Sports
Tournament‘opens doors,’ Nee says
By Nick Hodge
Senior Reporter
The Big Eight Tournament offers the Ne
braska men’s basketball team a new season,
according to coach Danny Nee.
Nee said the Comhuskcrs first-round game
against Missouri tonight opens doors of oppor
tunity.
“We look at it as a team that it’s a new
season and anything can happen,’’ Nee said.
“That’s the attitude we’re going into it with.
We’re going to work hard all week and be
prepared.’’
The No. 7-seeded Huskers completed their
regular season with a 16-14 record overall and
a 4-10 league mark. The Tigers are 24-7 and
ranked 10th nationally. Missouri is the tourna
ment’s No. 2 seed vfrith a 10-4 conference
record.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. at Kem
per Arena in Kansas City, Mo. The game will
be televised by the Big Eight Raycom Network
(local channel 10).
Since Stewart was sidelined Feb. 9 because
of bleeding ulcers and colon cancer, the Tigers
have put together a 4-4 record with all four
wins coming at home. One of those home court
victories was a 66-65 win against last-place
Colorado Saturday.
Daly said Missouri has suffered from an
emotional loss rather than performance loss.
“Our players are playing with intensity, but
not for 40 minutes,” Daly said. “We’ve got to
get a full 40 minutes of play out of some
people.”
Nee said he doesn’t believe the Tigers have
faded.
“They’ve had hard limes, with the tragedy
of Norm’s not being there. That’s affected
them. But I also feel it’s a new season for
them,” he said. “The Missouri players have
great pride and high goals for this year. I’m
sure they’re disappointed they didn’t win the
league championship.”
Daly said Missouri has missed the efforts of
a healthy Byron Irvin. Irvin, a 6-foot-6 senior
from Chicago,missed the Colorado game with
a groin pull.
“He’s undergoing treatment, so it’s a day
by-day situation,” Daly said. “If we have to
hold him out every day in practice, we will.
We’ve got to get it well. We don’t want him to
have to be out for good. Byron is a scorer and
when you take a scorer out of your team it
really hurts because you’ve got to pick it up
from somebody else.”
Irvin was a unanimous 1989 All-Big Eight
selection and led the Tigers by averaging 19.6
points per game this season.
Daly said Irvin’s absence does more than
affect scoring.
“He’s also a good defensive player and he
gels rebounds, Daly said. You re talking
about a guy who docs three things very wclj.
When hc-plays well, we win. When he hasn’t
played well, those arc usually the games we
haven’t been winning. We need Byron at full
strength.”
Daly said Irvin is expected to play against
Nebraska.
Nee said Nebraska rebounding will play a
major role if the Huskers want to beat the
Tigers.
“This game’s going to be won on the
boards,” Nee said. “The game’s going to be
won with poise, execution, free throws. Emo
tion will get us to a point, but we’re going to
have to play well to beat them — well, in a lot
of areas. We can have a let down, but we need
to play well for most of the 40 minutes.”
In addition to the Nebraska-Missouri match
up, the remaining first-round games will pit
Oklahoma State against Iowa State, Oklahoma
against Colorado and Kansas State against
Kansas. The tournament’s semifinal round will
be held on Saturday, with the championships
slated for 3:07 D.m. on Sunday.
Based on what he saw in the previous two
games, Nee said, Nebraska needs to be more
consistent. The Tigers defeated Nebraska
twice during the regular season. Missouri won
89-72 Jan. 28 in Lincoln and 79-63 Feb. 19 in
Columbia, Mo.
“We need to play looking like we know
now 10 piay, i>ee saiu. i mm* you cun nave
spurts in the game, and I think there will be
spurts, but we can’t bury ourselves.”
Nee said the Huskers must have a positive
state of mind before the game.
‘‘I’ve always believed in the Cinderella
teams and I’ve always believed in the upset,”
Nee said. ‘‘We have to deliver the knock out
punch - the David and Goliath thing. You’ve
got the chance. Take advantage of it and go for
it.”
Nee said Nebraska needs to forget about the
season and concentrate on what lies ahead.
“That’s over with. The road games arc
over. Now we’ve got the tournament,” Nee
said. “I feel that for us to get in the NIT we
have to not go in on a negative note. We have
to get a win in the tournament against a quality
team and we’re there. Then, we have a shot at
a post-season tournament.”
The 32-team National Invitation Tourna
ment field will be announced Sunday.
Nee said the Huskers can’t overlook the
Tigers.
‘ ‘They’re very explosive and they’re a good
basketball team,’ ’ Nee said. “I still feel that we
need one more win to get us in position for a
post-season tournament”
Missouri assistant coach Rich Daly, who
has been filling in as the coach for Norm
Stewart, said the Tigers will have to play well
to beat Nebraska.
NU sweeps Northern Iowa;
Ramos pleased by his play
By Jerry uuenther
Staff Reporter
After getting off to slow starts in
past seasons, Ken Ramos said he
wanted to begin this year differently.
Thursday afternoon Ramos did
just that, going 8 for 8 in a double
header as the Nebraska baseball team
swept Northern Iowa 12-3 and 7-2.
Ramos, who was 4 for 6 going into
Thursday’s games, collected a triple,
a double and six singles in the wins
against Northern Iowa.
“Coming into this season I had
hoped for a real good start,’’ Ramos
said, ‘ ‘because the last two years I got
off to slow starts and then ended up
hitting better at the end of the season.
... This year I just want to be consis
tent all the way through.”
Ramos said he accounts for part of
his early season hitting success by
just putting the ball in play.
“I’m seeing the ball real well,”
Ramos said. “It’s kind of the same
story as yesterday (the games against
Wayne State). I’m not hitting the ball
all that great, but they’re finding the
holes.”
