Sports
Oklahoma, history NU foes
By Jonn AOKisson
Staff Reporter
~~ The last time the Nebraska men’s
basketball team took the court after a
loss, the Huskcrs stunned then No. 5
Michigan State, bursting into promi
nence and starting a record-tying
winning streak.
That was 61 days ago.
Now, having suffered their second
loss of the season Tuesday at Colo
rado, the No. 14 Huskcrs must try to
gun down No. 13 Oklahoma Saturday
night in a battle for the Big Eight lead.
Senior guard Keith Moody said he
almost forgot what it felt like to lose.
“It’s a terrible feeling,” Moody
said. “But now we know what we’ve
got to do to prevent that from happen
ing again.”
"if the 16-2 Huskers are to prevent
another loss, they will have to beat
both Oklahoma and history'. Nebraska
has not won a game at the Lloyd
Noble Center since 1981, and the
Sooners are riding a 24-game win
ning streak at home against confer
ence foes.
Nebraska coach Danny Nee said
the reason for the Sooners’ home court
success is simple— talented athletes.
“I don’t believe that it’s difficult
for teams to play well at Oklahoma,”
Nee said. “It’s just the players you’re
playing against”
Oklahoma was stunned 103-101 at
home by Southwestern Louisiana
Tuesday, marking the first time in
Basketball standings:
Oklahoma 3-1 14.4
Missouri 3-1 11-5
Nebraska 2-1 16-2
Colorado 2-1 12 4
Oklahoma.State 1-2 12-4
Kansas 1-2 12-4
Iowa State 1-2 7-^2
Kansas State 0-3 10-6
Amie DePraln/Daily Nebraskan
Coach Billy Tubbs’ tenure that the
Sooners have lost when scoring more
than 100 points.
Moody said Oklahoma’s loss caught
him off guard.
“(Southwestern Louisiana was) able
to run on them successfully,” Moody
said. “Oklahoma’s got a lot of ath
letes, so it was kind of surprising to
see them lose.”
The Sooners, 14-4 overall, are 3-1
in llic Big Eight with wins at home
over Oklahoma State, Kansas and
Colorado. Their lone conference loss
came Jan. 15 at Missouri, in a game
punctuated by a verbal brawl between
Tubbs and Tiger coach Norm Ste
wart.
Like Nebraska, Oklahoma uses a
balanced scoring attack. Five players
average in double figures, led by 6
foot, 1-inch guard Brent Price, who
averages 19 points per game. Price’s
best effort came against Loyola Ma
rymount when he scored 56 and hit 11
three-point goals.
Nee heaped praise on 6-8 forward
Jeff Webster, who is averaging 18
ppg and 6 rebounds per game as a
redshirt freshman.
“He’s a tremendous athlete,” Nee
said. “I think Webster is as fine of an
offensive player as (Tubbs) has ever
had.”
Nebraska, 2-1 in the Big Eight,
will hold a decisive height advantage.
None of the Sooners are as tall as
Nebraska’s 7-2 center Rich King or
6-9 forward Tony Farmer.
Moody said the Huskers plan to be
deliberate on offense.
“Oklahoma’s not really deep,”
Moody said. “We want to make them
play defense most of the game, and
hopefully that will wear them out on
the offensive end.”
The game could be a swing game
for Nebraska, heading into a two
game homestand next week against
Missouri and Oklahoma State.
“If wc play well against Okla
homa,” Moody said, “it would prove
to some people that the 16-1 start was
not a fluke. But if we lose back-to
back, it could really dampen our spir
its.”
Huskers try to focus
for Oklahoma battle
By Chris Hopfensperger
Senior Reporter _
Nebraska women’s basketball
coach Angela Beck isn’t looking at
the numbers as she tries to focus on
Saturday’s game against Oklahoma.
TheComhuskcrs, 12-6overall and
3-2 in the Big Eight, will meet the
Sooners, 7-11 and 1-4, in a 3 p.m.
game at the Bob Devaney Sports
Center.
Oklahoma, one of the two league
teams the Huskcrs beat last season, is
better than the Sooners’ record im
plies, Beck said.
“They arc going to come in here
w ith something to prove,” Beck said.
“They’re going to come in here and
give us a battle.”
The Sooners will be firing their
guns from the outside. Oklahoma is
shooting 30 percent from three-point
land and leads the Lig Eight in three
point average, hitting 4.6 per game.
That has helped pushed the Soon
ers into third in team offense, scoring
74.6 points a game.
On defense, however, they arc
giving up a league-worst 75.6 points.
Beck said the Huskers would be
focusing on their own defense after
losing to Kansas, 83-63, Wednesday
night.
“Obviously, you’ve got to go back
and recover,” she said. “(Kansas)
Basketball standings:
Oklahoma State 4-1 15-3
Nebraska 3-2 12-6
Kansas 3-2 12-5
Colorado 3-2 12-6
Iowa State 3-2 8-9
Kansas State 2-3 9-7
Oklahoma 2-3 8-10
Missouri 0-5 7-11
Amie DeFrain/Daiiy Nebraskan
penetrated and got easy shots, so we’re
going to have to crank our defense up.
“You don’t win games giving up
See OK on 8
A A
Saturday s track meet taste or ruture
By Matt Herek
Staff Reporter
The Comhusker track and field
team will compete in a meet Saturday
that will prepare it for tougher meets
ahead, according to Coach Gary Pepin.
The Huskers will host teams from
Colorado Slate, Wichita State and
Nebraska Wesleyan at the Bob Dcva*
ney Sports Center.
-a ---
There are not a lot of
great athletes in this
meet from other
schools. Dirksen
assistant head coach
--99 ~
Pepin said he expects to win the
meet because the competition lacks
the Huskers’ depth. NU will compete
against some good individual per
formers, but he said the teams arc not
strong overall.
