

Nebraska took control early, jumping out to a 9-2 lead in the first 3:50 of the game, as seniors Caleb Walker and Brandon Richardson combined for seven quick points for the Big Red. The Huskers were in control and built a 10-point lead at 28-18 before Bo Spencer keyed a decisive run that gave the Big Red a 20-point halftime lead. Spencer, who finished with nine points, four assists and four rebounds in his first game as a Husker, had five points, including a 3-pointer, in a 10-0 surge over the final 4:48 of the half to stake Nebraska to a 38-18 halftime margin.

Doane got back into the game with some long-range shooting, hitting 8-of-13 from 3-point range after the break to whittle NU's 20-point lead to 52-43 with 10:55 remaining. That would be as close as the Tigers would get, as baskets by Ubel and Christopher Niemann started a 12-0 spurt for Nebraska to make it 64-43 after a Talley jumper with 6:56 remaining.

HOME SWEET HOME
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 2011-12.
In the past five seasons under Sadler, Nebraska has dominated to the tune of a 71-19 record (.789 winning percentage). Last year, Nebraska tied a program record with 17 home wins, going 17-2 in the friendly confines of the Devaney Center. Facing non-conference opponents, the Huskers have been nearly unbeatable at home under Sadler. During his tenure, the team has earned a 48-1 record at the Devaney Center, with the lone loss coming in the 2008-09 season. The Huskers enter the 2011-12 campaign with a 24-game home winning streak against non-conference foes, the fourth-longest streak in school history.

UBEL LOOKS TO CONTINUE SURGE
One Husker who hopes to build on the 2010-11 season is junior Brandon Ubel. The 6-foot-10 forward finished last season by playing some of the best basketball of his career, averaging 10.0 points on 58 percent shooting and 6.3 rebounds over the Huskers final four games - all against postseason teams. Those numbers were well above his 2010-11 season averages of 6.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest.

He started the stretch with a near double-double against Missouri, scoring 11 points and matching his career high with nine rebounds. In the Big 12 Tournament opener against Oklahoma State, he had 11 points, including seven straight to help NU erase a 14-point deficit, and six rebounds. He started at center against Wichita State and had nine points and six rebounds in the NIT opener.

DIAZ BECOMING CONSISTENT INSIDE FORCE
Junior center Jorge Brian Diaz looks to continue his steady improvement this season. The 6-foot-11 junior is only the third Husker returnee to average in double figures under Sadler, joining Aleks Maric and Ryan Anderson in 2007-08. Diaz reached double figures 17 times last year, with the Huskers posting a 14-3 mark in those games. Diaz is also 373 points away from 1,000 for his career and could become just the 15th Husker to reach the 1,000-point plateau in three seasons.  Diaz is also a defensive force in the paint, as he ranks 10th on Husker career charts with 79 blocked shots.

Hopes are high for continued improvement from Diaz, as he enters this season in the best shape of his Husker career. Diaz had been bothered by foot ailments over the last year, and was fitted for special orthotics in hopes of alleviating the discomfort.

RICHARDSON AMONG PROGRAM'S BEST FROM THE FOUL LINE
Senior Brandon Richardson has become one of Nebraska's best free throw shooters throughout his Husker career. The Los Angeles, Calif., native ranks third in school history with an 82.7 career percentage from the charity stripe and is one of only four players in program history to shoot over 80 percent for a career.
Last year, he was second in Big 12 action in league play, hitting 87.8 of his free throws, including a stretch of 25 consecutive from the line.  Throughout his career, he has been his best in late-game situations, going 68-of-73 from the foul line in the final five minutes of games, a remarkable 93.2 percentage.

SPENCER MAKES DEBUT VS. SOUTH DAKOTA
After sitting out a season, senior Bo Spencer makes his Husker debut vs. South Dakota Friday night. The 6-foot-6, 196-pound guard played three seasons at LSU, where he averaged 9.3 points per game in 93 contests.

