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Eric the Red

By Eric the Red,
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Eric the Red Defensive Coordinator

Eric the Red

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Nebraska Looks to Even Season Series with Buffaloes

 

The Nebraska men's basketball team finishes a two-game home stand Wednesday, Feb. 22, when it plays host to Colorado at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The game tips off at 7:05 p.m. and will not be televised. It is the Huskers' first non-televised game since Jan. 3 against Northern Colorado. The Huskers had been seen on television each of the past 12 games to open league play, the longest stretch of consecutive televised games in school history.

 

 

 

All Nebraska men's basketball games can be heard on the radio through the Pinnacle Sports Network. The 26-station network can be heard throughout Nebraska and parts of western Iowa, and is available worldwide on the Internet at Huskers.com.

 

 

 

The Huskers' normal broadcast team of Randy Lee (play by play) and Matt Davison (color) will return to action for the game this week after spending most of last week handling prior commitments with Pinnacle Sports Productions.

 

 

 

Nebraska looks for a better ending to the second matchup of the season between the Huskers and Buffaloes. CU earned a victory in the first meeting in Boulder on Jan. 25 to hand NU its third straight loss. The defeat left Nebraska at 2-3 in the Big 12 race and under .500 in league play for the only time this season.

 

 

 

Huskers Start Key Stretch at Home Against Colorado

 

Nebraska gets back into action looking to shake off a loss to Texas Tech last weekend when it plays host to Colorado. The Huskers will need to put the defeat out of their minds quickly as there is still plenty to play for despite only four games remaining before the conference championship.

 

 

 

With a 6-6 league record, the Huskers are in a tie for fifth place in the conference standings and have a chance to make up a great deal of ground this week. Colorado enters the contest with a 7-5 conference record and sits one spot ahead of the Huskers in the league standings. Following the game with the Buffaloes, Nebraska hits the road to take on Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, on Saturday, Feb. 25. The Aggies were tied for fifth in the standings with Nebraska, before hitting the road to play at Missouri on Tuesday night.

 

 

 

Nebraska will need a solid offensive effort to keep up with the Buffaloes, who enter the week leading the Big 12 Conference this season in scoring (79.7 points per game) and 3-pointers per game (8.74), but rank ninth in scoring defense (68.3 ppg). Colorado has been slowed a little in league play, as it averages 72.4 points per game but is still one of just four teams to have a positive scoring margin in conference-only games.

 

 

 

Much of Nebraska's offensive success will depend on the play of its frontcourt. Sophomore center Aleks Maric has shown the ability to dominate games recently and has averaged 18.0 points and 11.6 rebounds per game over the past five contests. During league play, Maric has taken over the team lead with 13.0 points per contest while averaging 8.3 rebounds per game to rank second in the conference-only standings. The 6-11, 265-pound Maric has knocked down a team-best 47.7 percent from the floor, including 49.5 percent in the rugged Big 12 Conference.

 

 

 

Along with Maric running on all cylinders, the Huskers hope to get senior forward Wes Wilkinson untracked again. When playing at his best, Wilkinson is one of the hardest matchup problems in the league for opposing coaches as he can work inside or out and has proven to be an effective rebounder and shot blocker this season.

 

 

 

Wilkinson has stepped up as a senior, posting a team-best 11.8 points per game on the year with 6.3 rebounds, but has been in a bit of a slump lately as he has gained just 8.4 points and 4.4 rebounds over the past five games. For more than half the season, Wilkinson led the league in blocked shots and 3-point percentage, and still paces the Huskers with 44.1 percent shooting (45-of-102) from the outside and 46 blocks. He needs just two blocked shots to become the seventh Husker in history to reach 100 rejections.

 

 

 

Guard Charles Richardson Jr. had a solid offensive game against the Buffs last year and the Huskers hope to see more of that Wednesday. Richardson, who drained a pair of 3-pointers last weekend against Texas Tech, scored a season-high 10 points against the Buffs in Lincoln last year. The 5-9, 160-pound Richardson hit 5-of-6 shots from the floor and added three assists and a steal in 18 minutes off the bench.

 

 

 

The Matchup

 

Nebraska and Colorado are meeting for the second time this season and the 138th time in the series when they face off on Wednesday. CU, which is the Huskers' second-oldest conference rival, won the meeting earlier this season in Boulder, but still trails in the overall series by five games. Overall Nebraska holds a 71-66 advantage.

 

 

 

The teams have split the season series in three of the past five seasons, although each of the last two years have been sweeps. Nebraska swept the series last season, including a 70-55 win at home, while CU swept the season series in 2004, winning by eight in Lincoln and three in Boulder.

 

 

 

The last time Nebraska lost the first game on the road and then defeated the Buffs in Lincoln later that season was in 2000. CU won the first matchup that season, 70-58, in Boulder before Nebraska pulled out a 69-64 victory in Lincoln to snap a six-game losing streak.

