Lincoln, NE (Sports Network) - Coming off their first loss of the season and losing the top ranking in the nation, the now third-ranked Kansas Jayhawks embark on the their Big 12 schedule, as they invade Lincoln this evening, for a conference showdown with the Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Bill Self's Jayhawks held the top spot in the national polls since the beginning of the season, but last weekend's 76-68 loss at Tennessee dropped the team to third overall. Still, the Jayhawks have been superb in conference openers of late, winning 18 straight, with 11 of those coming on the road.

The Cornhuskers will have their work cut out for them tonight, as the team enters this tilt following a 64-53 setback in their league opener on Saturday at Texas A&M. The loss ended a three-game win streak for Nebraska and dropped the team to 12-4 overall. Still, Lincoln has been a safe haven for the Cornhuskers who are undefeated in 10 home games this year.

This is the 238th meeting between these two longtime rivals. The series started in the 1899-1900 season and favors Kansas heavily, 166-71. Since the beginning of Big 12 play, KU has won 26 of the 29 all-time meetings, including each of the last 12 meetings and 21 of the last 22 overall.

Kansas was held to just .377 shooting, the second-lowest performance of the season, while allowing Tennessee to shoot .481 from the floor (the highest percentage of any opponent this year. The result was an eight-point loss, KU's first setback of the season. All-American candidate Sherron Collins led the way in defeat with 22 points. Tyshawn Taylor netted 13 and freshman sensation Xavier Henry contributed 10. Another All-American candidate, Cole Aldrich, finished the game with just seven points, although he did pull down a whopping 18 rebounds. The numbers show that Kansas has been much more potent at both ends of the floor this season, averaging 85.1 ppg, while allowing just 59.8. Despite his youth, Henry has been a huge addition to this roster and is currently leading the team in scoring (15.7 ppg) and steals (26). Collins is a close second in the scoring column (15.6 ppg) and is the top distributor (63 assists). Aldrich is a dominant force down low (10.9 ppg, 10.5 ppg) and gets help in the frontcourt from Marcus Morris (10.5 ppg).

Only one team in the Big 12 has played better defense than Kansas and that is Nebraska. The Cornhuskers lead the conference in scoring defense (58.6 ppg), holding foes to just .411 shooting overall and .318 from behind the arc. In addition, NU is also forcing just over 16 turnovers per outing. Offensively, the team relies heavily on its three-point acumen. The Cornhuskers are shooting a healthy .404 from long range and have a couple of guys that can fill it up from beyond the arc. The team does lack depth offensively however, as there are no players on the roster that would be considered explosive. Ryan Anderson currently leads the way with just 11.2 ppg. Eshaunte Jones (7.3 ppg) and Lance Jeter (6.9 ppg) are the top perimeter scorers, hitting .481 and .458 from three-point range, respectively. It was a late 18-6 run by Texas A&M that gave the Aggies the necessary breathing room over the weekend. Freshman Christian Standhardinger made his collegiate debut, finishing with team-highs of 13 points and seven rebounds. Jorge Brian Diaz also finished in double figures for Nebraska with 10 points. Still, NU was outrebounded 40-28 and outscored at the free-throw line, 25-6.