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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 29, 1996)
Sports ;! Friday, March 29, 1996 Page 10 Derek Samson . Title shows how Huskers underachieved I can almost picture the madness that covered streets of Nebraska towns immediately after the Comhuskers’ 60-56 win over St. Joseph’s in the National Invitation Tournament championship. “We’re No. 65! We’re No. 65!” the crazy mobs chanted as they cel ebrated Nebraska’s five-game win ning streak. Keep celebrating — not for the title, but because the season is over. Give credit to Coach Danny Nee for sticking with his team and not quitting alter his players abandoned him. But his fat salary had to make it a little easier for him to stay. And give credit to the players for not embarrassing the Big Eight with a loss to a WAC team in the first round. It would have been much easier for the players to give up and go on spring break. But by ending the season with the NIT championship, more ques tions are raised than were answered about Nee and his team. He had the talent all season but couldn’t do a thing with it. It was difficult to estimate just how much the Huskers under achieved during the regular season. But with the way Nebraska played in the NIT, it made it clear to the country how much this team actually did underachieve. Nebraska deserved to be in the NCAA Tournament, but it wasn’t shafted by the selection committee. It was cheated by its own people— players and coaches. During the Big Eight season, where was this team that ripped through NIT competition — how ever average that may be? How could a team this talented actually lose nine consecutive games and drop 10 of its last 11, including a rout at the hands of lowly Colorado? The NIT competition might not have been Kentucky or Connecti cut, but the teams were far better than the Buffaloes. So Danny Nee saves his job with the championship and the people of Nebraska jump back on Kent PavelkaVThc Huskersarethe best and always get cheated” band wagon. It was the fans who got cheated this year, however. The fans should have been treated to a team that competed with Kansas for the conference title, a team that made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and a team that didn’t teach kids how not to play by screaming at officials, playing selfishly and ignoring the coach. I congratulate the Huskers on playing to their potential and fin ishing out in style—even if it was in the tournament made for medio cre teams. I also congratulate the fans for making it through this season. At least it’s over now. Samson Is a senior news-editorial major and a Dally Nebraskan sports ^ cojanuiift__ _____ 1 ' 11 ' 111 —II. . . 11 _ , , — NU achieves the unthinkable By Trevor Parks Senior Reporter NEW YORK—The Nebraska bas ketball team did two things this season no one ever expected. - First, the 1 9 9 5 -9 6 Comhuskers lost ninecon Isccutivc games for the first time since 1963. Then, Thursday night the Comhuskers completed a dramatic turnaround. Nebraska won the National Invita tion Tournament at Madison Square Garden, beating St. Joseph’s 60-56 in front of crowd of 12,464 fans partisan to the Hawks. “I feel like Lazarus raised from the dead,” Coach Danny Nee said. “We went from the low to the high, and it’s almost like Cinderella.” . From Jan. 27 until March 3, Ne braska did not win a game. Now, all that seems forgotten. One game from finishing the year at 15-15, the Husk ers finished Thursday 21-14. Nebraska can thank Erick Strickland for its reversal of fortune. Strickland was named the NIT’s most valuable player, scoring 33 points in the two Final Four games. For the first time in five NIT games, the Huskers shot below 50 percent (44.2) and scored below 80 points, but Strickland picked up the slack. He scored a team-high 13 points, and again, as.Ite has done throughout the NIT, Strickland shut down the opponent’s leading scorer. He held St. Joe’s Mark Bass to a season-low three points and a 1 -for-11 shooting performance. Bass was aver aging a team best 14.7 points per game and was 1 for 7 from behind the 3 point arc. “Coach set the challenge for me and I took it,” Strickland said. “(Bass) is a great player and I guess I did my job tonight.” Three other Huskers helped Strickland out on the offensive end by scoring double figures. Mikki Moore scored 11 points and grabbed 13 re bounds. Jaron Boone and freshman point guard Tyronn Lue each added 11. For his performance, Lue was namedtothe NIT all-tournament team. The Hawks were led by Reggie Townsend, who had a game-high 18 points. Dmitri Domani added 14 points for St. Joe’s, which finished the season 19-13. As usual Thursday night, it was a Strickland defensive play that turned the tide. With the score tied at 47, Strickland stole the ball from Terrell Myers and passed it downcourt to Venson ! Hamilton for a breakaway dunk with 7:06 remaining. Nebraska never trailed again. Hawk guard Rashid Bey had a chance to close the gap, but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Then Lue drove baseline for a layup to put the Huskers up 51-47. A Myers’ layup cut the score to 51 - 49 before Moore scored four straight points. Moore delivered a dunk with 5:27 remaining and was fouled by Will Johnson. Moore missed the free throw, but Strickland tipped the ball back to the Husker center and he was fouled by Townsend on a putback attempt. Moore converted