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Nee up for third
20-win season
By Jeff Singer
Senior Reporter_L_
Last year, Oklahoma twice pre
vented the Nebraska men’s basket
ball team from winning 20 games.
This year the Sooners are once
again the Comhuskers’ hurdle before
reaching that same plateau in their
regular-season finale.
The two teams, which have identi
cal 19-9 and 7-6 conference records,
will battle each other for win No. 20
at the Bob Dcvaney Sports Center on
Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
The game is a sellout and will be
televised live by ABC.
Oklahoma owns a four-game win
ning streak over Nebraska, including
a 102-89 win in Norman, Okla., in
January. The Sooners beat the Husk
ers in last year’s final game of the
regular season and then again less
than a week later in the first round of
the Big Eight Tournament.
Nebraska coach Danny Nee said
he wanted to pul an end to the Husk
ers’ woes against the Sooners and
reach 20 victories for the third time in
his tenure at Nebraska.
Sunday s a big game because we
want 20 wins,” Nee said.
Nee said that after the Huskers’ 94
83 loss at Kansas on Wednesday, a
victory against Oklahoma was neces
sary for a good placement at next
week’s Big Eight tourney.
“We want to fight for a higher
ranking to get a better seed,” he said.
“We don’t want to pul two losses in a
row going into the tournament.”
Several Nebraska players said po
sitioning themselves for the Big Eight
Tournament would be Nebraska’s
main focus Sunday.
“I think for the Big Eight Tourna
ment, it’s going to give us a better
seed if we can beat Oklahoma,” said
guard Eric Piatkowski, who is the
Huskers’ leading scorer.
Nebraska forward Bruce Chubick
said a win over the Sooners would
help the Huskers’ pursuit of a third
straight trip to the NCAA Tourna
ment.
“It’s important for us for the Big
Eight Tournament and it’s important
for an NCAA bid,” Chubick said. “I
don’t know if we’re a lock now. I’d
See OKLAHOMA on 9
Robin Trlmarchi/DN
Nebraska senior center Derrick Chandler goes up for a shot against Colorado. Chandler
will play in his final home game of the year Sunday when the Huskers host Oklahoma at
12:30 p.m.
NU depth to be
problem for OU
By Susie Arth
Senior Reporter ____
Somewhere, somehow, something
has to give.
When the Oklahoma men’s bas
ketball team travels to Bob Devancy
Sports Center Sunday, it will be a
matchup of two identical teams — at
least on paper.
Both teams have posted 19-9
records overall, both teams are 7-6 in
the Big Eight, both teams will be
playing their final regular season game
. and both teams are vying for a bid in
the NCAA Tournament.
Sooner coach Billy Tubbs said he
expected the game to be an outstand
ing matchup.
“Any time these two teams get
together, it’s going to be a good game,”
he said. “The team that wins will get
a quality win and the team that loses
will get a quality loss.”
Regardless of the outcome, Tubbs
said he expected both squads to make
I it into the NCAA Tournament.
“I don’t think a loss eliminates
either team from the NCAA Tourna
ment,” he said. “Both teams deserve
it.
1 UI1I1K WC IU IWU Ul UIC 11I1CM
teams around.”
Tubbs, who is 6-6 in the Bob
Dcvancy Sports Center, said he looked
forward to playing in Lincoln.
‘‘I’ve had preuy good success in
Lincoln,” he said, it's a challenge to
play there, they have great crowds, so
it gets your team ready to play.”
Tubbs said ihcComhuskers’ depth
would pose a problem, and there arc
eight or nine Huskers he was con
cerned with.
“They don’t have a weak posi
tion,” he said. “(Eric) Pialkowski is an
outstanding player, and I think we
held (Derrick) Chandler to 20 rebounds *
in a game last year.
“Nebraska is a well-balanced, out
standing team.”
The Sooners, he said, would like to
come home with a win so they could
build momentum for the Big Eight
Tournament in Kansas City, Mo.,
March 12-14.
“Every game is a luncup for the
Big Eight and postseason touma
See TUBBS on 9
Pepin says last meets
important for Huskers
By Tony West
Staff fiaportar_
The Cornhuskcr track and Held
teams are down to their lastchances.
After the women’s team took
first in the Big Eight Indoor Cham
pionships last weekend and the men
placed second, Nebraska will try to
qualify even more athletes for next
weekend’s NCAA Indoor Champi
onships in Indianapolis.
The Huskcr Last Chance Meet,
which is specifically designed to
qualify athletes nationally, will
begin at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the
Bob Devaney Sports Center.
Nebraska will also send a con
tingent of athletes to the Cyclone
Last Chance Meet in Ames, Iowa,
today.
Husker coach Gary Pepin said
he hoped his teams’ performances
last weekend would carry over.
“The women had a fine meet
and competed well,” he said. “The
men also competed well but just
didn’t do everything they had to do
to win.’’
Pepin said Nebraska would send
the men’s mile and two-mile relay
teams and the women’s mile relay
team to Iowa State. The men’s
relay teams won the Big Eight
Championship on the same track
last weekend.
“We aren’t taking that many
over,” Pepin said. “Our relays have
a good chance.”
Only four Nebraska athletes —
Kevin Coleman in the shot put,
Robert Thomas in the long jump
and triple jump, Riley Washington
in the 55-meter dash and Paulette
Mitchell in the shot put — have
qualified for the NCAA Champi
onships.
Another 12 Huskcrs, including
sprinter Shancllc Porter in three
different events, have already
posted provisional qualifying
marks.
Pepin said the Huskers should
be able to capitalize on their last
chances this weekend.
“We have a bunch of people
who are close,” Pepin said. ‘These
are very important meets.”
NU women prepared to encounter
Big Eight tournament, Beck says
Players mentally,
physically ready
By Beau Finley
Staff Reporter
Nebraska is looking for a liulc of
the same and a liulc something differ
ent when they play this weekend in
the Big Eight Women’s Basketball
Tournament.
The Comhuskers will travel to
Salina, Kan., to compete for an auto
matic bid into the NCAA Tourna
ment. Nebraska starts play Saturday
with a 6:30 p.m. quarterfinal game
against Iowa Slate at the Bicentennial
Center.
The Huskers finished the regular
season in second place in the Big
Eight and ranked No. 21 nationally.
Coach Angela Beck said the NU
team, which has not been to the NCAA
Tournament in five years, is in an
excellent frame of mind for the tour
nament.
“(Practice) has been solid despite
the distractions,” Beck said. “We’ve
had good focus ... I’m very pleased
with the intensity and our defense.”
Defense has been a strong point for
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the Huskers this year. Nebraska has
held opponents to 43 percent shooting
from the field and 66 points per game
on the season.
A key to the defensive effort for the
Huskers has been the play of Meggan
Yedsena, who leads the team in steals.
Yedsena said the team practices
had been easier this week, but that the
Huskers were still concentrating on
their strengths.
“The practices have been semi
hard,” Yedsena said. “We’re focus
ing a lot on defense.’’
In the past, the tournament has not
been kind to Nebraska. The Huskers
have won only two games in six pre
vious trips to the Big Eight Tourna
ment and were beaten last year by
Colorado in the semifinals.
Nebraska has never won the tour
nament and has never been to a tour
nament final.
But Beck said tho Huskers, who
have not been beaten on a neutral
court this season, are prepared for the
test.
“We are ready,” Beck said. “We
could play tomorrow. We have a real
positive altitude.”
Nebraska lias every reason to be
- positive against the Cyclones in the
first round. The Huskers defeated Iowa
State 89-40 last Saturday in Lincoln.
Beck said she expected a much
See TOURNAMENT on 9