NU men expect up-tempo rematch with CU
By Adam Klinker
Senior staff writer
Since their last meeting 10 days
ago, the Colorado and Nebraska
men’s basketball teams both have
Nee
acquired some
thing the other
team would love
to have.
Not that NU
would concede its
84-69 victory
over Kansas to the
Buffaloes, who
lost to the
Jayhawks 77-74
on Jan. 30. But
the Cornhuskers would certainly be
happy to own CU’s 64-44 win against
Iowa State, a team that beat NU 52-47
on Saturday.
But now, halfway through the Big
12 Conference season, NU (13-8
overall and 5-3 in the Big 12) knows
not to expect any gifts from any team.
“Any loss sets us back,” Husker
Coach Danny Nee said. “February
really decides the conference. We’ve
got a clean slate now, and we’ve gotto
win as many as we can.”
And win on the road, too.
Following the trip to Boulder, Colo.,
where CU is 9-1 on its home floor, the
Huskers’ next road game will be at
Kansas after a home game with No.
24 Missouri, a team NU suffered an
80-57 loss to Jan. 2.
But the rigorous schedule hasn’t
fazed the Huskers.
“We’ve had a pretty tough sched
ule so far,” NU guard Cookie Belcher
said. “All the nonconference games
have prepared us for these games
right here. We have enough strength
to take us down the stretch and finish
out the season.”
Colorado (11-10,2-6), sandwich
es Nebraska between its loss to KU
and another game with the Jayhawks
on Feb. 7. The Buffs’ last meeting
with the Huskers ended in a 72-55
NU win in Lincoln on Jan. 23. ,
However, Nee knows that playing
CU at home this time will literally
prove to be a whole new ballgame.
“They’re really playing well,”
Nee said. “They’re a solid athletic
team and they’re going to be in front
of their fans. They’re a little more
focused and energized and they’ve
got a competitive edge.”
After the Nebraska loss,
Colorado is shooting 47.4 percent
from the field and averaging 70.5
points per game in their 20-point win
over ISU and their near miss against
Kansas.
u
Both teams like to get up and run. We like to
put points on the board and so do they.”
Cookie Belcher
NU guard
Guards Jaquay Walls and Kenny
Price and forward Carlton Carter are
all averaging double-digit point totals
in the last two games. Walls’ season
high 23 points against KU and Price’s
23 against Iowa State led all scorers
in those games.
Against conference foes, Price is
averaging 13.7 points per game. In
the first game with NU, Price led all
scorers with 19 points.
“We’ve played them once; we’ve
seen what they have,” Belcher said.
“We know they can play a lot better at
home. We’ve got to come out and be
aggressive and try to get a road win.”
And, in keeping with the frantic
pace of the last game, in which transi
tion points and breakaway dunks
abounded, Belcher foresees no
change in tempo when the Huskers
meet CU in Boulder.
“Both teams like to get up and
run,” Belcher said. “We like to put
points on the board, so do they. I
expect a fast-paced game.”
NU tips off with the Buffs tonight
at 7:05 p.m. Central Standard Time.
Big 12 women gain recognition
By Jay Saunders
Staffwriter
Not too many things that are 3 years
old gain a great deal of respect.
Children are barely talking, wine
hasn’t aged and dogs may not be fully
grown.
But in only three years of existence,
the Big 12 Conference is making a
name for itself in women’s basketball.
“It is not a question - we are one of
the top conferences in the country for
women’s basketball,” Kansas Coach
Marian Washington said. “I think we get
a lot more respect now.”
That respect did not come overnight
for the Big 12. Two years ago, the con
ference sent five teams to the NCAA
tournament
In 1998, a case was made for a sixth
to go to the Big Dance, but only four -
Texas Tech, Iowa State, Kansas and
Nebraska - represented the league in its
second year.
“Last year was a real slap in the
face,” Washington said. “People have to
give this conference credit”
This season, the Big 12 is looking
for more respect as one of die country’s
“super conferences.”
Already this year, 19 games have
been on national or regional television.
Conference teams can be seen nine
more times this year, including the
semifinals and the finals of the confer
ence tournament March 4 and 6.
And this year, the statistics speak for
themselves. Four teams have been
ranked in the Associated Press Top 25.
The Big 12 is the second best con
ference according to yesterday’s release
of the Ratings Percentage Index. The
only conference it trails is the
Southeastern Conference, which is a
traditional powerhouse and contains
defending national champion
Tennessee.
“In three years, we’ve made great
strides,” Iowa State Coach Bill Fennelly
said.
Once again this season, coaches
around the league say the Big 12 should
place half of the conference in the
NCAA tournament
Eight teams in the conference have
RPI rankings in the top 64. That group is
led by Texas Tech, which is fifth in the
latest rankings release.
But the problem for the Big 12
seems to be the parity of the league.
Through the first half of the conference
season, only two games separate the
fourth-place team from the noplace
team.
“We have eight games left and there
is a big old logjam,” Baylor Coach
Sonja Hogg said. “But I would like to
think we can get six in.”
