LINCOLN ‹ Returning to Lincoln for its first two-game home stand in league action, the Nebraksa men's basketball team plays host to Texas Tech Saturday in Big 12 Conference play.
The Cornhuskers (13-7, 2-5 Big 12), who will play five home games in February including three of the next four contests overall, will tip off against the Red Raiders (12-9, 3-4) at 3:01 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
Nebraska, which has played just three of its first seven conference games at home, returns to Lincoln where the Huskers own an 11-2 overall record this season.
The Huskers picked up their first home league victory and second league win overall last weekend against Iowa State, 64-56.
NU had dropped its first two home contests to No. 3 Kansas and Baylor, which entered the national top 25 rankings two days after defeating coach Doc Sadler's team on its home floor.
The Huskers, who have already suffered two league losses by a combined six points, hope to use their recent momentum to propel them back into the race for an upper-division finish in the Big 12 standings. Despite holding a 2-5 record in the Big 12, Nebraska is only one game behind sixth-place Oklahoma, which enters the weekend with a 3-4 mark in conference play.
NU plays five of its last nine Big 12 games at home, including four of the next six.
For Nebraska to make a move in the standings, the Huskers have to get the offense cranked up. NU has averaged just 59.6 points per game in conference play, as the Huskers have reached 70 points just once in the first seven league games.
Despite struggling on offense, Nebraska has been in nearly every game in the final five minutes because of a stingy defense that leads the Big 12 in scoring (58.8 points per game) and is third in field-goal percentage defense (39.0).
Senior Aleks Maric has been a major factor in Nebraska's recent improvements in the past three games. The league co-player of the week, Maric has averaged 14.3 points and 13.7 rebounds over the past three contests while hitting 54 percent from the floor. Of his 41 rebounds in that span, 20 have come on the offensive end. Maric leads the league in conference-only games with 4.57 offensive rebounds per game.
Maric posted a team-high 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting at Kansas State on Wednesday. The scoring total did not help the Huskers to a win NU lost by 15 despite being within five points three times in the last eight minutes but it pushed Maric onto the Nebraska career top 10 scoring chart. The Sydney, Australia, native now has 1,419 career points, moving into 10th place ahead of Venson Hamilton, who had 1,416 points.
Texas Tech has a "new" coach on the sideline as Pat Knight took over for his father, Bob Knight, on Monday, but the Red Raiders should take little notice and show few changes. Pat Knight saw his squad fall Wednesday in his first contest as head coach, dropping an 80-74 contest at Baylor.
Texas Tech is 1-7 away from Lubbock this season, including 0-4 in conference play away from home.
The Red Raiders have a familiar face on the court in senior Martin Zeno, who is averaging a team-best 16 points per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the floor. Zeno can penetrate to the basket and has more than double any other teammate's free throw attempts as he has hit 116-of-153 from the charity stripe this season.
Along with Zeno, guards John Roberson (12.5 ppg) and Alan Voskuil (12.0 ppg) have averaged double figures this season. Roberson leads the team with 71 assists while Voskuil is the Red Raiders' top 3-point threat by hitting 42 of the teams' 103 treys this season. Roberson is second with 37 3-pointers while no other Red Raider has more than nine. Voskuil also leads the team with 34 steals and ties Roberson for the squad lead at the charity stripe by hitting 80.3 percent.
As a team, the Red Raiders have averaged 69.5 points per game while shooting 46.6 percent. TTU has hit a solid 39 percent from 3-point range but is averaging just 4.9 made 3-pointers per game this season, a league low.
Starting Lineups
Texas Tech (13-7, 2-5) Yr. Ht. Ppg. Rpg.
GMartin Zeno Sr. 6-5 16.0 4.5
GJohn Roberson Fr. 5-11 12.5 3.4*
GCharlie Burgess Sr. 6-1 5.6 2.3
FMike Singletary Fr. 6-5 7.9 2.9
FDamir Suljagic Jr. 6-8 4.7 3.9
Nebraska (12-9, 3-4) Yr. Ht. Ppg. Rpg.
GCookie Miller Fr. 5-7 6.4 4.1*
GSteve Harley Jr. 5-11 7.4 2.7
GAde Dagunduro Jr. 6-5 9.5 4.1
GRyan Anderson So. 6-4 8.8 5.7
CAleks Maric Sr. 6-11 15.4 9.1
*-Assists per game
WHEN: Saturday, 3:01 p.m.
WHERE: Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln
TV: ESPN Plus (G.I. cable channel 8)
RADIO: KRGI (1430 AM)
SATELLITE RADIO: Serius (channel 119)
WEB: Huskers.com
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