Sports
NU to close basketball season Saturday
David f-amaaon/Daily Naorasxan
Kansas State’s LaKeith Humphrey applies defensive pres
sure to Nebraska’s Clifford Scales.
By Nick Hodge
Senior Reporter _
Despite having to play the 1989
Big Eight champions and the nation’s
No. 4-rankcd team on the road to
close out the season, Nebraska men’s
basketball coach Danny Nee hasn’t
given up.
Nee said he believes the Corn
huskers can compete with the high
powered Oklahoma Sooners Satur
day at the Lloyd Noble Center in
Norman, Okla. Tip-off is set for 4:05
p.m.
* ‘We’re going to play it all the way
out,” Nee said. “I still feel we’re
determined.”
Nebraska enters its last regular
season game in sole possession of 7th
place in the Big Eight with a 16-13
overall record and a 4-9 league mark.
Oklahoma, which won the confer
ence title Wednesday by defeating
Oklahoma State 111-108 at Norman,
Okla., is 25-4 and 11-2.
Nee said Oklahoma offers Ne
braska a tremendous challenge.
‘‘I know we will have to handle
their pressure defense and transition
offense,” Nee said. ‘‘I think we’ll be
OK.”
Oklahoma coach Billy Tubbs said
he was impressed by the Huskcrs in
the first meeting.
“We caught Nebraska when they
were playing good,” Tubbs said. “I
haven’t seen them in a while. They’re
another young team with some talent
that is on the move.’’
Oklahoma defeated Nebraska 89
81 earlier this season in Lincoln.
Husker center Rich King scored a
team-high 21 points and pulled down
10 rebounds to lead Nebraska.
Nee said King continues to im
prove.
“I think the guy has shown his
ability and full potential in the last
two to three weeks,” Nee said. “He’s
also shown his weaknesses. He needs
to start playing within his own
strengths.”
King has averaged 13 points per
game in Nebraska’s last six outings.
His season average is 11 points per
game.
Nee said he’s not looking forward
to facing another team that will be
closing out its home schedule. The
Huskersdropped an 80-71 decision to
Kansas Wednesday night in Law
rence, Kan.
The Jayhawks were inspired be
cause the game marked the last home
appearance for four seniors. They
were also inspired by the presence of
former Kansas coach Larry Brown
and former All-America Danny
Manning.
“It’ll be really hard,’’ Nee said.
“We’re going to get to say goodbye
to Stacey King and Mookie Blay
lock.’’
King, a senior center, and Blay
lock, a senior guard, are both finalists
for the national player of the year
award and are All-America candi
dates. King averages 26 points and 10
rebounds per game, while Blaylock
averages 20 points, seven assists and
four steals.
Sooner senior forward Tyrone
Jones averages 13 points per game to
balance the scoring.
Oklahoma could sweep post-sea
son honors. Tubbs is also a finalist for
national coach of the year.
Nee said the Huskers have played
respectable away from home this
season.
“We haven’t played real raunchy
on the road,’’ Nee said. “We’ve been
pretty competitive.”
Nebraska has lost 11 straight con
ference road games, including six
this season.
Nee said he thinks the Huskers
will play hard.
* ‘They showed me a lot of heart (in
the Kansas loss),” Nee said. “I want
to build on that.”
NU to wrestle for 2nd spot at championship
By Steve Sipple
Staff Reporter
The big battle at Sunday’s Big
Eight wrestling championships ap
parently will be for second place.
Conference coaches agree that
2nd-ranked Oklahoma State, which
owns a 22-2 dual record, will be the
favorite at.the meet at James H. Hil
ton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
In a Big Eight wrestling coaches’
poll, the Cowboys, 6-0 against league
foes, received ail four lst-place
votes. Coaches couldn ’t vote for their
own teams.
“Going in, they’re the favorite,’’
Nebraska coach Tim Neumann said.
“Sad enough to say, the only team
that could beat them is Oklahoma the
way the seeds are shaping up. (Okla
homa) could get eight (wrestlers) in
the finals.’’
Oklahoma coach Stan Abel
agreed.
“That could be true,’’ Abel said.
“But the key words are ‘if anybody
is.* To beat Oklahoma State, we’d
have to wrestle well and they’d have
to get upset at a couple weights.*’
Like Neumann, Abel said he ex
pects the real war to be waged for
second place.
“There’s the race,’’ Abel said.
“We’re probably the only team that
could catch Oklahoma State. But
Nebraska and Iowa State are the only
teams capable of catching us.’’
In the coaches’ poll, points were
awarded on a 4-3-2-1 basis. No. 8
Nebraska, 12-6-2, was picked to fin
ish fourth among the Big Eight’s five
teams, tallying eight points. No. 12
Iowa State, 8-9-1, had 10 points and
No. 6 Oklahoma, 13-5-1, had 12
points.
Unranked Missouri, which is 6
10-1 and starts five freshmen, re
ceived four points.
