Tigers crash
Huskers’ party
By John Adkisson
Staff Reporter
KANSAS CTTY, MO. — Just when
it looked as if the Nebraska men’s
basketball team would cap its week
end party with a Big Eight title, Doug
Smith and Missouri came crashing in.
The Comhuskers, who pulled out
two dramatic wins in the first two
rounds of the Phillips 66 Big Eight
Tournament, finally fell as the Tigers
look a 90-82 win in the championship
game at Kemper Arena Sunday.
Missouri, which is on probation
and barred from the NCAA Tourna
ment, got a 31-point farewell per
formance from Smith, who was named
tournament Most Valuable Player for
the second time in three years.
In their first Big Eight tournament
final ever, the Huskers played even
with Missouri for much of the game.
But after leading 59-58 with 13:32
remaining, Missouri got hot from the
field and free-throw line to win an
unprecedented fifth Big Eight Tour
nament title.
Nebraska coach Danny Nee, whose
team fell to 26-7, said the key to the
game was Missouri’s style of play.
“I thought Missouri played a very
physical game, a very smart game,”
Nee said. “And their three-point shoot
ing was a significant factor.”
After falling behind by as many as
nine points in the first half, the Husk
ers battled back to trail 46-41 at
halftime. Opening the second half,
the Huskers went on a 16-7 run and
took a 57-53 lead with 14:44 remain
ing.
Then the Tigers heated up, with
freshman guard Melvin Booker hit
ting three three-point goals in the
next seven minutes to pul Missouri
ahead 74-69 with 7:59 remaining.
From there, Nebraska played catch
up. The Huskers got to within 83-80
with 2:05 left, but a three-point goal
by Missouri’s Anthony Peeler with
lime running out on the shot clock put
the Tigers up by six with 2:05 remain
ing.
“The biggest shot of all was when
Anthony hit that one from the cor
ner,” said Nebraska guard Clifford
Scales. “I think that broke our backs.”
Nebraska forward Beau Reid, who
scored 15 points in the loss, said
Missouri simply outplayed the Husk
ers.
“I don’t think we played that bad,”
Reid said. “It’s just that on this given
day, we got. beat by a better team.”
The loss came after two Nebraska
victories in what the Kemper Arena
public address announcer called “the
most exciting Big Eight Tournament
in history.”
On Friday against Oklahoma, the
Huskers erased an 11-point deficit
with three minutes left in regulation
to tie the game and eventually win
117-113 in overtime.
Keith Moody’s 22-foot jumper with
five seconds remaining sent the game
to the extra stanza.
Saturday against the second-seeded
Kansas Jayhawks, the Huskers pulled
away from a halftime tie to win 87
83. Nebraska employed a fouling strat
egy at the end of the game and watched
the Jayhawks miss two of their last
four free throws to win.
Two Huskers were named to the
AJl-Toumament Team: Forward Tony
Farmer, who scored a career-high 26
against Oklahoma and 56 on the
weekend, and senior guard Clifford
See TIGERS on 8
Michelle Paulman/Daily Nebraskan
Missouri’s Melvin Booker tries to stop Nebraska’s Keith
Moody from going to the basket during the Big Eight Confer
ence final game in Kansas City’s Kemper Arena Sunday.
NU coach
downplays
Big 8 title
By Vicki Burge
Staff Reporter
A record and a dozen champion
ships, and the coach didn’t care.
The Nebraska men’s swimming
and diving team set a meet scoring
record and won its 12th straight Big
Eight title at the conference champi
onships Thursday through Saturday
at the Bob Devancy Sports Center.
The Comhuskers won with 688
points, followed by Kansas with 590,
Iowa State with 379 and Missouri
with 222.
But that is all insignificant, said
Nebraska coach Cal Bentz.
“What’s important is that we made
several NCAA qualifying times,”
Bentz said.
Seven Huskers qualified for the
NCAA championships. The most
surprising qualifier, Bentz said, was
freshman Jonathan Kerr, who won
the 400-yard medley.
