Sports
Cornhuskers prepare for Sooner pressure
NU men face Oklahoma arsenal tonight
By Jeff Apel
Senior Editor
The Nebraska men’s basketball
team will face a bunch of clones to
night in Norman, Okla’.
Nebraska coach Danny Nee said
Oklahoma’s roster is loaded with
players who duplicate each other in
terms of talent. The Comhuskers will
see just how much talent when they
face ninth-ranked Oklahoma at 7:35
p.m. in the Lloyd Noble Center.
Nee said he is wary of the Sooners’
explosive arsenal.
“You could just change the jer
seys of those players,” he said. “The
names are insignificant. There’s no
letup.”
Nee said Oklahoma will try to take
advantage of its explosiveness by
employing a trapping full-court press.
He said Nebraska will try to counter
the press by inserting an extra guard
in its lineup.
The Huskers will start guard Keill
Moody in place of swingman Ra;
Richardson, a 6-foot-7 senior who i:
known more for his shooting ability
than his ball handling. Nebraska alst
will start senior forward Richard vai
Poelgecst in place of center Rich King
who has been slumping.
Nee said Nebraska must handk
Oklahoma’s pressure. He said pres
sure is the key to the Sooners’ run
and-gun game.
“They extend their pressure,” Net
said, “and give you shots that cause
the up-tempo game.”
Nee said Nebraska cannot afford
to get into an all-out running game
against Oklahoma. The Sooners lead
the Big Eight and rank second nation
ally in scoring with an average ot
112.9 points per game, and have topped
the century mark 11 times this sea
son.
They also are 90-0 when scoring
100 or more points during Coach Billy
i Tubbs’ 10-year reign in Norman.
r Nee said Nebraska has a strategy
i to try to slow Oklahoma down.
> “We’re going to pull it in a little
> and play shot selection,” he said,
i “We want to play that up-tempo
, (game), but we have to keep it in
perspective.”
Nee said he is not surprised by
Oklahoma’s success even though the
Sooners operate without a true cen
ter. Oklahoma has gunned its way to
a 14-2 record overall and a 3-1 mark
in the Big Eight while starting 6-6
William “Cheese” Davis at center.
In addition to Davis, the Sooners’
starters arc guards Smokey McCovery
and Skeetcr Henry and forwards Jackie
Jones and Damon Patterson. Henry
leads Oklahoma with an average of
18.4 points per game, while Davis
averages 18 points and 9.1 rebounds
per contest
Nee said Oklahoma has found a
way to overcome Davis’ lack of height.
“They just ignored it,” he said.
Tubbs said he can’t ignore Davis’
injury, which has been diagnosed as
tendonites in his left ankle. He said
the effects of Davis’ injury are obvi
ous.
“He’s not running as well now as
he was in early December,’’ Tubbs
said. ‘ ‘Offensively, he’s really picked
it up.
“But I’m not sure if he’ll make it
back this year physically.’’
Tubbs said he hopes his team stays
motivated and makes it back to the
NCAA tournament this season. Last
year, the Sooners advanced to the
third round of the 64-team competi
tion before losing to the University of
Virginia.
“I still think we have a lot of
things to answer,’’ he said. “Not for
anyone else, but for ourselves.’’
Tubbs said he lacked knowledge
about Nebraska as of Monday be
cause he had not gone over the scout
ing report. When he checks his re
ports, he will find that Oklahoma will
be matched against a 7-10 and 0-4
team which has lost 16-straight road
games.
In contrast, the Sooners have won
40-straight home games and 103 of
their last 105 contests at the Lloyd
Noble Center.
Tubbs said Nebraska has had a
rough season. Rough, he said, be
cause the Huskers blew leads enrouic
to dropping contests to Idaho,
Creighton, and then No. 1-ranked
Kansas.
“They let a couple games get
away,” Tubbs said.
Tubbs said he expects a tough game
from Nebraska.
“They’re a physically strong club,”
Tubbs said. “I can’t tell what their
confidence level is right now, but 1
know we’ll be ready for their best
shot.”
Hayes defeats obstacles,
becomes scoring force
By John Adkisson
Staff Reporter
When Nebraska forward Carl Hayes
talks, rivals in the Big Eight pay at
tention.
“You’re in for a treat to see him,”
Oklahoma State coach Leonard
Hamilton said after Hayes scored 13
points against
his Cowboys.
“He’s an unbe
lievable basket
ball player.”
* Hayes’
peers also arc
taking notice.
“I can’t
believe he’s Hayes
only a sopho
more,” Missouri guard Anthony Peeler
said after seeing Hayes tally 20 points
against the top-ranked Tigers. “He’s
a good player.”
Hayes said the key to his mid
season rush has been a quiet attitude.
“I decided to just be quiet,” he
said, “and let my game do the talk
• _ * i
ing.
Hayes’ game has talked long and
loud lately, as he has averaged 17
points per game during Nebraska’s
first four Big Eight contests. He tal
lied a career-high 22 points against
Iowa State, and scored 33 against top
five opponents Missouri and Kansas.
Hayes said the best is yet to come.
“You haven’t seen the real Carl
Hayes yet,’’ he said.
Hayes said he is just starting to
come on because he is still adjusting
to his new role as a starter. He cracked
Nebraska’s starting lineup earlier this
season against Wagner College, and
has since averaged 15 points and five
rebounds per contest.
Hayes said he hasn’t been sur
prised by his performance.
“I knew it was a matter of time
before I started scoring well,” Hayes
said.
