Huskers just shy in 2nd round of NIT
B\ Nick Hodge
v ;nior Reporter
it was the same song but a different verse
lor Nebraska men’s basketball coach Danny
Nee.
Prior to the Cornhuskers’ second-round
National Invitational Tournament game at
Ohio State Monday night, Nee said his team
had to play to its potential to win, something
that hasn’t happened all season.
The Huskers came up shy again, Nee said,
as Ohio State defeated Nebraska 85-74 at St.
John Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
“The big thing is that I feel that we never
reached cur potential,” Nee said on his post
game radio broadcast. “It’s my job to do that.
The kids played hard, but I know we can play
better.”
(he loss ended Nebraska’s season with a
17-16 record. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes, now
1^-15, advanced to the NIT’s third round.
Nee said he knew the Huskers had to play
better than they did the first lime Nebraska and
Ohio State played. The Huskers committed a
season-high 30 turnovers in the Buckeyes’
103-76 victory against Nebraska Dee. 14 in St.
John Arena.
"They’re just a tough basketball team,
especially in this place,” Nee said. “But I’m
angry. I’m frustrated because we have to play
better than we did.”
Nee said preparation for next season begins
today.
"I thought we were in the game,” Nee
said. "I thought we had a shot, but we need to
get better all the way around.”
Alter getting off to a ragged start, the
Huskers settled down and played with the
Buckeyes throughout the first half. However,
Nebraska had trouble getting untracked in the
second half, while Ohio State opened up a 16
point lead that would propel them to the win.
Nee said Ohio State’s performance in the
early minutes of the second half led to the
demise of the Huskers.
‘‘I thought in the first half that we estab
lished ourselves inside,” Nee said. ‘‘In the
second half, Ohio State turned it up a notch.
We’d exhaust ourselves to get back to within
eight, nine, 10 points, then they would spurt
again.”
After trailing the Buckeyes 8-4 early in the
game, Nebraska forwards Beau Reid and
Daprcis Owens hit back-to-back baskets to
give the Huskers their only lead of the game at
11-8 with 14:54 remaining in the first half.
But the Buckeyes answered Nebraska’s
challenge by outscoring the Huskers 20-9 dur
ing the next seven minutes to take a 28-20 lead
after a shot by Oh io State center Grady Matccn.
Nebraska stormed back behind the play of
senior captain Eric Johnson. The Husker point
guard, who led all scorers with 23 points,
canned two three-point shots to tic the game at
37-37 with 1:18 remaining in the first half.
However, Ohio State was able to connect
on two three-pointers of its own in the closing
seconds of the first half to take a 43-37 lead into
the lockerroom.
See NIT on 10
I wo Cornhusker kickers compete for starting position
By Steve Sipple
Staff Reporter
Nebraska senior place-kicker
Chris Drcnnan says he’ll enter spring
football practice trying to win back
his top spot on the depth chart.
However, junior Gregg Barrios
will have something to say about that.
--- ni --1
Drennan Barrios
“1 feel I’m ihc underdog,” said
Drennan, who was Nebraska’s top
kicker in 1987. ‘ ‘ You know what they
say in sports -- your only as good as
your last game. As far as last season,
it wasn’t very good for me. Gregg had
a good season and people will re
member that
‘T think I got to come in and beat
him out”
Drennan, a 5-foot-9, 180-pound
player from Cypress, Calif., was
plagued last season by a torn thigh
muscle suffered a week before the
start of fall practice. Because of the
injury, Drennan surrendered most of
his kicking duties to Barrios.
And Barrios, a 5-8, 180-pound
product of Omaha Creighton Prep,
responded by hitting 6 of 9 field
goals, including all four attempts
from 30-39 yards. He also hit all 24 of
his extra point tries.
Barrios hit three big field goals in
Nebraska’s season-opening 23-14
win against Texas A&M in the Kick
off Classic at East Rutherford, N.J.
Included in that game was a Kickoff
Classic-record 48-yard field goal.
Meanwhile, Drennan connected
on 3 of 4 field goals and 28 of 30 extra
A *
points.
Barrios said he doesn’t feel like
the favorite in theComhuskers’ kick
ing battle, which may be as interest
ing as the battle for the starting quar
terback job. That job was left vacant
after the graduation of Steve Taylor.
Spring practice begins April 3.
4‘The only advantage I have is that
I ended last season at No. 1,’ ’ Barrios
said. “Drcnnan the underdog? I don’t
know about that. We’re really even.
We’ll both be clawing and scratch
ing.”
Drcnnan said he’s ready to begin
the battle. He said his thigh muscle is
stronger than ever, even though it still
looks ugly.
4 ‘There’s a hole where the muscle
ripped away,” he said. “But I’ve
built it up to where it’s stronger than
ever. I’m more healthy now than
before I hurt it.”
Drcnnan was nearly flawless be
fore the injury. In 1987, he hit all 53
■m • . •
extra points, breaking the Nebraska
record for PAT’s without a miss.
He capped the regular season by
booting a career-best 50-yard field
goal in Nebraska’s 24-7 win against
Colorado in Boulder, Colo.
Drennan said that getting back to
that level will be the main challenge
this spring. If he docs that, beating out
Barrios will take care of itself, he
said.
“Mainly, there’s a certain stan
dard I have,” Drennan said. “I try to
perform up to my own expectations,
regardless of where other people are
behind me.”
Or in this case where people are
ahead of him. Drennan said the con
stant battle to be the No. 1 Nebraska
kicker can be taxing mentally. The
competition may not always help, he
said.
“I think it’s like that for most
positions,” Drennan said. “Take two
quarterbacks. I can remember times
in the (National Football League) and
other places where coaches say it will
make them work harder. But I think it
can detract from both players. A
quarterback may think if he throws an
interception, he’ll be out the next
play.