both free throws to put the Huskers on top by six at 5549. See NIT on 11 Scott Bruhn/DN Nebraska shortstop Larry Hartzell turns a double play Wednesday afternoon against Peru State at Buck Beltzer Field. The Huskers play host to a three-game series against Oklahoma State this weekend. OSU lives up to tradition By David Wilson Staff Reporter The Oklahoma State baseball team will bring its tradition and talent to Buck Beltzer Field this afternoon to play Nebraska at 2:30. “The goals in this program arc pretty simple,” Oklahoma State coach Gaity Ward said. “If you don’t go to Ward the College vvara World Series, you feel like you’ve had a bad year. There is a tradition that carries you forward. And that kind of tradition is pretty powerful and keeps you very focused.” The Cowboys have made 17 appearances in Omaha since the College World Series began in 1947. Of its 17 appearances — a showing that ranks it third on the all-time list—Oklahoma State has been crowned national champion once. That was in 1959. The Cowboys enter the three game series this weekend as the No. 19 team in the nation with a 20r7 record. Oklahoma State also sits on lop of the Big Eight with a 6-1 record. The Cornhuskers, 10-16-1 over all and 2-6 in the Big Eight, sit just — * . - iH—- 4 „ U . u t , m -rn r,M M “The goals in this program are pretty simple. If you don’t go to the College World Series, you feel like you’ve had a bad year. ” GARY WARD Oklahoma State baseball coach two games ahead of last place Iowa State in the conference. Of the Cowboys’ 47 wins last season, more than 40 of the wins belonged to pitchers who arc no longer on the team, Ward said. Okla homa State also lost the middle four hitters of their lineup from last sea son. “We really scratched and scrambled to rebuild through the summer and through the fall,” Ward said. “And for the first time, we took some four-year college trans fers to give us a little bit of maturity, particularly on the mound.” The Cowboys’ pitching staff owns a team eamed-run average of 6.52, which ranks fourth in the Big Eight. Only Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa State have higher ERAs. “We’ve had some quality starts. And we’ve had more of our share of starts where we’ve given up six, seven, or eight runs in the first four innings, and had to battle all day just to stay compet itive,” Ward said. “We’re hoping our pitching and defense improves. That’s our great est concern right now.” Offensively, the Cowboys are led by junior left fielder Jeff Guicl, who tops the Big Eight with a .452 batting average. Guiel ranks sec ond in the conference with 13 sto len bases in 23 games. Oklahoma State’s .333 team bat ting average is second only to Oklahoma’s .350 in the Big Eight. The Cowboys also lead the confer ence with 41 home runs and 321 runs scored. “We started the year swinging the bats really well, and we’ve main tained a pretty consistent offensive attack,” Ward said. “Generally speaking, they have been rather re lentless up and down the lineup in creating offensive opportunity.” Senior Tripp MacKay and jun ior Rusty McNamara have taken on leadership roles in the inexperi See OSU on 11 '• ft (YfiTiftWfrt » * **♦«>> <»:«i •> n * fi JN U to use Big 8 meet as warmup By Gregg Madsen Staff Reporter The Nebraska women’s gymnas tics team will begin the postseason portion of its season Saturday at the Big Eight Championships in Ames, Iowa. Cornhusker coach Dan Kendig said the Huskcrs wouldn’t make any major changes for the meet. “We haven’t done anything new this week. Maybe next week we will,” Kendig said. “We just want to do what we did at home last week again this weekend.” Nebraska goes into the meet riding the wave of its school-record 195.75- J 192 rout of Southern Utah last Satur day. Thisweekend, Kendig said, will be a good warmup for the Huskcrs before the April 13 NCAA Midwest Regional in Salt Lake City. But he said the team had not been looking past the Big Eight Championships. “We’ve really been focusing on this weekend,” Kendig said. “Knowing it’s the last Big Eight Championships, we want to win it.” The Huskers, 16-3 and ranked No. 13 in the nation, will be trying for their third consecutive conference title. Nebraska has won the Big Eight title 11 times since 1978. Iowa State, Missouri and Oklahoma will round out competition at the meet, which is slated for a 7 p.m. start at Hilton Coliseum. - The Cyclones, ranked 15th this week, were defeated by Nebraska in the first meet of the season, 189.775 189.6 on Jan. 14. The Huskers also defeated the Cyclones 193.725-191.8 on March 3 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. “Iowa State will be our toughest competition there,” Kendigsaid. “They are a team that really thinks they have a chance to beat us.” Nebraska defeated Missouri 193.425-186.675 in the Devaney Cen ter on Jan. 27, and Oklahoma fell to the Huskers 193.875-189.775 on Feb. 4. Kendig and senior all-arounder Joy Taylor both said the Huskers were now in a good position to make a run at the Super Six of the NCAA Champi onships in Tuscaloosa, Ala., April 25 27. Taylor, who finished second in the all-around against Southern Utah with a career-high 39.2, will join junior Shelly Bartlett and freshman Misty Oxford in the all-around. Redshirt freshman Laurie McLaughlin should provide solid scor ing for the Huskers in the uneven bars and the balance beam, Kendig said. » HU> t't t'Ti . * >WiFi itt i'n "
