Jay Saunders
Super Bowl
vs. NCAA
no contest
It is that time of year again.
The time when sports fans across
the country sit in front of their
tele\ ision sets with a hag of fried
snack products and a beverage of
their choice.
No. I am not talking about the
Super Bowl. Are you kidding me:
who really cares about that'.’ For
the 15th consecutive vear. the
AFC has sent another lamb to be
slaughtered by the NFC champi
on on Sundae.
1 could care less about the car
nage that will be Super Bowl
XXXII. There are only so mam
times I can see Brett Fax-re pump
ins fists in the air after another
touchdown pass to Antonio
f reeman or Mark Chmura. At
least at Packer home games there
is the excitement of the
“Lambeau Leap."
If 1 had my wax. all the sports
channels (I hope ESPN and FOX
are listening) across the country
xvould show nothing but college
basketball until the end of March.
There shall be no NBA. and
please, no ABL either. I don't
xxant to hear anything about
pitchers and catchers reporting.
All I w ant for mx cold xx inter
months' entertainment is college
basketball, and maybe a little
hockey.
Some are calling this a down
year in college basketball. It is
probably because no team is dom
inating the rest of the country.
This is a good thing. The confer
ence season and NCAA
Tournament are exciting enough
as it is. Now. add to that excite
ment the “any given night" sce
nario.
No team, or conference for
that matter, is at the head of this
year's class. The Big Ten will
once again send six or seven
teams to the tournament, and then
show why they are the biggest
fraud in college sports. The Big
Least (formally known as the Big
East) should probably be replaced
by the up-and-coming Atlantic 10
on ESPN s “Big Monday.”
Kansas, Duke and North
Carolina, the three teams most
experts picked to be the cream of
the crop this year, have all shown
signs of vulnerability. Gone are
the days of undefeated Duke and
UNLV in the early 1990s. This
unpredictability is great, espe
cially for the fans w-ho fill the
seats (unless your seats are in the
Bob Devaney Sports Center).
So, on Sunday, if you find
yourself wanting to watch the
Broncos get beat, turn on ESPN
maybe the Santa Clara Broncos
are playing.
Jay Saunders is a sopho
more broadcasting major and a
Daily Nebraskan assignment
reporter.
NU looks to rebound against ISU
By Darren ivy
a: e: wnon the \ „ ione- hi.>w 1:1;
for the past
three years at the
Bob De\ane\
Sports Center.
Iowa State has left
the Cornhuskers
wondering what
hit them.
But starting
forward Larry
Florence Florence thinks
NU has what it
takes to w ithstand the Cyclones'
storm this year when the two teams
meet Saturday at 12:45 p.m.
“We have to forget about the
; j\un game ana get ream to max e or.
iv mu.. Mate oecuum r. i> a w 1 nimbie
\ . . -' me -2 in : i:e M : _ ’ _
r>ai. a: r.ome ('•Mm. The Huskem
ai>f more experienced tnan mu a
State, w-u anj 2-2.
Although the Cyclones are a .500
team. Nebraska Coach Danny Nee is
wary of the Tim Flovd-coached
Cyclones.
“Their record is no indication of
their ability.” Nee said. "They ha\e
the ability to win on any given night.”
With four newcomers in the starting
lineup, the Cyclones have experienced
some growing pains, but they seem to
be playing their best basketball lately.
On Wednesday, they led much of
the way before falling to Oklahoma
64-63 in Norman, Okla.
Florence compared the young
C vo-.'iij'' unnnnement to Nebraska
" \ a a :ean:.- ‘at-, a 'in:. ;.
. " 1 ioretiee >a:s "Bu:
uu: • a!:.:: no >tart p!a\ tag nette: "
Maturity a! >ng w nil live perimeier
moo: mg and the inside pia\ • >* \tareu>
Fizer. nave helped the C yclones
improve in the last few week a.
Fizer. a 6-foot-7 freshman for
ward. leads the Cyclones in scoring
w ith 1 5.2 points per game. He scored
27 points against OU.
"He’s big and strong, and he is
going to be a star in the league." Nee
said. "He might be the best freshman
in the league right now."
Limiting Iowa State's 3-point
shots and stopping Fizer are keys to
NU winning the game, Nee said.
Please see ISU on 8
Men’s
Basketball
Starters
Saturday, 12:45 p.m.
Bod Devaney Sports Center
Iowa St. 9-9, (2-3)
Pos. Name Ht. Yr.
G Paul Shirley 6-10 So.
G Lee Love 6-1 Fr.
C Prad Johnson 6-5 So.
F Marcus Fizer 6-7 Fr.
F Martin Rancik 6-9 Fr.
Nebraska 12-6, (3-2)
| Pos. Name Ht. Yr.
G Tyronn Lue 6-0 Jr.
G Cookie Belcher 6-3 So
C Andy Markowski 6-8 Jr.
F Venson Hamilton 6-10 Jr.
F Larry Florence 6-5 Jr. !
Matt Miller/DN
FRESHMAN SPRINTER Leslie Owusu is looking to step in and make an impact for the Huskers this season. NU will play host to the Nebraska Open Saturday
at the Devaney track.
Track team gears up for Nebraska Open
By Andrew Strnad
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska track team will
welcome over 750 athletes this
Saturday - including two-time
national champion shot putter Tressa
Thompson - to the Devaney Sports
Center for this year’s Nebraska Open.
The meet begins at the Devaney
track, with field events beginning at 9
a.m., and running events starting at
10 a.m.
The Huskers opened the indoor
season last weekend with impressive
victories by both the men and women
at the Wildcat Invitational in
Manhattan, Kan.
NU's women are led by four All
Americans, three of which teamed up
to finish third in the 4 x 400-meter
relay at last year's NCAA Indoor
i Championships.
Senior La'Tisha Croom, junior
Charmaine Burton, and sophomore
Stella Klassen return and look to
make it back to nationals, both indi
vidually and as a relay team.
“We know we're going to have a
great relay team, but I think
Charmaine would agree with me that
we all would like to qualify individu
ally,'' Croom said.
In addition to the relay. Croom, the
four-time All-American, expects to
race in the 400- and 800-meter dash.
Burton will compete in shorter
sprints, mainly the 55-meter dash and
the 200. Along with Klassen, the trio
will lead a women's team that has
won the last 18 conference titles.
Looking to unseat the defending
champions is Texas.
The Longhorns have one of the
deepest groups of sprinters in the
country. Burton said the Longhorns
definitely pose a threat to the throne
the 1 luskers have occupied since 1980.
"They have four or five people at
ii
We know we re going to have a great
relay team...”
La’Tisha Croom
NU sprinter
every sprint event, but we have talent
here too.” Burton said.
Head Coach Gary Pepin and the
rest of the Huskers are hoping for
some of the newcomers to step in and
make an early impact.
Senior transfer Meka Rembert is
one of NU’s heralded rookies.
Rembert. a transfer from Kentucky, is
expected to run in the 400-meter hur
dles
She competed with the Huskers
last year unattached because she was
not granted a release from Kentucky.
Rembert competed in the U.S.
Olympic Trials and the NCAA
Championships in 1996.
Freshman sprinter Leslie Owusu
also hopes to make an early impres
sion for the Fluskers.
The British Junior Champion
came to Lincoln from Slough
Berkshire. United Kingdom and said
she's very excited to make her debut
at the Devaney track.
"I want to enjoy it and run well.
That's basically what 1 want to do"
Owusu said.
Owusu plans to run in the 55-.
200- and 800-meter dash.