Stats & coverage � Box score � GI Independent

Dec. 9, 2002
 
Drevo is Golden in Upset over No. 17 Minnesota
 
Nebraska Head Coach Barry Collier
Opening comments
"I thought our guys played with great inspiration today. We were all disappointed in our inability to win our last game, but I thought we played really hard, and I thought we brought that again today. We had a great assist from the crowd today. Our student section is outstanding. We had great play from Drevo on the boards and I thought Turek defended inside really well, and Jake passed the ball really well.

On the win being the most notable
"I think that every team is different and has different abilities. This is a great win for this year’s team. It is hard to compare teams."

On the quality of the win
"I thought this would be a hard fought game all the way through, and it really was even though we had a lead, they were battling right until the end. You have to try to win virtually all of them at home and as many as you can on the road. We are a long way from being a team that can dominate at home and split on the road, something that will usually put you in the hunt for a conference championship."

On Andrew Drevo
"He didn’t do anything he doesn’t do every day, he just did it all in a row. He’s capable of shooting the ball deep. He has great hands and can catch great passes. He needs the help of his teammates to get that done because the screen for him. Turek did a good job forcing it inside. Andew has the ability to play inside and out. He is a tough stop."

Forward Andrew Drevo
On the atmosphere at the Devaney Center
"The crowd was great today. The Red Zone was really fired up, and they gave us a great boost. It was Minnesota’s first road game, and we were able to get off to a quick start. From there, we just kept playing hard, and things went our way. It was a great win for us. It helped us to understand that we can play with anyone."

On the hot start
"The biggest thing for us was after the big run to not get excited and let up. We kept playing hard and got a big win. Coming out of breaks, we have to keep our intensity and not let them get back into the game, and we did a good job of that. We just kept playing hard."

On the win
"It was a great win for the team, and a good day for me. It is something that I feel like I’m capable of doing, but I would just as soon to pass it to a teammate and let them score. It was a great win, but we need to continue from here."

Guard Nate Johnson
On keeping the pressure on UM throughout the game
"Things were going well, but they can crumble at any time. You just have to stay focused.

On the fans at the Devaney Center
"The fans played a big key for us in the this game. When you come out and see all the people there, and they are ready to scream, holler, kick and pump it up, it just makes you feel good about the day."

On the play of Andrew Drevo
"Nothing Drevo does surprises us anymore. He played hard and some things went well for him, and we needed him to play that way. When he hit those early shots, it was like a confidence boost for him. But it was also a boost for the whole team because everyone feeds off that. He hit a couple threes and had the tip dunk, and that raised the intensity and effort for everyone."

Minnesota Head Coach Dan Monson
On the game overall
"Nebraska played very well and as coaches and players, we have to take the responsibility that we weren’t ready to play. When you start off 14 to nothing on the road, it’s a difficult chore and we weren’t up to the task. As competitors we weren’t making any statement at all."

On playing on the road
"I just thought that when you’re on the road, you can’t let teams get comfortable offensively. Nebraska is a team that has struggled offensively in the first five games and we let them get a couple of threes going early. We’re going to have to make our adjustments before our next game against Arkansas-Little Rock. I thought we played very tired looking and that’s not an excuse because when you play, you have to be ready and not be tired. As coaches, we have to understand that we’ve been playing a lot and traveling a lot lately. We have to be very careful about getting ready and not letting this go on."

On Nebraska’s defensive play on Rick Rickert
"I think (John) Turek did a very good job on (Rick) Rickert. He crowded him and played a very physical game and ran at him. But we have to have other guys step up. I thought Nebraska was obviously very prepared and ready for this game."

Nebraska postgame notes
** The last time Nebraska beat a ranked team was last season, when it defeated No. 20 Texas Tech, 80-69. Nebraska has now defeated at least one ranked team in 11 of the past 13 seasons.

** Junior forward Andrew Drevo had career highs of 27 points and 14 rebounds, for the first double-double of his career. It was also the first double-double of the season for the Huskers. Last year, Nebraska had just three double-doubles during the season. It was the third double-figure rebounding effort for the Huskers this season, and third in the past two games. Drevo’s previous career highs were 15 points and seven rebounds in Nebraska’s last game against South Florida. Over the last three games, Drevo is averaging 17.3 points per game.

** Sophomore Jake Muhleisen recorded a career high 10 assists, including five in each half. Muhleisen’s previous career high was eight on two occasions last year, when he had eight assists against Iowa State on the road and at home against N.C. A&T in last year’s season opener. The last time NU had a player with at least 10 assists came in 1999 when Cookie Belcher had 10 assists against Pittsburgh.

** Nebraska had a season-high seven three-pointers on 7-of-19 shooting from behind the arc. The Huskers’ previous high was six against Alaska-Fairbanks and South Florida.

** The Huskers’ 30-point lead (twice) midway through the second half was the largest lead Nebraska has had at any point this season. The previous large lead was 27 points against Centenary in the season opener.

** Junior forward Brian Conklin had two three-pointers this afternoon, after coming into the game with just three treys in the first five games. Conklin now has 93 career threes, and needs seven more to become just the ninth Husker to reach 100 career threes.

** The 80 points Nebraska scored today was a season high. The Huskers came into the contest averaging 64.6 points per game. NU had allowed its opponents just 60.0 points per contest, and has now held five of six opponents to 65 or fewer points this year.

** Nebraska tallied just eight turnovers, its lowest number of miscues this season. NU’s previous low was 15 against Ball State on Nov. 24. The Huskers converted Minnesota’s 16 turnovers into 19 points while the Gophers were only able to tally four points off NU turnovers.

** Nebraska held Minnesota to a season-low shooting effort as the Golden Gophers hit 31.1 percent from the field, including 6-of-27 from three-point range. NU has held its last three opponents to under 40 percent shooting. NU’s last three opponents have shot just 18-of-73 (.247) from beyond the arc. Minnesota forward Rick Rickert was held scoreless for the first time in his career.

** The Huskers have outrebounded their last three foes, including tallying 44 boards to Minnesota’s 41 this afternoon.

** Sophomore forward John Turek tied a career high with five blocked shots. His first five blocked shot effort came against Baylor on Feb. 27 of this year.

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Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.