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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 1984)
Monday, November 19, 1G34 Page 14 Basketball 1984-B5 o Analysis by tu Pospisil iidDF eon nee - 'iff fl' ,1! VvlL Can it be that the Big Eight conference will send more teams to post-season bas ketball tournaments than it will to foot ball bowl games this season? Listen to Missouri coach Norm Ste wart, who predicts "six teams have a chance to be in postseason play. That's how good the league is." Compare that with football, where only three conference teams will be invited to bowls. The times, they are a-changing in the Big Eight. No longer is the talk in November only about bowl games and the shootout in Lincoln (or Norman), but includes argu ments about shot clocks, three-point shots and freshman phenoms. The Big Eight will use a 45-second clock u li 5) in league play after conference coaches voted 5-3 in favor of it at their spring meeting. A three-point Held goal waa re jected when Oldahoma coach Billy Tubb3 changed his vote for a 4-4 deadlock. Some coaches said later they vctcd for the 45-second clock with the understand ing that the three-point ptey would be used. "Zone defenses make for dull games," said none other than Kansas State coach Jack Hartman, who used such a defense to defeat Nebraska 41-39 in the first round of the conference tournament last season. Nebraska coach Moe Iba said, "Maybe well do what everybody else is going to do: stay back in the lane and just hold up our hands, knowing well get the ball back in 45 seconds." "The players don't want it. The people Red &. White Letters around thfa DsanUjul Glaz 1.7 4. 1 ,J now me oiass commernoraang the 1381-&&63 Un&fe&ted Bl 8 Football Ch&mpicsis Mail a 6 pack to ES3 You Save 9SC on a 6 Red Fans Outstate pack box at $7.99 14V c V Cssdiy Local Distributors: Lincoln: General Tobacco Norfolk Farmer Tobacco Co. Grand Island: Cash Wa Distributor Oju&ha; Vessssr Kamett Kearney: Cash Wa DliSributor Soottduft Ledbettert he North Platte: Cash Wa Distributors 1 49 ea. draft to try to lead Oklahoma to its third straight NCAA tournament and a possi ble berth in the Final Four. Hell be teamed with Tim McAlbtcr, the confer ence's newcomer of the year a season ago, and forwards David Johnson and Darryl Kennedy. Anthony Bowie, a Juco Ail American, could be an immediate replace ment for departed Calvin Fierce. Harass Two Omaha players that snubbed Nebraska in favor of Kansas will start for the Jayhawks. Ron Kei!o3 cf Omaha Northwest, sank the game-winning shot against Oldahoma in the confer ence final Ccdric Hunter of Omaha South has overcome academic woes and will team with Mark (the Surgeon) Turgeon at guard. Manning and 7-1 center Greg Dreiling are nearly as tall as the campus Mount Oread. CcritinscJ en Fe3 17 This month, 270 Division I bas- Ewing is nearly as infamous as 5, Ds&e Bill Jackman may kctball teams begin their quest his Southfork cousin, J.R., but the question later in the season why for an NCAA tournament berth. T-shirt has got to go. With the he left an Atlantic Coast Confer Almost one-fourth, or 64 teams NCAA finals at the University of ence championship ring at Duke will make it. Another 32 teams, Kentucky, Hoya coach Tom for a "nicely-done" handshake at including Nebraska, will have to Thompson will sequester his team Nebraska. Coach Mike Krzyzewski settle for the National Invitation in Paducah. No one in the press has five starters back. Tournament, a.k.a. Have Ball, Will Travel dont want to watch it. I don't want to coach it," said Missouri's Stewart. Oklahoma and Kansas played in the NCAA tournament last ceason, and are in everybody's Top Twenty. Nebraska and Iowa State pbyed in the NIT. All four of those teams could again hive their seasons cxtcnd2d past the conference's post-season tournament in early March, as could Missouri and Colorado. Here's a look at the conference teams, listed in the order of their predicted finish: O&a&oiaa "If you've got it, flaunt it and taunt it" is the Sooners' motto after last season, when several players became involved in shouting and gesturing con tests with fans at the end cf games. Hi dale passed entering the MBA's hardship i .novas mcKea iwamo ariillLi One 6 pack bcx 11 i Popsicle's 1 1 Picks 1 XI 0 Thus rherf arp flfi teams fisht- I ing for No. 1 (or No. G5 in the case ) of the NIT). Only one team will i combine skill, momentum, luck and bribery of officials to earn eluded Ray Meyer for 42 years. A-Vk XT"1 A A kAvnviiAn Car TAir f aItao rt rbi iiirVkilA pAn J Mistu s h Prime as the TT Misty 's before and after the game! Serving the Midwest's finest prime rib. . .custom cut, naturally aged. We also offer charcoal-grilled steaks and selected entrees to suit other tastes. You'll recommend us to your friends. Havelock: 6235 Havelock Avenue 466-8424 Edgewood: 56th & Highway 2 423-2288 OPEN Mon.-Sat 10 am -1 am Sunday 5 pm-10 pm n 9 n ri CXI I Serving the Midwest's finest prime rib for over 20 years. run a rnn 1 :y 1 . 1 4 y my s i undersji Weekdays: 8 a.m.-7 p.m. j Saturday: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. j; Sunday: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. j would bother looking for George town in Paducah. 2, Illinois The Fighting Illini were fighting mad after getting "homered" in a loss to Kentucky in the Mideast Regional final They'll try to erase those unplea sant memories on the same Rupp Arena floor come next March. 3, DePaial The Blue Demons could cap Chicago's finest sports season with an NCAA title that gets to second-guess. 