Missouri (13-11) at Nebraska (14-7)
FACTS & STATS: Site: Bob Devaney Sports Center (13,500) -- Lincoln, Nebraska. Television: None. Home Record: Missouri 11-3, Nebraska 13-2. Away Record: Missouri 1-6, Nebraska 1-5. Neutral Record: Missouri 1-2, Nebraska 0-0. Conference Record: Missouri 3-6, Nebraska 3-5. Series Record: Missouri leads, 121-89.
GAME NOTES: The Nebraska Cornhuskers will try complete the regular season sweep of the Missouri Tigers tonight, as the Big 12 members duel at the Devaney Center in Lincoln. These two programs met on January 30th, with the Huskers taking advantage of a short-handed Missouri club for a 66-62 victory in Columbia. It was the first Big 12 win of the season for Nebraska, which has won two of three outings since then to improve to 3-5 in conference play. On Saturday, the Huskers defeated Texas Tech, 73-62, and with that win the team upped its record to 14-7 overall and 13-2 at home. As for the Tigers, they recently completed a three-game stretch against Top 25 opponents with a 77-69 setback at Texas A&M on Saturday. It was the second loss in a row for Missouri, which dipped to 13-11 overall and 3-6 in conference play. The Tigers lead the all-time series with the Huskers, 121-89, but Nebraska has won the last four meetings.
The Tigers are averaging a solid 78.9 ppg for the season, but they will once again be without team-leader Stefhon Hannah, who suffered a broken jaw in an off-court incident late last month and is expected to miss up to four weeks. Hannah leads the team in scoring (14.7 ppg) and assists (5.3 apg) and his production has been hard to replace. DeMarre Carroll is now the squad's go-to guy and he averages 13.4 ppg and a team-best 7.2 rpg for the season. Leon Lyons adds 12.3 ppg on a blistering 62.0 percent shooting from the floor, while Keon Lawrence chips in with 10.6 ppg. In the team's last game, Lyons dropped in a career-best 24 points, but his effort went to waste in a 77-69 setback to Texas A&M. Keon Lawrence tallied 13 points for the Tigers, who were outscored at the foul line, 23-11, and dominated on the boards, 42-25.
At the defensive end of the court is where the Huskers are at their best, holding opposing teams to just 59.0 ppg and a mere 39.0 percent shooting from the floor. Aleks Maric played a big part for Nebraska at both ends of the floor and he nearly averages a double-double with team-highs of 15.7 ppg and 9.3 rpg. He has turned away 40 shots to lead the team as well, and he also has 24 steals to his name. In the squad's prior outing, Maric recorded a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds, as Nebraska defeated Texas Tech. Ryan Anderson also had a big game, finishing with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor. The Huskers, as a team, hit on 49.0 percent of their attempts from the field and 7- of-17 from downtown.
With another stingy defensive performance and a big game from Maric, the Huskers should be able to complete the sweep of the Tigers tonight.
FACTS & STATS: Site: Bob Devaney Sports Center (13,500) -- Lincoln, Nebraska. Television: None. Home Record: Missouri 11-3, Nebraska 13-2. Away Record: Missouri 1-6, Nebraska 1-5. Neutral Record: Missouri 1-2, Nebraska 0-0. Conference Record: Missouri 3-6, Nebraska 3-5. Series Record: Missouri leads, 121-89.
GAME NOTES: The Nebraska Cornhuskers will try complete the regular season sweep of the Missouri Tigers tonight, as the Big 12 members duel at the Devaney Center in Lincoln. These two programs met on January 30th, with the Huskers taking advantage of a short-handed Missouri club for a 66-62 victory in Columbia. It was the first Big 12 win of the season for Nebraska, which has won two of three outings since then to improve to 3-5 in conference play. On Saturday, the Huskers defeated Texas Tech, 73-62, and with that win the team upped its record to 14-7 overall and 13-2 at home. As for the Tigers, they recently completed a three-game stretch against Top 25 opponents with a 77-69 setback at Texas A&M on Saturday. It was the second loss in a row for Missouri, which dipped to 13-11 overall and 3-6 in conference play. The Tigers lead the all-time series with the Huskers, 121-89, but Nebraska has won the last four meetings.
The Tigers are averaging a solid 78.9 ppg for the season, but they will once again be without team-leader Stefhon Hannah, who suffered a broken jaw in an off-court incident late last month and is expected to miss up to four weeks. Hannah leads the team in scoring (14.7 ppg) and assists (5.3 apg) and his production has been hard to replace. DeMarre Carroll is now the squad's go-to guy and he averages 13.4 ppg and a team-best 7.2 rpg for the season. Leon Lyons adds 12.3 ppg on a blistering 62.0 percent shooting from the floor, while Keon Lawrence chips in with 10.6 ppg. In the team's last game, Lyons dropped in a career-best 24 points, but his effort went to waste in a 77-69 setback to Texas A&M. Keon Lawrence tallied 13 points for the Tigers, who were outscored at the foul line, 23-11, and dominated on the boards, 42-25.
At the defensive end of the court is where the Huskers are at their best, holding opposing teams to just 59.0 ppg and a mere 39.0 percent shooting from the floor. Aleks Maric played a big part for Nebraska at both ends of the floor and he nearly averages a double-double with team-highs of 15.7 ppg and 9.3 rpg. He has turned away 40 shots to lead the team as well, and he also has 24 steals to his name. In the squad's prior outing, Maric recorded a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds, as Nebraska defeated Texas Tech. Ryan Anderson also had a big game, finishing with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor. The Huskers, as a team, hit on 49.0 percent of their attempts from the field and 7- of-17 from downtown.
With another stingy defensive performance and a big game from Maric, the Huskers should be able to complete the sweep of the Tigers tonight.
