Sports
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Shaun Sartin/DN
Nebraska's Eric Piatkowski guards Creighton’s Matt Petty in action earlier this season. The
Cornhuskers will try to follow up their upset of No. 3 Kansas when they play No. 23 Iowa State
Saturday at Ames, Iowa.
Buoyant Huskers
head for Iowa St.
By Jeff Singer
Staff Reporter
Home is where the heart is and that
also is where the victories arc for
most Big Eight men’s basketball teams.
This is true in the cases of both
Nebraska and Iowa Slate. The two
will meet in Ames, Iowa, at 1 p.m. on
Saturday. The game will be televised
by Raycom.
The Comhuskcrs arc coming off
of Wednesday’s 81-79 overtime up
set against No. 3 Kansas at Lincoln.
The road has been a different sea
son in itself for Nebraska. The Husk
ers arc 1-3 in Big Eight play away
from the Bob Dcvancy Sports Center.
The situation is similar in Ames.
The Cyclones arc undefeated in con
ference play at home, but have lost
every Big Eight contest not played at
the Hilton Coliseum, including a nine
point setback Wednesday at Kansas
Stale.
Iowa Slate coach Johnny Orr said
this seemed to be the trend through
out the conference.
“Missouri beats Nebraska by 30
and then Colorado beats (Missouri)
by 17 and Nebraska comes back to
beat Kansas. It’s lough to play on the
road in this conference,” Orr said.
Although playing the Huskcrs in
Ames this weekend doesn’t guaran
tee the Cyclones a win, it’s better than
playing at Nebraska, where Iowa Slate
lost 68-63 earlier this month, Orr said.
“It’s not really an advantage play
ing here, but I’d sure rather be here
than in Lincoln,” Orr said.
Orr said his team must improve in
certain areas to avenge the Cyclones’
loss to Nebraska with a win on Satur
day.
“We have to play with more inten
sity, which we didn’t have in Lin
coln,” Orr said. “We’ve been suc
cessful because we’ve played with
super intensity most of the time.”
Iowa State is 4-5 and tied with the
Huskcrs for fourth place in the Big
Eight. The Cyclones, ranked No. 23
in the country, arc the conference’s
most improved team with an 18-7
record, easily lopping their overall
record of 12-19 a year ago.
Saturday’s game will feature two
evenly matched teams with similar
features, Orr said.
The Huskcrs “biggest strength is
their overall team play, because they’re
just like us in that any one of six or
seven guys can do it in a certain
game,” Orr said. “It’s going to come
down to their si/e against our quick
ness.”
Orr’s comments on the similari
ties between the two teams equate on
paper.
„ Both squads have four starters
averaging in double figures, as well
as point guards with more than 100
assists each.
Guard Justus Thigpen leads the
Cyclone starters with an average of
16.5 points per game, followed by
center Julius Michalik at 13.6, for
ward Fred Holbcrg with 13.4 and Ron
Baylcss who chips in 11.9 points along
with his 100 assists.
Only the names and uniforms arc
different for the Huskcrs, as they loo
arc led in scoring by their shooting
guard. Eric Piatkowski heads the
Nebraska attack with 14.3 points per
game, followed by center Derrick
See CYCLONES on 8
Husher wrestling team
to meet tough Iowa squad
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
After posting comc-from-bchind
wins in their past two duals, the
Nebraska wrestling team is look
ing for a little breathing room early.
Comhuskcr coach Tim Neumann
doubts his lOth-rankcd Huskcrs will
get it this weekend against No. 9
Northern Iowa.
The match will start at approxi
mately 5 p.m. at the Bob Dcvancy
Sports Center, following the com
petition of the state high school
wrestling tournament.
The dual will be wrestled on
two mats simultaneously, with the
118- to 150-pound weight classes
on one mat, and the 158 to heavy
weight classes on the other.
Neumann said Northern Iowa
has few weaknesses.
“Northern Iowa is lough in every
weight class,” Neumann said. “Not
only that, but at the weights where
we arc really tough, they have guys
ranked ahead of us. It will be a real
opportunity for both Corey (Olson)
and Chris (Nelson) to shine.”
Olson, Nebraska’s starter in the
177-pound weight class, will face
top-ranked Rich Powers, while
Nelson, the starter at 190,willhavc
See WRESTLING on 8
Women’s gymnastics teams
evenly matched, coach says
By Robert Birkeland
Staff Reporter
When the Nebraska women’s
gymnastics team takes on Iowa State
this weekend, the similarities will be
striking.
