**10:58 p.m.**: A pretty cut-and-dry postgame session. You know, good to win on the road, good to see Brandon being Brandon, Mario’s just fine, all that stuff.How about Sasha Kaun defensively, though? Bill Self lauded his senior big off the bench for holding Aleks Maric in check most of the night. Maric finished with 19 points in 26 minutes, but a good amount of those points were late in the game, and for the most part he just looked generally uncomfortable in the offense Nebraska was running.KU was solid defensively all night, though, and Mario Chalmers talked about how this would be a different defensive test than what KU had been accustomed to so far this year…”I think our defense was great,” he said. “We didn’t get a lot of steals, but we played solid D and made them use a lot of clock and made them take tough shots, and I think that was our whole gameplan. And tonight we knew we weren’t gonna steal the ball a lot from them, so we just wanted to play solid D and make them use time.”Now it just doesn’t get any easier, as KU has to play Oklahoma in less than 48 hours. Despite the Sooners dropping one to K-State today, they’re very dangerous. And while freshman stud Blake Griffin probably won’t have a Durant-like showing in his Fieldhouse debut, he’ll cause fits for KU defensively.Some postgame numbers before I bolt to finish some other work…-KU was an impressive 10-of-22 from three-point range, including Brandon Rush’s 5-of-7 showing.-KU outrebounded Nebraska 37-26, allowing the Huskers just seven offensive boards while taking down 28 defensive rebounds to combat that.-Mario Chalmers showed no ill effects from that groin injury that had him sit Tuesday’s non-con finale against Loyola. He had 14 points and six assists to just one turnover in 34 minutes of action.-KU held Nebraska to a 40-percent showing from the floor (20-of-50).-The Jayhawks continue to be solid from the free throw line in the new year. Their 13-of-16 performance Saturday night makes them 28-of-35 in two road games since the calendar switch.That’s it for me. Back to the grind. Talk to you Monday. Have a happy Sunday, and go Giants.**10:01 p.m.**: The Human Victory Cigar this time reverted to two-point form, scoring a late layup in mop-up dutyThat means I’ll be back with a smattering of postgame nuggets in a little bit after interviews.**9:37 p.m.**: It’s worth pointing out that the floor here is ridiculously noisy. I noticed it at the women’s game this morning, and even seated in between the two levels on press row, you can hear it every time that the ball bounces from up here. When the players are running down the court at once, it sounds like an avalanche. Just worth noting.Ade Dagunduro just missed a pair of free throws, by the way, making the Huskers zero for their last 11 at the stripe. Eesh.**9:32 p.m.**: This has turned into a pretty blah second half. KU isn’t scoring at a very impressive clip, but that doesn’t mean the Jayhawks are playing poorly.Nebraska’s clean looks have still been few and far between, facing dwindling shot clocks over and over.Brandon Rush has cooled, having yet to score after the break, but given how good he was in the first half, that’s not too big of a deal. The Jayhawks’ full-court press, keyed by Darnell Jackson hanging back to apply extra pressure, has been refreshing, already forcing one turnover.**9:07 p.m.**: Brandon Rush had maybe his best half of the season, going 4-of-4 from three point range and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe, pacing KU with 16 points. KU was very efficient from the field, shooting 56 percent (14-of-25) from the field, while hindering Nebraska’s opportunities to get looks (8-of-23).Maybe the loudest this place got all night, though, was with the introduction of Nebraska’s new football coaching staff, headlined by Bo Pelini, and on this night noted with Tim Beck, who just about four days ago was still a coach on Mark Mangino’s staff.This place went freakin’ nuts. I don’t even know how to describe it. I saw so many corn-fed über-males throwing fists in the air and yelling until their lungs were sore it wasn’t even funny. Wow…that’s all I can say…**8:45 p.m.**: Well, Self’s ploy with Rush obviously had some effect. That one should go in the regular repertoire.Maybe a bit overlooked is how well Brandon has looked defensively tonight in keeping the open three looks down for Nebraska. The Huskers are just 2-of-7 from deep, while Rush is a clean 4-of-4.**8:26 p.m.**: I know that Aleks Maric will be playing in the NBA in all likelihood next year, but what is it about him just looking so bad when he plays against KU? He never looks comfortable in the paint and struggles to score field goals.**8:23 p.m.**: Rush’s line through eight-plus minutes…Eight points, 2-2 FG, 2-2 from three, 2-2 FT, two rebounds, no fouls, no turnovers, two assists, two steals.**8:12 p.m.**: I don’t know what it is about playing in Nebraska, but it seems to be the redemption spot for Jayhawks under fire ( I know, that’s cheesy, but hear me out).Last year, after Julian Wright’s [dunking gaffe][1] against Colorado, he scored the Jayhawks’ first 10 points (don’t quote me on that exact figure) in a 20-point route of Nebraska in Lincoln two nights later. This year, it’s Brandon Rush getting off to the hot start, with eight of KU’s first 14 points, after getting called out by Bill Self earlier this week.Not only has Rush scored, but he’s driving to the basket and kicking _every time_ he touches it. Good assertiveness, but it’ll be another thing to see him do it all night.**7:48 p.m.