Nebraska Sports Information • 116 S. Stadium • Lincoln, NE 68588 • Office phone: (402) 472-7779 • Fax: (402) 472-2005 SID: Jerry Trickie • E-mail: [email protected] • Cell phone: (402) 540-0269 Game 26 vs. Colorado Huskers Play Host to Buffaloes on Senior Night The Nebraska men's basketball team plays its final home game of the regular season at the Bob Devaney Release date: March 1, 2005 Sports Center on Wednesday, March 2, when it plays host to the Colorado Buffaloes. The Huskers and Buffs will tip off at 7:07 p.m. and the game can be heard on the Pinnacle Sports Network and Huskers.com with The Matchup Randy Lee calling the action. Who: Colorado Buffaloes (13-13, 4-10) at (13-12, 6-8) The contest will also be the final game this season seen on NU's 10-game television package on FSN Midwest When: Wednesday, March 2, 7:07 p.m. (CST) (Channel 37 on Time Warner in Lincoln; Channel 47 on Possible Lineups Where: Bob Devaney Sports Center (13,595) 2004-05 Cox Cable in Omaha; Channel 33 on Qwest Choice in Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network Nebraska Yr. Ht. Wt. Pts. Reb. Omaha; FSN Rocky Mountain in Nebraska; Channel 648 Randy Lee, play-by-play G Jake Muhleisen Sr. 6-4 200 7.2 3.5 DirecTV; and Channel 447 Dish Network). Greg Sharpe TV: FSN Midwest in Nebraska only G Joe McCray Fr. 6-5 210 15.1 4.9 will handle play-by-play duties while former Husker Matt Greg Sharpe, play-by-play G Jason Dourisseau Jr. 6-6 190 9.8 5.1 Matt Davison, color F John Turek Sr. 6-9 240 8.2 4.9 Davison adds color commentary on the telecast. Internet: Huskers.com (live radio, stats) C Aleks Maric Fr. 6-11 265 8.1 6.6 Nebraska's four-man senior class of Jake Muhleisen, Series: NU leads 70-65 Marcus Neal Jr., Corey Simms and John Turek will be 2004-05 Coaches: NU – Barry Collier (265-207) Colorado Yr. Ht. Wt. Pts. Reb. honored before the final regular-season home game of CU – Ricardo Patton (156-127) G Antoine McGee Jr. 5-10 180 0.9 1.1* their careers. Muhleisen is the first three-year captain in G Jayson Obazouye Jr. 6-2 190 8.6 3.0 program history and has started 96-of-97 career games G Richard Roby Fr. 6-6 190 16.2 4.5 while gaining more than 900 points, 300 rebounds, 250 2004-05 Nebraska Schedule F Andy Osborn Jr. 6-9 220 7.5 4.5 Date Opponent Time/Result assists and 90 steals, and Turek ranks among the NU F Eddy, Glean Jr. 6-5 200 5.8 4.6 Nov. 23 Arkansas-Pine Bluff W, 97-40 *assists career top 10 for rebounds (663) and blocked shots (155). Nov. 27 Texas Southern W, 78-58 Neal has started 40 games the past two seasons while Dec. 2 at UAB (ESPN2) L, 66-80 contributing nearly 400 career points and 150 assists, and Simms has been arguably NU's best defender the Dec. 6 Morgan State W, 64-34 past three seasons while playing 108 career contests with more than 500 points and 350 rebounds. Dec. 8 Minnesota (ESPN2) L, 48-57 The Huskers enter the game looking to post their first three-game conference win streak of the year after Dec. 11 Creighton (FSNMW) L, 48-50 picking up a pair of impressive victories in the past eight days. NU knocked off No. 4 Oklahoma State, 74-67, Dec. 18 North Carolina A&T W, 71-49 at home on Feb. 22 and came back to earn its fourth road victory of the season and third in league play with Dec. 21 at Marquette (FSNMW) L, 62-81 a 76-69 win over Iowa State in Ames on Sunday. Dec. 30 at Tennessee (FSNMW) W, 62-61 The wins helped Nebraska move into a tie for eighth place in the league standings with Missouri, as each Jan. 2 Montana State (FSNMW) W, 78-45 team owns a 6-8 league record. Despite the Big 12 Tournament being only one week away (March 10-13 Jan. 8 Kansas State W, 95-85 (2ot) in Kansas City), the Huskers' seeding may not be determined until the final game of the league season on Jan. 12 at Colorado (FSNMW) W, 68-61 March 6 when the Tigers take on Kansas in Columbia. NU can still finish anywhere from as high as a tie for Jan. 15 No. 10/9 Texas (ERT) L, 53-63 fifth to 11th place in the regular-season standings. Jan. 19 at No. 2 Kansas (FSNMW) L, 57-59 Freshman center Aleks Maric has played a major role recently. The 6-11, 265-pounder was named the Jan. 22 at Missouri (ERT) L, 70-80 Rookie of the Week after averaging 14.0 points on 64.7 percent shooting while adding 7.0 Jan. 26 Texas A&M (FSNMW) W, 77-67 rebounds and 2.0 assists in the wins. He scored a career-high 15 points against OSU and posted his team-best Jan. 29 at Texas Tech (ERT) L, 68-84 and NU frosh record third double-double of the year with 13 points and 12 rebounds against the Cyclones. Feb. 1 Utah Valley State W, 91-57 Nebraska hit a combined 54.7 percent (29-of-53) from the field in the second half of the past two contests, Feb. 5 No. 3/3 Kansas (ESPN) L, 65-78 including 63.4 percent (26-of-41) inside the three- arc. Feb. 8 Iowa State (FSNMW) L, 60-65 Feb. 12 at Baylor (FSNMW) W, 74-63 Overall, Nebraska has hit just 42.9 percent from the floor in conference home contests this season while Feb. 16 at No. 21/22 Oklahoma (ESPN2) L, 60-83 averaging 68.1 points over those seven games. NU has also held a +3.0 advantage (34.9-31.9) on the glass Feb. 19 Missouri L, 53-56 during that stretch, and is second in the conference-only standings by averaging 36.4 rebounds per game Feb. 22 No. 4/4 Oklahoma State W, 74-67 after pulling in 51 caroms against Iowa State on Sunday, its fourth 50- effort of the season. Feb. 27 at Iowa State (ERT) W, 76-69 Freshman Joe McCray leads the way with 15.1 points per game this season, and has averaged 14.7 March 2 Colorado (FSNMW) 7:07 p.m. points in conference home games. The rookie has recorded 378 points this season to rank second on the NU March 5 at Kansas State (ERT) 12:30 p.m. freshman chart, trailing only who posted 435 points in 31 games in 1983. March 10-13 Big 12 Tournament (ERT) TBA With 22 points, McCray will not only join Hoppen as the only two NU freshmen with at least 400 points, but All times are Central and subject to change. he will become just the sixth freshman since the formation of the Big 12 Conference to gain at least 400 points. ERT -- ESPN Regional Television, FSNMW -- FSN Midwest He currently ranks ninth in Big 12 frosh history, just five points behind Jarrius Jackson (Texas Tech, 2004). Along with McCray, junior Jason Dourisseau is second on the team with 10.1 points per game in NU's For tickets, contact the Nebraska Athletic home league contests while hitting 60.0 percent from the field. Dourisseau has connected on 11-of-16 (68.8 Ticket Office at 800-8BIGRED percent) attempts from the floor over Nebraska's last two home games. or check on-line at Huskers.com 1 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball

*Times are subject to change. Contact NU Basketball SID Jerry Trickie at 402-540-0269 for specific practice details.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Feb. 28 March 1 March 2 March 3 March 4 March 5 March 6

Practice Practice Game Practice Practice Game Off 3-5 p.m. 2-5 p.m. Colorado 2-5 p.m. 2-5 p.m. at Kansas State Mabel Lee Hall Devaney Center 7:07 p.m. Mabel Lee Hall Mabel Lee Hall 12:47 p.m. Lincoln, Neb. Travel to Manhattan, Manhattan, Kan. (FSNMW) Kan. (TBA) (ERT)

Head Coach Barry Collier Meeting the Colorado Buffaloes Coach Barry Collier is in his fifth season in charge The Colorado Buffaloes enter the week looking to get back above .500 as they hold a 13-13 overall mark of the Husker basketball program and his 16th season and a 4-10 record in the Big 12 Conference. CU has dropped three straight games and four of its last five, as a head basketball including a pair of road contests. The Buffs are 4-8 on the road this season, including 2-5 in the league with coach. Last year, Collier wins at Iowa State in overtime and at Kansas State. led Nebraska to its first postseason berth in Colorado has averaged 71.3 points per game this Team Comparison (all games) five seasons. NU took season on 43.5 percent shooting from the floor. The CU (13-13, 4-10) NU (13-12, 6-8) advantage of the bid, as Buffaloes have also hit a solid 35.9 percent from beyond 71.3 Points per game 68.6 it went 2-1 in the National the arc with three players connecting at better than -2.3 Scoring margin +4.9 Invitation Tournament. 38 percent. In conference action, CU has gained 68.6 43.5 percentage 42.5 The success in 2003- points per game on 40.3 percent shooting, and has hit 35.9 3-pt. field goal percentage 31.3 7.3 3-pt. field goal made per game 6.3 04 came through hard 34.7 percent from long range. work, as the Huskers 63.3 percentage 66.1 Opponents have averaged 73.6 points per game this 35.8 Rebounds per game 38.8 ranked among the top season against the Buffs, including a sizzling 77.0 points -2.0 Rebound margin +6.2 teams in the nation in team defense and three-point 13.8 Assists per game 13.5 field-goal percentage. NU led the league in three-point per game by league foes. CU has allowed teams to hit 14.1 Turnovers per game 14.6 percentage and set a school record by hitting 38.9 43.8 percent from the field, including 45.7 percent in 6.8 Steals per game 6.0 percent as a team. conference action. Big 12 foes have also held a +4.2 5.5 Blocks per game 3.6 The NIT appearance last year marked Coach advantage (39.8-35.6) on the glass, as Colorado has Collier's seventh postseason bid in 15 years as a head been outrebounded by two boards per game (37.8-35.8) on the year. coach. He has taken his team to the NCAA Tournament CU's talented freshman, Richard Roby leads the team in scoring at 16.2 points per contest and has three times and to the NIT on four occasions. increased his production to 17.6 points per conference game. Against Big 12 foes, Roby has hit 44.1 percent Collier was named the 25th head coach in Nebraska history on April 5, 2000. During his first three years, he from the field, including 40.8 percent from long range, and has added a 3.3 rebounds and a team-best 1.5 helped the Huskers set team records for three-pointers steals per game. Roby leads the team with 57 three-pointers and has hit 76.7 percent from the foul line to made, three-point field-goal percentage defense and rank second. fewest single-game turnovers, among others. Along with Roby, Chris Copeland and Marcus Hall have each averaged double figures on the season. Collier came to Nebraska after spending 11 years Copeland is second on the team with 12.3 points per contest and adds a team-best 6.0 rebounds per game. as head coach at Butler. The Bulldogs had a 196-132 He has drained 45 treys this season on 38.5 percent shooting from outside the arc, and adds a team-high 35 record during his tenure. Collier coached his alma blocks (1.4 bpg) on the year. Copeland has added 11.5 points per game in league action, and has seen his mater to five 20-win seasons and the Bulldogs reached three-point shooting percentage fall to 31.0, while his rebounding production has risen to 6.7 per game. the NCAA Tournament in 1997, 1998 and 2000. Butler also reached the National Invitation Tournament three Hall has gained 11.6 points over 25 games and leads the squad with 111 assists (4.4 apg). No other Buff has times under Collier and won two MCC regular-season more than 45 assists. Hall is also second on the squad with 27 steals and fourth with 33 three-pointers. titles under Collier (1997 and 2000). Julius Ashby, a junior transfer who missed the first matchup with the Huskers with an injury, has added 6.8 points and 5.9 rebounds while ranking second on the squad with 27 blocked shots. The Buffaloes are guided by Coach Ricardo Patton (Belmont, 1980), who is in his 10th year at Colorado. Collier Year-by-Year Patton owns a 156-127 career record, all with the Buffaloes. At Butler Season Overall MCC Postseason Series History 1989-90 6-22 2-12 The Cornhuskers and Buffaloes are meeting for the 136th time in the series, with NU holding a 70-65 1990-91 18-11 10-4 NIT 1991-92 21-10 7-3 NIT all-time advantage. The Buffs are NU's second-oldest conference rival, as the teams first met in 1902-03 in 1992-93 11-17 5-9 Boulder. The series ranks as NU's second-shortest among former Big Eight teams. 1993-94 16-13 6-4 Nebraska has won 27 of the past 40 meetings overall and 19 of the past 22 in Lincoln. NU leads the series 1994-95 15-12 8-7 1995-96 19-8 12-4 in Lincoln by a 45-14 margin, including a 23-6 lead at the Devaney Center. The Huskers own a 6-2 record at 1996-97 23-10 12-4 NCAA home since the formation of the Big 12. Twelve of the 17 matchups since the start of the league have been 1997-98 22-11 8-6 NCAA decided by eight points or less. 1998-99 22-10 11-3 NIT NU was swept by the Buffs last season for the first time since 1973, although the two contests were decided 1999-2000 23-8 12-2 NCAA Overall 196-132 93-58 by a combined 11 points. Nebraska will be looking for the sweep this season after winning in Boulder on Jan. At Nebraska 12. The last time the Huskers earned a season sweep of the Buffaloes came in 1998-99, when NU finished Season Overall B12 Postseason off a five-game series win streak. Nebraska has swept Colorado eight times since the 1985 season. 2000-01 14-16 7-9 Last year in Lincoln, CU escaped with a 68-60 victory as Michel Morandais and Blair Wilson combined for 2001-02 13-15 6-10 33 points and seven three-pointers. The Huskers held all-conference center David Harrison to seven points and 2002-03 11-19 3-13 2003-04 18-13 6-10 NIT six boards, but Nebraska hit just 33.3 percent from the floor in the second frame to drop its first home game 2004-05 13-12 6-8 of the season (NU finished 15-3 at the Devaney Center). NU led by one at the intermission after hitting 5-of-6 Overall 69-75 29-50 from three-point range in the opening period. Nate Johnson and John Turek led NU with 13 points apiece. Totals 265-207 121-108 3 NCAA, 4 NIT 2 3 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball

*Times are subject to change. Contact NU Basketball SID Jerry Trickie at 402-540-0269 for specific practice details.

2004-05 Numerical Roster 2004-05 Stats No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (Previous School) PPG RPG A B S 1 Jason Dourisseau** G 6-6 195 Jr. Omaha, Neb. (Burke) 9.8 5.1 34 7 19 2 Joe McCray G 6-5 210 Fr. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Laurinburg [N.C.] Inst.) 15.1 4.9 33 1 30 3 Charles Richardson Jr.* G 5-9 160 So. Maywood, Ill. (Proviso East) 1.5 1.6 41 0 14 4 Marcus Perry G 6-2 180 Jr.-TR Anniston, Ala. (Southern Union State CC) JUCO transfer; will likely redshirt 10 Marcus Neal Jr.* G 6-0 180 Sr. Annapolis, Md. (Polk CC) 9.2 3.0 84 1 17 11 Wes Wilkinson** F 6-9 215 Jr. Grand Island, Neb. (Grand Island) 7.7 3.9 21 27 11 12 Jake Muhleisen***# G 6-4 200 Sr. Lincoln, Neb. (Southeast) 7.2 3.5 71 8 24 15 Bronsen Schliep** F 6-8 220 Jr. Fairfield, Neb. (Sandy Creek) 1.9 1.4 1 2 3 21 Corey Simms*** G 6-5 205 Sr. St. Louis, Mo. (Normandy) 3.2 2.7 16 3 8 25 Paul Velander G 6-2 175 Fr. Blacksburg, Va. (Blacksburg) True freshman; will likely redshirt 31 Aleks Maric C 6-11 265 Fr. Sydney, Australia (Burlington [N.J.] Life Center) 8.1 6.6 12 14 13 34 Jim Ledsome F 6-9 215 Fr. Severna Park, Md. (Severna Park) True freshman; will likely redshirt 44 John Turek*** F 6-9 245 Sr. Council Bluffs, Iowa (Abraham Lincoln) 8.2 4.9 21 27 9 45 Tony Wilbrand** C 6-10 250 Jr. Alliance, Neb. (Alliance) 0.8 0.8 4 1 2 *letters earned #team captain

The Last Time We Met Around the Big 12 Boulder, Colo. (Jan. 12, 2005) --- Freshman Joe McCray scored a team-high 21 points and the Huskers (Records through Feb. 28) held Colorado to just 34.6 percent shooting for the game as Nebraska earned a 68-61 victory at the Coors Team Overall Big 12 Events Center. Kansas 21-4 11-3 Nebraska improved to 8-4 on the season with its fourth straight victory while moving to 2-0 in conference Oklahoma 22-6 11-4 play for the first time since the 1993-94 season. Colorado dropped to 8-5 on the year and 0-2 in league action Oklahoma State 20-5 10-4 while watching its 15-game home court winning streak come to an end. Texas Tech 17-8 9-5 “I thought that with them being a little short in numbers, Coach Patton had them really rolling, especially in Texas 19-9 8-7 the second half,” said NU coach Barry Collier. “We played well in the first half and they played a solid second Iowa State 15-10 7-7 Texas A&M 18-7 7-7 half, but in the end we made some stops and rebounded some misses to get the win.” Nebraska 13-12 6-8 McCray caught fire early for the Huskers as he had 16 points in the first half, including Nebraska’s first Missouri 14-14 6-8 eight points. Jake Muhleisen’s layup with 12:10 left before intermission cut the CU advantage to one, 11-10, Kansas State 15-10 5-9 and started an 18-5 run. McCray and Jason Dourisseau added six points apiece in the surge with McCray’s Colorado 13-13 4-10 third three-pointer of the night giving Nebraska a 13-11 lead with 11:41 remaining in the first half. Baylor 9-16 1-13 “Joe is an aggressive, offensive-minded player who can also play physical,” Collier said. “He did a good Recent Scores job of making better shot selections. I have thought over the past couple games that he has done a better job Wednesday, Feb. 23 taking care of the ball and really helped us.” Kansas State 80, Baylor 69 The Huskers did not trail again as they steadily built their lead to double figures in the final minutes of Saturday, Feb. 26 the opening frame. Texas 63, Missouri 51 After Martane Freeman cut the Huskers’ advantage to eight, 26-18, Nebraska used a 10-0 run fueled by Oklahoma 103, Baylor 60 four points from Aleks Maric to open a 36-18 lead with just over a minute left before half. Marcus Hall hit a Kansas State 84, Colorado 82 pair of free throws for the Buffs to cut NU’s halftime lead to 15 points, 37-22. Texas A&M 85, Texas Tech 63 After the break, Colorado looked to cut into the lead but Nebraska countered each shot for the first nine Sunday, Feb. 27 minutes and lead 53-38 with 10:30 remaining before going cold. From that point, it would be another seven Nebraska 76, Iowa State 69 minutes before the Huskers recorded a basket, as CU went on an 11-1 run. Kansas 81, Oklahoma State 79 Freshman Richard Roby provided most of the firepower in CU’s outburst, as he scored nine points in the Monday, Feb. 28 surge, including a pair of three-pointers. Roby finished with 20 points while Chris Copeland had a game-high Oklahoma 74, Texas 58 22 points, including hitting 8-of-9 from the free throw line, to pace the Buffaloes. CU came into the game 12th in the league in free throw percentage but stayed in the game by hitting 73.1 percent (19-of-26) from Coming up the line. Wednesday, March 2 Texas A&M at Oklahoma State (ESPN2) 6 p.m. Roby’s free throw with 3:54 remaining brought the Buffs within five, 54-49, before the Huskers’ got back Texas Tech at Baylor 7 p.m. on the scoreboard. Missouri at Iowa State 7 p.m. John Turek got free in the paint for dunk off a nice from Muhleisen to put NU back up by seven. The Colorado at Nebraska 7:05 p.m. Buffs then capitalized on a basket and pair of free throws to cut the lead to three, 56-53, with 2:18 left, but Kansas State at Kansas (ESPN2) 8 p.m. that was as close as they would get as Turek added a layup and, after a Copeland basket, McCray came up Saturday, March 5 with his fifth three-pointer of the night with 1:23 to play to put NU back up by seven, 61-54. Texas A&M at Baylor (ERT) 12:30 p.m. Marcus Neal Jr. hit four free throws in the final minute and Corey Simms added a layup as the Huskers Nebraska at Kansas State (ERT) 12:30 p.m. snapped a three-game losing streak in Boulder. McCray led the way with his fourth 20-plus point game of Iowa State at Colorado (ERT) 2 p.m. the season, while Dourisseau added 11 points and seven boards, including six rebounds in the second half. Oklahoma at Texas Tech (ESPN) 5 p.m. Maric led the Huskers with 11 rebounds for his third double-figure rebound effort of the season, as Nebraska Texas at Oklahoma State (ESPN) 8 p.m. outrebounded the Buffs 42-37. Sunday, March 6 Turek hit 3-of-5 field-goal attempts and Simms hit all three of his shots from the floor as the Huskers hit Kansas at Missouri (CBS) 1 p.m. 44.1 percent from the field, including 31.3 percent from long range. McCray was 5-of-8 from downtown while the rest of the squad was a combined 0-of-8.