4, Indiana Winning in the 6, OMaSioma Wayman, Bill and the Boys should roll through the Big Eight without any sweat, save for two games with Kansas. Tubbs' goal this season is to have his players point to the score board with the index finger. 7, Southern Methodist Koncak of the Wild, center Jon Koncak, is bigger and better after his Olympic experience. He out played Akeem and Patrick Ewing in games last year, and could be the surprise player in the nation. 8, WasMsgtun In Seattle, a cool million dollars. Who then will be the nation's best? I don't know. Big Ten will be harder for Bobby they can't see the forest for the I will still give it the ol' college Knight than winning in the Olym- trees, 6-9 Detlef Schrempf (the try, and Popsicle's Top Twenty is pics. Knight took along the family only NCAA player to have both headed by... pet, guard Steve Alford, to Los names end in F) and 7-0 center Georgetown (you were expect- Angeles to teach free-throw shoot- Christian Welp. ing Creighton maybe?). Patrick ing. Continued on Page 19 flCKUl .g Top 20 tough task Analysis by Ward Tripkttlll Daily Nebrcskca Sports Editor It's tough for anyone without a car and a gas expense account to know enough about national women's basketball to predict anything. Without television exposure, it's pretty hard to determine why Texas is better than Louisiana Tech and so forth. This poll is based almost strictly on press releases and women's basketball publications. 1. TEXAS The Longhorns have lost only five games in the last two years, one cf those to Nebraska. Jody Conradt's team spent most of last year at the top of the polls before losing badly to Louisiana Tech in the Midwest Regional finals. By that time, the Texas lineup had been so depleted with knee injuries that only nine players suited up for the finale. This year, All-American candi date Annette Smith will miss another season with her knee injury and another starter, Sherry! Haugium, decided to become a student coach rather tha risk another injury. So, Texas will send only another All-American type, sophomore Andrea Lloyd and Olympic altern ate Kamie Ethridge to iead this year's team. In addition to those two, the Longhorns will have Gay Hemphill, a transfer from Way land Baptist, in uniform along with last year's holdovers, Cara Priddy (6-2), Audrey Smith and Fran Harris, who was the team's leading scorer at 18.6 points per game. 2. GEORGIA The Bulldogs have one of the two Olympic stars left on the collegiate level in uni form this season, and Teresa Ed wards isn't even the player the Southern papers pky up the most Janet Harris, 6-3, has been the biggest star for the balanced Georgia team, and probably will be again this season. The Bulldogs lost center Wanda Holloway to graduation, but 6-3 Katrina Mc Clain and 6-7 Barbara Bootz can probably make up the slack. 3. SOUTHEEN CAL - Cheryl Miller's familiar face showed up in most post-Olympic naterial Now, if only Miller's fame can carry into the women's collegiate season, that could be one way to drum up extra attention. The other way is to make sure it's Miller's team that ends up on the CBS-televised finaL Miller should be enough to guarantee the Tro jans will be close. 4. CAL STATE-LONG BEACH With only one senior, the 40ers looked very impressive against eventual champion USC in the West Regional finals last year. Of course, Long Beach has been near the top of the women's collegiate ranks for the last five seasons. 5. NOETIREASTLOUISIAfJA Perhaps this isnt even the best team in Louisiana. But the Indians will have the advantage of being the least renowned of the powers in the state and thus can sneak up on some people. The Indians, who will be in the same tourna ment with the Huskers in Minne sota, have the rather large Lisa Ingram at center and the sharp shooting Eun Jung Lee at guard. Lee was a member of the Korean national team at the Olympics. 6. LOUISIANA TECH Per haps this will be the best team in Louisiana. But Louisiana Teach did lose Olympians Kim Mulkey and Janice Lawrence, as well as Debra Rodman. Only Pam Gantt, a former record setter at Joliet East in Illinois remains from the headliners from last season's final four squad. But like Dean Smith's North Carolina, the Lady Tech sters just pull high school All America's off the bench and teach them how to win. 7. OLE 11123 The Lady Rebels showed up in the top five of every poll released. But this is the one team I haven't seen play any where, so ascertaining just how good 6-3 Eugenia Conner and 6-2 Jennifer Gillom are isnt easy. 8. LOUISIANA STATE The team that put Missouri out of the playoffs last season lost its star, a guard, but replaced her with Gert Scott, who finished just behind Perry in the high school all-world voting. . 9. IIISSOUEI The one nat ional contender that will play in Lincoln this year, the Tigers' best weapon is senior Joni Davis, who averaged over 20 points per game last season. All three graduation losses were of&et by a recruiting class that included a 6-4 junior college transfer. 10. OLD DOMINION Another team ranked in the top five, but even with former Kansas star Tracy Gaxton and Patrick Ewingfs high school classmate Medina Dixon, the Lady Monarchs will still have to get by Georgia to reach the final four in Austin. 11. Vanderbilt; 12. Ohio State; 13. Western Kentucky. 14. Ten nessee; 15. San Diego State; 16. Penn State; 17. Iowa; 18. North Carolina State; 19. Maryland; 20. Nebraska. Call it luck, call it faith, call it karma ... I believe that everything happens for a reason. Kansas State's (apparent) decline should open the door for one of the Big Eight teams to not only challenge in the conference, but gain some national attention. With an early season upset over Tennessee or Northeast Louisiana, Nebraska could be that team. Why the heck not, huh?