NU bball vs Minnesota tonight @ 8 on ESPN2

[Blackshirt]

From Huskers.com

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Playing for the second time in three days, the Nebraska men's basketball team hits the Devaney Center court Wednesday, Dec. 8, against Minnesota in a nationally televised contest. The Huskers and Golden Gophers will tip off at 8 p.m. and can be seen live on ESPN2 with Dave Barnett calling the action and Tim McCormick handling play-by-play. All Nebraska games can also be heard on the Pinnacle Sports Network and Huskers.com with Randy Lee (play-by-play) and Matt Davison (color) providing the commentary.

 

Nebraska enters the contest looking to continue its strong defensive play from Monday when it shut down Morgan State. The Huskers held MSU to just 12 points in the second period, tying the lowest scoring mark under Coach Collier at Nebraska (also against Bethune-Cookman last season), while limiting the Bears to just 34 points. No MSU player reached double figures.

 

It was the third time in the past two seasons NU held an opponent to less than 40 points. It marked the third-lowest opponent point total since 1947, trailing the 26 points allowed last season against Bethune-Cookman and the 32 points NU gave up against South Dakota in 1949.

 

The Huskers will try to use that defensive pressure to stop the Golden Gophers, who come into the game with a 3-3 record while averaging 72.3 points per game. NU hopes to take advantage of UM mistakes like it did Monday when it used 10-1 and 13-2 runs in the first and second periods, respectively, to put away the Bears.

 

Nebraska's freshmen have carried the load recently, but the Husker senior class has past exprience on its side. Nebraska's seniors own a 2-1 record vs. Minnesota and are looking to pick up NU's first three-game winning streak over the Golden Gophers since 1934 to 1936.

 

 

 

Meeting the Minnesota Golden Gophers

 

Minnesota enters Wednesday's matchup with a 3-3 record, including a 1-2 mark away from home. After opening the season with a home win over Lipscomb, the Golden Gophers beat Furman in the first round of the Great Alaska Shootout before falling to nationally ranked Alabama and Oklahoma. UM then dropped a one-point decision at home to Florida State before rebounding with a 72-56 win over Holy Cross last Saturday.

 

Junior guard Vincent Grier led the Gophers with 19 points in 40 minutes against the Crusaders. Grier leads Minnesota with 19.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He has hit 55.6 percent (40-of-72) from the floor while averaging 37.0 minutes per contest.

 

Along with Grier, freshman Dan Coleman is the Gophers' only other double-figure scorer with 11.5 points per game off the bench.

 

The Gophers are hitting 48.6 percent from the floor this season while allowing opponents to hit 45.7 percent, including 45.0 percent from three-point range. UM holds a slim 30.0-29.8 rebounding advantage through six games.

 

The Golden Gophers are coached by Dan Monson (Idaho, 1983), who is in his sixth year guiding the program. Monson has a 134-95 career record as a head coach, including an 82-78 mark at Minnesota.

 

 

 

The Series History

 

Wednesday's contest marks the 10th straight season the Huskers and Golden Gophers have met and the 63rd time in the series. Minnesota owns a commanding 47-15 series advantage, although the Huskers have held even in recent play by winning five of the past 10 matchups, including each of the past two seasons.

 

Nebraska has won the past two meetings with UM in the Devaney Center, including an 80-60 rout over the No. 20 Golden Gophers in 2002. It was NU's largest win in the series.

 

John Turek and Jake Muhleisen played a key role in the contest, as Turek set a career high with five blocked shots and Muhleisen added a career-best 10 assists. Muhleisen's total marked the first double-figure assist mark for the Huskers since 1999 when Cookie Belcher had 10 against Pittsburgh. Nebraska also received an outstanding performance from Andrew Drevo in the upset of the Gophers, as he poured in 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting and added 14 rebounds. Nate Johnson hit 5-of-10 from the floor for 14 points in the win as NU's only other double-figure scorer. Both Drevo and Johnson are now playing professionally overseas.

 

Last year, the Huskers took a 77-60 road victory against the Gophers. It was just the sixth time in the series with Minnesota that NU won away from home. Johnson had 25 points in the contest and Brian Conklin added 17, with both coming off the bench. Turek added eight points, six rebounds and three blocks despite facing foul trouble and seeing just 14 minutes of action. The win snapped NU's 11-game road losing streak and was the Huskers' largest victory margin on the road since 1998.

 

Nebraska owns a 50-107 all-time record against the Big Ten Conference.