He started two seasons for the Tigers, averaging 14.5 points, 2.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game in 2009-10. Spencer showed the ability to get to the basket, putting up 11 games of at least 28 points, including a 28-point effort against Western Kentucky and back-to-back 25-point contests against Kentucky and Tennessee.

In his LSU career, he reached double figures in 45 of 93 career contests, including 21 games as a junior Spencer, was the starting point guard on LSU's Southeastern Conference championship squad in 2008-09, as the Tigers reached the second round before falling to eventual champion North Carolina.

MCCRAY EMERGES INTO SCORING THREAT
One of the keys for the 2011-12 season is senior guard/forward Toney McCray. The fifth-year senior from Missouri City, Texas, put together his best year last year after missing nearly all of 2009-10 with a left elbow injury. 

McCray finished the year third on the team in scoring at 8.5 points per game while appearing in all 32 contests. He was also third on the team in both assists (1.3) and steals (1.0) per game while knocking down a team-high 41 percent from 3-point range.

McCray got off to a slow start as he battled plantar fasciitis but flourished when Nebraska went to a four-guard offense, averaging 10.3 points per game in NU's final 20 games after averaging 5.4 ppg in the Huskers' first 12 contests. McCray was at his best in conference action, averaging 11.5 points per game on 47 percent shooting. He  reached double figures in 10 of 16 games and ranked among Big 12 leaders in 3-point shooting percentage (.433, 5th), steals (1.4, 8th) and 3-pointers per game (1.6, 14th).

He sparked Nebraska's upset of No. 3 Texas with 14 points and six rebounds, while his defense limited Jordan Hamilton to just 3-of-16 shooting. McCray has been limited the last week of practice with an ingrown toe nail and did not play in Monday's exhibition win over Doane.

NEBRASKA COACH DOC SADLER
Doc Sadler begins his sixth season on the Husker sideline after leading Nebraska to an NIT appearance in 2010-11. Sadler has guided the Huskers to postseason appearances in three of the last four seasons, and his 89 wins in his first five seasons are the most by any Husker coach in his first five years at Nebraska.
Sadler has guided teams to postseason berths in five of his seven 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 will enter the 2011-12 season in a tie for fourth on NU's career wins list and could move into sole possession for fourth with a win on Friday.

HUSKERS LOOK TO CONTINUE DEFENSIVE EXCELLENCE
One hallmark of Nebraska basketball under Doc Sadler is a stout defense, and the Huskers were among the nation's best in 2010-11. Nebraska allowed an average of 60.5 points per game to lead the Big 12 for the third time in the last four seasons and rank 18th nationally. It is the fourth time in Sadler's seven years that his teams have led a league in scoring defense. The Huskers were seventh nationally in field goal percentage, the .389 field goal percentage was the lowest by a Husker team since the 1960-61 campaign.

• The Huskers held 17 opponents under 60 points and only six opponents have scored more than 70 points in 2010-11. That is made more impressive when you consider that Nebraska has played 11 games against teams which rank in the top 40 nationally in scoring offense during the season.
• Nebraska allowed only four teams to eclipse its season scoring average in 32 games.
• 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, the longest stretch by a Nebraska team since a 21-game stretch covering the 1948-49 and 1949-50 seasons.

60 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Nebraska's success has been predicated on clamping down on the opposition. Last year, the Huskers held 17 of 32 opponents under 60 points, compiling a 15-2 mark in those games. Nebraska has held 70 opponents to 60 points or less in Doc Sadler's five years at Nebraska, compiling a 62-8 record in those games.

NEW CONFERENCE, OLD FOES
Nebraska's addition to the Big Ten Conference provides Husker fans a new set of rivals to get acquainted with this season. While Nebraska has squared off with every Big Ten member in its history, it has been a while since NU has played any of its new conference members. Nebraska's last contest with a Big Ten team was a 58-47 loss to Minnesota on Dec. 8, 2004.

In fact, current Big Ten members have only played at the Devaney Center 17 times since the facility opened in 1976 with the Gophers (seven times) and Michigan State (three times) accounting for more than half of the total. This season, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois all make their first-ever trips to the Devaney Center, leaving Northwestern as the only Big Ten team to never play the Huskers at the Devaney Center.

