The Big 12 Conference
represented well in the two men’s
postseason tournaments. Of the re
maining 16 teams in the NCAA
Tournament, three are from the Big
12 Conference. Only the Pacific-10
Conference, with four teams left,
has more. Two Big 12 teams also
remain in the National Invitation
Tournament
Kansas, Iowa State and Texas
earned the right to move on to the
regional semifinals with victories.
That gives Big 12 Commissioner
Steve Hatchell reason to gloat.
“This is fun,” Hatchell said.
“You like to brag on your coaches
and vnu ,:u-* <
grar
J
repr
get a
better.
Thursday_,_„ __
Kansas meets Arizona at Birmii
ham, Ala., also on Thursday
fit die NTT, Nebraska tra
Nevada tonight in the second
of the tournament and Okk
State, which beat Tulane 79-'
week, plays at Michigan.
■
Former Nebraska guard Erick
Strickland continues to make an im
pact since being inserted into the
Dallas Mavericks starting lineup.
Strickland, the lone rookie free
agent to make an NBA team’s open
ing-day roster in the league this sea
son, is averaging 12.4 points and
three assists per contest.
Strickland was a key factor in
Sunday’s 89-88 Dallas victory over
Sacramento. He scored 21 points —
eight in the fourth quarter—and his
assist helped set up Shawn Bradley’s
game-winning shot
■
On the diamond, three Big 12
teams have hitters who have been
tearing the cover off the baseball.
Iowa State first baseman Shawn
Leimbek had a 10-game hit streak
snapped two weeks ago against
Texas Tech, but Leimbek didn’t get
mad, he started another streak. In
his last 13 games he has hit safely
in 11 of diem.
Missouri third baseman Griffin
Moore went 11 for 17 with three
home runs, three doubles, six runs
scored and six RBIs over a four
game stretch, including three hom
ers against Nebraska.
Comhusker first baseman Todd
Sears helped jump start the Nebraska
offense going 14 for 22 last week. NU
beat Missouri in two of three games
to earn its first-ever Big 12 wins.
The Texas Tech baseball team
— which leads the Big 12 with 5-1
conference record and is 18-2 over
all — had two shutouts on the same
day for the first time since 1969.
The Red Raiders crushed Iowa State
14-0 and 7-0. Jason Gooding tossed
a two-hitler in game one and in the
nightcap, Jimmy Frush and Brad
Ralston combined for a nine-hit ef
fort. ..
Big 12 Notebook was compiled
by staff reporter Vince D’Adamo.
Matchup excites Wolf Pack
By Mike Kluck
Senior Reporter
Although tonight’s second-round
National Invitation Tournament game
between Nevada and Nebraska is a
big one for Wolf Pack fans, Coach
Pat Foster is not putting much stock
in the contest.
A sellout crowd at the 11,200-seat
Lawlor Events Crater is expected for
tonight’s 9:30 game.
It will be only the third time in
the 14-year history of die arena that
a Wolf Pack game will officially be
called a sellout. The largest crowd to
see the Pack play at home this sea
son was 7,875 who watched a 78-69
victory of Nevada-Las Vegas on Dec.
14.
“This is big for the fans,” Foster
said: “It’s atjig'j i 1
game in a lot of
ways for our
fans, but it’s not
that big for us.
For us it’s just
another game.”
Some
people in Reno
are saying the
game is one of L . -
the biggest in
the history of the basketball program.
But this entire season has been big
for Nevada (21 -9).
1 It’s die first time since 1984-85
that the Wolf Pack have recorded
more than 20 wins, and it’s also the
first time since 1979 they have played
in the NTT. Nevada lost to Pacific 63
SS in the championship game of the
Big West Conference Tournament to
get sent to the NTT.
“We just want to go out there and
do the best we can,” Foster said. “Our
kids are really excited about it and a
game like this is good for the pro
gram.