 

 

 

The Huskers have dominated the series in Lincoln as they hold a 46-14 all-time advantage in the Star City and hold a commanding 24-6 lead in the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Overall, the Huskers have won 20 of the last 23 games over the Buffs in Lincoln.

 

 

 

2005 in Lincoln (NU 70, CU 55) --- Nebraska continued it late-season roll with a 70-55 victory over Colorado at the Devaney Center.

 

Joe McCray led the way with 21 points after coming off the bench on Senior Night. He hit 7-of-14 shots from the floor, including five 3-pointers. Wes Wilkinson and Charles Richardson Jr. joined McCray in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively, as the Huskers’ top three scorers came off the bench. Wilkinson grabbed four rebounds and blocked three shots, while Richardson hit 5-of-6 shots for a season-high 10 points and added three assists.

 

 

 

The Huskers won their third straight contest and received major contributions from their seniors. John Turek recorded a career-high seven blocked shots and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, while Marcus Neal Jr. scored eight points and matched his career best with seven assists. Neal also added a career-high six rebounds.

 

 

 

Nebraska got off to a strong start as it led 11-3 before the Buffaloes went on a 7-2 surge to pull within three. Chris Copeland had five points in the run and finished with 10 points, one of four Buffs in double figures. Andy Osborn led the Buffaloes with a team-high 12 points.

 

 

 

McCray hit a 3-pointer to push NU to a 16-10 advantage and started a 15-0 Husker run in less than four minutes. After Richardson dropped in a driving layup, McCray added another trey to make the lead 11. Jason Dourisseau then sandwiched a pair of baskets around a Wilkinson 3-pointer to put NU ahead 28-10 with 8:58 remaining before the half. CU then used an 8-0 run to close within 10, but scored just one basket in the final 3:32 as Nebraska used a 9-0 run to earn a 41-22 halftime lead.

 

 

 

Overall, Colorado went 4:55 without scoring a point. CU missed three shots and two free throws and had a pair of turnovers, as the Huskers held the Buffs to 29.0 percent shooting in the first half. Colorado finished the game hitting 37.1 percent from the floor, including just 25.0 percent from beyond the arc, and was outrebounded by the Huskers 41-35.

 

 

 

Colorado opened the second half with an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to 12 points, 45-33, with 12:40 to play, but could get no closer the rest of the way. Osborn hit a pair of 3-pointers 36 seconds apart to cut the lead to 13 at the 6:35 mark, but Nebraska answered with an 8-0 run to take a 64-43 advantage, its largest lead of the game. Wilkinson capped the run with five straight points.

 

 

 

Wilkinson hit 3-of-5 from the floor in the game, helping NU hit 45.6 percent overall. Nebraska hit 7-of-14 from 3-point range, equaling its season high percentage.

 

 

 

Scouting the Buffaloes

 

Colorado enters the midweek matchup looking for its third win in four games. The Buffaloes had a two-game win streak snapped last Saturday when it fell at Kansas State, 72-60. The Buffs, who are 17-6 overall and 7-4 in league play, have lost three straight conference road games but are 5-5 away from Boulder on the season.

 

 

 

Colorado is among the league scoring leaders by averaging 79.7 points per game this season while connecting on 45.3 percent of its shots, including a solid 37.5 percent from 3-point range. CU has allowed 68.3 points per game on 41.4 percent shooting and has posted a +5.5 rebound advantage (41.1 to 35.6).

 

 

 

Sophomore Richard Roby has continued to add to his impressive resume as he leads the Buffs and ranks fifth in the league in scoring at 18.4 points per game. He has paced Colorado, which leads the league in 3-pointers with 8.7 per game, with 57 3-pointers. He also leads the team with 51 steals and 5.7 rebounds per game.

 

 

 

Colorado has five players averaging at least 8.0 points per game but only senior Chris Copeland joins Roby in double figures. Copeland has averaged 12.2 points per contest on 48.5 percent shooting and has added 37 3-pointers to rank third on the squad, trailing Roby and Andy Osborn, who has 45 treys while averaging 8.6 points per game.

 

In league play, the Buffs have gained 72.4 points per contest while allowing 71.9 points. CU has been held to 40.5 percent shooting in conference while opponents have connected at a 42.5-percent clip. Roby has turned up the intensity in conference play, averaging 20.8 points per game while Copeland (11.3 ppg) and Marcus Hall (10.3) also average double figures. In the last five games, Roby has averaged 18.2 points per contest but has hit just 38.9 percent from the field and just 33.3 percent (11-of-33) from 3-point range, while Copeland has averaged 9.6 points on 34.3 percent shooting.

 

The Buffaloes are guided by head coach Ricardo Patton (Belmont, 1980). Patton is in his 10th year at CU and owns an 174-136 career record as a head coach, all at Colorado. Patton is 9-11 against Nebraska.

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