Assistant head coach Jay Dirksen
said the teams in the meet arc not bad
teams, but the Huskers will not have
to be as fresh and well prepared for
this meet as they will for others.
“There arc not a lot of great ath
letes >n this meet from other schools,”
See TRACK on 8
Super Bowl teams have
different motivations
r. U*<» nlm. Ac'*% ftnA iKn ct\A. mol'iKa nloi/nffc lhr» nnvf tu/A CPQ.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The Bills
remember 2-14. The Giants remem
ber 14-2.
The Super Bowl teams used moti
vational tools as different as their
offensive styles this season. Buffalo’s
players looked back to the bad old
days of 1984 and 1985 when their
playoff hopes had vanished by Octo
ber and their Decembers were spent
in pursuit of the top draft pick. The
Giants recalled their 1986 powerhouse
championship team that rolled through
November, December and January to
the NFL crown.
“After 2-14, you’ll do anything to
keep from going back to 2-14,’’ Bills
guard Jim Ritchcr said.
One of the benefits — the few
benefits — tnal came irom inosc years
and a 4-12 mark in 1986 was the
hiring of Marv Levy as coach. Gen
eral Manager Bill Polian made that
choice.
Another offshoot of the losing years
were profitable drafts. The Bills se
lected Bruce Smith, Greg Bell (who
was a 1,000-yard rusher before being
part of the three-way trade involving
Eric Dickerson that brought Cornelius
Bennett to Buffalo), Andre Reed, Hal
Gamer, Will W'olford, Shane Conlan,
Nate Odomcs, Leon Seals, Keith
Me Keller and Howard Ballard in those
down years
“Thai’s not really a comfort when
you’re losing every week,” Ritcher
said. “You’re never looking that far
diicau.
Darryl Talley, Buffalo’s best line
backer this season, envies the younger
players who have gotten to “Tlic Show”
so quickly. For him, it’s been an often
frustrating eight-year climb.
“I still remember the bad years, I
always will,” Talley said. “Well, you
know, ‘Knock, knock,’ ‘Who’s there?’
‘Owen. Oh-and-ten.’”
“Some of the things that drive you
to be here come from the bad times. It
means a lot more when you’ve been
through a few down years. You really
appreciate what you have now.”
What the Bills have is offensive
momentum after scoring 95 points in
their two playoff games. They also
have a big-play dctcnsc ana tnc spe
cial teams have been, well, pretty
special.
These are the ingredients that make
for a champion. They also arc the
ingredients the Bills could only dream
about a few years back.
“It’s so gratifying,” Ritcher said.
“I can really appreciate it more than
the others who didn’t play on those
teams. I know there arc some guys
who might be in their first or second
year who might think it wasn’t that
hard to get here. They think it’s going
to happen all the time.”
The Giants can tell you how unre
alistic that is. After beating Denver
lor the 1986 championship, they didn’t
maxc me piayous me ncxi iwo sea
sons.
Last year, ihcy lost their first
postseason game at home to the Rams.
“We had some good teams that
just didn’t take that extra step,” said
comerback Mark Collins, a rookie
with the 1986 champs.
Lawrence Taylor doesn’t want
people confusing the 1990 NFC win
ners with the 1986 NFL champs.
“This team is different than the
one four years ago,” he said. “No
body could slop us, nobody challenged
us that year. We ran through every
one.
“This lime, it was more of a
struggle.”
____i_7*011
Jeff Willett/Daily Nebraskan
Nebraska’s Carl Hayes goes in for a layup against Iowa
State.
Neumann: Wrestlers
ready to bounce back
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Earlier in the week, Nebraska
wrestling coach Tim Neumann said
he was tired of reading about the
injuries his 5th-rankcd Comhuskcrs
have suffered in the last two weeks.
But after tonight, when Nebraska
takes on Wyoming at 7:30 at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center, Neumann may
be hearing less about the injuries and
more about comebacks.
Scott Chenoweth, Nebraska’s starter
and All-America selection at the 167
pound weight class, will return to the
lineup after being slowed by sepa
rated ribs.
Neumann said his return signals
the start of belter things for the Husk
ers.
“With Chenoweth in there, it gives
me as a coach a better feeling about
injuries and the direction in which
we’re going,” he said. ‘‘We should
have everybody back within two or
three weeks.”
“Everybody” includes injured start
ers Dave Drocgemuellcr( 134), Corey
Olson (177) and Chris Nelson (190).
The Huskcrs, 6-5, have wrestled
four duals in the pastcight days. Their
last dual was Tuesday, a 33-9 loss to
No. 8 Northern Iowa. Nebraska
wrestled with only four original start
ers in the lineup.
“We went in there being able to
read the writing on the wall,” Neu
mann said. “With two weight classes
forfeited and starters missing, there
was net a lot of question about what
would happen.”
But, he said, he hopes things will
change against Wyoming.
“They have some excellent wres
tlers,” Neumann said. “But overall,
we don’t expect too much trouble.”
Neumann said the top matches will
beat 134, 155 and 167, where the
Cowboys have their best wrestlers.
Neumann said he didn’t remem
ber a season with more injuries th«n
this one.
“Our coaching staff has coached a
lot harder this year than last,” he said.
“A lot of teams could have folded, but
we didn’t.
“That speaks well lor the charac
ter of the guys on the team.”
Nebraska's starting lineup:
118 — Jason Buxton (0-0-1)
126 — John Buxton (15-4-1)
134 —Jason Kelber (21-2)
142 — Matt Rempe (1-0)
150 — Layne Billings (3-4)
158 — Todd Enger (17-9-1)
167 — Scott Chenoweth (8-3)
177 — Tommy Robbins (9-10-3)
190 — Open
Hwt. — Sonny Manley (10-7-1)