“The NIT, though, is really a
mixed bag with a lot of different pro
grams in it This is a vary strong field
this year and it’s an honor for us to
be in it with a lot of great teams. We
Please see NEVADA on 8
" V __
'
m /m m m fir,£ | || —
- ■ • Scott Bruhn/DN
BERNARD GARNER goes for a shot against Kansas eariler tMs season. Garter
will be in the starting lineup tonight — In place of Larry Florence — for
only the second thne this season.
Huskers need two
wins for return trip to
New "fork.
By Mitch Sherman
Senior Reporter
Here we go again.
Tonight in Reno, Nev., the Ne
braska basketball team tries to move
one step closer to New York, where it
can become the first team in 53 years
to win back-to-back National Invita
tion Tournament titles.
Last Wednesday, the Comhuskers
sailed through the first round of the
tournament for the third straight year,
defeating Washington 67-63 at a half
empty Bob Devaney Sports Centra.
At 9:30 tonight, NU (17-14) won’t
see many empty seats at Nevada’s
Lawlor Events Colter. The Wolf Pack
season, and Nebraska expects a
charged-up oppo
nent. But the
Huskers say
they’ll be ready,
free of the NCAA
Tournament disap
pointment that
slowed them for
much of their first
round victory. ,
“I don’t think
we were too ex
cited,” guard Cookie Belcher said of
NU’s pre-game mentality last week. “I
wish we woe a little more into it But
any game we can get now is a great
chance to get more experience.”
NU Coach Danny Nee, 12-3 in his
Please see NIT on 8
Bluejays enter NU game on hot streak
—
• - . • f±; . y-: • . r:-'..
By Sam McKewon
StaffReporter
Nebraska and Creighton renew
their battle for state supremacy in base
ball when the Bluejays visit NU for a
4 p.m. game today
The wm over the Bli
last before Nebraska (7
a 13-game losing streak with two wins
against Missouri this weekend.
'
■ • ..
First baseman Todd Sears said the
wins over the Tigers will help the
team’s momentum.
“Missouri was a couple of really big
wins for us to get headed in the right
direction,” Sears said. “We had a lot
of guys step up.”
Creighton (11-5) has been hot, win
ning nine of its last 11 games—includ
ing a first-place finish at the Irish Base
ball ClaSSic over the weekend in San
Antonio. The Bluejays defeated Notre
Dame 8-5 m the title game Saturday.
The Bluejays have a .293 team-bat
ting average, with outfielder Ryan
Gripp leading die way at a .377 clip.
While Creighton does have a team
eamed-run average of 5.56, the bullpen
duo of Brad Erickson and Kevin
Frederick has yet to allow an earned
run in 19 1/3 innings of work.
NU Coach John Sanders said the
Huskers will need a strong effort from
both the hitters and pitchers against a
powerful Bluejay team.
“Things are starting to come to
gether,” Sanders said. “We’ve got to
play games where we put the pitching
and hitting aspects together.”
« —
We have to take it one game at a time
and have it extend through this week
Todd Sears
NU first baseman
Nebraska is hitting only .276, but
Sears has started die season cm a roll
with a .456 batting average, five home
runs and 24 RBIs. Sears also leads the
team with a .797 slugging percentage.
Sanders said the Missouri series
would help awaken the NU bats.
“Our bats are coming around and
that’s really important,” Sanders said.
“Our guys are starting to realize their
roles.”
The Nebraska pitching staff has
struggled, building a 6.89 ERA and
only one save by the staff. NU will start
Steve Fish (2-3 with a' 5.46 ERA)
against Creighton.
Sears, who was named the Big 12’s
player of the week on Monday, said Ne
braska must focus on each game rather
than a series or the overall season. That
focus needs to start today against CU,
the All-America candidate said
“We have to take it one game at a
time and have it extend through this
week,” Sears said. “Our next game is
our most important one.”
After playing host to the Jays, NU
plays five games in three days.
The University of Nebraska at
Omaha visits for a doubleheader on
Wednesday and South Dakota State
plays NU twice Thursday.
.The Huskers finish up a grueling
week against South Dakota on Friday.