“You start wondering, ‘How per
fect do things have to go for me?”’
Barrios said there arc advantages
and disadvantages to his competition
with Drennan.
“If it was me all alone, I might be
too relaxed,’’ Barrios said. “Yet,
there’s an advantage to that -- you
know everybody’s looking to you.
It’s always you. If I was the only one,
I’d be more confident. But then
again, you can get overconfident.’’
With the competition, there’s
pressure on 20-yard field goals
against lesser-talented Big Eight
teams with Nebraska leading by 50
points, Barrios said.
r zr s
IN U senior getting national recognition
for beating best college tennis players
By Paul Domeier
Staff Reporter
Although the accomplishments of
the Nebraska men’s tennis team have
gone virtually unnoticed, Steven
Jung’s performance has drawn rave
reviews.
Jurig has soared to the highest
ranking in the program’s history.
Jung, whose success began when
he won the prestigious Milwaukee
Tennis Classic in January, is ranked
22nd in the latest Volvo singles tennis
ratings w ith a 17-1 record. He and his
twin brother, Stuart, arc ranked 25th
in doubles.
Jung earned his rating despite the
exclusion of Nebraska from the team
poll. The Huskers were left out of the
rankings, even though they defeated
9th-ranko.ri To anH IQth-rankoH
West Virginia.
Jung said he credits his success to
playing well, avoiding injuries and
playing with confidence.
‘Right now,” he said, ‘‘I feel I
can beat anybody in the college
game.”
Jung said he played well last fall
hut didn’t beat many ranked players.
The Milwaukee Tournament was the
turning point, he said.
Jung competed in several tourna
ments around Christmas to stay
primed, he said, then left with the
team for the tournament, where he
was seeded 8th.
Jung won his first two matches,
then beat 7th-rankcd John Sullivan of
Clcmson, 43rd-ranked Steve Bryan
°f Texas and 63rd-rankcd Paul
Mancini of West Virginia to advance
lo the tournament’s final round.
There he defeated Steve Long ley of
South Carolina 6-4, 7-6 to win the
tournament.
He said there were about 2,700
spectators for the finals, the biggest
crowd he has ever play ed in front of.
“It was almost a professional
atmosphere,” Jung said. “I was
happy just to play well before that
crowd.”
Jung’s lone loss this year occurred
when he dropped a 3-6,6-3,2-6 deci
sion to Marcos Gar/o of Florida State
at the Nevada Bob’s Team Tennis
Tournament in Las Vegas, Ncv.
Jung’s accomplishments include
leading the the Huskers to a tic for 3rd
at the Corpus Christi Invite earlier
this season in Corpus Christi, Texas.
In the final match of the tournament,
he defeated John Sullivan of
Clemson, the 4th-rankcd player in the
country, 6-4,6-2.
Afterwards, players and coaches
at the tournament voted him the most
valuable performer, an accomplish
ment Jung said he cherished.
mat was tne dcsi dvaiu i w
ever received,” Jung said.
Jung said the high level of compe
tition he has faced has helped hirn
improve.
“You always play up to your level
of competition,” he said. “When 1
first came here, we didn t play that
many good teams. This semester I
have already played 10 ranked play
ers.”
Jung said his success surprised
him even though he knew he had the
potential to play well. He said numer
ous ankle sprains and a broken wrist
suffered during his sophomore year
held him back.
The next action for Jung will be on
Tuesday through Sunday, when Ne
braska travels to Irvine, Calif., to
compete in the Marriott Classic. The
tournament’s licld includes 4th
ranked California Irvine, 9th-ranked
Texas Christian, 17th-ranked Arkan
sas, 22nd-ranked Mississippi, 24th
ranked Long Beach State and 25th
ranked Minnesota.
“We just need to do well at Irvine
and then carry that momentum into
the Big Eight,” he said. “We are
looking to win the Big Eight title and
nothing less.”
If the Huskcrs win the conference,
the senior-dominated team will go to
the NCAA Championships for the
first time.
Jung has qualified for the NCAA
individual championships in the past
two seasons, but has lost in the first
round both years.
He doesn’t need to act as team
captain, he said, because his team
mates have “been through the wars.
“I just try to act as a catalyst,”
Jung said.
He said he tries to set the tone for
the team by winning his match.
“It’s a good feeling when people
start playing wen aruunu yuu, ju.i6
said.
Jung said he never has regretted
coming to Lincoln from Hacienda
Heights, Calif.
“If I would have stayed there, I
would have always played in good
weather,” he said. ‘‘But there is the
other side, since I got to play high up
and improve against high-evel com
petition.”
Jung said Nebraska and Indiana
offered him scholarships when he
came out of high school as the 69th
rated senior in the country. He picked
Nebraska, he said, because he liked
the people and the altitude in Lincoln.
He also chose Nebraska, he said,
because he loves to travel, and
“we’re probably the most-travelled
team in the country.”
He said he loves the atmospheie
and team aspect of college tennis.
Butch Ireland/Dally Nebraskan
Nebraska’s Steven Jung
Jung said he started playing ten
nis, baseball and soccer when he was
9. Three years later he dropped soccer
and baseball to concentrate on tennis.
He said he focused on tennis be
cause “in California you have to to
stay competitive, plus my parents got
tired of driving me around to all those
sports.”
Jung said that after he graduates in
May with a degree in finance, he will
play on several professional circuits.
He said he will play professional^ ui
least until January on Hawaiian anil
Europe circuits. He said he will make
any other decisions after that.
“Tennis is a major part of my life,
but it is still a game,” Jung said. “My
parents always tried to teach me
that.”
He said if he doesn’t continue in
the professional circuits after Janu
ary, he will try to to get a job in ihc
investment field.
