Sports
Nee: Chances for postseason bid slight
Hy Mark Uerowitscn
Senior Reporter
Any chance ihc Nebraska men’s
basketball team had of receiving a
post-tournament bid vanished when
the Comhuskers ended the regular
season by losing nine of their last 10
games.
Nebraska coach Danny Nee said
at his weekly press conference Mon
day that it would now take a miracle
for Nebraska to make the NCAA or
NIT Tournaments. He said the only
way the Huskers could receive a post
season bid is if they win three games
in the upcoming Big Eight Tourna
ment.
“If that happens. I’ll be in heaven,”
Nee said.
Nebraska, now 13-17 overall and
4-10 in the Big Eight, will face Kan
sas Stale in the first round of the
conference tournament Friday at
6:10 p.m. at Kemper Arena in Kansas
City, Mo.
In other first round games, Iowa
State faces Missouri at 12:10 p.m.,
Oklahoma plays Colorado at 2:10
p.m., and Kansas faces Oklahoma
State at 8:10 p.m.
Last season, Nebraska advanced
to the final four of the NIT Tourna
ment and ended the season with a 21 •
12 record. Nee said a lack of famili
arity with the Big Eight prevented the
Huskcrs from finishing with a .500
record this year.
“This year, not just our youth, but
our inexperience hurl us,” Nee said.
But Nee said this season helps
build for the future.
“Looking back over the year, the
one bright spot is that we got a lot of
our young people that first-hand
experience you can’t teach or
coach,” Nee said. “The numerical is
disappointing because I feel there
was a couple of games we could have
won.
“If we would have had a .500
record or 16-14, we would have been
successful. We just missed it by a
couple of games.”
Nee said after a qual ity season last
year, the Huskers didn’t meet some
expectations this season.
“When you’re in a situation like
we’re in where we took two steps
forward last year with a new coach
and new staff and we took a half a step
back this year,” Nee said.
Nee said he hopes Nebraska’s trip
to Australia in May will give the
Huskers even more experience next
year.
“The Australian trip is pretty
important for us,” Nee said.
“We have to have a great spring
and summer,” he said. “One of the
keys to get this program to where we
want to get it is the Australian trip.
We have to go over there with a
consistency with our play — we have
to know the guys night in and night
out.”
Butch Ireland/Daily Nebraskan
Bob Cook, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumnus, protests
the officiating at a recent Cornhusker game. Cook’s feelings
have been shared frequently by Nebraska coach Danny Nee
this season.
UNO, Arkansas top Huskers’ list for upcoming play
By Steve Sipple
Senior Reporter
Nebraska baseball coach John Sanders said
it is becoming difficult, but the Comhuskers
must continue to focus on one game at a time.
Nebraska, now 10-0 after a weekend sweep
against Northern Colorado, faces the Univer
sity of Nebraska at Omaha today before playing
No. 8-rankcd Arkansas this weekend in Fay
etteville, Ark. For now, Sanders said, the Husk
ers must worry about the Mavericks.
“Every game is a test,” Sanders said. “I
know our players arc aware Arkansas is a good
ballclub. They know they Tc ranked, they know
we’re playing them on the road, and it’s going
to be a good series.
“But we ha vc to keep it all in perspective and
not look by UNO. We’ll be up for it.”
Nebraska, which moved up to No. 20 in the
latest Collegiate Bascball/ESPN national rank
ings, will play the Mavericks in a single nine
inning gamcat 1:30p.m. at Buck Bclt/cr Field.
The game will be UNO’s season opener.
Sanders said the Huskcrs must keep concen
trating on their own play and not worry about
who their opponent is. If they play well, he said,
they don’t have to worry about looking past
opponents.
“I’m concerned about how we stack up
against ourselves,” he said. “We just have to
keep hammering away and climbing the lad
der.”
Nebraska has dominated teams during its
unbeaten streak. The Huskcrs have outscorcd
opponents 132-32 on the season and have
compiled a team batting average of .310 while
holding their foes to a .206 average.
But Sanders said the Huskers failed to show
discipline at the plate when a season-high 10
Husker batters struck out during their 13-1
victory against Northern Colorado. He said
what concerned him most about that was the
team’s swinging at bad pitches and letting good
ones go by.
Sanders said he was puzzled by the offensive
lapse.
“It beats me,” he said. “If you figure it out,
let me know. That’s abig thing we want to stress
for (today).”
UNO coach Bob Gates said the Huskers
have been playing strong in the early season. He
said that win or lose, the Mavericks’ trip to
Lincoln will help his players improve.
“If they want to play professional baseball,
they have to see what it takes,” Gates said.
“Sometimes players come out of high school
and they were great players in their neighbor
hood. They need to see other great players.”
Gates said UNO won’tenter the game think
ing it has everything to gain and nothing to lose.
“I don’t think that way,” Gates said. “It’s
nice to win. The thing that is important is for us
to get ready for the North Central Conference
season.”
Husker pitcher John Kohli, a senior left
hander, will start on the mound, Sanders said.
Kohli has started two games this year, pitching
4.1 innings and giving up seven runs on 10 hits.
He has compiled a 8.31 earned run average.
Gates did not name a starter.
Comhuskers learn about themselves, injuries
By Mike Kluck
Staff Reporter
Although its hopes lor an unde
feated season were shattered last
week, Nebraska’s softball team
members learned more about them
selves while compiling a 5-3 record.
“We found out this weekend that
we are not the No. 2 team in the
nation, which slings a little bit,”
Cornhusker coach Ron Wolforth
said. “It popped our balloon awfully
quick. But with a few minor adjust
ments, I have no doubt that we are
going to be the best team we can.”
Nebraska, currently ranked No 2
in the nation, defeated Baylor 9-1 and
then compiled a 4-3 record in the
Roadrunner Classic in Las Cruces,
N.M.
Wolforth said Nebraska did what it
wanted during its win against Baylor.
He said the Huskers used a combina
tion of strong pitching by Donna
Dcardorll and a balanced hitting at
tack to overcome the Bears.
Wolforlh said Nebraska’s record
in the Roadrunncr Classic was de
ceiving because the Huskcrs were
plagued by injuries throughout the
lineup.
Nebraska defeated Baylor 3-0 in
the first game, but lost lcadoff hitter
Jill Rishcl to an ankle injury for the
rest of the four-day tournament.
Rishcl injured her right ankle sliding
into home plate.
“We lost some of our intensity
when we lost our lcadoff hitter,”
Wolforlh said. “She gels a lot of
things to happen, and with her out, it
puts added pressure on our (second
through fifth) hitters. With her out we
lose a dimension of our game, and
we’re a little less aggressive.”
Other injured Huskcr players in
cluded Deardorff, who was hospital
ized before the tournament with an
undiagnosed pain in her stomach, and
shortstop Jane Kremer, who suffered
a deep thigh bruise.
Wolforth said those injuries hurt
Nebraska in the tournament’s second
round as the Huskers lost 3-1 to New
Mexico. Nebraska led 1-0 going into I
the sixth inning before giving up a
walk, a base hit and a home run to lose
the game.
Bui Nebraska rebounded from the
loss by defeating prcscason No. 18
ranked Nichols Slate 4-2 and Stephen
F. Austin 6-1. The Huskers then ral
lied from a 1-0 loss to Arizona State
and beat California Slalc-Fullcrlon 7
2, but was eliminated later by the
Titans 1-0. Cal Slatc-Fullcrlon was
the nation’s top ranked team in the
prcscason poll.
Wolforth said that although Ne
braska needs to work on its intensity
and improve its defense, the Huskers
will be successful if they continue to
hit and pitch as they have been. i
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