3 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball

Classroom Champions Nebraska's Last Time Out The Huskers have had great success in the classroom Ames, Iowa --- Jason Dourisseau scored 17 points in the second half to lead five Huskers in double figures the past four seasons and continued that trend in 2004- as Nebraska ran past Iowa State, 76-69, Sunday at Hilton Coliseum. 05. Each of the past two years, John Turek has been Dourisseau hit 7-of-14 field-goal attempts and 5-of-7 from the free throw line to pace the Huskers with 19 named a first-team academic All-Big 12 selection. Turek looks to become only the fifth Husker to earn academic points, his second-highest point total in conference play this season. Wes Wilkinson came off the bench to all-league honors three times in his career. score 16 points, while Aleks Maric recorded his third double-double of the year with 13 points and 12 boards. Along with Turek, returning letterwinners Jake Joe McCray added 11 points and Marcus Neal Jr. had his best game in weeks by coming off the bench for Muhleisen, Jason Dourisseau and Tony Wilbrand 10 points and seven assists without a turnover. were selected to the first team. In total, Nebraska After Nebraska carried a 30-28 lead into the locker room, the teams went back and forth over the first four had six first-team selections last year – a Big 12 minutes of the second period, although Nebraska felt as if it was on the losing end when it was hit with eight record – while 10 Huskers were named to the Big 12 quick fouls. The Cyclones had just two fouls called against them in the same 3:22 frame to open the second Commissioner's Honor Roll. half, but the Huskers did not get rattled. As a team, the Huskers hold a 3.172 cumulative grade-point average through the fall 2004 semester. ISU went ahead by five points, 43-38, on a Tasheed Carr layup with 13:02 to play and took a 45-41 lead Six Huskers were named to the Big 12 Commissioner's on Jared Homan’s basket at the 11:48 mark. The Huskers responded with an 8-2 run to take a 49-47 lead on Honor Roll for fall 2004, including Jason Dourisseau, Wilkinson’s conventional three-point play. Neal sparked the run as he hit a three-pointer at the 11:21 mark Jake Muhleisen, Bronsen Schliep, John Turek, Tony to pull NU within one, and then dished out assists on the next two trips down court. Dourisseau had scored Wilbrand and newcomer Jim Ledsome. the previous seven points for the Huskers before Neal’s trey got NU untracked. Neal then got the Huskers started on their game-turning run just two minutes later. Turek Earns Degree Neal found McCray on the wing in transition, when McCray buried his second three-pointer of the game Senior forward John Turek picked up nine points, and started a 12-0 run to push Nebraska ahead 65-54 with 7:09 to play. ISU missed two shots and had two four rebounds, two assists, a and a in 19 turnovers while committing three fouls during the run while Nebraska hit 3-of-4 field-goal attempts and all five minutes against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 18. But the highlight of Turek's day was knowing he had earned charity shots. NU hit 40.0 percent from the floor in the game, including 50.0 percent in the second half. his undergraduate degree in just three and one-half Iowa State countered with a quick 5-0 run and eventually cut the Husker lead to three points, 67-64, with years. Turek, who did not walk in the commencement 4:48 to go on a Homan three-point play. After each team missed on its next trip down, the Huskers used three ceremony before the game, took one graduate-level offensive boards over the next two minutes to keep the ball in their end and start working the clock. class in the first semester and will continue working Wilkinson made the lead five points with a jumper at the 2:54 mark and Dourisseau pushed the lead back toward an MBA in the second semester. to seven, 71-64, with 2:09 remaining. The Huskers then missed five of 10 free throw attempts in the final minute but ISU could not capitalize. The Cyclones missed three shots and a free throw attempt while adding Captain . . . Again a turnover in the final 60 seconds. Senior Jake Muhleisen is in his third season While Dourisseau was silent in the first half when Maric was tearing up the paint as he posted a double- as team captain, leaving him in a unique position. double in the first 20 minutes with 11 points and 10 boards. Muhleisen is believed to be the first three-year captain in Nebraska history, and is the first three- ISU scored the first five points of the game before Dourisseau got NU on the board at the 16:35 mark, his year captain to play for Coach Barry Collier. A native only points of the opening frame. Dourisseau then picked up his second foul of the game with 16:33 left in of Lincoln, Muhleisen has been roommates with NU the opening period and finished playing just six of the first 20 minutes with two points and two boards. football team co-captain and career leading tackler From there, Maric then scored six straight with the last basket starting an 11-1 run that ended with NU Barrett Ruud each of his four years of college. ahead 17-12 on a Wilkinson jumper at the 8:20 mark. Maric and Wilkinson each had four points in the run while McCray added a three-pointer. Downing The Big Boys Iowa State countered with a 7-1 run to pull even at 21-all on Stinson’s jumper with 4:25 left before half. The Huskers came into the season having defeated Stinson, one of the Big 12’s top scorers, was held to nine points on 3-of-12 shooting. Homan, who had two at least one ranked team each of the past four years. points against the Huskers in the first matchup, led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting while Will In possibly their last chance to extend that streak in 2004-05, the Huskers pulled off one of their biggest Blalock added 15 and Rahshon Clark had 11. upsets in the past decade when they defeated No. 4/4 After the score was knotted for the fourth time of the game at 24-24, Neal pushed the Huskers to a halftime Oklahoma State, 74-67, in Lincoln on Feb. 22. Nebraska lead with a pair of three-pointers less than two minutes apart. Neal’s first trey broke the 24-all tie, and after hit a season-best 56.3 percent from the floor against the Cyclones pulled within one, Neal drained another long range shot and the Huskers held the lead at the the Cowboys while harassing OSU into 19 turnovers break for the fifth time this season. that led to 23 NU points. Nebraska is now 1-4 on the season against Nebraska postgame notes vs. Iowa State ranked teams. The win over OSU was Nebraska's • NU won at Ames for the first time since 1998, snapping a six-game road losing streak against ISU. first victory against a top-five team since the 1994 Big Eight Tournament, when the Huskers knocked off • Freshman Aleks Maric tied the NU freshman record with his third double-double of the season, equaling No. 3 Missouri. The last time NU defeated a top-five the mark set by Ron Taylor in 1973. He finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds. team at home was 1993, when the Huskers beat No. • Freshman Joe McCray became just the fourth player in NU history to record at least 70 treys in a season, 3 Kansas. as he picked up two treys vs. ISU and now has 70. He is tied for fourth place on the single-season chart. Here is the list of Nebraska's all-time victories over • McCray’s 11 points on the day moved him into second place on the NU freshman points scored chart, as top-five teams: he now has 378 points on the year. He passed Eric Piatkowski (372 points) and Jerry Fort (376), and now looks H/A/N Date Opponent Score H 2/22/05 No. 4 Oklahoma State 74-67 to join Dave Hoppen (432) as the only Husker freshmen with at least 400 points in their rookie season. N 3/13/94 No. 3 Missouri 98-91 • NU improved to 4-1 on the road this year when leading at halftime. H 2/7/93 No. 3 Kansas 68-64 • The Huskers posted a 51-37 advantage on the glass, marking the 19th time in 25 contests this year NU H 2/19/92 No. 3 Kansas 81-79 (ot) has led on the boards. It was NU's conference season high for rebounds and the fifth 50-rebound game of H 2/5/92 No. 2 Oklahoma State 85-69 H 11/28/91 No. 5 Michigan State 71-69 the year and first in conference play since last season against Texas Tech at home. A 2/6/82 No. 1 Missouri 67-51 • Two of NU's 50-rebound games this season have come on the road. H 12/12/64 No. 1 Michigan 74-73 • Wes Wilkinson scored 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting after posting 14 points in the previous five games H 3/3/58 No. 1 Kansas State 55-48 H 2/22/58 No. 4 Kansas 43-41 combined. Wilkinson added five boards, one block and one steal in a team-high 28 minutes. H 2/7/53 No. 5 Kansas State 80-67 • Jason Dourisseau's 19 points were his most in conference play since he scored a career-high 26 points vs. No. 3 Kansas in Lincoln. Dourisseau hit 7-of-14 from the floor and 5-of-7 from the line in 21 minutes.

4 5 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball

Solid Point Play Key for Huskers Freshmen Earn Weekly Big 12 Award Nebraska's solid production at has played a prominent role in its recent surge to end the season Guard Joe McCray and center Aleks Maric have on a strong note. Seniors Jake Muhleisen and Marcus Neal Jr. and sophomore Charles Richardson Jr. have proven to be among the most successful freshmen in Nebraska history. been efficient with the ball in the past two games while combining for 17 assists. McCray's success was acknowledged early on as Against Iowa State, Neal had arguably his best game since posting a career-high 19 points while pushing he was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week twice in NU to a two-overtime victory over Kansas State in the conference opener. Neal came off the bench to post 10 the first five weeks of the season. McCray is one of just points on 3-of-9 shooting, including hitting 3-of-5 from three-point range, and added a career-high seven assists six freshmen to earn the honor, and was the first frosh without a turnover. Before that game, Neal had hit just five of his previous 34 attempts from long range. to pick up the honor. Two juniors and two sophomore Neal and Richardson helped push the Husker offense against the Cyclones and continually set up teammates. transfer have also earned the accolade. For Richardson, it was the fourth straight game he had seen significant minutes (at least 19) while helping NU McCray's latest honor came on Dec. 20. He was the get past opposing teams' pressure in the back court. During that four-game stretch, Richardson has averaged sole selection for rookie of the week by the league's sportswriters after scoring 20 points, including 18 in 3.3 points, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game, including his only start of the season against Missouri when the second half, to help NU to a 71-49 victory over he posted seven assists against one turnover in 20 minutes. North Carolina A&T. McCray hit 6-of-12 shots from the Muhleisen has also been a key contributor lately. In the Huskers' upset of then-No. 4 Oklahoma State in floor, including six three-pointers, while gaining seven Lincoln, Muhleisen posted 11 points and added four assists with four boards and two steals as the Huskers rebounds in 34 minutes. He became just the fourth earned their first win of the season over a ranked team. freshman in NU history to record at least three 20-point games in one season. Since then, he has broken the record as he has eight 20-point games this year. Muhleisen Turning Up His Play vs. Big 12 Overall, McCray is just the seventh Husker – and only Senior guard Jake Muhleisen struggled through most of the non-conference slate while being bothered by the second NU freshman – to earn the award since the a wrist injury, but has seen a surge in his play since moving into the Big 12 slate. formation of the league in 1996-97. McCray is the first The Lincoln native is third on the team with 8.4 points per game in conference action while adding 3.6 NU freshman to earn multiple honors from the league. rebounds and 3.2 assists. While those numbers are only mildly better than his 6.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and Cookie Belcher also was named rookie of the week 3.2 assists per game for the season, his shooting percentages are greatly improved. as a freshman in the Big 12's inaugural season. Alvin Muhleisen has hit 41.8 percent (38-of-91) from the field in league action after hitting just 32.2 percent (19- Mitchell and Larry Florence also earned the award that of-59) against non-conference opponents. Outside the arc, Muhleisen has improved his shooting percentage season as sophomores, while junior Kimani Ffriend won it three times in four weeks in 1999-2000. Andrew from 20.0 percent (5-of-25) to 34.2 percent (13-of-38). Over the past 11 games, Muhleisen has hit 37.5 Drevo and Nate Johnson were also juniors when they percent (12-of-32) from long range. won the award in 2003. Muhleisen recorded a season-best nine assists against three turnovers in the league-opening win over McCray picked up his first honor on Nov. 29 after Kansas State. He played a career-high 48 minutes in the game and is averaging a team-high 32.5 minutes averaging 17.0 points and 5.0 rebounds over his first per game in league action. two career games. McCray hit 52.0 percent (13-of-25) The three-year captain had possibly his most complete Big 12 game ever while helping Nebraska to a 77-67 from the floor and led the Huskers with six three-pointers, win over Texas A&M. Muhleisen had a game-high 25 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including hitting 10-of-11 including three in each contest. from the free throw line. He also added six boards and several hustle plays. A native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., McCray was the first Husker since Drevo in 2003 to earn a Big 12 weekly Against Kansas on Feb. 5, Muhleisen posted nine points with a career-high tying eight rebounds, three honor. Drevo was named the league's rookie of the week assists, two steals and one block. He added six assists against just one turnover in NU's loss to Iowa State. on March 3, 2003. Drevo's honor was the second in On the road against Baylor, Muhleisen record 18 points after the intermission and finished with a game-high two weeks for the Huskers, as Johnson also earned the 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting. It was his second 20-point game in six contests, after recording two 20-point accolade on Feb. 24. games in his first 87 career contests. Maric is the most recent Husker honoree as he Muhleisen recorded 11 points, four boards and four assists in 31 minutes in an upset of No. 4 Oklahoma picked up the rookie-of-the-week award on Feb. 28 State. While those are solid stats, his biggest contribution came in the hustle department, as he recorded two after helping NU defeat No. 4 Oklahoma State and earn steals and drew four charges against the Cowboys. Nebraska drew five charges as a team in its 11th victory a road win at Iowa State. A native of Sydney, Australia, Maric scored a career- over a top-five opponent in program history. high 15 points against OSU on 7-of-10 shooting, including 7-of-8 inside the arc, while adding a career-best three On the Line assists without a turnover. Against the Cyclones, Maric After not finding much success at the free throw line early in the season, the Huskers have seen better dropped in his third double-double of the season to tie efficiency at the charity stripe in the past 12 games. the NU freshman record, as he had 11 points and 10 During that 12-game stretch, NU has hit 71.8 percent (204-of-284) overall at the foul line and has hit at least boards in the first period. After getting in foul trouble early in the second half, Maric finished with 13 points 66.7 percent 10 times. NU had connected on 66.7 percent from the line in just three of its first 13 games. and 12 boards in 23 minutes. The Huskers drained 32-of-45 free-throw attempts in their 10-point win over Texas A&M. Both the attempts and made free throws were season highs. In fact, the attempts were the second-highest in the Collier era, Player of the Week Rookie of the Week trailing only the 47 attempts NU had in 2001 in a victory over nationally ranked Texas. 2/28 Wayne Simien, KU, F, Sr. Aleks Maric, NU, C, Fr. Nebraska made its first eight free throw attempts against the Aggies and its final 10, including eight made 2/21 Curtis Stinson, ISU, G, So. Terrell Everett, OU, G, Jr. 2/14 Brad Buckman, UT, F, Jr. Fred Peete, KSU, G, So. in the last five minutes of the game by Jake Muhleisen. The senior guard hit 10-of-11 from the stripe and 2/7 Jarrius Jackson, TTU, G, So. Richard Roby, CU, G, Fr. is now connecting on 77.8 percent at the line in league play. He is one of four Huskers – along with Marcus 1/31 Kevin Bookout, OU, C, Jr. Taj Gray, OU, F, Jr. Neal Jr. (75.6), Wes Wilkinson (78.1) and Aleks Maric (76.7) – hitting at least 70 percent from the line against 1/24 Kevin Bookout, OU, C, Jr. Daniel Gibson, UT, G, Fr. 1/17 Wayne Simien, KU, F, Sr. Taj Gray, OU, F, Jr. Big 12 foes. 1/10 Kevin Bookout, OU, C, Jr. Daniel Gibson, UT, G, Fr. NU came back with 10 consecutive made free throws to open the game at Texas Tech, giving it 20 straight 1/3 Keith Langford, KU, G, Sr. Tim Bush, BU, G, So. over two games. Nebraska finished the game hitting 19-of-25 from the charity stripe, the first time this season P.J. Tucker, UT, F, So. NU has hit better than 75.0 percent from the line while attempting at least 20 free throws. 12/27 Jeremiah Massey, KSU, F, Sr. Aaron Bruce, BU, G, Fr. Richard Roby, CU, G, Fr. The Huskers had their best night at the line this season when they hit 20-of-22 (90.9 percent) at the stripe 12/20 P.J. Tucker, UT, F, So. Joe McCray, NU, G, Fr. against Utah Valley State. NU connected on the first 10 free-throw attempts of the night and missed only one 12/13 Curtis Stinson, ISU, G, So. Taj Gray, OU, F, Jr. attempt each half. It was NU's highest percentage since hitting 12-of-12 attempts in a 74-55 victory over Fred Peete, KSU, G, So. 12/6 John Lucas, OSU, G, Sr. Martin Zeno, TT, G, Fr. No. 12/13 Kansas in Lincoln last year. 11/29 Jared Homan, ISU, C, Sr. Joe McCray, NU, G, Fr. Terrell Everett, OU, G, Jr. 11/22 Wayne Simien, KU, F, Sr. Taj Gray, OU, F, Jr. 4 5 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball

Muhleisen Named to Academic All- Fab Freshmen District VII First Team The Huskers have been getting amazing production out of their freshman class of guard Joe McCray and Senior guard Jake Muhleisen was named to center Aleks Maric. The tandem has combined for 23.2 points and 11.5 rebounds per game this season while the CoSIDA Academic All-District VII first team making an impression on the rest of the league, and each has been named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week announced Friday, Feb. 18. A native of Lincoln (McCray twice, Maric once). and three-year team captain, Muhleisen is the McCray is 13th in scoring (15.1 ppg) in the league, while Maric is ninth in rebounding (6.6 rpg) on the first Husker to earn academic all-district honors season. McCray is second in three-pointers per game (2.8) and is seventh in three-point shooting percentage since Cary Cochran in 2002. (35.2). McCray is also 12th in league-only games for steals, with 1.36 per game. Muhleisen and the other four student-athletes Both McCray and Maric have moved onto the Nebraska freshman top-10 charts, with McCray likely to post selected to the all-district team will now move onto one of the top rookie seasons in NU history. For complete NU freshman records, see page 12. the selection ballot for the academic All-America McCray has already moved into second on the rookie points scored chart with 378 and is currently on pace team. Sports information directors around the to break the freshman scoring average mark set by Jerry Fort in 1973 when he averaged 14.5 ppg. country will vote for the academic All-America Maric moved onto the freshman rebounding chart, taking over fourth place as he has 159 boards this team through Feb. 28, and the final tabulation season. At his current average of 6.6 boards per game, Maric is on pace to easily break the NU rookie record will be announced on March 2. A first, second set by John Turek in 2002 (162 rebounds). and third team will be selected. On pace to graduate in May with a degree in McCray Making a Splash finance, Muhleisen has carried a 3.726 grade- By ranking among the top 15 in the conference in scoring with just one week left in the regular season, point average since enrolling at Nebraska in the freshman guard Joe McCray has shown he is one of the top freshmen in the Big 12 Conference this season. summer of 2001. He was a first-team academic McCray will contend for all-freshman honors on the conference and national levels. All-Big 12 selection last year and has been named McCray was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week on two occasions this year (Nov. 29 and Dec. 20). He to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll each of is the first Husker freshman to earn more than one rookie-of-the-week honor in a season. the past seven semesters. Muhleisen will also be Through Feb. 27, McCray is 13th in scoring at 15.1 points per game on the season, the third-highest scoring a first-team academic All-Big 12 selection again freshman in the Big 12 Conference and one of six freshmen in the top 20. McCray has hit 40.1 percent from this spring after carrying better than a 3.5 GPA the floor to rank 14th in the Big 12. last semester. McCray is second in the conference with 2.8 three-pointers per contest and ranked 37th nationally last week. To be nominated for inclusion on the academic He also paces the Huskers with 70 three-pointers to tie for fourth on the NU single-season chart. McCray is all-district squad, the student-athlete must be seventh in the conference in three-point percentage by hitting 35.2 percent beyond the arc on the year. a starter or important reserve with legitimate In league-only games, he is 13th in scoring at 15.5 points per game. He is also third with 2.71 treys per athletic credentials who carries at least a game and is ninth in Big 12 play by hitting 32.9 percent from long range. McCray is also 2th in steals with 3.20 cumulative grade-point average in both 1.36 per game in conference play. undergraduate and graduate work. He must have reached sophomore athletic and academic Simply a Sensational Scorer standing and must have completed at least one Freshman guard Joe McCray broke a 33-year old Husker record when he scored a team-best 21 points full year at the institution. Student-athletes must on the road against No. 21/22 Oklahoma. The rookie from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., picked up his seventh 20- have participated in at least 50 percent of the point contest of the season to set the Nebraska mark formerly held by Jerry Fort, who had six such games team’s games. in 1972-73. Since then he has added an eighth 20-point game, when he had a game-high 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting 2005 Academic All-District VII as Nebraska stunned No. 4/4 Oklahoma State, 74-67. McCray has scored at least 19 points in four of five University Division Men’s Basketball Team Jake Muhleisen, Nebraska, Sr., 3.726, games against ranked teams this year, including Putting Up the Points Finance, Lincoln, Neb. three 20-point games. He has also scored in double Freshman Joe McCray has eight 20-plus point games this Erik Benzel, Denver, Sr., 3.69 figures in every road contest this season. season. Here is a list of freshman with at least three 20- Finance, Spokane, Wash. McCray's eight 20-point games lead the Huskers, point scoring games in their rookie season. David Erbes, North Dakota St., Sr., 3.88, as only senior guard Jake Muhleisen (2) has more Player...... 20-pt. Gms ...... Year Agricultural Economics, Barney, N.D. than one. Overall, the Huskers have produced 13 20- 1. Joe McCray ...... 8...... 2004-05 Adam Haluska, Iowa, So., 3.46, point contests this season as a team. McCray's eight 2. Jerry Fort ...... 6...... 1972-73 Finance, Carroll, Iowa 20-point games are the most by an NU player since 3. Dave Hoppen ...... 5...... 1982-83 Derek Winans, Southeast Missouri St., Sr., 3.977, 4. Eric Piatkowski ...... 3...... 1990-91 Business, East Cape Girardeau, Ill. Cookie Belcher had nine as a senior in 2000-01. NOTE: Complete records available since 1972-73. McCray began his career in high style as he 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, while adding six rebounds and two steals. McCray's point total was the most by a freshman in an NU season opener since freshmen regained eligibility in 1972-73. He came back with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting (3-of-6 three-pointers) 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. Tyronn Lue owns the NU freshman record with 30 points in his second career game. McCray had 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting against North Carolina A&T. McCray had just two points at halftime but came back with 18 points in the second frame on six treys. He hit five straight three-pointers in one stretch and added a career-high seven rebounds in the contest. With the strong performance, McCray earned his second Big 12 Rookie of the Week honor on Dec. 20. McCray became just the third Husker freshman to record five 20-plus point games in his rookie season when he gained 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting, including 5-of-12 from long range, against No. 10/9 Texas. It was his second straight 21-point contest, as he also hit 5-of-8 three-pointers to score 21 points in a 68-61 6 7 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball

