Sports
Friday, March 15,1996 Page 9
Mitch Sherman
Huskers take
steps toward
redemption
FORT COLLINS, Colo.—The
Nebraska basketball team decided
not to go on spring break.
It would have been an easy thing
to do. The beaches of Florida and
South Texas were calling. But the
Comhuskers aren’t going on vaca
tion just yet.
On Thursday night, the Huskcrs
played like a team. They hustled for
loose balls and executed fundamen
tals. They didn’t want to die. And
finally, they won.
“We all played as a team,” said
forward Terrance Badgett, one of
four seniors who stared down the
end of his collegiate career and
responded with a big night.
“We were one unit. The main
thing we had to do was just play
together and stick together.”
Coming into the game, Nebraska
carried with it the reputation as a
bunch of selfish, underachieving
individuals. By the time their 64.3
percent second-half shooting per
formance was in the books, the
Huskers had proved they still re
membered how to win, and earned
the respect of the Ram fans.
“It’s like taking a 10-pound go
rilla off your back,” Nebraska coach
Danny Nee said. “The minute we
make a couple of shots, it relaxed us
and then we started playing with
confidence. That’s the 15-4tcamof
last month.”
Nee’s 10th season in Lincoln
has been a rough one, the most
difficult year of his career. A loss
would have sent him reeling into
the spring and summer with a lost
feeling. At the very least, Thursday
night proved there is still some hope
remaining.
hor tne lirst time in recent
memory, smiles crossed the faces
of the Nebraska players on a con
sistent basis Thursday night. Jaron
Boone played like the potent shooter
who had drawn the interest of so
many NBA scouts before falling
off the face of the Earth.
Erick Strickland wowed the
crowd with athletic ability never
before seen in the WAC. Tyronn
Lue, despite a bum left ankle,
flashed signs of brilliance, and Tom
Wald filled in smoothly when Lue’s
ankle forced him out of the game.
Where have you been all season,
Jaron? Why couldn’t the Huskers
have done this in the Big Eight?
Colorado State isn’t Kansas, but
the Rams are a good team, one that
certainly would have smashed the
Huskers during their nine-game
skid.
The NIT doesn’t mean a lot, but
it does provide Nebraska with a
chance to show what a spectacular
season this could have been.
“It’s not the NCAA Tourna
ment,” Badgett said, “but it is a
national tournament, and we can
win it.”
It’s also a small step in the right
direction.
Sherman b a jaalor news-editorial
major and the Dally Nebraskan sports
editor.
I Break means no rest for wrestlers
By Antone Oseka
Staff Reporter
For the Nebraska wrestling team
spring break does not include sun tar
oil and a beach.
Nine of the 10 starting wrestlers
will travel to Minneapolis for the
NCAA Championships on March 21 -
23.
The only wrestler not competing in
the meet is 150-pounder Jason Kraft.
Kraft tore his posterior cruciate liga
ment during the Big Eight Champion
ships.
That means next week most of the
Comhuskers will work their butts off.
Nebraska coach Tim Neumann said.
He said that his team wasn’t ready
to compete today, but would be before
they left on Tuesday.
“I want my guys to be hungry to
compete,” he said.
Nebraska finished in second place
behind Oklahoma State at the Big Eight
“I want my guys to be hungry to compete. ”
TIM NEUMANN
NU wrestling coach
Championships in Stillwater, Okla.,
last weekend. . ,
Neumann said his team needed the
first couple of days this week to re
cover from the Big Eight Champion
ships. With Nebraska’s spring break
starting Saturday,the Huskers will have
all weekend to prepare for the meet.
“We can focus more on our wres
tling,” he said,
Husker wrestlers Tony DeAnda at
134 pounds and Ryan Tobin at 190
pounds had slight inj uries after the Big
Eight tournament. DeAnda twisted his
knee during the semi-final match, while
Tobin turned his ankle during the fi
nals.
“These guys worried me,” Neumann
said. “So far, there’s no lingering prob
lems from the Big Eight tournament
and they haven’t missed anything.”
The major hurdle for the Huskers
and other teams, is top-ranked Iowa
The Hawkeyes were national champi
ons last year, and they qualified all K
men for the meet.