 

 

 

Toys for Tots Collection

 

At Wednesday’s game against Minnesota (8 p.m. tip off), the U.S. Marines will be collecting unwrapped presents to give to needy children in the area as part of the Toys for Tots campaign. Toys will be collected at the door.

 

 

 

Huskers Hitting the Glass

 

Nebraska has been relentless on the boards early this season. The Huskers started on a strong note by pulling down 55 boards against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and added 50 against Texas Southern and UAB. In their last outing, the Huskers grabbed a season-low 47 rebounds against Morgan State, with all 11 players recording at least one board.

 

Entering the week, the Huskers led the Big 12 Conference in rebounding offense and rebounding margin, and ranked second in rebounding defense as they held their first three opponents to an average of 30.0 rebounds per game.

 

Freshman Aleks Maric ranks second in the league with 10.5 rebounds per game, joining KU's Wayne Simien as the only players averaging double figures in rebounds. Maric has recorded 15- and 14-rebound games this season to pace the Huskers. Junior Jason Dourisseau ranks in the top 15 in the league in after gaining 7.5 rebounds over the first four contests.

 

Nebraska's three straight 50-plus rebound efforts to start the year came after NU had just two 50-rebound games in the past four years. In 2003-04, the Huskers pulled down 51 boards in a 72-44 victory over No. 25 Texas Tech and had 50 rebounds in a 70-26 win over Bethune-Cookman.

 

The last time NU had three straight 50-rebound games came in 1999-2000. Overall, the Huskers have had 67 50-plus rebound games since complete box scores have been included in NU record books (1972-73). Only 13 times during that period has NU recorded more than 55 boards.

 

The Huskers' +36 advantage (55-19) on the glass in the season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff is the largest rebounding margin since at least 1972-73. The previous high was a +30 advantage (72-42) against Oklahoma in the 1991-92 campaign.

 

 

 

Freshman Sensation

 

Freshman guard Joe McCray has played just four regular-season games, but the rookie is already showing signs that he could be among the most successful freshmen in the Big 12 Conference this season.

 

Entering the Minnesota game, McCray ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring at 17.5 points per game and is second with 3.25 three-pointers per game.

 

The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native recorded a game-high 23 points in 22 minutes against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in his first career game. McCray hit 9-of-17 shots from the floor, and added six rebounds and two steals. McCray's point total was the most by a freshman in a Nebraska season opener since freshmen became eligible in 1972-73. He came back with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting (3-of-6 from three-point range) with four rebounds, two assists and one steal against Texas Southern to earn co-Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors on Nov. 29.

 

In his third career game, McCray recorded 24 points on 8-of-17 shooting, including hitting 5-of-10 attempts from three-point range. The 24 points rank seventh on the NU freshman single-game scoring chart, and he became just the sixth Husker freshman to record two 20-plus point games in his rookie season.

 

With 13 three-pointers in four games, McCray needs just three more treys to move into a tie for 10th place on the Husker freshman three-pointer chart. Junior Jason Dourisseau recorded 16 three-pointers as a rookie in 2002-03 to rank 10th, while senior Jake Muhleisen ranks third with 35 treys in 2001-02. The NU freshman record is 44 three-pointers by Eric Piatkowski in 1990-91.

 

 

 

Maric in the Middle

 

Freshman Aleks Maric has also been making noise for the Huskers early in his rookie season. The 6-11, 265-pounder has been a workhorse in the paint, averaging a double-double with 10.0 points and 10.5 rebounds over the first four games.

 

Maric ranks second in the league in rebounding. He is one of only two players – along with KU's Wayne Simien – to average a double-double. Maric is also among the league leaders in field-goal percentage by hitting 72.2 percent (13-of-18) from the field.

 

Maric began his career in high fashion as he picked up a game-high 14 boards in the season opener while adding 12 points for his first career double-double. He was the first NU freshman since Ron Taylor in 1973-74 to record a double-double in his first career game.

 

Maric came back with eight points, three boards, an assist and two blocks against TSU, before adding 10 points and 15 rebounds on the road against UAB. Maric's two double-doubles pace the team this season and equal the most by a Husker last year.

 

The big man just missed a third double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds against Morgan State in his first career start. Maric needs one more double-double to tie the NU freshman mark of three set by Taylor in 1973-74. Maric is only the sixth NU freshman to record a double-double since freshman eligibility was re-instated in 1972-73. Only Taylor, Rickey Harris and Andre Smith recorded more than one double-double as a rookie until Maric joined the group in only his third career game.

