Maric scores 30 points in NU victory
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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Whatever Doc Sadler said to Aleks Maric after Nebraska’s game Saturday against Creighton, it worked.
Maric, two days after a lackluster performance in Omaha, scored 30 points in the Nebraska men’s basketball team’s 79-62 victory Monday night against Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne.
Or perhaps it was how Sadler delivered his message to the Huskers’ senior center.
“People take Doc differently,” Maric said. “Some think he screams for the wrong reasons.
“It’s always constructive criticism with Doc. He can yell and scream, but in the end, he just wants you to get better. And that’s how I took it. That’s the way Doc is.”
Maric wasn’t a factor — at least not a positive one — in Nebraska’s 74-62 loss to rival Creighton. His nine points came on 3-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-of-9 shooting from the free-throw line. He had four turnovers and sat on the bench during much of Nebraska’s second-half run that whittled a 27-point deficit to nine.
“I needed to play harder,” Maric said, summing up what Sadler told him after that game. “My effort wasn’t there, and that was evident.
“I let the team down. I’m not going to lie about it.”
He responded with a big pick-me-up Monday before 5,832 fans at the Devaney Sports Center.
Maric made his first four field goal attempts en route to 13-of-18 shooting from the field. He was 4-of-7 from the line, with his final point coming on the front end of a one-and-one opportunity with 4 minutes, 31 seconds remaining.
Maric, who also collected nine rebounds while playing 26 minutes, recorded his fifth career 30-point game. That ties him with Jerry Fort for most 30-point games in Nebraska history.
Sadler, who’d made Maric off-limits from media interviews the past two days, said Maric played better.
“Aleks has been too successful to lose confidence,” Sadler said. “We got the ball to him more, he produced more.
“He’s got to have a game every night for us to have a chance. The nights that he doesn’t, we’re very, very mediocre.”
Sadler said he was pleased with how the Huskers responded after Saturday’s emotional loss to Creighton.
“After looking at (IPFW) on tape against Indiana State,” Sadler said, “I was really concerned.”
IPFW (1-4) was within 10 points on three occasions in the second half, the latest with 11 minutes remaining. The Mastadons stayed close thanks to three-point shooting — they were 10-of-23, and 5-of-10 in the second half.
It’s a bugaboo that continues to concern Sadler. Nebraska has allowed 45 three-pointers, or nine per game, and teams are shooting 40 percent on threes.
“That’s inexcusable,” Sadler said. “We’ve really, really got to get back to working on our defense.”
Sadler said Nebraska isn’t containing the basketball and is being too selfish on defense.
“We’re too interested in maybe getting a steal, or getting this and that,” he said, “and it’s breaking everything down.”
Ade Dagunduro scored 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting and Ryan Anderson scored 11 points for the Huskers (4-1).
But perhaps the most important spark came off the bench from Paul Velander, who’d begun the season in a severe shooting slump. The junior guard, 1-for-10 on three-pointers before Monday, was 3-for-4 and scored nine points.
“Paul’s got to play. Teams are going to zone us,” Sadler said. “We’ve got to find somebody that is consistent on the perimeter, as far as shooting the basketball.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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