win over Colorado on the road as NU opened the league slate 2-0 for the first time since 1993-94. Big 12 Team Statistics (all games) The scoring phenom tied the Nebraska record for 20-plus point games when he posted a career-best 26 (Categories NU ranks in top five in Big 12 through March 1) points against Iowa State in Lincoln. He hit 7-of-15 from the field, including four treys, and hit 8-of-9 from Scoring Defense Big 12 Leader 4. Nebraska...... 63.7 1. Texas A&M ...... 62.1 the charity stripe. All three times he went to the free throw line came after he was fouled while shooting Field Goal Pct. Defense Big 12 Leader three-point attempts. The 26 points tied for fifth on the NU freshman single-game scoring chart. 5. Nebraska...... 41.5 1. Kansas ...... 38.3 McCray has also added a pair of 19-point contests, including a game-high 19 points with seven rebounds Rebounding Offense Big 12 Leader at No. 2/2 Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse. McCray had 16 points against Utah Valley State while adding a career- 2. Nebraska...... 38.8 1. Texas...... 39.9 high five assists without a turnover. Rebounding Defense Big 12 Leader 4. Nebraska...... 32.7 1. Oklahoma St.... 28.8 Maric in the Middle Rebounding Margin Big 12 Leader 1. Nebraska...... +6.2 1. Nebraska...... +6.2 Freshman Aleks Maric has been making some noise in the paint for the Huskers in his rookie season. The 6-11, 265-pound native of Sydney, Australia, has been solid inside, averaging 8.1 points and a team-best Big 12 Individual Leaders (all games) 6.6 rebounds to open his career. Double Trouble (Categories NU players rank in top 20 in Big 12 through March 1) Maric now ranks ninth in the league in rebounding, Scoring Big 12 Leader Since 1972-73 when freshmen were re-instated, only five including sixth in offensive rebounding. In conference- 13. McCray...... 15.1 1. Simien, KU...... 19.2 NU freshmen had recorded a double-double until Aleks only games, Maric is adding a team-best 5.9 boards Rebounding Big 12 Leader Maric joined the group this season. Maric has tied the NU 9. Maric...... 6.6 1. Simien, KU...... 10.8 per game to tie for 15th. freshman record with three double-doubles. Here is a list Field Goal Percentage Big 12 Leader The big man has started the last three games – and of frosh double-doubles during that span: 13. McCray...... 40.1 1. Gray, OU ...... 57.7 seven overall this season – and has responded with Player...... Pts...... Reb...... Year 3-pt. Field Goal Percentage Big 12 Leader some of his best performances of the year. Aleks Maric...... 13 ...... 12...... 2004-05 7. McCray...... 35.2 1. Lucas, OSU...... 43.5 ...... 12 ...... 14...... 2004-05 Maric was named the Big 12 Conference Rookie 3-pt. Field Goals Made Big 12 Leader ...... 10 ...... 15...... 2004-05 of the Week on Feb. 28 after helping the Huskers 2. McCray...... 2.80 1. Lucas, OSU...... 3.08 Dave Hoppen...... 20 ...... 11...... 1982-83 to two straight wins the previous week. The Aussie Blocked Shots Big 12 Leader Andre Smith...... 16 ...... 13...... 1977-78 averaged 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while 8. Wilkinson...... 1.13 1. Gray, OU ...... 2.0 ...... 15 ...... 11...... 1977-78 10. Turek...... 1.08 hitting 64.7 percent from the field in wins over No. 4 Carl McPipe ...... 10 ...... 13...... 1975-76 Assist-to-Turnover Ratio Big 12 Leader Oklahoma State and on the road at Iowa State. Ron Taylor...... 21 ...... 17...... 1973-74 9. Neal...... 1.83:1 1. Lucas, OSU... 2.97:1 In one of his best offensive games of the year, ...... 10 ...... 11...... 1973-74 Maric scored a career-best 15 points on 7-of-10 ...... 14 ...... 12...... 1973-74 shooting against the Cowboys while helping NU to a Rickey Harris ...... 22 ...... 13...... 1973-74 Big 12 Team Statistics (B12 games) 74-67 victory. Maric connected on 7-of-8 attempts (Categories NU ranks in top five in Big 12 through March 1) Rebounding Offense Big 12 Leader inside the arc and added a career-best three assists without a turnover. 2. Nebraska...... 36.4 1. Texas...... 37.7 At ISU, Maric recorded his third double-double of the season to tie the NU freshman record. He had 11 Rebounding Defense Big 12 Leader points and 10 boards at the intermission. Maric finished with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting with 12 rebounds 5. Nebraska...... 32.9 1. Oklahoma St.... 27.2 in 23 minutes, as he sat much of the second half after getting his third and fourth fouls less than one minute Rebounding Margin Big 12 Leader into the second period. 3. Nebraska...... +3.5 1. Oklahoma St....+6.0 Before that stretch, Maric started the strong performance with a solid game when he recorded 13 points with nine boards and one blocked shot against Missouri in Lincoln in his first start in league play. He hit 4- Big 12 Individual Leaders (B12 games) of-7 attempts from the field and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe and set a career high for the second straight (Categories NU players rank in top 20 in Big 12 through March 1) game by playing 35 minutes. Scoring Big 12 Leader That solid performance came on the heels of a seven-point, seven-rebound effort at Oklahoma and a 10- 13. McCray...... 15.5 1. Simien, KU...... 20.5 Rebounding Big 12 Leader point, seven-rebound game at Baylor. In the games immediately before that, Maric sat out the Utah Valley t15. Maric...... 5.9 1. Simien, KU...... 10.4 State contest with the flu and was not at 100 percent in games against Kansas and Iowa State. During that Field Goal Percentage Big 12 Leader three-game stretch when he was under the weather, Maric dropped nearly 15 pounds, but has since regained 15. McCray...... 37.4 1. Gray, OU ...... 61.5 most of that weight. Steals Big 12 Leader The Aussie began his career in high fashion as he picked up a game-high 14 boards in the season opener 12. McCray...... 1.36 1. Ross, TTU ...... 2.43 while adding 12 points for his first career double-double. He was the first NU freshman since Ron Taylor in 3-pt. Field Goal Percentage Big 12 Leader 1973-74 to record a double-double in his first career game. 9. McCray...... 32.8 1. Lucas, OSU...... 44.7 Maric came back with eight points and three boards against Texas Southern, before adding 10 points and 3-pt. Field Goals Made Big 12 Leader 3. McCray...... 2.71 1. Lucas, OSU...... 3.29 15 rebounds on the road against UAB. The big man just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine Blocked Shots Big 12 Leader rebounds against Morgan State in his first career start. He also had eight points and 11 rebounds against 8. Turek...... 1.07 1. Gray, OU ...... 2.27 Colorado on the road to help NU to a 2-0 mark to open conference play. 9. Wilkinson...... 0.93 Maric hit 6-of-8 shots from the floor to score 14 points at Missouri, and came back with nine points, Assist-to-Turnover Ratio Big 12 Leader including connecting on 5-of-8 from the free throw line against Texas A&M. His offensive surge came after 10. Neal...... 1.77:1 1. Lucas, OSU... 2.63:1 struggling through three games when he was 7-of-28 from the field. Maric then added eight points and nine 11. Muhleisen...... 1.67:1 boards at Texas Tech for another near-miss. 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 just his third career game.

6 7 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball

2004-05 Team Leaders Dourisseau Getting Into the Act (Through Feb. 27) Despite struggling with an ankle injury that has sidelined him for three games – at two different times – in Double-Figure Scoring Games Joe McCray 21; Marcus Neal Jr. 12; Jason Dourisseau conference play, guard Jason Dourisseau has made his presence felt within the Husker offense this year. 10; Aleks Maric 10; John Turek 8; Wes Wilkinson 8; Dourisseau is second on the team in scoring and rebounding at 9.8 points and 5.1 boards per game. He Jake Muhleisen 7; Corey Simms 1 also ranks second on the squad by hitting 49.0 percent (76-of-155) from the floor. Double-Figure Rebounding Games In the past three games, Dourisseau has hit 18-of-30 (60.0 percent) from the field, including a 6-of-7 effort Aleks Maric 4; Jason Dourisseau 1; Joe McCray 1; against Missouri. He has averaged 14.0 points per game with 4.3 rebounds per contest during that stretch. John Turek 1 During a five-game stretch from Jan. 26 to Feb. 8, Dourisseau averaged 11.8 points per game while hitting Double-Doubles 52.5 percent (21-of-40) from the floor, including 2-of-7 from outside the arc. That came after a two-game Aleks Maric 3; Jason Dourisseau 1; Joe McCray 1; absence from an ankle injury. John Turek 1 Dourisseau poured in a career-high 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting against No. 3 Kansas. The Omaha native 20-Point Games also hit 7-of-12 from the free throw line and added five boards and three steals in 26 minutes. Joe McCray 8; Jake Muhleisen 2; Jason Dourisseau 1; Following the strong performance, Dourisseau re-entered the starting lineup against Iowa State at home. John Turek 1; Wes Wilkinson 1 He scored 11 points with three boards, one block and two steals in 33 minutes. He also started against Baylor Games Leading NU in Scoring* but played just 13 minutes before re-injuring his ankle. He did not return to the game in the second half and Joe McCray 14; Jason Dourisseau 5; Marcus Neal Jr. then missed the Oklahoma game. 3; Jake Muhleisen 2; Aleks Maric 1; John Turek 1; Wes Dourisseau has started 16 of his 21 games played this year, with NU holding an 11-5 record in games Wilkinson 1 Dourisseau has been in the opening lineup. He has nearly doubled his numbers from last season, as he has Games Leading NU in Rebounding* 107 rebounds, 19 steals and is fourth on the squad with 34 assists against just 44 turnovers. Last season, Aleks Maric 12; Joe McCray 5; Jason Dourisseau 4; he had 60 rebounds, 13 steals and 17 assists against 41 turnovers in 31 games. Wes Wilkinson 4; Jake Muhleisen 2; Corey Simms 1; In NU's season opener, Dourisseau scored 17 points in 22 minutes during NU's 97-40 victory. He hit 8-of- John Turek 1 13 attempts from the floor and added eight rebounds and two assists without a turnover. Games Leading NU in Assists* Dourisseau followed with 18 points and set a career high for the second straight game by grabbing 12 rebounds. Marcus Neal Jr. 12; Jake Muhleisen 10; Charles Richardson He also hit 8-of-11 free throw attempts after getting fouled repeatedly while slashing to the basket. Jr. 4; Jason Dourisseau 3; Corey Simms 3; John Turek 3; In the Huskers' road victory over Colorado on Jan. 12, Dourisseau had his best game in nearly a month, as Aleks Maric 1; Joe McCray 1; Wes Wilkinson 1 he recorded 11 points with seven rebounds in 26 minutes. He slashed past the Buffs at will while recording Games Leading NU in Blocks* eight points in the opening frame as NU opened a 15-point halftime lead on the road. John Turek 11; Wes Wilkinson 11; Aleks Maric 7; Jason Dourisseau 2; Joe McCray 1; Jake Muhleisen 1; Bronsen Schliep 1; Corey Simms 1; Tony Wilbrand 1 Turek Shooting Lights Out Lately Games Leading NU in Steals* Senior forward John Turek has picked up his play as his final season winds down. Joe McCray 12; Jake Muhleisen 7; Marcus Neal Jr. 6; During a six-game stretch from Jan. 26 to Feb. 12, the Council Bluffs, Iowa, native hit 70.6 percent (24- Jason Dourisseau 5; Aleks Maric 4; Charles Richardson of-34) from the field while ranking fourth on the team with 9.7 points per game. Turek also led the team with Jr. 4; John Turek 3; Wes Wilkinson 3; Corey Simms 2 6.2 rebounds per game during that stretch with four blocked shots and three steals. *includes ties In conference play, Turek is second on the team by hitting 52.1 percent (38-of-73) from the floor and is third in rebounding at 4.6 boards per game. He is averaging 6.6 points and paces the squad with 1.1 blocks Running Away per game in league action to rank among the top 15 in the conference. Scoring runs of at least eight straight points Nebraska: Only Jason Dourisseau (53.8 percent, 42-of-78) joins Turek in shooting at least 50.0 percent from the 4 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (27-0 1st half; field against Big 12 foes this year. 14-0 2nd half; 18-0 2nd half; 8-0 2nd half) 3 vs. Texas Southern (9-0 1st half; 8-0 2nd half; 8-0 2nd half) Wilkinson Gaining Confidence With Solid Play 2 vs. Iowa State 2/8 (8-0 1st half; 10-0 2nd half) Junior forward Wes Wilkinson has come on strong in his third season in the Husker program and is quickly 2 vs. Utah Valley State (8-0 1st half; 20-0 1st-2nd half) turning into one of Nebraska's top offensive threats. 2 vs. Kansas State (9-0 1st-2nd half; 8-0 2nd OT) A 6-9, 220-pounder from Grand Island, Neb., Wilkinson raised expectations after his solid play in the Huskers' 2 vs. Montana State (9-0 2nd half; 16-0 2nd half) 2 vs. Tennessee (8-0 1st half; 8-0 2nd half) Australian Summer Tour in August when he averaged 13.2 points and 7.0 rebounds over six games. But his 2 vs. North Carolina A&T (10-0 1st half; 13-0 2nd half) progress was hindered on the first day of fall practice when he suffered a broken bone in his left foot forcing 2 vs. Morgan State (8-0 1st half; 11-0 2nd half) him to sit out of practice for five weeks, including NU's season opener. After seeing limited minutes in the first 1 vs. Iowa State 2/27 (12-0 2nd half) 1 vs. Oklahoma State (10-0 2nd half) four games after his return, Wilkinson has finally worked his way back into the mix and found his groove. 1 vs. Missouri 2/19 (11-0 1st half) In Big 12 play, Wilkinson is averaging 8.3 points per game while hitting 43.8 percent from the floor. He has 1 vs. Texas Tech (8-0 2nd half) scored in double figures six times in 14 league games, including a career-high 22 points with four boards in 1 vs. Missouri on 1/22 (8-0 1st half) a career-high 34 minutes against Kansas State. He had not recorded a double-figure scoring game against 1 vs. Texas (11-0 1st half) 1 vs. Colorado on 1/12 (10-0 1st half) Big 12 foes in his first two seasons. Wilkinson is also averaging 3.8 rebounds per game against conference 1 vs. UAB (9-0 2nd half) foes, including posting a career-high nine rebounds against Iowa State in Lincoln. 1 vs. Minnesota (13-0 1st half) Wilkinson has also hit 78.1 percent from the free throw line against the league. In fact, he has hit 27 of Opponents: his last 30 attempts (90.0 percent) over the past 11 games. 2 Oklahoma (10-1st half; 12-0 1st-2nd half) Wilkinson had 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting with five boards while helping the Huskers at No. 2/2 Kansas. 2 Iowa State 2/8 (10-0 1st half; 8-0 2nd half) 2 Kansas 2/5 (8-0 1st half; 10-0 1st-2nd half) Nebraska lost the game by just two points, 59-57. He came back with 13 points, three boards, two blocks 2 Missouri 1/22 (12-0 1st half; 9-0 2nd half) and two steals against the Jayhawks in a loss in Lincoln. At Missouri, Wilkinson again came up big as he hit 2 Kansas 1/19 (8-0 1st half; 12-0 2nd half) a career-high four three-pointers en route to 14 points and six boards. 2 Texas (12-0 1st half; 8-0 2nd half) After helping the Huskers to a 74-67 victory over No. 4 Oklahoma State, Wilkinson recorded his best 2 Marquette (10-0 2nd half; 8-0 2nd half) 2 Texas Southern (9-0 1st half; 8-0 2nd half) performance on the road since the Kansas contest when he posted 16 points with five boards in the win at 1 Oklahoma State (13-0 1st half) Iowa State. He had scored just 14 points in the previous five games combined and had 15 points in his previous 1 Baylor (8-0 1st half) three road games combined before hitting 6-of-12 from the floor against the Cyclones. 1 Texas Tech (8-0 1st half) 1 Montana State (9-0 1st half) Wilkinson has added 1.13 blocks per game (27 total) this season to rank ninth in the Big 12 Conference 1 Tennessee (10-0 2nd half) this year. He has had at least two blocks in seven games this year, after having just 13 blocks last year. 1 Minnesota (15-0 2nd half) 8 9 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball

Huskers Hitting the Glass USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll Nebraska has been relentless on the boards throughout the season. On the year, the Huskers are second Week 16 in the league in rebounding with 38.8 boards per game and in rebounding margin at +6.2. In conference play, Team (1st place votes)...... Record 1. Illinois (31) ...... 28-0 NU is second in rebounding at 36.4 boards per contest and fourth in rebounding margin at +3.5. 2. North Carolina ...... 24-3 In the Feb. 21 NCAA statistics, the Huskers ranked 22nd in the nation in rebounding margin (+6.2). 3. Kentucky...... 22-3 Freshman Aleks Maric ranks ninth in the league with 6.6 rebounds per game to pace the Huskers. Maric 4. Wake Forest...... 24-4 has recorded four double-figure rebound games (15, 14, 11, 12) this season. Junior Jason Dourisseau ranks 5. Boston College ...... 23-2 second on the team after gaining 5.1 rebounds per game over 21 games and just fell out of the top 20 in the 6. Duke ...... 21-4 conference. In league-only games, Maric paces NU 7. Kansas*...... 21-4 with 5.9 boards to tie for 15th. 50-Rebound Nights 8. Oklahoma State* ...... 20-5 Overall, the Huskers have taken a rebounding Nebraska has topped the 50-rebound mark four times this 9. Louisville...... 24-4 10. Washington ...... 23-4 advantage in 19 of 25 games. Nebraska has season while ranking second in the Big 12 in rebounds per game at 38.8. 11. Arizona...... 24-5 outrebounded 10 of 14 Big 12 opponents it has Opponent...... Reb...... Margin 12. Michigan State ...... 20-5 faced this year, including No. 10/9 Texas and at Arkansas-Pine Bluff ...... 55...... +36 (55-19) 13. Gonzaga...... 22-4 No. 2/2 Kansas and Iowa State. Texas Southern ...... 50...... +17 (50-33) 14. Syracuse...... 24-5 Nebraska pulled down 51 boards in the road UAB ...... 50...... +12 (50-38) 15. Utah ...... 24-4 victory over Iowa State, outrebounding the Cyclones Iowa State ...... 51...... +14 (51-37) 16. Connecticut...... 19-6 51-37. It was a conference season high for rebounds 17. Pacific...... 23-2 and was the first time NU grabbed at least 50 boards against a league foe since pulling down 51 boards in a 18. Charlotte ...... 21-4 19. Alabama...... 21-6 72-44 victory over No. 25 Texas Tech in 2004. NU also had 50 rebounds earlier that season in a 70-26 win 20. Oklahoma* ...... 21-6 over Bethune-Cookman. 21. Cincinnati...... 22-6 The Huskers opened the season on a strong note by pulling down 55 boards against Arkansas-Pine Bluff 22. Villanova ...... 19-6 and added 50 against Texas Southern and at UAB. Nebraska grabbed 47 rebounds against Morgan State and 23. Wisconsin...... 18-7 nearly added another 50-board game with 49 rebounds against Montana State. 24. Pittsburgh ...... 18-7 Nebraska's three straight 50-plus rebound efforts to start the year came after NU had just two 50-rebound 25. Southern Illinois...... 24-6 games in the past four years. The last time NU had three straight 50-rebound games came in 1999-2000. *-2004-05 Husker opponents Overall, the Huskers have had 68 50-plus rebound games since complete box scores have been included in Other Husker opponents receiving votes: Texas, Texas NU record books (1972-73). Only 13 times during that period has NU recorded more than 55 boards. Tech, Minnesota, Texas A&M. The Huskers' +36 advantage (55-19) on the glass against Arkansas-Pine Bluff is NU's the largest rebounding margin since at least 1972-73. The previous high was +30 (72-42) against Oklahoma in 1991-92. Associated Press Poll Week 16 Muhleisen Gains Spotlight in Sports Illustrated On Campus Team (1st place votes)...... Record Three-year captain Jake Muhleisen has not received much national credit despite the outstanding way he 1. Illinois (71) ...... 28-0 runs the team, both on and off the court. That changed on Nov. 11 when Sports Illustrated On Campus, the 2. North Carolina ...... 24-3 collegiate version of the popular sports magazine, named him one of nine men's basketball players who are 3. Kentucky...... 22-3 unsung heroes because they do "the little things that don't show up in a box score." 4. Wake Forest...... 24-4 5. Boston College ...... 23-2 The 'Glue Guys' are "the ties that bind their respective teams," according to the article. Along with 6. Duke ...... 21-4 Muhleisen, SIOC named Josh Pace (Syracuse), Roger Powell (Illinois), Chuck Hayes (Kentucky), Isma'il 7. Kansas*...... 21-4 Muhammad (Georgia Tech), Jamal Levy (Wake Forest), (Wisconsin), Ellis Myles (Louisville) 8. Oklahoma State* ...... 20-5 and Nick Robinson (Stanford) to the 'Glue Guys' list. 9. Louisville...... 24-4 10. Washington ...... 23-4 Sports Illustrated Highlights Freshmen 11. Arizona...... 24-5 Freshman center Aleks Maric received his first major national recognition when he was listed by Sports 12. Gonzaga...... 22-4 13. Syracuse...... 24-5 Illustrated (Feb. 21, 2005) as one of the 10 most prominent Australians currently playing collegiate basketball 14. Michigan State ...... 20-5 in the United States. 15. Connecticut...... 19-6 In a sidebar that complemented a feature on Utah's – who Maric played with on Australia's 16. Utah ...... 24-4 Under 20 World Championships gold medal team – the magazine noted there were more than 100 Aussies 17. Pacific...... 23-2 playing in U.S. colleges. The note on Maric read: Hulking (265 pounds) big man averages only 19.1 minutes 18. Charlotte ...... 21-4 per game (inlcuding four starts) but still leads Cornhuskers in rebounding (6.5 rpg) and is seventh on team 19. Villanova ...... 19-6 in scoring (7.3 ppg). 20. Oklahoma* ...... 21-6 Along with Maric, the other Aussies mentioned in the sidebar were: Aaron Bruce (Baylor, Fr., G), Chris 21. Alabama...... 21-6 22. Cincinnati...... 22-6 Cameron (Louisiana-Lafayette, Sr., C), Ian Crosswhite (formerly Oregon, Jr., C), Martin Iti (Charlotte, So., C), 23. Wisconsin...... 18-7 Blagoj Janev (New Hampshire, So., F), Daniel Kickert (St. Mary's, Jr., F), Matthew Knight (Loyola Marymount, 24. Pittsburgh ...... 18-7 So., F/C), Alex Loughton (Old Dominion, Jr., F/C) and Luke Schenscher (Georgia Tech, Sr., C). 25. Nevada...... 22-5 Maric is not the only Husker freshman to gain recent recognition from Sports Illustrated. Guard Joe McCray *-2004-05 Husker opponents was listed as one of the five best freshmen in the Big 12 Conference on the magazine's website, SI.com, on Tuesday, Feb. 22. writer Kelli Anderson listed McCray alongside Daniel Gibson (G, Texas), Other Husker opponents receiving votes: Texas Tech, Aaron Bruce (G, Baylor), Joseph Jones (F, Texas A&M) and Richard Roby (F, Colorado) as the league's top Texas, Texas A&M, Minnesota. freshmen. Maric was listed as honorable mention.