NOTING THE 2011-12 SCHEDULE
With a new conference, including 18 Big Ten games, the Huskers will face a challenging road in 2011-12. Here are a couple of nuggets on the upcoming season slate.

• Nebraska will play 13 of its 29 games this season against teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2010-11. In Big Ten action, seven squads qualified for the Big Dance, including No. 1 seed Ohio State, as the conference was second in the RPI. The Huskers will open their first season of Big Ten Conference action with six straight games against NCAA Tournament teams.
• Wake Forest becomes the first ACC member to visit Lincoln when the Demon Deacons come to the Devaney Center on Nov. 30, as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Huskers are 4-5 all-time against the ACC. The only time a current ACC member played in Lincoln was Miami in 1970, prior to the Hurricanes joining the ACC.
• Nebraska's three true road games in non-conference play (at USC, at Creighton, at TCU) equal the Huskers' highest total since making four road trips in the 1997-98 season. Last year, Nebraska did not play a non-conference road game.
• The schedule features four first-time opponents: Rhode Island, Wake Forest, Florida Gulf Coast and Central Michigan. Wake Forest is Nebraska's first ACC opponent since the 2006-07 season.
• Nebraska's schedule features a new conference in the Big Ten with 18 conference games, compared to only 16 games in Big 12 action. The Huskers' single-play opponents for the 2011-12 season are Indiana and Michigan at home and Northwestern and Purdue on the road. The Huskers will face the remaining seven teams (Wisconsin, Michigan State, Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa, Penn State and Minnesota) home and home.
• Every Nebraska game this year will be available on television or the internet, including 22 games broadcast nationally on the ESPN family of networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) or on the Big Ten Network. Nebraska will also have its non-conference road games against TCU (The Mountain), Creighton (KMTV) and USC (Prime Ticket) televised. In addition, all of the remaining games, including the Huskers' exhibition game against Doane College, will air on BTN.com (subscription required).

SEASON TICKET AND PICK SIX MINI PLANS ON SALE NOW
Several ticket options are available for fans who want to see the Huskers' first season of Big Ten basketball this winter at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

For fans who want to see all of the exciting action at the Devaney Center this winter, season tickets are available for as little as $99 for all 18 games, including Big Ten matchups with Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana as well as non-conference games with Oregon and Wake Forest. Season tickets range from $99 in the Hy-Vee Value Seats to $198 In the C-Level Upper Reserved Seats.

New this year is the flexible Pick Six Mini Plan, which gives fans the option of creating their own personalized ticket package. For $50, fans can choose selected games from different groups, as every regular-season home game is featured in one of three groups. All fans who purchase any Pick Six plan will have tickets to one of four premium games (Wisconsin, Michigan State, Ohio State and Illinois) on the schedule, as well as other Big Ten and non-conference games for less than $8.50 per game.

For more information on season tickets or the flexible Pick Six plan, visit Huskers.com/Tickets or call 800-8-BIG RED during business hours.

NEW FACES ON THE BENCH
There are two new faces on the Husker staff in 2011-12, as Jeremy Cox joins the program as an assistant coach, while Tim Wilson is the Huskers' new strength coach. Cox has nearly two decades of coaching experience, including stops at Kentucky, Texas A&M, and South Florida. He is reunited with Sadler, as he was an assistant under the Huskers' head coach at Arkansas-Fort Smith in 2002-03. During his coaching tenure, he has had 10 players reach the NBA and had two first-round draft picks (Patrick Patterson, Kentucky; Dominique Jones, South Florida) in 2010.

Tim Wilson comes to Nebraska after serving as the strength coach at Oregon for the last three seasons. Prior to that, the Falls City, Neb., native worked for the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA for 11 years, helping the franchise make six playoff appearances, including the Eastern Conference Finals. He also worked at Pittsburgh and UNLV as well as the Chicago White Sox.