Stats & coverage � Box score

Jan. 11, 2003
 
Huskers Fall in Big 12 Opener, 92-59, at Kansas
 
Nebraska Head Coach Barry Collier
On the last fifteen minutes of the game:
"I think Kansas got in control and played very aggressively. To a certain extent, we just needed to battle through it. Part of that is, based on certain situations, you have to finish the game. I thought that after a real rocky middle part of the game, Nate (Johnson) battled hard. I thought that some of our substitutes did a nice job as well. Most of that, though, was simply (Kirk) Hinrich, (Nick) Collison, (Jeff) Graves and (Keith) Langford."

On Nate Johnson:
"I think he built his confidence back up through the latter part of the second half. We weren't going to take him out with Jake (Muhleisen) gone. We were not going to let him off of the hook."

On why Andrew Drevo and John Turek were taken out early:
"I think we were getting eaten up on the boards, and when they came out, Brian (Conklin) and Tony Wilbrand did a decent job in their place. I saw one incident where (Jeff) Graves was dribbling down the floor faster that John Turek was running, and that ended it for John Turek."

On the game:
"I thought Kansas did an excellent job of applying pressure on both ends of the court. They began to get behind us on the break and then drive it at half court. I think the three things that really hurt us were the fast break, the situations they put us in and the offensive rebounds."

Junior Guard Nate Johnson
On losing Jake Muhleisen:
"Yeah, it was pretty hard. Instead of taking it the way we should have, we put our heads down and didn't get back into the game. I knew there was going to be a lot of pressure on me, so I just wanted to go in there and stay focused. At some point I lost focus, but I think I regained it and got back on track."

On Kansas:
"KU played hard and aggressive. They attacked us when they saw us weak. Most of their attack came when Jake went down. They threw a couple of traps at us, and that startled us a bit. We should have stayed focused and played harder."

Sophomore Forward John Turek
On the game:
"I thought when Kansas started making their run, we lost some energy, but we still tried to play as hard as we could. I think there was a point that we could have played a little harder in the second half, though."

On Kansas:
"Once they get going, they don't stop. It seemed like they had three on one every time down the floor, so obviously we didn't get guys back. They got a lot of fast break points, and they got a lot of confidence."

On starting the Conference games at Kansas:
"It's tough starting off here, but it doesn't get any harder than this. This is one of the toughest places to play."

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Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.