Mitch Sherman
Sutton, OSU
can turn dream
into nightmare
If ever Nebraska needed extra in
centive to play inspired basketball,
it’s there tonight.
If ever a one-game letdown could
kill an entire season, it’s tonight. If
ever one victory could send the Bob
Devaney Sports Center into a frenzy
four days later, it’s tonight.
And if ever one man could ruin
the whole thing, it’s Eddie Sutton.
The Oklahoma State coach makes a
living by winning when he’s not sup
nosed to
A college legend with 584 victo
ries in 27 seasons, Sutton’s team ap
pears out-matched tonight against the
Comhuskers. But if the Huskers look
ahead to Sunday’s mega-game with
No. 1 Kansas — and a possible spot
in the NCAA Tournament on the line
— they’ll never get past OSU.
A loss tonight and NU might as
well start Mike Johnette and Ryan
Hinckley on Sunday to ensure a No.
10 seed in the Big 12 Conference
Tournament and prevent a second
round rematch with the Jayhawks.
“Nebraska is a very, very talented
basketball team,” Sutton said Tues
day. “They’ve had their ups and
downs, but after beating Iowa State,
they’re going to be up for us.”
Danny Nee and staff had better
hope so.
The NU coach of 11 years needs
a strong finish this season to relieve
mounting pressure that began to form
two years ago when NU missed the
NCAA Tournament after four
straight invitations to the dance.
These Huskers play better as a
unit than any group since the 1993
94 team that won the Big Eight Tour
nament. This team possesses the
chemistry to win tonight and push
Kansas to the wire.
umy aunon, wno s won in inree
of his last four trips to Lincoln, stands
between Nebraska and a scintillat
ing Sunday at the Devaney Center.
With a win tonight, lines will form
early Sunday morning as fans wait
to feel the thunder missing from Lin
coln since 1994.
The Cowboys hobble into Ne
braska one week after 6-foot-7 for
ward Maurice Robinson broke his
left finger in a win over Texas A&M.
Also missing from the OSU lineup
are center Alex Webber, forward Ja
son Skaer, forward Scott Robisch
and guard Estell Laster, leaving the
Pokes with one player taller than 6-6.
“I’ve got seven scholarship play
ers left,” Sutton said. “This is not a
problem we foresaw, but consider
ing the circumstances, our players
have handled things well.”
Tied for seventh place in the con
ference standings at 6-8, both teams
need a victory tonight. Nebraska had
better be ready because Oklahoma
State certainly will be.
Sherman is a senior news-edi
torial major and a Daily Nebras
kan senior reporter.
First step: Conal Cowboys
Wins tonight, Sunday
may put Huskers in
the NCAA Tournament.
By Sam McKewon
Staff Reporter
For the Nebraska basketball team,
the road to the NCAA Tournament will
be paved with its final two home
games starting tonight at 7:05 against
Oklahoma State at the Bob Devaney
Sports Center.
If NU (15-12 overall and 6-8 in the
Big 12 Conference) can win tonight
and upset top-ranked Kansas on Sun
day, the Huskers would finish the regu
lar season with an 8-8 conference
record and a 17-12 overall mark.
No former Big Eight school was
denied entrance into the tournament
after posting an above .500 conference
mark and having at least 17 wins over
1
Division I opponents.
NU Coach Danny Nee declined to
say whether two victories this week
will guarantee a
spot among the
field of 64. But
Nee and the Husk
ers know one
thing for sure:
They need to cor
ral the Cowboys, a
team that has won
in its last two vis
its to the Devaney
Center. Lue
“If we lose, we
are out. Period,” Nee said. “We’ve got
to win to even be considered.”
The Cowboys are coming off an
80-64 setback at Oklahoma on Satur
day. OSU sits in a similar position to
Nebraska with a 6-8 conference record
and a 14-12 overall mark.
Nee said OSU Coach Eddie Sutton
will have the Cowboys ready for
tonight's game.
“You don't like to play Oklahoma
State late in the season because they
execute their offense and play sound
defense,” Nee said. “It’s a typical
Eddie Sutton team.”
The Cowboys are led by senior for
ward Chianti Roberts and sophomore
guard Adrian Peterson. Roberts aver
ages 13.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per
game, and is considered OSU’s defen
sive stopper. Peterson leads the team
in scoring with 14.1 points per game.
Nee said shutting down Roberts
will be the key.
“Chianti is an excellent player,”
Nee said. “We’re going to put Larry
Florence on him to try and shut him
down.”
Like NU, which usually plays eight
players, Oklahoma State does not have
a deep bench. Injuries have left the
Cowboys with only seven scholarship
Please see OSU on 8
Men's Basketball
Starters
Today, 7:05 p.m.
Devaney Center
Nebraska 1512 (6 8)
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Yr.
F 4 Venson Hamfiton 6-9 240 So.
F 5 Larry Florence 6-5 225 So.
C 32 Mikki Moore 6-11 220 Sr.
