Sports
Friday, January 27,1995 Page 9
Sooners game an even match, Nee says
By Mitch Sherman
Senior Reporter
Judging strictly by the statistics,
the Nebraska-Oklahoma basketball
game Saturday in Norman, Okla.,
could not be more evenly matched.
The Cornhuskers, 14-4 overall and
1-2 in the Big Eight, are reeling after
a 17-point loss at Kansas on Monday.
The Sooners, also 14-4 and 1-2,
were pounded by Kansas State 87-77
Wednesday in Manhattan, Kan.
Oklahoma’s 86.4 points per game
leads the Big Eight, but Nebraska sits
in second place, averaging 85.2 points
per game. The Sooners hold their
opponents to 72.7 points per game,
and Nebraska’s opponents are scor
ing 72.2 points per game.
ww-."-""?-—-1 The similarities
don t stop there.
Both teams, Ne
braska coach
Danny Nee said,
rely on an indi
vidual player for
their spark. For
the Sooners, he
said, that domi
Nee nant player is
Ryan Minor, and
for Nebraska, Erick Strickland holds
the key.
Minor, a 6-foot-7-inch, 208-pound
junior averaging a conference-lead
ing 23.2 points per game, needs to be
contained, Nee said.
“A key to Oklahoma runs through
Ryan Minor,” Nee said. “Ryan Minor
is an extremely talented player.”
Strickland’s importance, Nee said,
was evident against the Jayhawks.
The junior guard from Bellevue com
mitted three fouls in the first half and
was not a factor in the game, scoring
a season-low eight points.
“Our problems relate to
Strickland’s problems,” he said, “be
cause when Strickland is in foul
trouble, it affects our team in a nega
tive way.”
The 6-foot-3-inch, 213-pounder is
averaging a team-leading 17.1 points
and 5.4 rebounds per game, second
best on the team. In addition,
Strickland is often given the assign
ment of defending the opposing team’s
top offensive weapon.
“We need his defense,” Nee said.
“He gives us a defensive identity.”
So if the Huskers are to win
Saturday’s 2:59 p.m. game at the
Lloyd Noble Center, Nee said, they
must do more than match up evenly
with the Oklahoma. They have to
outplay the Sooners.
“The home teams understand you
have to win at home, and everyone
has that mentality,” Nee said. “They
are coming off a loss, and they are
digging in their heels. They know
they got to have the next one. We
have got to get one, too. So everyone
has a great need.”
Despite a coaching change prior to
the season, Nee said he expected to
see the same type of fast-paced Sooner
team that had defeated Nee-coached
Husker squads six out of seven times
in Norman.
“From the film I’ve seen,” Nee
said, “I’ve been very impressed. I
think Kelvin Sampson is doing a great
job. He stepped right in, and it looks
like they haven’t missed a beat.
“I think it’s a very evenly matched
deal. It’ll be a hard-fought game.”
Huskers may douse spark
Sooners striving to light
By Derek Samson
Senior Reporter
First-year Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson
came to Norman with one major goal—for the
Sooners to play hard.
And that goal has been met through the
Sooners’ first 17 games.
oui weanesaay mgni in
Manhattan, Kan., the No.
25 Sooners failed to meet
those expectations and
dropped an 87-77 decision
to Kansas State.
“For the first time this
season, I am really disap
pointed with the way we
e piayea, bampson saia.
bampson “We had been playing hard
and like wild men. But we get ranked and then
we just didn’t play hard against Kansas State.”
It was the effort, not the loss, that bothered
Sampson.
“My goals were to teach this team how to
practice hard and give 100 percent every day,”
Sampson said. “We want to run, but we want to
make good decisions and, if there’s nothing
there, then pull it out and run the offense.
“Maybe my guys thought they could rely on
their talent against Kansas State and not come
out and play hard. We’re not good enough to
rely on talent. If we try to rely on talent, we’re
going to lose.”
Evidently, the Sooners didn’t rely on talent
alone in its previous 17 games, as they posted
a 14-3 record and earned the No. 25 rating.
The Huskers will take their identical 14-4
overall and 1-2 Big Eight record up against
Oklahoma Saturday in Norman.
Sampson said his team’s poor performance
at Kansas State may provide a much-needed
spark against Nebraska.
“This gives me an opportunity to get their
attention,” he said. “I’m not going to say that
we’re going to beat Nebraska, but I can guaran
tee you this — we’re going to come out, play
hard and give a 100-percent effort against
Nebraska.”
Saturday is just as important for Nebraska,
which has lost two of its last three games on the
road.
Sampson-said Husker guards Jaron Boone,
Erick Strickland and Tom Wald were the key
for Nebraska on the road.
“Nebraska is good enough to win on the
road because of their guards,” he said. “If you
have great guards like Nebraska does, you are
going to have a chance because they’ll lead you
and keep you in any game.
