Sooners’ teamwork, red-hot defense cools Huskers
By Trevor Parks
Staff Reporter
NORMAN, Okla.—Kelvin Sampson knows
how defense wins basketball games.
Sampson
But defense wasn t the
only key to the Sooners’
82-72 win over Nebraska
Saturday.
“To win close games two
things have to happen. You
have to make free throws
and you better not have
turnovers,” Sampson said.
“We did a good job of that
(Saturday).”
The Sooners converted 14 of 15 free throws
for 93.3 percent and had 13 turnovers.
Nebraska, in the meantime, was 12 for 19
from the free-throw line.
The Sooners also forced 15 Nebraska turn
overs and held the Comhuskers to 44.4 percent
shooting.
Oklahoma will face Nebraska again this
Sunday in a nationally televised game at the
Bob Devaney Sports Center.
And Sampson, in his first year at Okla
homa, is hoping the Sooners’ defensive inten
sity will carry over a week.
“The defense was there as a constant to bail
us out when we were not making runs ” he said.
“We’re not going to play much better.”
Junior guard Dion Barnes, who had 17
points, agreed with Sampson that defense was
the key.
“We had to keep playing hard on defense
and hope good things came to us,” Bames said.
“Fortunately they did.”
Sampson said Nebraska deserved credit for
not folding when it had the opportunity.
“1 don’t know if we should focus on what
we’re not doing, but they started making some
shots,” he said.
Junior forward Ryan Minor was one reason
for the Sooners’ unpredictable play.
Minor scored 14 of his game-high 30 points
“I really don 't look to score all that much as long as the team is
scoring."
■
RYAN MINOR
Oklahoma forward
in the first 9:14 of the game, and scored one
point on a free throw the remainder of the half.
In die second half, Minor heated up, scoring
15 points in the final 14:56 of the game.
Minor said he had experienced a lot of ups
and downs in his play this season.
“I have a tendency to do that sometimes
whenever everything is going our way,” Minor
said. “I really don’t look to score all that much
as long as the team is scoring.”
Although Minor was the high scorer,
Sampson said John Ontjes’ play was just as
important.
Ontjes had a game-high 10 assists. It was
the fifth time this year: Ontjes had double
figures in assists.
“I think if John had played poorly today, no
matter what Ryan did, we would not have
won.”
Overall, Sampson was very happy with his
team’s performance.
“There was not one thing today that we did
that I didn’t think we weren’t pretty good at.”
Attention
May 1995 Graduates
Your Degree Application is Due:
February 3,1995
Apply at 107 Administration Bldg.
Are You Late?
■ Free Pregnancy testing
■ Options counseling
■ Abortion procedures
to 14 weeks
■ Saturday appointments
available
■ Student discounts
■ Visa, Mastercard
Women’s
Medical Center
of Nebraska
4930 “L” Street
Omaha, Nebraska 68117
(402) 734-7500
Toll free (800) 877-6337
Basketball
Continued from Page 7
to dig a hole and crawl back out. We
have to identify our roles and have
discipline and then just play ball.
There’s no excuses.”
In Nebraska’s 82-72 loss to Okla
homa on Saturday, Badgett and Moore
combined for 12 points. Senior for
ward Melvin Brooks, who has started
14 games this season, came off the
bench to score nine points and grab
six rebounds.
Husker coach Danny Nee said
Monday that he hadn’t ruled out
making a lineup change sometime in
the near future.
At 1-3, Strickland said, Nebraska
has time to recover. But, he said, the
turnaround will have to happen this
week when the Huskers play host to
Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.
Pressure
Continued from Page 7
have fallen to coaching pressures.
Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski will be
out the remainder of the season.
Krzyzewski is still suffering from
having off-season back surgery.
Williams said that for some
coaches, it was just hard to stay away
from the game.
“It’s almost like a passion,” Will
iams said during the Big Eight
coaches’ teleconference. “You feel
that ‘I’ve got to do more,’ and it’s like
a sickness kind of thing.”
The other coach is Nevada-Las
Vegas first-year coach Tim Grgurich,
who has been out since early January,
complaining of medical symptoms
related to exhaustion.
When Colorado coach Joe
Harrington coached at Long Beach
State from 1987-1990, his 49ers
played against UNLV when Grgurich
was an assistant coach.
Harrington said he wasn’t sur
prised with the kind of work effort
that Grgurich set for himself. And he
also wasn’t surprised by the results it
brought him.
“Tim has always been extremely
dedicated,” Harrington said. “If you
push too hard, something could hap
pen, but he’s always been that way.”
nr* _* j i.1__l_ /m i.i._
To avoid the pressure, Oklahoma
coach Kelvin Sampson said he al
ways considered tne joy that went
along with coaching.
“I’ve always tried to remember
why I got into this business,” Sampson
said. “I really enjoy coaching basket
ball. From three to five every after
noon, it’s just me and my players in
the gym.”
But Sampson said pressure always
lingered over him.
“Any coach who says, ‘there is not
a lot of pressure’ is talking to you in
fiction.”
In his four years at Colorado,
Harrington has turned the Buffalo
program around, compiling a record
of 62-69.
In the previous four years, Colo
rado was 35-79.
But the pressure still remains.
“We lost Saturday, so Sunday I
was like a hermit,” Harrington said.
“You don’t sleep well during the sea
son. There is a lot of pressure win
ning or losing.
“You just don’t escape it.”
Take a Spring Break reality check. South Padre Island, Texas,
is the hottest Spring Break destination for many reasons.
The Island is a hot spot for student’s offering exciting music,
a sea of watersports and legendary nightlife. It’s even close
enough to give you a spicy taste of Mexico. But the Island’s
location makes it even hotter, it’s further south than any other
major Spring Break destination in the United States. That’s right.
And that means tropical sunshine, white sand beaches, clear
blue water and more sun-drenched days than just about any
where. That’s hot!
Located on the tropical tip of Texas, South Padre Island is
convenient by car or by plane and only 25 miles from Mexico.
Fly into The Rio Grande Valley via Southwest, American,
and Continental Airlines. .TTM|
Two airports, Harlingen’s Valley Inter
national Airport and The Brownsville/
SPI International Airport, offer conve
nient air service. So call 1-800-343-2368
today for a free brochure.
600 Padre 0h*l, Soufti Part? Hand.
Let Leisure Tours International
take you to ex**11 Padr& i&\and
Land only from $199 pp.
w/ airfare from $369 pp.
Call 1 -600-435-5476
soOth padre Island
On the Beach At the. 5|| Kf
MOTEL
800-723-6519
BOOMERANG
Billy'8
Boomerang Billy’s Beach Bar
LETSPADRE
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON
THE HOTTEST SPRING BREAK
DESTINATION
IN THE U.S. CALL
1-800-343-2368