Helping the Big 12’s cause is the
success teams had in the nonconference
season. The overall record against non
conference teams this season was 94
36. Big 12 teams won 13 games against
top 25 teams.
“There are so many teams that are
good teams in our conference that are
beating each other up,” Colorado Coach
Ceal Berry said. “It doesn’t matter
where you are in the conference; you
have to be ready to play every night.
“I hope the selection committee rec
ognizes that.”
If the Big 12 is to break through and
qualify six teams for the tournament,
Washington said the main reason for
success will be coaching.
Four Big 12 coaches have been to
the Final Four. Texas Tech’s Marsha
Sharp and Texas’ Jody Conradt have
each won national championships.
This season, Conradt won her 600th
career game.
“It probably begins with coaching in
the conference,” Washington said. “We
have unbelievable experience, and that
says a lot that we are able to attract some
of the best coaches.”
Even with all the experience, these
coaches have not figured out the formu
la for winning on the road.
This season, teams have won only
30 percent of games away from home.
Nebraska, which has a 26-game home
winning streak, has not won a confer
enee game on the road.
Oklahoma is in a similar position,
but the Sooners have taken it step fur
ther. OU is 0-7 overall on the road this
season.
“This conference is brutal on the
road and you have to hang on for dear
life at home,” Fennelly said. “This
league is very competitive.”
The coaches know the conference is
competitive, and the fans around the
league are starting to figure it out as
well.
SevenBig 12 teams are indie top 30
in the nation for average attendance,
including Texas Tech and Texas in the
top 10.
“That is what I like about the Big
12,” Sharp said. “Everyone has a great
program.”
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Georgia Girls big part
of Bulldogs9 recruiting
■ While some argue
hostesses are sex objects,
girls argue they’re really
the ‘ultimate fan.’
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - They are
known as the Georgia Girls, a group of
some 70 “vivacious” female students
who spend their winter weekends tak
ing high school football recruits to din
ner.
The program has been around at
least 20 years, and is an important part
of attracting some of the country’s best
players to the University of Georgia.
Some say the program is nothing
more than a university-sponsored
escort service.
Just the fact that these hospitality
teams are all female and the football
players are all male sets up the expecta
tion that what is being given out is sex
appeal,” said Victoria Davion, who
teaches a feminist philosophy class.
“They’re selling sex appeal as an
enticement to come.”
Not so, says Dominique Holloman,
a sophomore Georgia Girl.
“We’re like hostesses,” she said.
“You could think of it as a tour guide.”
Last season, Tennessee fans taunt
ed Georgia Girls at a game, insinuating
that they used sex to sign players.
Other schools with powerhouse
football programs, mostly in the South,
have similar organizations - the Bama
Belles (Alabama), the Vol Hostesses
(Tennessee), the Gator Guides
(Florida), the Rebel Recruiters
(Mississippi) and the Tiger PAWS
(Clemson). The NCAA has no objec
tioa
The Georgia Girls look for young
women who are “vivacious, outgoing
and informative,” said Audra Towson,
the 22-year-old president of the group.
But what recruits notice is their
looks. Bulldog linebacker Adrian
Hollingshed said recruits often talk
about which school has the prettiest
escorts. But he said the players don’t
expect relationships with the women.
The Georgia Girls acknowledge
they flirt with some recruits, but say it
never goes beyond that
Towson said many of the women
are in their 20s and wouldn’t consider
dating teen-agers. Although some
Georgia Girls date current Bulldog
players, Towson said she has never
heard of any escort who had a physical
relationship with a recruit.
Not that there are rules against it.
Revealing clothes are frowned upon,
but the only thing strictly forbidden is
wearing anything other than the school
colors, red and black.
The Georgia Girls’ work really
begins in January, when recruits visit
toe campus.
On Fridays, the women put on their
best red-and-black outfits for dinner
with the players. Each woman takes
basic football lessons and studies up on
her recruit - where he’s from, his par
ents’ names and his position - to keep
the conversation flowing smoothly.
“We play a part in making them
feel more comfortable at the school,”
says Haley Cagle, a senior and the pro
gram’s vice president. “Sometimes
they’ll confide stuff in us that they
don’t tell the coaches.”
The Georgia Girls will see the
results of their work on Wednesday,
college football’s signing day, when the
recruits’ decisions on which school
they will play for are announced.
“I feel like more than just a person
in the stands,” Holloman said. “I’m
actually part of something, not just an
onlooker. It’s kind of like being the ulti
mate fen.”
Davis will sign
with NU today
DAVIS from page 9
Nebraska.
Daniel Waldrop, an offensive line
man from Wilmington, Calif., chose
Washington State over Nebraska,
Colorado, Washington and Arizona
State, according to the Spokane
Spokesman Review.
The Huskers are still awaiting deci
sions from Larry Croom, a defensive
back from California, and BJ Ward, a
defensive back out of Dallas Kimball
High School. Ward had reduced his list
to Florida State and Nebraska, accord
ing to his high school coach two weeks
ago.
The Huskers are expected to sign at
least 20 athletes to scholarships
Wednesday.
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