G 30 Cookie Belcher 6-3 200 Fr.
G 10 Tyronn Lue 6-0 170 So.
Oklahoma St. 1412(6 8)
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Yr.
F 23 Chianti Roberts 6-6 229 Sr.
F 34 Desmond Mason 6-6 207 Fr.
C 31 Brett Robisch 6-11 255 Jr.
G 10 Marlon Dorsey 6-4 193 Sr.
G 20 Adrian Peterson 6-4 197 So.
NUtoend
bad month
at Kansas
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Staff Reporter
Nebraska entered the month of
February riding a seven game win
streak and looking at challenging
for the inaugu
ral Big 12
Conference
title.
B u t
the end of the
snonesi monm
couldn’t come
quickly
enough for the
Cornhuskers,
Beck who have
compiled a 2
5 record in February and lost three
of their last four games by a total
of five points.
Now after struggling for the
past three weeks, the Huskers (18
6 overall and 8-6 in the Big 12
Conference) face their stiffest chal
lenge yet, playing conference
leader Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse
tonight at 7 in Lawrence.
“It’s going to take a Hail Mary
and a holy prayer to get a win at
Kansas,” Nebraska Coach Angela
Beck said. “We need to perform.
We just have to keep continuing
to improve.”
The Huskers will be limited in
their attack without their speedy
point guard LaToya Doage. Doage
had surgery on her right knee Sun
day to repair cartilage and is out
for 10 to 20 days.
In the first contest between the
two at the Bob Devaney Sports
Center earlier this month, Doage
held All-America candidate
Tamecka Dixon to seven points for
the games’ first 34 minutes.
But when Doage fouled out at
the 5:31 mark, Dixon went on to
score eight points and directed the
Jayhawks as they scored on 16 of
their final 20 possessions. Kansas
(21-4 and 12-2) erased a 12-point
Matt Miller/DN
BROOKE SCHWARTZ reaches for the bail against Iowa Stated Janel
Grimm. Schwartz has the task of guarding Tamecka Dixon tonight.
second-half NU lead to post a 67
59 victory.
Dixon — a strong candidate to
become the first Big 12 player of
the year — averages 21.3 points
per game and leads KU in points,
assists, steals and free-throw per
centage.
“I think Dixon is the Big 12
player of the year,” Beck said.
“She’s given me nightmares for
four years, and I can’t wait until
she graduates. She has everything
the game needs to have, and we’ve
had a hard time stopping her.”
Defensively, NU is harassing
opponents into 27.9 turnovers per
game while limiting teams to just
39.9-percent shooting from the
field. i
But without Doage — who
started the first 23 games of the
Please see KU on 8
Women's Basketball
Starters
Today, 7 p.m.
Allen Fieldhouse
Lawrence, Kan.
Nebraska is e
Pos Name Ht. Yr.
F 22 Tiflft Mdgsift
F 30 Anna DeForge 5-11 Jr.
C 33 ChsWe Jfcgws 6-2 Fr.
G 24 Jami Kubik 5-11 Jr.
G 32 Nicole Kubik 5-16 Fr.
Kansas 21-4 (12-2)
Pos Name Ht. Yr.
F 34 Lynn Pride 6-2 Fr,
F 51 Jennifer Trapp 6-1 Sr.
C 43 Nakia Sanford 5-10 So.
G 30 Angie Halbleib 5-10 Sr.
G 33 T6nwd»0beq*t 56 Sr.
swimmer
worthy
of chance
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Staff Reporter
Fortunately for the Nebraska
women’s swimming team, Rick Paine
is a man of his word.
Paine, the re
cruiting coordina
tor and associate
head coach for the
Cornhusker men
and women,
promised a scnoi
arship to an un
known commod
ity last spring af
ter taking advice
from a friend of Jowsey
Australian Sara
Jowsey’s coach. Jowsey committed
before swimming for Paine and before
she visited Nebraska.
In just six months at Nebraska,
Jowsey, a freshman from Strathfield,
Australia, has become one of the
quickest success stories in recent
memory, recording top-three times for
the Huskers in six different events. But
Jowsey knows how close she came to
missing her chance.
Paine couldn’t have predicted her
success last summer.
While recruiting other prospects at
the Australian Olympic Trials, Paine
watched his recruit swim firsthand.
After Jowsey failed to place, second
thoughts immediately filled his mind.
‘To tell you the truth,” Paine said,
“everybody I saw was impressive but
Sara. She just didn’t have a good meet.
I was really questioning myself as to
what I had done. I’m just glad I’m an
honest man, or she might not be here
right now.”
Jowsey appreciates Paine’s com
mitment to his recruit.
“The last few years,” Jowsey said,
“I hadn’t been swimming as well as
I’m able to. When Coach Paine came
over to watch me swim, it wasn’t good
— it wasn’t good at all. He was wor
ried, and I’m just glad he overcame
his doubts about me.”
The versatile freshman has posted
top times for NU in the 400-meter in
Please see JOWSEY on 8