Nebraska will try to take down Iowa
behind the strength of its two top wres
tlers — 158-pounder Tcmocr Terry
and heavyweight Tolly Thompson.
Both wrestlers are two-time Big
Eight champions and are rated No. 2 ir
the nation. Thompson is ranked be
hind Billy Pierce of Minnesota, while
Terry is rated behind Iowa’s Joe Wil
liams.
Thompson is the returningnationa
champion, and Terry has his sights on
the Olympics. Although he is one na
tional title behind Thompson, Terry
can win the championship this year,
Neumann said.
Those two aren’t the only wrestlers
looking for titles on the Husker squad.
Tobin, DeAnda and 177-pounder Erik
Josephson claimed runner-up honors
at this year’s Big Eight champion
ships. All three lost close matches in
| the finals.
Iowa looks extremely tough in the
meet, Neumann said.
“If you figure it out on paper, there
is no way anyone can beat Iowa,”
Neumann said.
But, he said the team score isn’t his
concern going into the tournament.
“The guys are eager to go and see
• what they can do,” he said. “We want
nine guys to perform at their peak
I level.”
•
NU survives first round in NTT
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Hie
Nebraska basketball team found out
what happens Thursday night when it
I plays toils
potential
— it can
win
The
Comhuskers used a 64.3 percent sec
ond-half shooting effort to outscore
Colorado State 52-38 and pull out a
91 -83 victory in the first round of the
National Invitation Tournament be
fore a crowd of 7,261 fans at Moby
Arena.
The result improved Nebraska to
17-14. The Huskers will play Wash
ington State, a 92-73 winner over
Gonzaga, in the second round of the
NIT on Tuesday night. Colorado State
ended its season with an 18-12 record.
Jaron Boone, who made three of
the Huskers’ season-high 10 3-point
ers, said Nebraska had been capable of
putting forth an effort like Thursday
night’s all season.
“We didn’t do anything special; we
just played Nebraska basketball,”
Boone said. “It’s a big relief because
we know we can shoot the ball.”
In the second half, the Huskers made
18 of 28 shots from the field and were
5 of 8 from behind the 3-point arc. For
' the game, Nebraska shot 50.8 percent,
the first time in eight games that it was
over 50 percent.
Mikki Moore, who recorded his
second double-double of the year, scor
ing 10 points and grabbing 10 re
bounds, said the Huskers needed to
keep confident after struggling in the
first half.
it was like a snowoaii, Moore
said. “One hit and each player gets
pumped. Another hit and we were
thinking all of them might fall in.”
Things definitely went the right di
rection in the second half.
After Nebraska took a 65-61 lead
on a Tyronn Lue free throw, the Rams
tied the game at 65 when Bobby Sell
ers made a jumper from the top of the
key with 9:09 remaining.
Tom Wald made a 3-pointer with
8:36 left to put Nebraska in front for
good at 68-65.
The Rams pulled within 68-66, but
Moore put back a miss by Erick
Strickland to make the score 70-66.
Colorado State cut the lead to two
points twice, 70-68 and 72-70, before
Nebraska went on an 11-4 run to put
the game out of reach.
Strickland drove through the lane
for a layup to make the score 74-70.
Then Boone hit two 3-pointers in
Nebraska’s next three possessions to
make the score 80-72. Wald hit a 3
pointcr with 3:04 remaining to give the
DN file photo
Nebraska’s Erick Strickland, shown here against Kansas State, scored 19 points in the Huskers’
win over Colorado State on Thursday night.
Huskers their biggest lead of the game
at 83-74.
Colorado State coach Stew Morrill
said Wald’s play hurt the Rams.
“I thought that kid off the bench,
Wald, was huge for them,” Morrill
said. “He made some dagger shots that
just kind of put us away?*
In the final 1:16 of the game, Wald
scored five of his 11 points, including
a 3-for-4 effort from the free-throw
line.
Strickland’s defense was also a key
in the second half.
He limited Ram guard David Evans,
who was averaging 19.3 points per
game, to a 3-of-13 performance and
only nine points. It was the first time
Evans hadn’t scored in double figures
in 17 games. He shot 1 of 7 from the
field in the second half, scoring just
two points.
Strickland said the referees were
letting him play physical, and that
seemed to bother Evans.
See NIT on 11