Husker men dominate Marquette
BY CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star
Thursday, Dec 01, 2005 - 12:03:20 am CST
Nebraska's Charles Richardson Jr. (right) attempts a pass around Marquette's Jerel McNeal (left) during the Huskers' 84-74 win Wednesday at the Devaney Sports Center. (Krista Niles)
Say this about the work-in-progress Nebraska men’s basketball team — the guys are fast learners. On Wednesday, two days after coach Barry Collier added a couple motion-type wrinkles to the offense, the Huskers had their most productive half of the season, built a 19-point halftime lead, then executed down the stretch to nail down an 84-74 victory against Marquette.
“Oh, man, we’ve been learning a lot lately,” said junior forward B.J. Walker, who finished with 15 points and 8 rebounds, easily his best performance in five games as a Husker. “We’ve been picking it up, but ... I just think we went out there and played hard, executed the plays and executed what we wanted to do defensively.”
While improving its record to 5-0, Nebraska outrebounded the Golden Eagles 49-41. That total included a 15-3 edge in offensive boards during a first half that helped create 15 second-chance points. Marquette managed just two.
Sophomore center Aleks Maric, who notched his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds, said Collier’s X’s and O’s involved giving players the leeway to do some freelancing rather than drawing up set plays.
That style definitely was to the liking of freshman point guard Marcus Walker, who had four of his game-high six assists in the opening half.
“It was constant movement, where we could keep the defense guessing,” Marcus Walker said.
Marquette — picked to finish 12th in the 16-team Big East Conference, but having just won the Great Alaska Shootout — was hanging tough, trailing 16-14 with 13:17 left in the first half.
Less than four minutes later, NU senior forward Wes Wilkinson sank a three-pointer to cap a 15-2 spurt that left the Huskers firmly in control and on the way to a 48-29 halftime edge.
With four new starters, the Golden Eagles (4-2) still refused to fold and battled back from a 22-point deficit to pull to 62-56 when Jerel McNeal sank a pair of free throws after stealing the ball from and drawing a foul on Marcus Walker with 6:08 to play.
Nebraska answered right back, though, as Maric, leading a transition break, took a feed from Jason Dourisseau and scored while also drawing a foul on Steve Novak. He sank the free throw to complete the three-point play, and after Ryan Amoroso and Wesley Matthews missed shots on Marquette’s next possession, NU’s Charles Richardson was fouled and converted a one-and-one to boost the lead to 67-56.
Following a miss and a turnover by McNeal, the Huskers’ Marcus Perry was fouled and went to the line for a one-and-one. He missed, but Maric pulled the ball off the left side of the basket and scored while drawing a foul on Ousmane Barro to put the Huskers up 69-56 with 4:57 left.
Thereafter, Marquette could get no closer than eight points.
“I think what happened is we weren’t very physical early, and they were,” said coach Tom Crean, who has guided five of his first six teams to the postseason and took the 2003 Golden Eagles to the NCAA Final Four. “They were extremely good in getting out and making the extra pass (and) we were late at getting on the shooters.
“They are so much more athletic than they were a year ago. They are definitely more physical.”
A year ago, Marquette abused Nebraska on the inside, working a 22-6 edge in offensive rebounds en route to posting an 81-62 victory.
It was all part of Nebraska’s plan to have a major turnaround.
“To tell you the truth, it was a lot of fun,” said Maric, who had to have his left thumb taped after jamming it on a rebound attempt late in the game. “We came in here with a sense of urgency ... went out on the floor and put it (on the line), physically, and it showed.”
Considering NU’s next opponent is NCAA Tournament-tested Alabama-Birmingham (at 3 p.m. Saturday), the timing couldn’t have been much better.
“One thing I learned is that we can be a real good team,” B.J. Walker said. “We played real tough tonight, with a lot of heart.“