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Longhorns sick after NU game
By David Wilson
Staff Reporter
Even with a case of strep throat,
Reggie Freeman couldn’t save the
6
senior
guard, who leads
the Big 12 with a
23-points-per
game average,
played all 40 min
utes against Ne
braska Sunday,
but scored just
nine points in
Texas’ 79-67 loss
i.
enough credit to
Texas Coach Tom
renders said. "He couldn’t even drink
water (Saturday night).”
Freeman, who spent an hour in the
hospital Saturday night with a sore
throat and fever, said — with a
scratchy vuiuc — he did not play to
his potential against Nebraska.
'Against NU, Freeman was l-of-10
from the field.
But Freeman wasn’t the only
Longhorn feeling ill. Starters Kris
Clack, Dennis Jordan and DeJuan
Vazquez also did not play at full
strength.
“(Vazquez) has been cramping,
throwing up and on the toilet for three
straight days,” Penders said. “He
started in our last game against Baylor.
He comes out, knocks down two 3s,
then he has to go to the bathroom and
barf.
“It would have been a hell of a
game if we were healthy, but Nebraska
is a very good team. That’s life in the
Big 12.”
Despite the various flu bugs affect
ing UT, Penders said Texas was not
going to give up. But their sluggish
ness forced them to play conservative
and not put on a pressing defense
against the Huskers, Penders said.
UT — typically a running-style
team—opened the first half playing
a box-and-one defense. Texas held NU
guard Tyronn Lue to three points in
die first half but still trailed 38-27. Lue
exploded for 19 in the second half,
however.
“The some was working,” Texas
guard Brandy Perryman said, “but we
couldn’t box people out. We’re not a
zone team. We’re a man team.”
Sheldon Quarles, a 6-10 forward,
said he felt confident playing a zone
defense, but he was unsure about how
the rest of the team responded to play
ing with a new defense. The Long
horns were out-rebounded by NU 45
38.
Texas (14-8 overall and 8-4 in the
Big 12 Conference) also found itself
in a shooting slump, making just 35
percent from the floor.
Including Perryman, five Long
horns came off the bench to shoot a
combined 42 percent. The starters shot
a woeful 26 percent.
Perryman said he knew he needed
to step up his game with Freeman
under the weather. The 6-2 junior, who
averaged 10 points per game entering
Sunday’s matchup, scored a career
best 20 points.
“It was nice to come out and shoot
the ball like I did,” Perryman said.
Huskers get into swing of season
SANDERS from page 7
and Pat Driscoll. The trio combined
for 13 of the Huskers’ 27 wins last
year.
Driscoll, who boasted a 4.95
eamed-run average last season, will
start on the mound in the first game
against the Antelopes, and senior
Jonas Armenta will take the hill in
game two. Both pitchers saw action
against Wayne State.
“We have more depth at pitching
than we’ve had in awhile,” Sanders
said. “The bottom line is we’re ac
countable for what we did last year and
we’re tryingto do something about it.”
Offensively, the Huskers are led by
junior All-American candidate Todd
Sears, who hit .380 last season with
six home runs. Sanders said he ex
pected his first baseman to produce
impressive numbers this season.
“He’s really swinging the bat bet
ter than I’ve ever seen him swing it,”
Sanders said. “He’s really stepped up.
I think this year he has a chance to
really jump out and be the kind of guy
that can cany us in some tough times.”
But Sanders said center fielder
Francis Collins, who led the Huskers
with a .424 average last season and
set a school record with a 38-game
hitting streak, may have a tougher
time this season.
“He’s going to be picked on,”
Sanders said. “Now he’s not a surprise
anymore. But he will be surrounded
by better players so he won’t be such
a focus.”
The Huskers are solid up the
middle defensively, Sanders said, with
Canada College transfer Kevin
Harrington likely starting at second
and Mendocino (Calif.) Community
College transfer Bryan Schmidt or
junior Cliffton Durham playing short
stop. ,
“We should have a lot of double
plays,” Sanders said. “Tliat was sort
of a mystery last year. There were a
lot of botched attempts.”
At catcher, NU will likely start
Andrew Sawyers — also from
Mendocino.
“Sawyers will throw people out,”
Sanders said. “He has a very good
throwing arm. That’s something
we’ve lacked. People have been run
ning on us like crazy.”
Nebraska will have its hands full
with a 63-game schedule this season.
it—
We have more depth
at pitching dual
we’ve had in awhile.”
John Sanders
NU baseball coach
The Huskers will play each of the 10
Big 12 teams three times—but NU’s
non-conference schedule will also be
tough, Sanders said.
“Our non-league schedule is very,
very, very demanding,” Sanders said.
“I think it’s arguably the best sched
ule we’ve played. And the league
speaks for itself.”
Nebraska travels to Phoenix to play
in the Rawlings Spring Training Col
lege Tournament Feb. 20. NU plays
Northeastern, Creighton, Northern
Iowa and an opponent that has not yet
been determined.
“It’s really a nice feature to have
an all northern tournament in a south
ern climate,” Sanders said.
Nebraska pushes Texas to limit
LOSS from page 7
of a one-and-one, which gave the
Longhorns the opportunity for the
win.
Texas guard Angie Jo Ogletree
missed a 3-pointer but Jackson was
there again few the rebound and her
basket gave Texas a 71-70 lead with
six seconds remaining.
Nebraska had one last shot, but
Nicole Kubik’s 5-foot pull-up shot
with one second left came up short and
the Longhorns (18-4 and 9-2) held on
for the victory.
The 6-foot-4 Jackson finished the
game with 12 points and 12 rebounds,
but Beck said 6-2 freshman Charlie
Rogers did an excellent job of ham
pering the All-American’s perfor
mance.
Rogers—who finished with a ca
reer-best 12 rebounds and 10 points
—wasn’t in the game in the overtime
period when Jackson made her two
putbacks.
“Chuck outplayed Jackson all
night,” Beck said.
Texas built a 59-56 lead in the sec
ond half with 2:19 remaining, but
Rogers cut the lead to one on a putback
with 1:39 left.
The Longhorns scored with 21 sec
onds to regain a three-point lead, but
on Nebraska’s next possession
DeForge hit a 3-pointer from the cor
ner with four seconds remaining to tie
the game and force the overtime.
DeForge led NU with 21 points on
6-of-16 shooting from the field. She
also grabbed 10 rebounds. Amie Smith
led Texas with 18 points and she
grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
Danielle Viglione added 15 points for
the Longhorns.
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Minter shines at combine
COMBINE from page 7
the Colts and Denver since returning
from Indianapolis. His first wish is to
play for Pittsburgh, he said, but his
running style is better suited for the
West Coast offenses used by San Fran
cisco and Green Bay.
“They just hired (former Husker)
Tom Rathman as the backfield coach
out in San Francisco,” Benning said.
“Hopefully I can find my way out
there.”
Tomich’s injury shouldn’t drasti
cally affect him in the draft, Nebraska
♦ ♦ . .
Defensive Coordinator Charlie
McBride said.
Several NFL scouts will be allowed
on the NU campus to evaluate the
Husker seniors on March 18 at Cook
Pavilion. The scouts will test NU jun
iors on March 19.
The March testing should give the
Nebraska players a chance to gain
more personal attention from the
scouts in a more comfortable setting,
Williams said.
“It’s a madhouse at the combine,”
Williams said. “I think everybody will
do better with the pressure off.”
