LINCOLN ‹ Nebraska returns home to the Devaney Sports Center this weekend to take on a familiar foe in Colorado and honor Cornhusker center Aleks Maric during Senior Day in the regular-season finale.
The Huskers (17-11, 6-9 Big 12) and Buffaloes (11-18, 3-12) will tip off at 2:05 p.m. in a contest that will be televised by FSN Midwest (G.I. cable channel 26). KRGI (1430 AM) will also broadcast the contest from the Husker Sports Network.
Nearing the end of a solid career in the Big 12 Conference, Maric can certainly stack up statistically with the best post players in the league's history. Maric is already ninth among the career leaders in double-doubles and is 70 points from moving into the top 20 scorers.
With his first rebound against Kansas State at home, Maric moved among the Big 12's top 10 rebounders and currently stands in sixth place entering the regular-season finale against Colorado.
With 10 free throws against Texas Tech, Maric reached 400 in his career, becoming only the eighth player in the Big 12 era with 400 or more made free throws. He hit 12-of-14 against Missouri to move into fourth in the Big 12 era.
With 11 rebounds against Oklahoma, Maric became the all-time Big 12 leader in conference-only rebounds. The 6-foot-11 native of Sydney, Australia, now has 558 boards against Big 12 teams, passing the previous mark of Texas's James Thomas, who held the former record with 535 rebounds in league games between 2001 and 2004.
One impressive list Maric joined against Texas A&M is the 1,500-point, 900-rebound club. During the Big 12 era, Maric is only the sixth conference player to reach the mark, joining players from Kansas (Nick Collison and Drew Gooden), Missouri (Arthur Johnson), Oklahoma (Eduardo Najera) and Oklahoma State (Ivan McFarlin).
In the classroom, Maric was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) all-region first team this week. He was joined by Kansas' Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers, Kansas State's Michael Beasley and Oklahoma's Blake Griffin on the first team. Kansas' Darnell Jackson and Darrell Arthur, Kansas State's Bill Walker, Colorado's Richard Roby and Drake's Josh Young were named to the District 12 second team.
Team-wise, Nebraska is looking to get back on the right track to end the regular season following a pair of tough road losses in the past week. NU had its Big 12-high three-game win streak snapped on March 1 at Oklahoma State (77-63) before falling 70-66 in a tough contest at No. 9 Texas last Tuesday.
Colorado comes into the Big 12 finale also looking to end the regular-season on a positive note after a difficult season. On the road, the Buffaloes are 3-9 this season with seven straight losses in league play.
The first time the teams matched up this season, Colorado won a 55-51 contest in Boulder in Nebraska's first road league contest of the year.
The Buffaloes are led by guard Richard Roby, who is among the league leaders by averaging 16.7 points per game this season. Roby has hit 43 3-pointers and has taken more than 25 percent of the team's free throw attempts, hitting at a 76.8-percent clip.
Roby also leads the team in rebounding at 6.4 boards per game and is second in blocked shots (27) and third in steals (30).
Starting Lineups
Colorado (11-18, 3-12) Yr. Ht. Ppg. Rpg.
GMarcus Hall Sr. 6-2 13.8 *3.9
GCory Higgins Fr. 6-5 8.3 4.1
GRichard Roby Sr. 6-6 16.7 6.4
FJermyl Jackson-Wilson Jr. 6-6 4.8 4.3
FMarcus King-Stockton Sr. 6-9 2.6 3.3
Nebraska (17-11, 6-9) Yr. Ht. Ppg. Rpg.
GSek Henry So. 6-3 5.9 3.2
GSteve Harley Jr. 5-11 9.0 2.7
GAde Dagunduro Jr. 6-5 8.5 3.8
GRyan Anderson So. 6-4 9.1 5.5
CAleks Maric Sr. 6-11 16.0 10.0
*-Assists per game
* WHEN: Sunday, 2:05 p.m.
* WHERE: Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln
* TV: FSN Midwest (G.I. cable channel 26)
* RADIO: KRGI (1430 AM)
* SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius (channel 118)
* WEB: Huskers.com (live radio, stats)
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