ON File Photo
Nebraska wiH try to avenge a lopsided M-b2 loss at Kansas' AHen Rddhouse when
they host the Jayhawfcs on Sunday aftemoon.The game has NIT implications for NU,
13-13, whomust finish the season with a .500 record to qualify for postseason play.
Huskers, KU both
have much to play for
KANSASfrompage12
Nebraska Coach Barry Collier
said. “It'd be a big win not just
because it's Kansas but because
it’s a win, and that’s what we want
as competitors.”
The game is just as big for KU,
who has seen its ranking slip out
of the top 10 after sitting as high
as No. 3 only two weeks ago.
The Jayhawks may have right
ed its ship in time for a late-sea
son run on Wednesday night,
defeating CU 91-79 at home.
But Kansas will still be with
out junior forward Drew Gooden
for at least the Nebraska game.
Gooden, who scored 17 points in
KU’s 84-62 win over the Huskers
on Jan. 17, will miss his fifth
straight contest on Sunday due to
a small fracture in his right wrist
Gooden’s absence could help
Nebraska, but Kansas seems to
have the depth to make his loss a
non-factor, Collier said.
“Kansas just presents a great
many of problems,” Collier said.
“They’re strong inside even with
the players they have. One of our
goals is to learn from the last time
we played them and learn from
(Wednesday night).”
Nebraska senior guard
Rodney Fields said victory was
attainable for NU if the Huskers
abide by three things.
“We have to make smart deci
sions. Kansas likes to speed your
game up, but we can't turn the
ball over,” he said. “And we have
to stay poised and rebound, and if
we’re in the game come second
half, it’ll be a dog fight”
Fields also said NU would
have to play much sharper than it
did on Wednesday night, a 65-64
loss to Texas Tech that dealt a
blow to possible Nebraska post
season hopes.
“If we play like we did in that
game, we won’t see the postsea
son,” Nebraska senior guard
Rodney Fields said. “I’m a senior,
and I know the other seniors on
this team fully expect to play after
the regular season. I think you’ll
see a different team come to play
on Sunday.”
Fields said it wouldn't hurt to
be in the friendly confines of the
Bob Devaney Sports Center
again, either.
“Nebraska and Kansas is the
most anticipated game around
here,” he said. “It’s a great atmos
phere, and with the crowd behind
us and if we bring our A game...
we’ll get a victory.”
Women's basketball back on track in time for Baylor
BY BRIAN CHRISTOPH EPSON
It’s not maybe quite at the
same level as seeing Lazarus rise
from the dead, but the Nebraska
women’s basketball team seems
to have suddenly propped open
its casket and come to life.
The Comhuskers (12-15,4
10) find themselves on a two
game winning streak heading
into Saturday's 7:05 p.m.
matchup with No. 24 Baylor (18
7,7-7) at the Bob Devaney Sports
Center.
The Huskers have a hop in
their step for the first time in a
long time after Wednesday's 49
46 win over Kansas.
“We’ve made a team commit
ment to get better,” sophomore
forward Paige Sutton said.
“We’ve decided to get the most of
these last games and not give up
on the season.”
NU will need to be at its best
to beat the Bears, Nebraska
Coach Paul Sanderford said.
“They aren’t ranked in the top
25 for nothing,” Sanderford said.
“They have two tremendous
players in Crockrom and
Lambert”
The statistics back Sanderfod
up. BU junior guard Sheila
Lambert is averaging 23 points
per game while sophomore for
ward Danielle Crockrom is aver
aging 21.4.
Sutton said Nebraska’s defen
sive play would have to be at its
best to pull off the upset
"I think it's important that we
guard the dribble penetration,”
Sutton said. “If we do that, we can
win."
Sanderford said his team was
gaining confidence in itself as the
season comes to a conclusion.
"This team has had persist
ence,” he said. "The fact is that
these coaches and players never
have given up. We found a way to
win that Kansas game. We
wouldn’t have won that game a
few weeks ago.”
Pitchers concentrating
on strikes,aggression
LOUISIANA from page 12
the third starter, but an arm
injury will keep him out of
action for at least this weekend
and possibly in the team’s Big 12
opening series against Texas
Tech next weekend.
It’s another small blow to a
staff that has spent the young
season dealing with inconven
iences.
“It seems like something
happens every weekend,"
Childress said. “That first week
end, we had to bump Shane
back from Friday to Sunday
(because of a minor back
injury). Last weekend, we had to
bump R.D. (Spiehs) back
because he woke up sick on
Friday.
“Now it’s Justin, who has
pitched really well so far. It’s
been hard to get into a rhythm."
The NU pitchers aren’t satis
fied with that explanation of
their struggles. The staff held a
lengthy and sometimes heated
meeting Monday where they
discussed ways to improve.
“We just got everything out,"
Pekarek said. “If people had
stuff to say about how we’ve
been pitching, they said it"
In the meeting, the pitchers
reestablished some goals,
including throwing strikes early
in the count and being aggres
sive with hitters, Pekarek said.
This weekend’s tournament
is no guaranteed rebound for
the pitching staff. Louisiana
Lafayette (6-4) earned a College
World Series berth last season,
while Ohio State (0-0) is one of
the Big 10’s best teams, and
Wichita State (3-0) is a perennial
baseball powerhouse.