Ramos said only about three of his
hits were off of hard-hit balls, but said
that helps to make up for the limes
when he hits the ball hard, but it ends
up being caught.
“In the end, I guess it all evens
out.”
In the first game against Northern
Iowa, Ramos had 4 of the Huskers 10
hits, including a run-scoring triple
that gave Nebraska a 4-3 lead in the
third inning. Ramos later scored on a
passed ball as the Huskers built a 5-3
lead after three innings.
Earlier in the game, Ken Sirak hit
the only home run of the contest.
Sirak’s home run, which broke a 1-1
tie, came in the second inning after
Rob Novak singled to left field.
In the fourth inning, Nebraska
batted a round and scored six runs to
put the game away. Bruce Wobken
led off the inning with a double to left
field, followed by consecutive
singles from Doug Twitty, David
Boever and Ramos. The Huskers also
benefited from a Panther error and
two hit batsmen.
Tim Smith, a transfer from Van
derbilt, scattered four hits over six
innings to earn the win for Nebraska.
Smith struck out four and walked
three. Joe Purvine pitched the final
inning for the Huskers, giving up one
hit.
Nebraska Coach John Sanders
See HUSKERS on 10
.. ^ wiiPffliinrFftii ... ~ i
Allen Schaben/Daily Nebraskan
Nebraska’s Bobby Benjamin leaps back to second base as Wayne State’s Scott Schultz
prepares to make the tag. Benjamin was safe as Nebraska defeated the Wildcats 7-0 and 11-4.
Husker infielder to face old teammates
By Jerry Guenther
Staff Reporter
Nebraska infielder David Boever
will have a chance to show his old
teammates what he can do when the
Comhuskers face Arkansas this
weekend in Fayetteville, Ark.
Boever said
he wants to do
well against the
Razorbacks be
cause he spent
the first three
years of his col
legiate career
with them.
Nebraska will tioever
face the 9-2 Razorbacks, who are
ranked 17th by Collegiate Baseball
and 23rd by Baseball America, Sun
day in a single, nine-inning game that
begins at 1p.m. The Huskers also will
travel to Springfield, Mo., to face
Southwest Missouri State Monday in
a double header that begins at 1 p.m.
“I’ve been looking forward to
playing against them,’" Boever said
about Arkansas. “But I’m not going
to put any more pressure on myself
than I would against any other
school.’’
Boever said he transferred to
Nebraska to get more playing time.
He hit .308 last season while appear
ing in 24 games for Arkansas.
“I started four games and the
other games I played were late in
nings as a back up,” Boever said.
“That was pretty much the whole
year.”
Boever said he does not have any
hard feelings toward Arkansas. He
said he still respects the Razorbacks
and Coach Norm DeBriyn.
“We departed without any ani
mosities toward each other,” Boever
said. ‘ ‘But for me to get that chance to
go on in baseball I needed to go
somewhere where I would play. By
staying at Arkansas this year, I don’t
think I would’ve got that chance.”
Boever said his decision to trans
fer was also influenced by his brother
Dan. Dan Boever lettered for Ne
braska from 1982-83, and is currently
a member of the Cincinnati Reds
triple A team in Nashville, Tenn.
Boever said his brother’s presence
meant he was familiar with the
Husker program before he arrived in
Lincoln. He said the Arkansas and
Nebraska baseball programs are
similar.
“I think the rivalries between
Arkansas and the Texas teams are
equal to the rivalries between Ne
braska and the Oklahoma schools,”
Boever said.
Boever said one aspect about the
Nebraska baseball program that is
different is the team attitude. He said
the Huskers got together before the
season started and set a number of
goals that defined the roles the play
ers would have to perform in order to
be successful.
Boever said those goals include
winning the Big Eight championship
and advancing as far as possible in
any post-season competition.
4 4 What I want to accomplish is just
being consistent both offensively and
defensively,” Boever said. “I’ll help
the team out in any way I can.”
Nebraska baseball coach John
Sanders said he is expecting good
things from Boever.
“David provides us with experi
ence in the infield,” Sanders said.
“He is a talented, multiple position
player and has dedicated himself to
becoming a very competitive Divi
sion I player.”
Husker wrestling team gets
costly injustice in Norman
On Feb. 24, the Nebraska wres
tling team was dealt a serious injus
tice in Norman, Okla., — an injustice
that cost them a win against sixth
ranked Oklahoma.
r ~t
—■ m m
The Sooncrs defeated Nebraska
17-15 in the teams’ final Big Eight
dual, but Oklahoma coach Sran Abel
said he didn’t feel like a winner after
the match. He still doesn’t, he said.
“I’m totally and truly embar
rassed we won the match,’ ’ Abel said.
He still sounded upset. “Your sitting
there in Lincoln and saying ’That’s
(delete).’ It was a crazy thing.’’
That “crazy thing’ ’ occurred dur
ing the dual’s final match with Ne
braska leading 15-14. In that match,
Oklahoma heavyweight Carl Presley
scored a 4-3 win against Sonny
Manley, giving the Sooners a 17-15
win.
Well, sort of.
Referee Gordon Nelson called
Manley for stalling three times, ac
counting for all of Presley’s points.
Nebraska coach Tim Neumann, who
is generally not known to complain
about anything, didn’t pull any
punches regarding Nelson’s officiat
ing in the heavyweight match.
Presley did not attempt an offen
sive move the entire match and
Sonny was close to scoring take
downs on four different occasions,”
Neumann said. He said that “in any
other gym in the country it would
have been a 2-0 match (in Manley’s
favor).”
And a Nebraska dual win. It would
have been the first time Nebraska
See HOMERED on 9
