COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Christian Standhardinger's long wait to officially join the Nebraska basketball team ended Saturday with 12:56 to go in the first half against Texas A&M.
The 6-foot-8 freshman, forced to sit for 15 games because of his previous play on a German club team that had some professional players, checked in with a million things on his mind.
“I was very nervous,'' he said. “But the experience in Germany, to play in a good league, helped me a lot.
“So I was able to blow all of that away — my family, the fans, our team, some pressures. I blew all that away and just focused on the game. Ten seconds into the game, I felt at home again.''
Standhardinger looked at home, too, in Nebraska's 64-53 loss to A&M.
He scored a team-high 13 points on 4 of 7 field goals, including a 3-pointer, and 4 of 5 free throws. He grabbed seven rebounds. He was charged with three turnovers, though two were as much the responsibility of his teammates.
And he brought diving-on-the-floor, screaming-at-the-crowd energy.
“I love the way this guy plays!'' TV analyst Reid Gettys exclaimed after one sequence of Standhardinger's hustle.
Nebraska coach Doc Sadler, always a tough critic, offered this review:
“It was about what I thought, maybe a little bit better defensively than what I thought.''
A lack of practice time with the first team led to some confusion for Standhardinger late in the game.
“We had a couple of things called, and that's my fault,'' Sadler said. “I should have got him out of the game.
“When it gets to that last five minutes, every possession has got to count. And we didn't execute. But overall, gosh, it's the first game he's played. You've got to be happy with some of the things he did.''
Shooters, not makers
The Reed Arena maintenance crew might have to repaint the rims after Nebraska and Texas A&M got done bouncing bricks off of them.
Nebraska shot 37 percent. A&M hit 38.3 percent, but 14.3 percent (3 of 21) on 3-pointers.
“I hope the defense on both sides had something to do with it,'' Sadler said. “I'm afraid when both of us look at the tape, we're going to see a lot of open shots that were missed in the first half.''
Bits and pieces
Husker point guard Lance Jeter didn't score, but he had seven assists to two turnovers. In the past seven games, he has 36 assists to nine turnovers. ... Center Jorge Brian Diaz scored NU's first six points on close-range shots, but drew his second foul just five minutes into the game and didn't score again until the second half. ... Injured Texas A&M guard Derrick Roland (compound leg fracture, out for the season) was introduced as an honorary sixth starter. ... Nebraska has sold 11,400 tickets for Wednesday's home game against No. 1 Kansas.
— Lee Barfknecht
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