 

 

 

Neal Continues Steady Improvement

 

Senior guard Marcus Neal Jr. struggled from the floor in the Huskers' Australian Summer Tour, but he has recently found his form from last year that helped him earn Big 12 All-Newcomer Team honors.

 

Neal ended 2003-04 hitting 50.0 percent from the floor over the final five regular-season games. He came back to hit 12-of-18 in 2004 exhibition play, including 7-of-8 from long range, and led the team with 18.0 points per game in the exhibition season. He paced the squad in scoring just once all last season.

 

In the Huskers' first four regular-season games, Neal has hit 15-of-38 shots from the floor while averaging 11.8 points per game to rank third on the team. Neal is second on the team with six three-pointers and is shooting 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from three-point range. Neal leads the team with nine steals.

 

Neal sparked Husker runs in each of the first two games. Against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Neal hit three consecutive three-pointers to start a staggering 27-0 Husker run. Before Neal's outburst, the Huskers led just 17-15 at the 9:42 mark of the first half and finished the run ahead 44-15 with 2:37 before intermission. Then against Texas Southern, he combined with Joe McCray on back-to-back three-pointers to punctuate a 10-2 run that put NU ahead by double figures midway through the first half.

 

 

 

Dourisseau Making Strides

 

Coaches and players alike have raved throughout fall practice about the improvements junior guard Jason Dourisseau has made in his game. In the Huskers' first four regular-season games, he has shown Nebraska fans exactly what they were talking about.

 

A native of Omaha, Dourisseau is second on the team in scoring (13.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg) and ranks third by hitting 48.6 percent (18-of-37) from the floor. He also leads the squad in assists (13) and minutes (112) and is tied for second in steals (6).

 

Dourisseau ranked 17th in the Big 12 Conference in scoring, 11th in rebounding and 12th in assists per game entering the week.

 

Dourisseau opened the season with 17 points in 22 minutes during NU's 97-40 home-opening victory. He hit 8-of-13 attempts from the floor and added eight rebounds and two assists without a turnover.

 

Dourisseau followed with his best game as a Husker, as he posted 18 points and set a career high for the second straight game by grabbing 12 rebounds. He also set career highs with eight free throws and 11 free throw attempts after getting fouled repeatedly while slashing to the basket.

 

Last year, Dourisseau hit 48.1 percent from the field and 27.0 percent from three-point range while averaging 5.3 points and 2.0 rebounds. He had 17 assists against 41 turnovers on the year.

 

 

 

Quick Shots

 

• Nebraska owns a 10-9 all-time record on Dec. 8. NU is 3-1 on this date under Coach Barry Collier, including a 68-39 home win over Delaware State last year. NU is 21-13 in the month of December under Coach Collier.

 

• Nebraska is 1-3 against Minnesota on Dec. 8. The last time the teams met on this date was two years ago, when the Huskers defeated the No. 20 Golden Gophers, 80-60, in Lincoln.

 

• Senior forward John Turek topped the 700-point plateau in the Huskers' last game when he scored eight points off the bench. He also added six rebounds and is now 96 rebounds shy of the NU career top 10 list.

 

• Freshman Joe McCray needs three three-pointers to move into the NU freshman top 10.

 

• McCray has scored in double figures each of the Huskers' first four games. He is the first freshman to have at least 10 points in each of his first four career games since Jake Muhleisen did it in five straight games to open the 2001-02 campaign. The freshman record for consecutive double-figure scoring games is eight by Jerry Fort (twice, 1972-73) and Dave Hoppen (1982-83).

 

• Senior Corey Simms has 17 rebounds this season, including 13 offensive rebounds. Simms is tied for the team lead in offensive boards, matching the mark with Aleks Maric and John Turek.

 

• Junior Jason Dourisseau leads the team with 13 assists (vs. eight turnovers) in four games. Dourisseau had just 17 assists against 41 turnovers in 31 games last season.

 

http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SP...00&ATCLID=90219

[johnnyredshoes]

Well looks like we will lose this one. Down by 8 with 20 seconds left. No way we should have lost this one. Bad bad loss.

[gamecocks]

We only gave up nine points in the first 15 minutes of the game. There was no reason to lose this game. We played like ass in the final five minutes.

[Benard]

Barry's coaching is very suspect. HE left out maric way to long in 2nd half and didn't play mcCray the last 6 minutes. He needs to scrap the princeton crap it gets us nowhere and doesnt do anything good for us. I like barry, but man he needs to get it in gear!