**: Hello once again from the Devaney Center. It’s pretty packed in here and it is going to be very very very loud. That’s evident already. The student section, just behind each hoop, is bound to be hostile. Heck, they were just booing a fellow student who had trouble canning a free throw during a pregame contest.A couple of pregame notes…-KU has only 15 players dressed out for this game. Walk-ons Brennan Bechard and Chase Buford are in street clothes right behind the bench.-The Jayhawks are wearing traditional road blue uniforms.-Nebraska fans are so friendly. Hard to not like ’em… (sorry, that’s all I got).Talk to you after the tip at some point.**2:31 p.m.**: Hey guys, what’s shakin’? Just got back to the hotel after watching the women’s team drop to 0-2 in Big 12 play, falling 71-51 to Nebraska.This is worth pointing out, though…KU was again in foul trouble, with Danielle McCray and Taylor McIntosh on the bench during a brutal 17-2 Nebraska run late in the first half. But what compounded the Jayhawks’ foul woes even more? Nebraska went…get this…you ready for it?…you sure?…OK, here goes…30-of-32 from the free throw line. That’s a mind-boggling stat. Those include the Huskers making their final 25 looks at the stripe, too. Things don’t get any easier for Bonnie & Co., facing No. 8 Baylor in Waco Wednesday night. That game against Mizzou in the Fieldhouse next Saturday now becomes HUGE if the Jayhawks want a good postseason shot…**_Now, on to tonight’s tilt in the Devaney Center…_**It turns out the entire state of Nebraska is going to, well, turn out for this one. Expected in the crowd will be, among others, former Husker/current Yankee/Lincoln resident [Joba Chamberlain][2]. Though, from what I hear, he’s at every game, sitting next to his dad, who is part of the event staff.Also, Nebraska will be introducing all of their new football coaches at halftime of tonight’s game. That includes former KU assistant (as of just a few days ago) Tim Beck, who [joined Bo Pelini’s staff this week][3].This makes me giggle because I can remember when I covered KU hoops for the Kansan back in Bill Self’s first year, 2003-04. At halftime of _that_ KU-NU game in Lincoln, Bill Callahan was introduced, and all the fans loved him (for about 40 days).When we arrived at the Devaney Center for the women’s game today at around 11:30 a.m., there were already a smattering of NU students lined up to get in for tonight’s game. There were even more when we left at about 2:00.It looks, atmosphere-wise, like it’s going to be a lot like [last year’s first meeting between the two][4], in which KU jumped out to about a mind-boggling 43-8 lead. KU wound up calling off the dogs a bit, winning it in the end by 20, but it was just never a game. I’m honestly not expecting the same tonight.KU enters as a 10.5-point favorite. Do I think they’ll cover that? Yeah, probably.But don’t take lightly the effect of a home crowd should KU get off to the offensive start that the Jayhawks did on, say, Tuesday against Loyola. The crowds at Southern Cal, Georgia Tech and Boston College have all three been of the wine-and-cheese variety. None of the three venues were packed to the brim, none were constantly loud. Devaney is going to be nuts.The ideal storyline in this game would be Brandon Rush coming out blazing after Bill Self called his offensive aggressiveness into question following Tuesday’s win. He could come out, score 12 of KU’s first 20 points and the story would be put on the back burner…until the next time Rush is lax on that end of the floor.**_But my realistic prediction_** is that KU does what it’s been doing best early on, and that’s relying on the bigs – namely Darnell Jackson and Darrell Arthur. I’m betting Bill Self has given them the complete green light to be as absolutely aggressive as they want with Aleks Maric in the middle. KU overwhelmed the Aussie center a year ago – twice – and this year can do the same again because, simply, the Jayhawks have more big bodies (and fouls) to throw Nebraska’s way in the paint. I’m not saying Jackson and Arthur should get slap-happy, but there’s no reason for them to back off of Maric.**_As for the Gary Bedore Memorial_** ‘Guy who can bury a ton of threes like Marchello Vealy and ruin your night’ Award nominee, I’m giving it to 6-foot-4 sophomore Ryan Anderson. Rush needs to be on him like crazy tonight for KU to maintain breathing room. Anderson is the guy who, if you’ll remember back to last year, was 6-of-9 from deep against KU and scored 19 points, but was yanked by Doc Sadler for talking excessive trash on the Jayhawks with the score completely out of hand against his team’s favor. He finished last season averaging 10.1 points per game and shooting 43.2 percent from three-point land. This year, the numbers are nearly the same – 9.5 ppg, 43.2 percent from long range.**_On a final note_**, after talking Nebraska hoops with Brian Rosenthal of the _Lincoln Journal Star_ today at the women’s game, he enlightened me on how important this game is for Nebraska’s potential tournament resume.The Huskers have a 62-47 home win over Arizona State, which is looking better by the day, and knocked off Oregon – another tournament team – in Omaha, 88-79 in overtime.But looking at Nebraska’s RPI (currently 123rd), the Huskers could need a 9-7 or 10-6 conference mark on top of their 11-2 non-con results to qualify for the field of 64. This is by far their biggest home game against a marquee Big 12 opponent, as they’ll face both Texas and Texas A&M on the road.**_Before I bolt, a score/stat prediction_**: 88-74, Kansas. Russell Robinson scores 18 to lead KU and Brandon Rush tallies 16. That’s my vote.Talk to you either right before or after opening tip. [1]: http://youtube.com/watch?v=O3fWwtB9GJ4 [2]: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/8084 [3]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2008/jan/07/ku_assistant_beck_heads_nebraska/?football [4]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2007/jan/30/creamed_corn/?mens_basketball