LINCOLN — Nonconference road games haven't been kind to Doc Sadler-coached Nebraska basketball teams.
There have been 11 losses: Rutgers, Hawaii, Creighton twice, Western Kentucky, Mississippi, Saint Louis, Arizona State, Oregon State, New Mexico and Wichita State.
Victories? Two: TCU and USC.
On Monday night, the Huskers return to the scene of their most-recent true road win outside the conference — USC's Galen Center.
In 2009, Nebraska got a 3-pointer from Eshaunte Jones with 11 seconds left to pull out a 51-48 win over the Trojans.
Jones has since transferred, but Sadler said he thinks his team's experience provides hope for better road success this season.
"We've got four seniors who play a lot," Sadler said Sunday night by phone from Los Angeles. "And we've got two juniors who have played a lot as well.
"So you've got to hope that everything they've been through will give them the confidence to play well in different environments."
USC reached the NCAA tournament last season, going 19-15 and falling to tourney Cinderella Virginia Commonwealth in a play-in game. The Trojans lost three starters from that team. A fourth, senior point guard Jio Fontan, tore knee ligaments this summer and is out for the season.
That inexperience showed in USC's season opener.
The Trojans, picked eighth in the Pac-12, had to rally at home to beat Cal State Northridge 66-59. They committed 20 turnovers and missed all 15 3-pointers against Northridge's 1-3-1 zone.
Sadler, as strong a man-to-man defense disciple as there is, said he saw the film.
"But we're not going to defend any differently than we have before," he said. "We don't play that kind of game (zone)."
USC got 16 points and eight rebounds from 7-foot, 255-pound sophomore center Dewayne Dedmon, whom coach Kevin O'Neill already has tabbed as a future NBA first-round draft pick. Forward Aaron Fuller, a transfer from Iowa, also had 16 points.
Sadler said he was pleased with Nebraska's play in its 65-48 win Friday over South Dakota.
"We defended much better than against Doane in our exhibition or even Iowa State in our scrimmage," he said. "South Dakota is much better than a year ago. We had to play well to win."
NOTES: Husker center Andre Almeida and guard Ray Gallegos didn't make the trip to USC, Sadler said. Almeida is injured and Gallegos still hopes to redshirt. ... Nebraska's plus-16 rebounding advantage against South Dakota (45-29) matched the second-largest for a Sadler team. ... Last season, NU rallied from a 20-point deficit at home to beat USC 60-58.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com
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