Nebraska will take its shot at trying to slow down Kansas State freshman Michael Beasley Wednesday night.
Beasley, a 6-foot-10 forward, has averaged 24.9 points and 12.3 rebounds this season as the No. 20-ranked Wildcats (15-5, 5-1 Big 12) have been one of the biggest surprise teams in the conference. Beasley, who is fourth in the country in scoring and leads the nation in rebounding, scored 25 last week in Kansas State's 84-75 victory over previously unbeaten Kansas, helping the Washington native earn Big 12 rookie of the week honors for the second consecutive week.
Nebraska coach Doc Sadler has a pretty good idea of just how difficult slowing Beasley might be in the 7 p.m. game at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan. As a member of the Team USA 19-and-under coaching staff last summer, Sadler worked with Beasley for a week.
'He is just an unbelievable talent and I really liked being around him," Sadler said of Beasley. "He's really a fun kid to be around, except now that you're going to be opposing him.
"There's no answer. A guy that can shoot the basketball the way he shoots it it comes so easy for him offensively and you've just got to hope in some way that maybe he misses his shots because we don't have anybody that can stop him."
However, defense has been Nebraska's forte so far this season. The Huskers (13-6, 2-4) lead the Big 12 in scoring defense (58.1 points per game) and field-goal percentage defense (38.7), good for 10th and 19th in the country, respectively.
With Nebraska ranking 10th in the Big 12 in scoring offense (68.4 points per game), Sadler said the Huskers have no other choice than to dig in defensively.
"Right now, I think that's what we've got to do," Sadler said. "We don't have the firepower that a lot of the different teams in this league have got, so we've got to be able to keep the game close. We've been able to do that in every game except for the two games against Kansas."
Sadler said he'd rate Nebraska as one of the best defensive teams in the league at this point. All credit, he said, goes to his players.
"More than anything, it's the effort we put forth," Sadler said. "It's not anything I do coaching-wise. If it was that, then believe me, we'd be in trouble. We've just got guys who play hard and they've bought in to what we're trying to do."
Kansas State coach Frank Martin said the Huskers are typical of most Sadler-coached teams when it comes to defense.
"You're getting ready to face a buzz saw," Martin said. "His teams play so hard and so together."
Because of a scheduling quirk Nebraska had to face No. 4-ranked Kansas twice in its first four conference games Martin said he thinks some might be underrating the Huskers.
"Doc had the unfortunate thing of having to play Kansas twice within a 10-day period to start the (conference) year," Martin said. "If he doesn't (have to) do that, they're sitting right in the thick of things in the Big 12 right now.
"They had a (heck) of a non-conference slate there, and I'm sure they're going to come in here on Wednesday and play their hearts out like they always do."
Game notes
Nebraska is shooting for its second consecutive Big 12 road victory after defeating Missouri 66-62 last Wednesday at Columbia, Mo. The Huskers have recorded back-to-back conference road wins just once last year against Missouri and Texas Tech since 1999. Nebraska center Aleks Maric scored 41 points against Kansas State in last year's meeting at Lincoln, marking the second-best single-game scoring output in the program's history. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 121-91, including a 70-30 advantage in Manhattan and have won nine of 11 against Nebraska at home since the formation of the Big 12 for the 1996-97 season.
Starting Lineups
Nebraska (13-6, 2-4) Yr. Ht. Ppg. Rpg.
G Cookie Miller Fr. 5-7 6.0 3.9*
G Steve Harley Jr. 5-11 7.7 2.7
G Ade Dagunduro Jr. 6-5 9.3 4.1
G Ryan Anderson So. 6-4 9.1 5.8
C Aleks Maric Sr. 6-11 15.4 8.7
Kansas St. (15-5, 5-1) Yr. Ht. Ppg. Rpg.
G Clent Stewart Sr. 6-4 7.9 3.1*
G Blake Young Sr. 6-2 6.5 3.3
G Dominique Sutton Fr. 6-4 4.4 3.2
F Bill Walker Fr. 6-6 15.8 6.6
F Michael Beasley Fr. 6-10 24.9 12.3
*-Assists per game
WHEN: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Bramlage Coliseum Manhattan, Kan.
TV: FSN Midwest
RADIO: KRGI (1430 AM)
SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius (channel 125)
WEB: Huskers.com
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