“I think Jonathan had the furthest
to go,” Bentz said. “But certainly
(distance coach) Rick Paine had con
fidence in him all along.”
Kerr, who won the 400 medley in
3 minutes, 54.72 seconds, and made
optional NCAA entry times in the
200 medley and 200 backstroke, will
compete in the 400 medley at the
NCAA meet with teammate Kyle
Seeback, who made his qualifying
mark in December.
“(Qualifying) just felt like a huge
burden lifted off of me,” Kerr said. “1 -
i wanted to do good for the team. 1
think making the cut might have been
inspiring.”
See COACH on 8
Huskers eye
NCAA Top 16
chance again
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The
Nebraska men’s basketball team is
going to make its second NCAA tour
nament appearance as a favorite to
reach the Sweet 16.
The Cornhuskers, ranked 13th in
last week’s Associated Press poll, are
the third seed in the Midwest Re
gional, behind Big lOchampion Ohio
State and Atlantic Coast Conference
runner-up Duke, last year’s national
runner-up.
Nebraska will play 21-9 Xavier on
Thursday in the first round at the
closest first- and second-round site:
the Hubert H. Humphrey Mctrodome
in Minneapolis, Minn. If Nebraska
wins, the Huskers will play the win
ner of the Louisiana State-Connecti
cut matchup on Saturday.
As the third seed, 26-7 Nebraska is
favored to win those games, increase
its record season victory total and
reach the regional semifinals in Pon
tiac, Mich.
Conference rivals Kansas and
Oklahoma State also were named third
seeds, but the Jayhawks and Cow
boys were shipped out to other re
gions after semifinal losses in this
weekend’s Big Eight tournament.
Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma
State, the only Big Eight schools in
the field, were at-large picks because
probation-ineligible Missouri won the
tournament and voided the automatic
berth.
Kansas and Oklahoma State also
will be playing their first-round games
Thursday. The No. 12 Jayhawks, 22
7, will face New Orleans, 23-7, in the
Southeast Regional. The No. 14
Cowboys, 22-7, will face New Mex
ico, 20-9, in the East Regional.
Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sut
See NCAA on 8
NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP 1991
1st Round: 2nd Round: Regional* Indianapolis Monday, April 1 Indianapolis Regionals 2nd Round: 1st Round:
March 14-15 March 16-17 March 30 March 30 March 16-17 March 14-15
WEST EAST
UNLV 1 1 North Carolina
Montana.16 }.I 16 Northeastern
Georgetown g I. .— 8 Princeton
Vanderbilt g J". [9 Villanova
Michigan States 5 Mississippi State
Wls.-G.B. 12 J.I [ 12 Eastern Michigan
Utah 4 I. . 4UCLA.
So. Alabama ^3 J.. 113 Penn State
New Mex. St. 6 Seattle, Washington E**‘J' » N.C. State
Creighton 11 j I 1.1.1 Southern Miss
bi. Francis 15 J I !.?..rvyn,nw,,a..
MIDWEST SOUTHEAST
OWo State 1 L Arkansas.
Tow son State 16 |.1 I...“1.1ft .
Georgia Tech 8 I I f... Arteona State .
OePaul9 |.‘ . '..M....?****.
Texas 5 5 Wake Forest
St.Peter'a12 J.I . I.11?. .Louisiana Tech
St.John'* 4 I I .1...Alabama.
No. Illinois 131.* Pontiac, Michigan Charlolte, N.C. ’.113 Murray State
LSU."“7" March 22 4 24 .?“ March 21 4 23 6 Pittsburgh
Connecticut 11 J".1 1.11.1. .
Nebraska 3 I I .
Xavier 14 |...* '...fU ,W4w Orissns.
loWa 7 7. FtorldsStats
East Tenn. St. 10 |.I .1.110 jouthfn Cat.
Duke.2 I I .
NE Loujsjans IS |. .ll8CosstalCfOtlns
AP