Jeff HaJler/DN
Derrick Chandler goes up for a dunk in Nebraska’s win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 5. The
No. 25 Cornhuskers will try to rebound from Wednesday’s loss to the Cowboys when they
play Colorado Saturday at 1:06 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
Buffaloes
Continued from Page 10
tough.”
The upsets Nee referred to include
wins over Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
and Missouri, all of whom were ranked
when they played the Buffaloes. The
upsets all occurred in Boulder, Colo.
Nee said the Huskers were lucky
to get an 84-74 win at Colorado in
their conference-opener in January.
“We were very fortunate to win
the game out there," Nee said. "Our
timing was right, because we got in
and out of there and it hasn’t been
good pickings for anyone else going
in there.”
The road is a different situation for
Colorado.
The Buffaloes are 0-5 so far this
season against Big Eight teams away
from the Coors Events Center.
Colorado coach Joe Harrington had
little explanation for his team’s Jekyll
Hyde performances this year.
“It’s hard to explain except for that
we’re not playing very well on the
road,” Harrington said. “It’s just a
tough conference to win in, espe
cially when you are playing on the
road.”
Two new players that have helped
lead the Buffaloes to their respect
able 12-12 record arc Poncho Hodges
and Donnie Boyce.
Hodges, a roommate of Nebraska
center Derrick Chandler when the
two were teammates at Alvin Com
munity College in Texas, is averag
ing 7.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per
game.He is trying to replace last sea
son’s All-Big Eight performer Shaun
Vandiver.
Boyce is the leading candidate for
freshman-of-the-ycar honors of the
Big Eight, as he is leading Colorado
with an average of 15.3 points per
game.
“Donnie Boyce has been a very
valuable player to our team this year,”
Harrington said.
Nee agreed with his Colorado
counterpart.
“Donnie Boyce has done an unbe
lievable job as a freshman,” Nee said.
Gym
Continued from Page 10
279.80, while Iowa Stale scored 265.55.
Nebraska tied Oklahoma at the
Big Eight Invitational at the Sports
Center in early December.
Last week at the Southwest Cup in
Tempe, Ariz., the Huskcrs outscored
Oklahoma 281.50-276 to win the title
in the seven-team field. The title was
Nebraska’s first in the Southwest Cup.
Allen said he didn’t expect Sun
day’s meet to be any closer.
. Nebraska’s lineup will be bolstered
by the return of Josh Saegert, who
competed last week for the first time
since November. Saegert underwent
surgery Dec. 3, to clear scar tissue
from his small intestine.
Last week in the Southwest Cup,
Saegert competed on the still rings
and scored a 9.30.
Allen said that Saegert would
compete Sunday in the still rings,
parallel bars “and maybe even every
other event.”
“He’s been doing quite well in
practice,” Allen said. ‘rHe’s been doing
every event and improving almost
hourly, or so it seems.”
Notes:
•Tickets for Sunday’s Big Eight
Triangular can be picked up free at
local Run/.a Restaurants, while sup
plies last.
•Sophomore Che Bowers turned
in his best performance of the week
end at the Southwest Cup when he
performed above his season averages,
in three events. Bowers posted a ca
reer-best 9.75 on the pommel horse,
which rs Nebraska’s season-high in
the event.
Husker Dennis Harrison also scored
a 9.75 on the pommel horse.
NU women gymnasts
back at home for dual
Team preparing
for regionals
By Robert Birkeland
Staff Reporter
It is good to be home, and no one
knows that better than the Nebraska
women’s gymnastics team.
The Comhuskcrs will compete in
a dual against Illinois at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center Sunday at 2
p.m. It will be the third home meet of
the season for the Huskers.
Nebraska coach Rick Walton said
he was relieved that the team would
have been on the road.
Walton also said this was the time
of year to get into a good position for
regional competition.
He said the team’s goal this week
end was to score in the 190-point
range. In doing so, the gymmasts could
“kick out” some of the lower scores,
he said, and increase their average.
Then, they could advance to postsea
son competition, he said.
Walton said that in last weekend’s
win at Iowa State, the Huskers in
creased the difficulty of some vault
routines. If they can hit those routines
this Sunday, their scores will increase,
he said.
“How we score this weekend de
pends on the judges, to whether or not
they arc going to give the score if the
girls hit their routines,” Walton said.
Walton also said Illinois was a
Huskers
Continued from Page 10
and 2.28 steals a game, has keyed the
Lady Buffs’ season, Beck said.
“She has had a big year for them.”
There are two keys to the game for
Nebraska, Beck said after the Husk
ers went through an easy practice
Thursday.
“No. 1 is we have to be relaxed and
rested,” she said. “No. 2 is we have to
be focused.”
r
quality opponent and would help boost
the Huskers’ scores.
“I hope Illinois comes in here and
has the meet of their lives, so that we
have to go out there and do well,” he
said.
He said the Huskers were on the
right track in terms of the type of
skills the gymnasts were doing right
now.
“I think we are more on the way
back in terms of a lot of our people
that were hurt arc getting a little health
ier,” Walton said.
Walton said he would like to see
Natalie Bachmeicr perform an un
even parallel bars routine. With her
competing, some of the pressure would
be taken off the other five athletes
competing in the event, he said.
If Bachmeicr competes in the bars
this weekend, it will be the first time
the Minot, N.D., native has done so in
two years.
“We desperately need to get six or
seven people up on bars to give us a
buffer, so if somebody breaks a rou
tine we will not have to count it,”
Walton said.
The men’s team will be competing
in the Big Eight Triangular against
Iowa State and Oklahoma in the Bob
Dcvancy Center at the same time the
women arc competing.
It will be the first time in five years
that the men’s and women’s gymnas
tics teams will be competing in the
same arena and at the same time.
“I think it will be a fun meet for
spectators in the sense that they will
get to sec it all at one time,” Walton
said.
The Huskers already have secured
a second- or third-place seed in the
Big Eight Tournament. That means
Nebraska wouldn’t have to face No. 1
seed Kansas until the Championship
round.
It also means the Huskers first
round game will be against one of the
bottom three teams in the league —
Oklahoma Slate, Iowa State and Kansas
State.
But for now, Beck and the Huskers
arc conccntrating on Colorado, she
said.
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