Oklahoma State coach Joe Seay
said he’s wary of his team’s role as
the favorite.
‘ ‘Being picked first is nice, but it’s
like being ranked No. 1 during the
season - you have to go out and prove
you deserve it,” Seay said.
Oklahoma State has proved it’s
one of the nation’s best teams. The
Cowboys only losses have been to
top-ranked Iowa (26-10) and national
power Arizona State (20-15).
Oklahoma State will wrestle Sun
day with four of the meet’s No. 1
seeds. The Cowboys’ list of top seeds
includes 126-pound wrestler Kendall
Cross, 26-2-1 and ranked No. 3;
Mike Farrell, 32-2-1 and No. 2 at 167;
Chris Barnes 30-1-1 and No. 2 at 177;
and Kirk Mammem, 10-4-2 at heavy
weighL
Neumann said having top-seeded
wrestlers will be a key to winning
Sunday’s meet. He said “10 out of
10’’ top-seeded wrestlers will reach
the finals at most meets.
Nebraska and Missouri have no
top-seeded wrestlers. Oklahoma and
Iowa State are expected to have three
each.
Nebraska 134-pounder Mike
Hemann will be the Cornhusker’s
highest seed, Neumann said. He
mann, a fifth-year senior with an 11
4-1 record, is seeded second. Okla
homa’s T.J. Sewell, 28-1-2 and
ranked No. 3, will be the No. 1 seed at
134. Sewell defeated Hemann 5-0
during Oklahoma’s 17-15 dual win
against the Huskers last Friday night.
Seven Nebraska wrestlers will
probably be seeded third, which isn’t
all bad, Neumann said.
“We’re going in with a good shot
at doing well,’’ he said.
Two Nebraska starters return that
placed among the top four at last
season’s Big Eight meet. Third-seed
Jeff Coltvet, 25-7-1, finished second
last year at 158 and will wrestle again
at that weight this year. At 167, Scott
Chenoweth, 21-8-2, will enter as the
No. 3 seed after placing fourth at that
weight last year.
Nebraska finished fourth last year
with 32 points. Oklahoma State
grabbed the title with 86 points.
“I’d be really disappointed if we
got fourth, and we may,” Neumann
said. “We’ll score more points than
we did last year, but I think the points
will be more spread out this year.”
Five Huskers in Sunday’s finals
would probably lead to a 2nd-placc
finish, Neumann said.
“We’re capable of doing that,”
Neumann said.
Iowa State will have something to
See CHAMPIONSHIPS on ii
Williams claims two Big
Eight titles on opening day
By Jeff A pel
Senior Editor
A nagging shoulder injury and
some tough competition could not
keep Nebraska’s Peter Williams from
claiming two Big Eight titles during
the opening day of the Big Eight
swimming and diving championships
Thursday at the Bob Devaney Sports
Center.
Williams used rest and a cortisone
shot in his right shoulder to defeat
Kansas’ Allan Chaney in the 50-yard
freestyle, then teamed with Mike
Irvin, Sean Frampton and Marie
Nieuwenhuis to form Nebraska’s
winning 400-yard medley relay team.
Those performances helped the
Nebraska men take an early lead in
the three-day meet. The Comhuskers
finished Thursday’s competition
with 206 points, while Kansas was
second with 167. Iowa State is third in
the men’s race with 137 points, fol
lowed by Missouri with 67.
In the women's competition,
Kansas used four gold-medal per
formances to take an early lead. The
Jayhawks amassed 207 Doints, com
pared to Nebraska’s 192. Iowa State
is also third in the women’s competi
tion with 122 points, while Missouri
is fourth with 59.
Williams said his first Big Eight
championship in the 50-yard frees
tyle was nice because he was disr
qualified in the event last year be
cause of a false start He said he was
pleased by his time of 20:54 because
tendonitis in his shoulder forced him
to sit out for three weeks this season.
The injury, which sidelined Williams
few two months last season, also re
quired a cortisone shot, he said.
Williams said he was also pleased
by his time because he did not shave
for the meet. He said he will not be
fully rested until Nebraska competes
in the NCAA championships on
March 30 through April 1 in Indian
apolis.
“It’s a nice race to win,’’ Wil
liams said. “It’skindofan intermedi
ate step.’’
Nebraska men’s swimming coach
Cal Bentz praised the effort of Wil
liams. He said Williams and Irvin did
a nice job despite not tapering for the
meet. Tapering is a process in which
swimmers hope to reduce their times
by resting and shaving.
Bentz said he was not surprised by
the performance of either Williams
and Irvin. Irvin bettered his own Big
Eight record en route to winning the
200-yard individual medley in
1:49.98.
Irvin said he was surprised by his
performance.
4 ‘That’s a pretty good time for me
right now,’’ Irvin said. “I’m not very
. 7 SeaTHUEonll.
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Neventeid1 plunges towards the finish in the 200-yard medley. Nevenfekft