“We’re facing three pressure
offenses this weekend,"
Childress said. “They’ll try to
run on us, hit and run, not try to
beat us with the three-run
homer like most of the teams we
face.
“We have to hold their run
ners on real well and try to limit
their running game."
While acknowledging the
quality of all three weekend
opponents, Pekarek said the
pitchers, and the whole team,
were gunning for much more
than they've gotten in their first
two tournaments.
www.dailyneb.com
"We’d be real disappointed
with anything but a sweep," he
said. “We have to reprove to
people that we're one of the
nation’s best teams, and going
2-1 every weekend isn't going to
do that.”
Saturday’s game against
Louisiana-Lafayette will be car
ried locally by Omaha’s KXVO
WB 15, while Friday's game will
be televised regionally by Fox
Sports Southeast
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No. 10U awaits men s gym
BY KRISTEN WATERS
The No. 11 men’s gymnastics
team will face tough competi
tion this weekend as they com
pete against two top-rated
teams. The Huskers play host to
No. 7 Iowa today then travel to
Oklahoma for a dual against the
No. 1 Sooners.
"It’s going to be a tough
weekend of competing,” senior
Jason Hardabura said.
The 3-1 Huskers are excited
to be hosting their first meet of
the season even though they
will be competing at the
Pershing Auditorium instead of
the Devaney Center. The loca
tion of the meet was changed
because of the NCAA indoor
track and field championships.
“They’re not excited it’s at
Pershing,” Coach Francis Allen
said, “but they're excited it’s at
home.”
NU is coming off a strong
performance after its meet at
Santa Barbara last weekend
where they walked away with
the team title, while four
Huskers took event titles.
Competition this weekend
will be different, however.
The Huskers are no stranger
to the Hawkeyes. In the two pro
grams’ history the teams have
met 13 times, with each team
winning six and tying once. In
their most recent meeting, the
Huskers fell to Iowa 226.300
216.675 a year ago in Iowa City.
History doesn't worry Nebraska
much, though.
“Iowa’s a good team, but we
are definitely capable of win
ning,” Hardabura said.
However, the Huskers may
have more difficulty in Sunday’s
match against the Sooners.
Nebraska has competed against
Oklahoma once already this
season at the Rocky Mountain
Open where OU bettered NU
209.750-200.050.
“Oklahoma is going to be a
difficult team to compete
against,” Hardabura said. “They
scored around 216 in their last
meet which is very solid.”
Nebraska will look to
improve its record as competi
tion against Iowa begins at 7:30
p.m. Competition against
Oklahoma will start on Sunday
at 2 p.m.
Tennis teams face
tough opponents
BY VINCE KUPPKa
Coming off an unexpected
loss last weekend against Drake,
the Nebraska men’s tennis team
hopes to get back on track this
weekend
The task won’t be easy,
though, as the 5-2 Comhuskers
face three ranked opponents.
NU takes on 21st-ranked
Baylor (2-2) today at noon at the
Woods Tennis Center before leav
ing for matches against two top
50 teams - San Diego (4-1) and
San Diego State (1-7) - on
Saturday and Sunday, respective
ly
“We need to play really hard
frc n die first point on-total con
centration, total effort,” Coach
Kerry McDermott said We need
to play with lots of intensity. The
key to (the Baylor) match is that
our guys need to be fired up.”
Lance Mills, who has played
at the No. 2 spot most of the sea
son, said NU was ready to take on
the challenge.
“We feel like we can compete
in the top level of college tennis,”
Mills said “From the feeling that I
get, everybody has a really good
opinion about how we can do
against Baylor. Everybody really
thinks we can win.”
Mills has been the Huskers’
most consistent player this year.
He is die only undefeated Husker
in duals this season at 7-0 and
played at No. 1 in the last two
matches.
While Mills has repeatedly
picked up a point for NU,
McDermott said the whole team
needed to be ready, starting with
the doubles matches.
“We need to play solid dou
bles,” he said “We got to win die
doubles point That gives you a
little bit of momentum going into
the singles.”
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The Huskers did not have that
momentum last weekend against
Drake (1-3), losing two of the .
three doubles matches en route
to a one-point team loss, 4-3.
Despite coming off a loss
against die Bulldogs, the Huskers
believe they can rebound against
Baylor, McDermott said.
“Our guys feel confident that
if we play well we can win this
match," he said. “I feel really com
fortable about being able to pull a
huge upset” '
In women’s tennis action, the
61st-ranked Huskers (8-0) start
their conference season at fifth
ranked Texas (4-0) on Saturday
and then face Z^-ranked Texas
A&M (7-0) on Sunday.
Haying in its first away match
of the year, NU also will face its
first ranked opponent, the
Longhorns.
Coach Scott Jacobson said a
win this weekend could help pro
pel the Huskers to their season
goal.
“To do this point we’ve done
everything we’ve really had to do
in older to have an opportunity to
be in the hunt for die NCAA tour
nament, which is our long term
goal,” Jacobson said. “What we’re
going to have to do is beat some
body ahead of us in the national
scale. This is a great opportunity.”
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