Nebraska (16-9, 5-7) @ Oklahoma (18-9, 6-6)



When: Feb. 13, 2008

Time: 7 p.m.

Where: Bob Devaney Center (Lincoln, Neb.)



Head Coach: Doc Sadler (Arkansas, 1982)

Career Record: 201-80 (9 seasons)

Oklahoma St. Record: 33-23 (2 seasons)

Previous Coaching Positions:

1982-85 Arkansas - Assistant

1985-86 Lamar - Assistant

1986 Houston - Assistant

1987-88 Chicago State - Assistant

1988-91 Arkansas Fort Smith - Assistant

1991-94 Texas Tech - Assistant

1994-97 Arizona State - Assistant

1997-98 Arkansas-Fort Smith - Assistant

1998-2003 Arkansas-Fort Smith - Head Coach

2003-2004 UTEP - Assistant

2004-06 UTEP - Head Coach



Oklahoma vs. Nebraska

Series Record: Oklahoma leads 106-80

Last meeting: Oklahoma 70-53, Jan. 17, 2007 in Norman

Streak: Oklahoma with one

Series in Lincoln: Nebraska leads 45-37

Capel vs. Nebraska: 1-0

Oklahoma Sooners

EDGE

Nebraska Cornhuskers

Blake Griffin		Aleks Maric
PPG: 15.2 FT: 60.2% RPG: 9.4 6-10, 243, Fr. As A Recruit: Blake Griffin's stats may not show it but since the start of the year he has been as consistently dominant as any player in the Big 12 not named Beasley. Griffin will have a lot of work to do on the defensive end with Maric but his athleticism and strength should give Maric even more headaches		PPG: 15.9 RPG: 9.8 BPG: 1.8 6-11, 270, Sr. As A Recruit: Aleks Maric during his four years in Lincoln has developed as a player similarly to Longar Longar during his in Norman. Maric is a massive body in the middle of the paint and has a lot of weight on his shoulders due to being the team's lone real post presence. If Oklahoma's multitude of big men can keep him off the boards he'll have a tiring evening.
Taylor Griffin		Sek Henry
PPG: 6.7RPG: 4.5 BPG: .9 6-7, 230, Jr. As A Recruit: Taylor Griffin is perhaps the most under appreciated player in the Big 12. In his two previous years he showed flashes of being a great athlete and a tenacious rebounder but this is the first year he has consistently put it together and seems to be really emerging as a playmaker for Oklahoma. He does have a tough match-up having to work on the perimeter against Nebraska's plethora of guards.		PPG: 6.1 RPG: 3.2 FT: 61.4% 6-3, 195, So. As A Recruit: Sek Henry is an athletic wing that helps Nebraska on the defensive end of the floor and isn't a dangerous threat on the offensive end (15 point season high) but has the ability to help Nebraska in transition.
Tony Crocker		Steve Harley
PPG: 11.4 RPG: 4.3 3pt: 45.1% 6-6, 193, So. As A Recruit: Tony Crocker there may be no greater catalyst on Oklahoma's roster than Crocker, as he goes so do the Sooners seemingly. His three-point shot is the measuring stick that tells you how his game might go if Crocker gets started early the Sooners could be on their way to a comfortable win.		PPG: 8.4 3pt: 39.1% RPG: 2.6 5-11, 170, Jr. As A Recruit: Steve Harley is a bit more of an offensive threat than his fellow wing Henry. However, don't mistake Harley as a score first guy as he collects nearly a steal and a half a game in just 25 minutes of action. Harley may not take many attempts but is a 39-percent shooter from three-point range.
David Godbold		Ade Dagunduro
PPG: 7.4 RPG: 4.1 SPG: 1.2 6-5, 221, Sr. As A Recruit: David Godbold after a few games out of the starting line-up Godbold has found his way back in and is doing his part to help the Sooners make a push for the NCAA tournament and as the only big contributor to the last Sooner team that went he has a lot to offer the young group of Sooners. Godbold's shooting has been streaky this year and most of his career, so the Sooners would like to see him off to a quick start tonight.		PPG: 8.4 RPG: 3.8 APG: 1.7 6-5, 190, Jr. As A Recruit: Ade Dagunduro is an immensely talented guard who seems to be a jack of all trades contributing in just about every area to the Cornhuskers victory. Outside of Maric he could be the player that gives the Sooners the most difficulty.
Austin Johnson		Ryan Anderson
PPG: 8.8 3pt: 35.0% APG: 2.5 6-3, 165, Jr. As A Recruit: Austin Johnson came into the season much maligned as an inconsistent, injury-prone combo guard but in 2008 he has really done a nice job of cementing himself as Oklahoma's point guard and one of the team's top scorers. Johnson needs to help the Sooners with their turnover problems and make sure to keep Nebraska from getting easy baskets and allowing the crowd into the game.		PPG: 9.3 FT: 78.9% APG: 1.6 6-4, 200, So. As A Recruit: Ryan Anderson is the team's second leading scorer and another of the long-armed four-man starting group of guards. The Huskers don't shoot a lot of three-pointers but Anderson is one of their better snipers from outside, he may be the key focus of Oklahoma's perimeter defense.
Oklahoma Bench		Nebraska bench
Longar Longar is arguably the league's best player coming off the bench. There was a point in the season he looked to be a first-team all-conference selection, and while that no longer seems possible his ability to give the Sooners a scoring threat in the post off the bench is something that very few teams can boast. The only other real contributors off the bench figure to be Omar Leary and Tony Neysmith, Leary provides the team with a clutch shooter while Neysmith gives the team some athleticism on the wing and against Nebraska's numerous guards he could suddenly be a much more important option for Jeff Capel.		Nebraska doesn't bring a lot of scoring off the bench but the group is led by Cookie Miller 6.8 points, two steals, two rebounds, and four steals a game showing an impact on each and every area of the team. The other player to watch out for my be Jay-R Stowbridge who is the team's leading three-point shooter (42-percent) and also contributes in points, assists and rebounds.
Oklahoma intangibles		Baylor's intangibles
The Sooners are coming off a brutal beating at the hands of one of the nation's top teams, but one can't lose sight of the way the team had been playing prior to the loss. The Sooners had won three straight including a nail-biting road win against Texas Tech. The Sooners, outside of the trips to Kansas and Texas, has been a solid road team and doesn't seem to be rattled by road crowds, like the one they'll see tonight in Lincoln.		The Huskers are coming off a pair of top 25 wins over Kansas State and Texas A&M and have won five of their last eight; some have even whispered that a big finish could see Doc Sadler's crew could find their way into the NCAA tournament. Of course the home court advantage helped the Huskers take down another freshman-superstar led team in Kansas State's Wildcats. They'll try to do again this week; with the last week on their mind and a possible post-season run at stake the crowd figures to be loud and tough to deal with.

Line: Oklahoma -2

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Prediction: 72-63 Oklahoma

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