Nebraska coach Danny Nec said
he is pleased to see Hayes perform ing
so well. Pleased, he said, because the
6-foot-8 forward had to overcome a
new role and Proposition 48 cn route
to becoming a scoring force.
Nee said Hayes’ career did not
make much progress last year, when
he was forced to si t out after fai11ng to
meet the academic requirements es
tablished by Proposition 48.
“Although he has matured, I don’t
see where it could really have helped
him,” Nee said. “It was like a year in
jail for him.”
Hayes said he spent his first season
at Nebraska talking with his old high
school teammate, Huskcr guard Clif
ford Scales.
“He’d talk to me and keep encour
aging me,” Hayes said. “If it wasn^t
See HAYES on 7
David Hanaan/Dally Nabraskan
Nebraska’s Jason Kelber sits alone while thinking about the possibility of being ranked
No. 1 in the 126-pound weight class.
in u wrestler: Recognition has been slow,
doesn’t regret coming to Nebraska
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Nebraska wrestler Jason Kelber
has not gained respect easily.
The 126-pound junior has tried
everything. Last year, he finished the
season with a 33-13 overall record.
He earned All-American honors with
a sixth-place finish at the NCAA
championships.
Two years ago, as a redshirt, Kelber
went 11-1 in open tournament com
petition. As a freshman, he wrestled
to a 21-11 overall mark.
This season he has amassed a 25-2
overall record, including a 13-2 dual
mark. He has twice defeated top-ranked
Kendall Cross of Oklahoma State.
But Kelber said it still seems like no
one knows his name.
However, they’re starting to leam
it.
“Before, Nebraska (wrestling) had
no name for itself, let alone some
freshman or sophomore going up
against Kendall Cross,” Kelber said.
But a couple of wins make a differ
ence.
Kelber, ranked No. 3 at his weight
class by Amateur Wrestling News,
beat Cross 5-4 Thursday night at the
Cowboy Duals in Stillwater, Okla.,
“which gained me a little more re
speci,” Kelber said.
But the respect level almost went
down - literally.
Leading 5-2 with 10 seconds left,
Cross escaped from Kelber and was
awarded a point for the move. Instead
of retreating and running out the clock,
Kelber shot in to grab Cross’ legs and
nearly got taken down - a mistake
that could have cost him the match.
Instead, Kelber fought to keep his
feet, then pulled out of bounds. The
referee awarded Cross another point
for Kclber’s technical violation.
‘‘It was an awesome match,” said
Nebraska coach Tim Neumann. “The
crowd was going wild at the end.”
As the clock ran out, the fans qui
eted. Cross had been beaten for the
third time this season -- and for the
second time by Kclbcr.
The No. 4-ranked Huskcr team
wasn’tas lucky. The Huskcrs dropped
a 21-12 decision to the top-ranked
Cowboys.
“We were disappointed with the
loss, but the morale is still good,”
Kelber said. “If we would have had
two or three things go a little differ
ently, we could have beaten them.
“But we’ll get another shot at
them.”
That shot will come at the Big
Eight Championships, which will take
place March 11 at the Bob Devaney
Sports Center. Kelber’s two wins
against Cross will place him as the
top seed in the tournament.
It also may place him at No. 1 in
the nation in Lhe next set of rankings.
Kelber, who began wrestling in
third grade, was a three-time state
champion in high school at Albion,
Iowa. He posted a 133-3 career rec
ord.
Although he has been an Iowa
State wrestling fan for most of his
life, Kelber said he doesn’t regret
choosing to attend Nebraska.
‘‘They have a great school, great
facilities and a great coaching staff,”
he said. “I could have gone to Iowa or
Iowa State and just fit in, but I de
cided that I should go somewhere
where I could make a difference and
help build a program.
‘‘I think we have — that’s saying
something in itself.”
Despite his overall success this
season, Kelber says Nebraska’s team
ranking is what concerns him the most.
‘‘We have the possibility of hav
ing six or seven All-Americans at the
end of the season,” he said. ‘‘We’ve
been bringing in the good talent lately
and we’ve built a pretty good team.
‘‘Everybody knows that now.”
Comhuskers strive tor win
in critical NU-OU match
By Paul Domeier
Senior Reporter
The Nebraska women ’ s basketbal 1
team has a similar record, bul a com
pletely different altitude entering
tonight’s game against Oklahoma.
Nebraska women’s basketball
coach Angela Beck said the game is
important because the Cornhuskcrs
need to continue their winning ways.
Nebraska recorded its first Big Eight
victory of the year last Saturday, when
it defeated Iowa State 68-60.
The Huskers now will try to im
prove their overall record to 10-10
and their Big Eight mark to 2-5 when
they face Oklahoma at 7 p.m. in the
Bob Dcvancy Sports Center.
The game, the last weekday home
game of the year for the Huskers, will
be broadcast live on Nebraska Educa
tional Television Network (channel
12). University of Ncbraska-Lincoln
students who present their student
I D. cards will be admitted free.
Beck said the Oklahoma game is
critical because her team needs to
look toward the final five home games
of its season.
Beck said she also wants to see her
team increase its offensive produc
tion again. Nebraska is 9-2 this sea
son when they’ve scored 65 points or
more.
The Huskers have averaged 61.3
points per game in the conference.
That figure could- mean trouble for
Oklahoma, which is giving up 88
points per game this year.
After tonight’s game, the Huskers
play Colorado at home and Kansas
State in Manhattan, Kan.
Beck said she will give more time
to sophomores and juniors after their
performance against Iowa State. Guard
Kim Yancey led the Huskers with a
career-high 19 points, and Carol Russell
played most of the game at point
guard. Both sophomores will enter
See SOONERS on 7