8 9 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball

Nebraska Media Policies Turek Making Mark on Record Books Postgame Procedures Senior forward John Turek has a chance to put his name in elite company this season. Following Nebraska's home contests, Coach Collier After finding great improvement each of his first three seasons, Turek is leaving his name among will meet with the media following a brief cooling-off Nebraska's best rebounders and shot blockers of period in the postgame interview room, located near all time. Turek enters the contest against Colorado Turek Among the Elite the southeast corner of floor. Requested players will John Turek is one of just four Huskers ever with 600 points, be available following Collier's press briefing. with 882 career points, 663 rebounds and 155 500 rebounds and 100 blocked shots. On the road, Coach Collier and at least two players blocked shots. Player (Years) ...... Pts...... Reb...... Blk. will be made available outside the Huskers' locker With his first rebound against Iowa State, Turek 1. Rich King (1988-91)...... 1,475..... 761...... 183 room. moved into a tie for 10th place on the Nebraska 2. (1996-99) ..... 1,416..... 1,080... 241 career rebound chart. He finished with three boards 3. Mikki Moore (1994-97)...... 986...... 661...... 236 Media Credentials to take over the spot and is now one board away 4. John Turek (2002-pres.)...... 882...... 663...... 155 Credential requests for Nebraska home games from tying for ninth place. NOTE: Complete blocks records for individuals not available before 1978. should be faxed to Vicki Cartwright's attention at Already one of the top shot blockers in Nebraska (402) 472-2005 or sent to Nebraska Sports Information, 116 South Stadium, P.O. Box 880123, Lincoln, NE, history, Turek has a chance to do something this year that no Husker has ever accomplished. Turek, who is 68588-0123. fifth in NU history with 155 blocked shots, has led Nebraska in blocked shots each of the past three years, including tying the NU freshman record with 39 blocks in 2001-02. He currently tied for the team lead with Interview Requests 27 rejections, alongside Wes Wilkinson. Nebraska players or coaches are available for If he were to lead the team in blocks this season, Turek would be the first Husker ever to pace the squad interviews daily after practice and at press conferences, in four consecutive seasons. Dave Hoppen, the Huskers' career scoring leader, also had a share of the as scheduled. The Huskers will practice from 2:15 team lead for blocked shots all four years, but tied Ronnie Smith for the team high during Hoppen's junior p.m. to 5 p.m. during this year, alternating between season. the Devaney Center and Mabel Lee Hall. The best time to reach Coach Barry Collier for an interview is Turek entered the season looking to become just the third Husker ever with 1,000 points, 700 rebounds immediately following practice or on the Big 12 weekly and 100 blocks. The only Nebraska players who have reached those marks were taken in the NBA Draft teleconference on Mondays. – Rich King, a first-round selection, and Venson Hamilton, a second-round draft pick and the 1999 Big 12 Post-practice interview requests should be placed at Player of the Year. Currently, King, Hamilton, Turek and Mikki Moore are the only players with at least 600 least 24 hours in advance and directed to Assistant SID points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocked shots in their Husker career. Jerry Trickie, at (402) 472-7779 or (402) 540-0269. Muhleisen Shows All-Around Game Big 12 Weekly Teleconference Senior guard Jake Muhleisen has proven to be one of the top all-around players in Nebraska history over Through Premier Teleconferencing, the Big 12 hosts individual telephonic news conferences with each head the past three seasons. coach, starting at 10 a.m. (Central time) on select dates Muhleisen currently enters the matchup with Colorado with 903 points, 337 rebounds, 277 assists and 97 during the 2004-05 season. The briefings originate steals in his career. With six rebounds against Texas A&M, he became the eighth player in NU history with from conference headquarters on the 28th Floor of the at least 800 points, 300 rebounds, 250 assists and 50 steals. With 11 points in a 74-67 upset of No. 4/4 Wyndham Anatole Hotel, 2201 Stemmons Freeway, Oklahoma State, Muhleisen became the 31st player in Nebraska history to top the 900-point plateau. Dallas, Texas. Media wishing to attend the sessions In the Big 12 opener, Muhleisen set a season high with nine assists against three turnovers in a career- at the conference office may do so. Otherwise, contact high 48 minutes in NU's double-overtime victory over KSU. He came back with five assists and seven points the Big 12 Conference office for a call-in number. There in a win at Colorado, and has now recorded at least five assists in four games this season, including six will also be a replay which will be made available after 4 p.m. Central the day of the teleconference. assists against one turnover at home against Iowa State. Overall, Muhleisen now has 71 assists against just 40 turnovers this season. He is second on the team in 2004-05 Briefing Schedule assists, behind only senior point guard Marcus Neal Jr. who has 84. The session schedule (all times CST) for 2004-05 is: The Lincoln native has recorded a 1.67:1 assist-to-turnover ratio to rank 11th in league contests. Tuesdays—Dec. 7-14. Mondays—Jan. 3-10-17-24-31; Feb. 7-14-21-28; All About Defense March 7-14* Under Coach Barry Collier, the Huskers have rewrote the Nebraska defensive record book. Nebraska is 10:00-10:10 , Kansas again putting up some solid numbers, as the Huskers: 10:10-10:20 Billy Gillispie, Texas A&M • ranked 22nd rebound margin (+6.2) in the NCAA statistics of Feb. 21 and 49th in scoring defense 10:20-10:30 Eddie Sutton, Oklahoma State (63.3). 10:30-10:40 Scott Drew, Baylor • limited Arkansas-Pine Bluff to 40 points on 32.7 percent shooting in a 97-40 victory. NU forced 20 10:40-10:50 Quin Snyder, Missouri turnovers in the largest victory in Devaney Center history. 10:50-11:00 Bob Knight, Texas Tech • defeated TSU by 20 points while holding the Tigers to just 32.8 percent shooting from the floor and 11:00-11:10 Ricardo Patton, Colorado forcing 19 turnovers. 11:10-11:20 Jim Wooldridge, Kansas State • held UAB to just 24.0 percent shooting (6-of-25) from three-point range, including just 3-of-14 in the 11:20-11:30 Kelvin Sampson, Oklahoma 11:30-11:40 Barry Collier, Nebraska opening frame. 11:40-11:50 Rick Barnes, Texas • allowed just 12 points in the second half of a 64-34 victory over Morgan State. NU held the Bears to 11:50-Noon Wayne Morgan, Iowa State 23.5 percent shooting as they recorded the third-fewest points by an NU opponent since 1947. It was the Noon-12:10 Selected Student-Athlete third time NU has held its opponent to less than 40 points in the past two seasons.

*For those coaches advancing into the NCAA Tournament and the • limited Creighton to 34.0 percent shooting, including 31.6 percent from three-point range. Postseason NIT. • held Marquette to just 39.7 percent shooting, including 34.3 percent (11-of-32) inside the arc. • gave up just 45 points to Montana State on 30.0 percent shooting. • limited Colorado to 34.6 percent (18-of-52) from the floor, including 27.3 percent in the first half, as Nebraska won its conference road opener for the first time since 1993-94 with a 68-61 win at Colorado. • held No. 10/9 Texas to just 22.2 percent (4-of-18) shooting from three-point range, including 1-of-8 (12.5 percent) in the second half.

10 11 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball

• allowed No. 2/2 Kansas to hit just 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) from beyond the arc while scoring just 59 Unprecedented Television Coverage points at home in Allen Fieldhouse. Nebraska is being seen on television more times • forced No. 4/4 Oklahoma State into 19 turnovers and held the Cowboys to 44 percent shooting in the this season than any other year in program history. second half as NU used a 10-0 surge to open the period (and 17-4 run overall) to earn its 11th victory ever NU will play to a regional or national audience at least against a top-five team. 20 times this season. NU began an agreement with FSN Midwest to • limited Iowa State to just 37.7 percent shooting, including 9.1 percent (1-of-11) from three-point range televise 10 games as part of the Huskers' new third- in an NU road victory, 76-69. NU also gained a 51-37 advantage on the glass, including a 23-14 margin on tier package. The telecasts, including five games on the the offensive end. road and six against conference foes, will be produced and distributed by FSN Midwest throughout the state Huskers' 2005 Recruiting Class Among Top 25 Nationally of Nebraska (channel 37 on Time Warner in Lincoln, Five highly rated players signed national letters-of-intent during the early signing period and will join the channel 47 on Cox Cable in Omaha and channel 33 on Nebraska basketball team in 2005-06. The group is ranked among the top 25 recruiting classes nationally Qwest Choice in Omaha). Along with the FSN games, the Huskers will be seen according to at least one service. The Huskers have one scholarship still remaining for next season. on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPN Regional an additional 10 Among the four signees on the first day of the early signing period (Nov. 10) were Will Harris, Jamel times in the regular season. The Huskers have averaged White, Chris Balham and Kyle Marks, while Marcus Walker signed his scholarship papers on Nov. 16. more than 12 televised contests (national, regional and The class is tied with seven teams for No. 23 nationally by hoopscooponline.com. Nebraska's class is local) each of the past four years. fourth among Big 12 schools, trailing only Oklahoma State (No. 8), Baylor (No. 11) and Kansas (No. 13). It marks the Huskers’ second top-25 recruiting class in four seasons. For Starters Harris and White have each been ranked among the national top 100 by separate recruiting services, Nebraska returned nine lettermen to the court in giving Nebraska four top-100 signees over the past two seasons. Current freshmen Joe McCray and Aleks 2004-05, including three starters from a year ago in Maric were each also ranked among the top 100 before joining the Huskers. forward John Turek and guards Jake Muhleisen and A native of Queens, N.Y., Harris leads the way among the Husker signees after earning a top-100 ranking Marcus Neal Jr. The Huskers also returned five others with at least one career start, including guards Corey by several publications. The 6-7, 230-pound swingman was ranked No. 94 nationally by recruiting expert Simms, Charles Richardson Jr. and Jason Dourisseau Bob Gibbons and the No. 25 wing/forward by hoopmasters.com. Harris, who currently attends Maine Central and forwards Wes Wilkinson and Bronsen Schliep. Institute, was ranked 15th nationally among fifth-year players by hoopscooponline.com after ranking No. Ten of the 11 Huskers on the active roster have now 119 last year as a senior at Troy (N.Y.) Redemption Christian Academy. Harris averaged 24 points, nine made a career start, including freshmen Aleks Maric rebounds and five assists as a senior, after playing at Christ the King the previous two years. and Joe McCray. In total, the current Huskers have Following his senior season, Harris had a breakout summer in 2004 on the AAU circuit. Harris, who 340 career games started. has played for the New York Gauchos and New York Elite, was ranked the No. 1 wing/forward at the 2004 National Basketball Players Association Top 100 Camp by Gibbons. His strong performance also helped him rank No. 66 nationally in Lindy’s. The addition of White gives the Huskers a pair of New Yorkers on next year’s roster. A native of New York City, White is considered one of the top prep school guards in the country while playing for Laurinburg (N.C.) Institute this season, the No. 1 prep school team in the nation with a 7-0 record. The 6-3, 175-pounder has averaged 12 points and nearly nine assists per game for Laurinburg, after gaining 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists per contest at Grady High School last season. White was recently ranked 91st in the country among breakdownmagazine.com’s top 100, a national ranking that includes all classes. He was also ranked No. 33 among fifth-year players by hoopscooponline.com. White was the first commitment to the Huskers’ 2005 class. Along with Harris and White, the Huskers added two other athletic players in Balham and Marks. Balham, a 6-8, 225-pounder, has been playing basketball for less than four years since coming to the United States from France before his freshman season. Balham, who is from Lenexa, Kan., has played two seasons at Shawnee Mission West, where he averaged 9.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks while helping the Vikings to an 11-10 record. Despite finishing one game above .500, West was the leading defensive team in the state as it allowed only 41.9 points per game while holding opponents to just 38 percent shooting from the floor. Balham, who is as a preseason all-state selection before his senior season, helped West outrebound opponents by seven boards per game. Marks is an athletic forward who was the Huskers’ most recent commitment. The 6-7, 205-pound native of Riviera Beach, Fla., averaged 12 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots for Dwyer High School as a junior. He helped Dwyer to a 25-3 record last year and the Class 5A state title. While he had already caught the Huskers’ attention, Marks burst onto the summer circuit with the Tallahassee Wildcats where he was one of five Division I signees. The other four were scheduled to join the programs at Florida, Florida State, Cincinnati and Virginia. Marks helped the Wildcats win tournament titles at the Charlie Weber Classic, Coast-to-Coast Invitational and the adidas Showtime National Championships. Walker, who has a four-star ranking and is listed among the top 25 point guards nationally by theinsiders.com, is top-150 recruit according to hoopmasters.com. At Archbishop O’Hara High School in Kansas City, the 6-2, 165-pounder this season with 1,818 career points and owns the school records for single-season scoring (754 points) and single-game scoring (54). Last year, Walker led O’Hara to a 20-8 record and helped the Celtics advance to the Class 4 quarterfinals of the Missouri state tournament. Walker averaged 26.9 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals per game in 2003-04. Walker attended the 2004 Rebook ABCD Camp, where he tied for the tournament lead with 3.9 assists per game and was named one of the top 10 point guards in attendance.