The two teams will meet for a dual
Sunday evening at Ames, Iowa.
Nebraska coach Rick Walton said
Iowa State is on an even keel with
Nebraska.'Both teams arc in similar
shape and have a similar number of
injuries.
Comhusker gymnasts Robin Rich
ter and Karla Cash have sat out for the
season because of injuries.
“If you pul Robin back on the
floor, I don’t think Iowa State can
slay with us,” Walton said.
“(Iowa State) can potentially win
this weekend with the situation we
arc in right now,” Walton said. “They
have been getting better every year
that I have been here.”
Walton said the Cyclones recently
traveled to a meet in Florida where
they competed against Florida and
Georgia. He said that meet should
prepare them for this weekend.
“If they didn’tget intimidated with
those (teams), they won’t gel intimi
dated with us,” Walton said.
Walton said the strengths and
weaknesses of both teams were simi
lar.
“We arc inconsistent on bars and
they appear to be hitting their rou
tines,” Walton said. “But we both arc
the same because we arc inconsis
tent.”
Walton said the team that stayed
on the beam would win the dual.
Walton said the Cornhuskers must
put a meet together and then go on to
win. He said if his team was to do that
this weekend, it would be beneficial
for the rest of the season.
NU women try to bury ISU
By Chris Hopfensperger
Senior Editor
The second halves haven’t been
long enough for the Iowa Slate
women’s basketball team, Coach Pam
Wcttig said.
Almost all season, the Cyclones
have fallen behind in the first half of
games, Wcttig said, only to fight back
in the last 20 minutes.
But 20 minutes hasn ’tal ways been
long enough, she said.
“We dig our holes so deep, some
times we can’t get out of them.”
On Sunday, the Cyclones will try
to keep from getting buried in the first
half by Nebraska, Wcttig said. The
Comhuskcrs travel to Ames, Iowa, to
play Iowa Slate at 2 p.m. in Hilton
Coliseum.
wc rc aciimtciy playing Dcucr
than wc did ai ihc beginning of the
conference,” Wettig said.
But one hole the Cyclones might
not be able to dig themselves out of is
in the league standings. After losing
eight straight games to start the Big
Eight race, Iowa Stale has won two of
its past three games.
Tied for seventh in the Big Eight
race, Iowa State is 4-19 ovcralI and 2
9 in the conference. Nebraska is 17-7
and 7-4.
Wettig, who announced her resig
nation earlier this month, said the
Cyclones’ record doesn’t reflect their
season.
“In spite of the disappointing sea
son in terms of wins and losses, this
year has been anything but disap
pointing,” she said. “We’re very young,
and we’re getting belter.”
Iowa State’s biggest game of the
season was last week at Oklahoma
State, Wettig said. The Cowgirls, who
beat Nebraska at Stillwater, Okla.,
fell to the Cyclones, 55-50.
“That ended a horrible, horrible
slump for us,” Wettig said.
The Huskers’ biggest game of the
NU women's
basketball
starter update
- I
season could have been Wednesday
night ai Kansas. A win would have
pul Ihc iwo learns in a lie lor the Big
Eight lead, but Nebraska lost by two,
67-65.
Coach Angela Beck said the sea
son is no longer a race for first place.
It is a race for a good position in the
Big Eight Tournament.
“It’s a race for seeding,” she said.
“We don’t want to draw a lough team
in the first round.”
The emotional effects of the loss
won’t mean the Cyclones will have
an easier time against Nebraska, Wetug
said.
“If anything, they’re going to be
worse,” she said. “You can use the
psychology both ways. Either they
lose and they’re hungry, or they win
and they’re riding an emotional high.
“I sec (Nebraska) as a team with
Scott Maurer/DN
tremendous strength and a lot of bal
ance.”
The Huskers have two players,
including the league’s leading scorer,
averaging in double digits. They arc
led by junior Karen Jennings’ 25.5
points and 9.7 rebounds a game.
Iowa Stale is led by senior Tyncua
Rashccd. She is averaging 12.4 points
a game.
Beck said she hadn’t determined
her lineup for Sunday’s game. After
juggling the starting five to empha
size rebounding against Kansas, Beck
said, the Iowa State game may re
quire a different group.
“Whoever matches up the best (with
the Cyclones),” she said, “that’s how
I’ll determine the starters."
At least one Husker may not figure
into the line up, Beck said. Senior Sue
Hcsch has a bruised bone in her leg.