“I really like Strickland. He looks like a
phenomenal athlete. I think Boone has tremen
dous talent. I like the Wald kid—he’s my kind
of player. He’s scrappy, tough and goes out and
gives everything he has. They have great
guards.”
Sampson won’t be upset if Oklahoma loses
Saturday, as long as the Sooners meet the
expectations set by their coach at the beginning
of the year.
“I have a lot of confidence that we’ll bounce
back from the loss,” Sampson said. “But even
if we don’t win, as long as my guys give a great
effort, that’s all I can ask.”
Armed for victory
Travis Heying/UM
Nebraska wrestling coach Tim Neumann raises his arms in triumph at last
weekend’s National Duals. Neumann hopes his third-ranked Huskers can
upset Oklahoma State tonight. The Cowboys are ranked second in the
country. The Huskers will face Oklahoma on Sunday.
Tiger dual critical for swimmers
By Derek Samson
Senior Reporter
Nebraska swimming coach Cal
Bentz is hoping to learn a lot from
Saturday’s 1 p.m. dual with Mis
souri in the Bob Devaney Center.
Bentz said Saturday’s dual was
one of two duals that would deter
mine who would compete for Ne
braska at the Big Eight Champion
ships in Oklahoma City Feb. 22
25.
“This is going to help us decide
who will be on the scoring team at
the Big Eight Championships, so
the performances are critical,” he
said. “We really need to see who’s
going to be able to take us into the
conference championships and
help us win it. It’s a very important
dual from that standpoint.”
Also meaningful this weekend
is that the No. 14 Husker women
and No. 19 men are going up against
a conference opponent.
“Missouri has some good kids
on their team,” Bentz said. “We’re
going to have some tough compe
tition. I don’t think the Missouri
women are quite as tough as the
men, but we’re going to have to
race well to win.”
Last weekend, the men dropped
a pair of duals at No. 13 Iowa and
Iowa State, while the women lost
to Minnesota but bounced back the
following day to beat Iowa State.
“We’re planning to swim better
than we did last week,” Bentz said.
“I think Iowa is a very underrated
team, and they’ll finish in the Top
10. Iowa State was just ready for us
because they needed a good meet.
“Missouri and Kansas are go
ing to be more important for us
because we’ll be looking at it for
the conference championships.
We’ll need to figure out who will
be on the scoring team.”
Bentz said a win in the duals
wasn’t as important as the prepa
ration the swimmers would receive
for the championships.
“It’s not like football or basket
ball where wins are very impor
tant,” he said. “The number of
wins we have in dual meets is not
really an indicator on how we’ll
perform at the conference champi
onships. It’s always nice to win a
meet, but it’s not nearly as critical
as what we actually do at the con
ference or NCAA Championships.”
“The number of wins
we have in dual meets
is not really an
indicator on how we'll
perform at the
conference
championships."
m
CAL BENTZ
Nebraska swimming coach
Bentz, who said all the Husker
swimmers wpuld need to race well,
is looking forward to returning to
the Devaney Center.
“It’s always nice when you don’t
have to travel,” Bentz said. “I think
we’ll have a pretty good crowd, so
that can help. I encourage people
to come out. We’re going to have
some really good races.”
Fixing rebounding woes
may help Huskers win
Former All-American
to be honored Sunday
By Trevor Parks
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska women’s basketball
team hopes to rebound this weekend
against Iowa State after a disappoint
ing loss to Colorado last Sunday.
The 7-11 Cyclones are winless in
Big Eight play at 0-6, but Nebraska
coach Angela Beck said Sunday’s 2
p.m. game at the Bob Devaney Sports
Center would be tough.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a
pushover game,” Beck said, “but I
feel that with the type of workout
we’ve had this week, I think we’re
going to be much more physical.”
Beck said she was a little frus
trated with where her team stood,
especially after last Sunday’s 73-55
loss to the Buffaloes in Lincoln.
“Being 1 -5, anybody would be frus
trated,” Beck said. “You know God
never gives you any more than you
can handle and right now we just
need to handle it.”
Beck said she’s hoping God’s touch
would be on the 10-8 Comhuskers’
side, although Nebraska will be with
out guard Tina McClain again Sun
day.
McClain, who injured her knee
against Oklahoma State Jan. 15, is
doubtful for Sunday’s game after ag
gravating the injury Wednesday, Beck
said.
Beck said using a taller lineup may
help solve some rebounding prob
lems against Iowa State.
“We’re really working hard in
practice to solve a few of our woes,”
Beck said. “One of them being the
games that we’ve gotten outrebounded
this year, we’ve lost.”
Also on Sunday, former Husker
All-American Karen Jennings will
become the first Nebraska women’s
basketball player to have her jersey
retired.
Beck said she would like to suit the
former All-American up for the game
if she could.
“We would like to do it, but we
can’t do it,” Beck said. “Obviously
weneed somebody like herright now.”
With Jennings’ jersey being re
tired, the Huskers could play host to
its largest crowd of the season.