Daily Nebraskan
Tuesday, March 10, 1937
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Doug CarrollDaily Nebraskan
Nebraska's Brian Carr shoots over the outstretched arms of
Kansas State's Mitch Richmond during Friday's 47-45 Corn
husker loss in the first round of the Dig Eight conference
basketball tournament in Ksnsas City.
Softball team places tMM in Eoad SmimeF Incite;
cieiense solid hut offense
By Rich Cooper
Staff Reporter
Nebraska's Softball team finished
third in the Road Runner Invita
tional at Las Cruces, N.M., this
weekend as it lost in the semifi
nals Saturday to No. 8-ranked Fresno
State 3-0.
The Cornhuskers, ranked No. 3 in
the preseason polls, finished their
road trip at 8-2. In their opening
game of the season, the Huskers
defeated No. 19 Arizona 1-0.
Nebraska coach Ron VVolforth said
he saw many good things in the
tournament, but Nebraska needs to
improve if it is to contend for the
national championship this season.
"I thought in this tournament we
played pretty consistent defense,
and that is usually the area that
gives a team problems early in the
season," Wolforth said. "Offensively,
though, we had some mental lapses
which hurt us in the two games that
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we lost:"
Nebraska dropped its first game
of the season Friday to Central
Michigan 2-1 in a 10-inning game.
Wolforth said he was happy with
the Huskers' pitching and said it
kept Nebraska in every game. He
said the pitchers' only problems
were that they gave up too many
bases on balls and they got behind
hitters too much.
'We need to be
more arjfjrecsive
offensively if we
are to win some
ball games.'
Wolforth
"Our pitching was solid this
weekend but we didn't dominate
teams like we did in the fall," Wol
forth said.
By Jeff Apel
Staff Reporter
. It's nice to have friends in New York.
That's the attitude Nebraska men's
basketball coach Danny Nee took
Monday as he commented on the Corn
huskers' Wednesday-night matchup
against Marquette in the first round of
the National Invitational Tournament.
TipofT for the game at the Bob Devaney
Sports Center is set for 7:35 p.m.
Nee, who was born and raised in
Brooklyn, N.Y., said the Huskers were
fortunate to be invited to the New York
based NIT because of the prestige in
reaching a postseason tournament.
Nee said invitations to such a tour
nament help recruiting and give play
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Nebraska's Keith Neubert battles Charles Dledsoe of Kansas
State for position during the first round of the Big Eight
basketball tournament in Kansas City Frldsy.
leep,
Wolforth said the team played
well at times in the tournament.
Nebraska defeated Fresno State 4-0
in the first game, then defeated Big
Eight Conference rival Iowa State
1-0 on a squeeze play.
VVolforth said that during the
next two weeks of practice the
Huskers will concentrate on basics
and execution. He said he was
unhappy with the execution on sac
rifice bunts. In the Fresno State
game, the squeeze play failed three
times and cost Nebraska the game,
he said.
If Nebraska is to continue its
success this season, Wolforth said,
it has to play the tougher teams
with more intensity and take the
lesser talented teams more seriously.
Wolforth said Nebraska should
have won the game against Western
Michigan and that offensively the
team seemed to "fall asleep."
"We need to be more aggressive
offensively if we are to win some ball
ers an opportunity for a fresh start.
"(The NIT) is nothing like the NCAA
(Tournament)," Nee said Monday at
his weekly press conference. "(But)
psychologically and prestigewise, you
can't put (the NIT) in dollars and
cents. To be in the first stage of your
program and be in a postseason tour
nament that's very significant."
Nee said the Huskers' chances of
making their second consecutive NCAA
Tournament appearance were hindered
because two of their wins were over
non-Division I opponents.
Nebraska defeated Division II North
west Missouri St. and Missouri-St. Louis
enroute to compiling a 17-11 record.
But Nee said the NCAA Tournament
should feel fortunate that the 32 team
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Doug CarroilUaiiy Nebraskan
coaeii say;
games," Wolforth said. "We have tn
attack the ball and not take too
many strikes."
Wolforth said the tournaments
'Our pitching
was solid this
weekend but we
didn't dominate
teams like we
did in the fall.'
Wolforth
will only get tougher as the season
progresses. During spring break,
the Huskers will play the Houston
Classic March 19 through 22 and the
San Jose Invitational March 27
through 29.
"After spring break we will know
how good this team is and if we can
challenge for the national title in
June, Yvollorth said.
NIT exists because the top 64 teams
are not playing in the NCAA Tournament.
"There are some very good teams
playing in the NIT," he said.
Nee said the matchup against the
16-12 Warriors looks good because
Marquette mixes an aggressive, man-to-man
defense with a variety of zones
in hopes of overpowering their op
ponents. Nee said the Warriors are much like
the Big Eight champion Missouri Tigers
when center Gary Leonard plays. Leo
nard, a 7-0 sophomore, scored a career
high 15 points to lead the Tigers to an
80-64 victory over the Huskers in
Columbia, Mo.
The Warriors are led by forward
David Boone and guard Michael Sims,
Boone, a senior, is averaging 16 points
and nine rebounds per game, and Sims
is averaging 15.1 points.
Nebraska forward Mike Martz said
the Huskers are looking forward to fac
ing Marquette because of the Warriors'
rich basketball tradition.
Marquette has made 26 consecutive,
postseason tournament appearances
including seven NIT appearance:.
"We really don't know that much
about them (Marquette)," Martz said.
"But it's still great to just play a team
like them."
Martz said the game against the
Warriors is particularly special because
Nebraska will get another opportunity
to prove itself in a season that many
Nebraska basketball fans wrote off.
Martz said while it would have been
easy for the Huskers to give up after
beginning the Big Eight Conference
season 1-4, they instead chose to rally
around themselves and finished the
conference season 7-7.
"If we didn't get a bid, it would have
been tough," Martz said. "This is a nice
award for what we've done."
Seats available
for Wednesday !s
NIT first round
Today is the final day students
can buy tickets for Nebraska's
first-round National Invitation
Tournament men's basketball
game against Marquette Wed
nesday night.
TipofT for the game is sche
duled for 7:35 p.m. at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center.
Tickets will be sold at the
South Stadium ticket office from
9 a,m. to 6 p.m. To purchase
tickets, students must have full
time student IDs. Each student
can buy only one ticket. Student
tickets will cost $5 if purchased
today. Only general-admission
tickets will be sold Wednesday
and will cost $7 or $9 each.
Joel Selig, Nebraska's asso
ciate ticket manager, said Mon
day that floor seats are still
available. ' ;;
Top triple-jumper
expects to improve
By David Mussman
Staff Reporter
Nebraska's Big Eight triple-jump
champion Renita Robinson is antici
pating a top-four finish in the NCAA
Championships March 13 and 14.
Robinson won the triple jump, post
ing a Big Eight Conference record of
41-10 34. She also placed sixth in the
long jump with a 19-0 14.
Robinson's score in the triple jump
qualified her for NCAA Championship
competition. She said she is expecting
a good finish there.
"I should be in the top four at least,"
Robinson said. "I'd be really surprised
if I didn't score in the top four with
relation to the other jumpers, and the
competition that will be there."
See JUMPER on 9