10 11 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball

Pronunciation Key Barry Collier – Call-yer Filling the House Jason Dourisseau – Dah-ROO-so Last season, Nebraska had five straight games with at least 10,000 fans in attendance to end the season Aleks Maric – Alex MAR-itch and NU averaged more than 9,900 fans per game during the 2004 Big 12 home slate. The total was an Jake Muhleisen – MULE-high-sen increase of nearly 1,200 from the previous season and was the Huskers' highest conference attendance Bronsen Schliep – Shleep total since 1997-98. John Turek – TUR-eck That late-season support has carried over to 2004-05. The Huskers sold 9,414 season tickets (public/staff Paul Velander – VEE-land-er plus student Red Zone tickets), the highest total since 1997-98. The 2,186 student season tickets sold for the Red Zone are the most since 1992-93, when 2,314 students bought tickets. The overall total is up 1,101 Huskers by Class tickets or a total of 13 percent from last year's 8,313 season tickets sold. Seniors (4) Nebraska's biggest non-conference crowd in more than a decade showed up for the Creighton game on Marcus Neal Jr., Jake Muhleisen, Dec. 11, 2004, as 13,602 were on hand for the instate showdown. It was the first non-conference home Corey Simms, John Turek sellout since the 1993-94 campaign against Northern Iowa, and was the largest non-conference crowd Juniors (5) since 13,205 fans were in the Devaney Center against Minnesota in 1996-97. Jason Dourisseau, Bronsen Schliep Marcus Perry, Tony Wilbrand, Wes Wilkinson The Devaney Center was also sold out when the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks came to Lincoln on Feb. 5. It is Sophomores (1) the first time since the 1994-95 season that NU has had at least two home sellouts. Charles Richardson Jr. Freshmen (4) Quick Shots Jim Ledsome, Aleks Maric, Joe McCray, • John Turek became the 31st Husker in history play in 100 career game when he suited up against Texas Paul Velander on Jan. 15 and Corey Simms joined him in that elite group when he played against Texas Tech. • Jake Muhleisen leads the Huskers in games started with 96 in his career which is sixth in Nebraska Huskers by State/Country history. Alabama (1) • John Turek moved into the Nebraska career top 10 with three rebounds against Iowa State. He now has Marcus Perry Florida (1) 663 to rank 10th, just one off moving into a tie for ninth. He became just the 14th player in Nebraska history Joe McCray with at least 600 boards as he reached the plateau on Jan. 15 with eight boards against Texas. Illinois (1) • The last time a freshman led the Huskers in points scored was 1983, when NU's career scoring leader Charles Richardson Jr. Dave Hoppen recorded 445 points (13.9 ppg in 32 games) as a rookie. Freshman Joe McCray currently Iowa (1) paces the Huskers with 378 points (15.1 ppg over 25 contests). John Turek • Nebraska's 95 points in a double-overtime victory to open Big 12 play were the most it has scored in a Maryland (2) league game since putting up 99 against Kansas State in 2002. Jim Ledsome, Marcus Neal Jr. • NU is now 6-0 under Coach Collier when recording at least 90 points in a game, and 21-4 when scoring Missouri (1) Corey Simms at least 80 points. Nebraska (5) • The Huskers are 6-2 in overtime under Coach Collier. Jason Dourisseau, Jake Muhleisen, Bronsen Schliep, Tony Wilbrand, Wes Wilkinson Virginia (1) Paul Velander Australia (1) Aleks Maric

Huskers by Major Business (4) Aleks Maric (International Business) Bronsen Schliep (Administration) **John Turek (Marketing) Wes Wilkinson (Administration) Communication Studies (1) Jason Dourisseau Computer Science (1) Tony Wilbrand Economics (1) Marcus Perry Education (1) Charles Richardson Jr. Finance (1) Jake Muhleisen Sociology (2) Marcus Neal Jr. Corey Simms Undeclared (3) Jim Ledsome Joe McCray Paul Velander

**Earned undergraduate degree in December 2004.

12 13 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball 2004-05 Nebraska Basketball

Nebraska Freshman Record Book Nebraska Single-Season Record Book Nebraska Career Record Book Points Field Goals Made Three-Point Field Goals Made 1. Dave Hoppen (1983)...... 445 1. Dave Hoppen (1985)...... 270 1. Cary Cochran (1999-2002)...... 268 2. Joe McCray (2005) ...... 378 2. Tyronn Lue (1998)...... 240 2. Eric Piatkowski (1991-94) ...... 202 3. Jerry Fort (1973) ...... 376 3. Andre Smith (1980) ...... 237 3. Jaron Boone (1993-96) ...... 181 4. Eric Piatkowski (1991)...... 372 4. Eric Piatkowski (1994)...... 226 4. Erick Strickland (1993-96)...... 179 5. Jake Muhleisen (2002)...... 328 5. Chuck Jura (1972)...... 220 5. Brian Conklin (2001-04) ...... 176 6. Cookie Belcher (1997) ...... 305 Dave Hoppen (1984)...... 220 6. Cookie Belcher (1997-2001)...... 146 7. Tyronn Lue (1996)...... 296 7. Jerry Fort (1975) ...... 218 7. Tyronn Lue (1996-98) ...... 145 8. Andre Smith (1978) ...... 278 8. Marvin Stewart (1971)...... 215 8. Ray Richardson (1989-90)...... 105 9. Erick Strickland (1993) ...... 243 Tyronn Lue (1997)...... 215 9. Chris Cresswell (1990-92)...... 103 10. Beau Reid (1988)...... 232 10. Jerry Fort (1974) ...... 207 10. Jake Muhleisen (2002-pres.)...... 95 Jamar Johnson (1992-94)...... 95 Scoring Average --- Joe McCray (2005)...... 125 1. Jerry Fort (1973) ...... 14.5 2. Dave Hoppen (1983)...... 13.9 Field Goals Attempted Three-Point Field Goals Attempted 3. Jake Muhleisen (2002)...... 11.7 1. Tyronn Lue (1998)...... 547 1. Cary Cochran (1999-2002)...... 630 4. Eric Piatkowski (1991)...... 10.9 2. Jerry Fort (1975) ...... 508 2. Eric Piatkowski (1991-94) ...... 564 5. Andre Smith (1978) ...... 9.3 3. Jim Buchanan (1952) ...... 484 3. Erick Strickland (1993-96)...... 512 6. Cookie Belcher (1997) ...... 9.2 Jerry Fort (1974) ...... 484 4. Jaron Boone (1993-96) ...... 501 7. Ron Taylor (1974)...... 8.8 5. Tyronn Lue (1997)...... 476 5. Cookie Belcher (1997-2001)...... 450 8. Tyronn Lue (1996)...... 8.5 6. Eric Piatkowski (1994)...... 456 6. Brian Conklin (2001-04) ...... 407 Erick Strickland (1993) ...... 8.5 7. Jaron Boone (1995)...... 455 Tyronn Lue (1996-98) ...... 407 10. Beau Reid (1988)...... 8.3 8. Jerry Fort (1976) ...... 452 8. Jake Muhleisen (2002-pres.)...... 313 9. Marvin Stewart (1971)...... 426 9. Ray Richardson (1989-90)...... 278 --- Joe McCray (2005)...... 15.1 10. Dave Hoppen (1985)...... 418 10. Jamar Johnson (1992-94)...... 264 Field Goals --- Joe McCray (2005)...... 312 1. Dave Hoppen (1983)...... 163 Rebounds (since 1952) 2. Jerry Fort (1973) ...... 151 Three-Point Field Goals Made 1. Venson Hamilton (1996-99)...... 1,080 3. Joe McCray (2005) ...... 125 1. Cary Cochran (2002) ...... 89 2. Leroy Chalk (1969-71)...... 782 4. Cookie Belcher (1997) ...... 117 2. Cary Cochran (2001) ...... 78 3. Dave Hoppen (1983-86) ...... 773 5. Jake Muhleisen (2002)...... 115 Tyronn Lue (1998)...... 78 4. Rich King (1988-91) ...... 761 6. Tyronn Lue (1996)...... 105 4. Joe McCray (2005) ...... 70 5. Andre Smith (1978-81)...... 753 Andre Smith (1978) ...... 105 Jaron Boone (1995)...... 70 6. Chuck Jura (1970-72) ...... 740 8. Larry Florence (1997) ...... 92 6. Brian Conklin (2004)...... 66 7. Carl McPipe (1976-79) ...... 723 9. Rickey Harris (1974)...... 86 7. Brian Conklin (2002)...... 65 8. Rex Ekwall (1955-57)...... 679 10. Beau Reid (1988)...... 85 8. Eric Piatkowski (1994)...... 63 9. Eric Piatkowski (1991-94) ...... 664 Three-Pointers 9. Cary Cochran (2000) ...... 62 10. John Turek (2002-pres.) ...... 663 1. Joe McCray (2005) ...... 70 10. Chris Cresswell (1992) ...... 59 11. Mikki Moore (1994-97)...... 661 2. Eric Piatkowski (1991)...... 44 Jaron Boone (1996)...... 59 3. Cary Cochran (1999) ...... 39 Blocked Shots (since 1978) 4. Jake Muhleisen (2002)...... 35 Three-Point Field Goals Attempted 1. Venson Hamilton (1996-99)...... 241 5. Erick Strickland (1993) ...... 32 1. Tyronn Lue (1998)...... 209 2. Mikki Moore (1994-97)...... 236 6. Cookie Belcher (1997) ...... 30 2. Cary Cochran (2002) ...... 207 3. Rich King (1988-91)...... 183 7. Beau Reid (1988)...... 26 3. Joe McCray (2005) ...... 199 4. Kimani Ffriend (2000-01) ...... 159 8. Brian Conklin (2001)...... 23 4. Jaron Boone (1995)...... 182 5. John Turek (2002-pres.) ...... 155 9. Tyronn Lue (1996)...... 20 5. Eric Piatkowski (1994)...... 172 6. Derrick Chandler (1992-93)...... 144 10. Jaron Boone (1993)...... 17 6. Jaron Boone (1996)...... 167 7. Cookie Belcher (1997-2001)...... 83 7. Cary Cochran (2001) ...... 165 8. Carl Hayes (1990-92) ...... 70 Rebounds 8. Erick Strickland (1995) ...... 160 9. Eric Piatkowski (1991-94) ...... 64 1. John Turek (2002)...... 162 Cary Cochran (2000) ...... 160 Bruce Chubick (1991-94) ...... 64 2. Venson Hamilton (1996) ...... 161 John Robinson II (2002)...... 160 Dave Hoppen (1983)...... 161 Games Started 4. Aleks Maric (2005) ...... 159 Three-Point Percentage (min. 25 made) 1. Cookie Belcher (1997-2001)...... 129 5. Andre Smith (1978) ...... 144 ...... 3FG-Att. Pct. 2. Dave Hoppen (1983-86) ...... 111 6. Cookie Belcher (1997) ...... 126 1.Brian Conklin (2004) ...... 66-118 .559 3. Larry Florence (1997-2000)...... 105 7. Eric Piatkowski (1991)...... 125 2.Cary Cochran (2001) ...... 78-165 .473 4. Jaron Boone (1993-96) ...... 102 8. Joe McCray (2005) ...... 123 3.Clifford Scales (1991)...... 26-57 .456 5. Jerry Fort (1973-76)...... 97 Rickey Harris (1974)...... 116 4.Henry T. Buchanan (1987)...... 28-62 .452 6. Jake Muhleisen (2002-pres.)...... 96 10. Larry Florence (1997) ...... 113 5.Brian Conklin (2002) ...... 65-150 .433 Tyronn Lue (1996-98) ...... 96 Steals 6.Cary Cochran (2002) ...... 89-207 .430 8. Brian Carr (1984-87) ...... 93 1. Cookie Belcher (1997) ...... 87 7.Jamar Johnson (1992) ...... 39-95 .411 9. Clifford Scales (1988-91)...... 92 2. Tyronn Lue (1996)...... 50 8.Chris Cresswell (1992) ...... 59-147 .401 10. Eric Piatkowski (1991-94) ...... 89 3. Erick Strickland (1993) ...... 47 9.Cary Cochran (1999) ...... 39-98 .398 --- John Turek (2002-pres.) ...... 87 4. Clifford Scales (1988)...... 32 10. Cookie Belcher (1997) ...... 30-76 .395 5. Joe McCray (2005) ...... 30 --- Joe McCray (2005) ...... 70-199 .352 6. Jake Muhleisen (2002)...... 28 7. Jaron Boone (1993)...... 26 8. Beau Reid (1988)...... 24 9. Chad Johnson (1998) ...... 22 Eric Piatkowski (1991)...... 22

12 13