Kansan file photo

Sophomore guard J.R. Giddens eyes his defender, Joe McCray, Nebraska freshman guard in the Jan. 19 game. The Jayhawks will meet the Cornhuskers again at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow in Lincoln, Neb.

When Nebraska played Kansas earlier this year in Allen Fieldhouse no one gave the Cornhuskers a chance.

It’s safe to assume no one will make that mistake again. As it turned out, Nebraska came within two points of upsetting the Jayhawks.

“I think we’ll be excited to play the game,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “We know they can play with us. We have to play very well to win at Lincoln.”

The difficulty Kansas had with Nebraska this season was only the tip of the iceberg. The Cornhuskers crushed Kansas by 19 in Lincoln, Neb., last season. If Kansas wants to stay in command of the Big 12 Conference race, a victory tomorrow is crucial.

“I’m only worried about the Nebraska game on Saturday,” senior guard Keith Langford said. “Everyone is a threat to take the Big 12 title so we just have to take it one game at a time.”

The sting of last year’s loss to the Cornhuskers still lingers in the minds of several players, and they said revenge would be on their minds tomorrow.

“Last year they rushed the court,” sophomore guard J.R. Giddens said. “It’s a place where we’ve been losing. This is a chance to set things even from my standpoint.”

Nebraska (10-8 overall, 3-4 Big 12) has gone 2-2 since its encounter with Kansas. The Cornhuskers have played well, though. Three of their last four losses have come by 10 points or less. They will come into tomorrow’s match-up fresh off a 34-point victory against Utah Valley State.

In their last meeting with the Cornhuskers, the Jayhawks only scored 59 points. The Cornhuskers slowed the game down and only allowed one Jayhawk — senior forward Wayne Simien — to score more than 10 points. Kansas shot just 42 percent from the field and had a difficult time getting high-percentage shots.

“They isolate the post very well,” Self said. “They do a good job of defending, especially if you don’t execute.”

Nebraska freshman guard Joe McCray will again be a focus for the Kansas defense. He scored a game-high 19 points against Kansas earlier this year and averages 14.7 points a game.

Self said McCray did not surprise his coaching staff in the first game, but the players might not have realized he was capable of playing that well.

“He’s very aggressive. We did a good job on him, but he ended up scoring 19,” Self said. “He’s certainly a load, and he’s one of the best scoring freshmen in the league.”