2008 Woodie Awards
NU gets first Big 12 win
Michael McHale
Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: Sports
Amazing what a victory can do.
Nebraska snapped its losing streak on the road and in the Big 12 Conference by winning at Missouri 66-62 on Wednesday night.
Sure, five Tigers were suspended for getting into brawl outside a nightclub last weekend. But the Cornhuskers (12-6, 1-4 Big 12) ran into some obstacles of their own in Columbia, Mo.
And somehow they jumped over them.
"I'm so proud of our team tonight," NU Coach Doc Sadler said during his postgame radio interview. "All the pressure in the world was against us. Everybody just assumed that because they had some guys not playing, it was just going to be an easy basketball game."
In fact, it turned into a slugfest. After jumping to an early lead, the Huskers found themselves locked in a tie at 60 with less than three minutes remaining.
NU senior center Aleks Maric could only watch from the bench. He had fouled out.
But his teammates came through. With 1 minute, 15 seconds left, NU junior guard Steve Harley drove full speed into Mizzou's zone defense and laid the ball in the hoop, giving his squad a 62-60 advantage.
Mizzou had a chance to tie the score with less than 30 seconds on the clock. Then NU sophomore guard Ryan Anderson stole a pass, dribbled the length of the floor and finished the layup, giving the Huskers a 64-60 lead with 16 seconds left and all but sealing the win.
"We had to make plays to get that victory tonight," Sadler said. "And our guys did make the plays."
Nebraska entered the game as the league's coldest team, having lost its first four Big 12 games. Not to mention it had yet to win on the road.
All that changed on Wednesday. Four Huskers reached double figures in scoring and two recorded double-doubles.
Maric finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds, and sophomore guard Ryan Anderson added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Harley tacked on a game-high 15 points, and sophomore guard Sek Henry chipped in 14 off the bench.
Most of Henry's points came in the first half, when the Huskers struck the initial blow. He buried two 3-pointers in the opening minutes to help NU sprint to a 12-5 lead.
Nebraska continued to stretch the gap, going ahead 32-23 when Henry buried another trey with three minutes left in the first period.
"Thankfully," Sadler said, "we made some tough shots."
But the Tigers fought back. They went on a 7-0 run to close the half and cut NU's advantage to just 32-30.
After the break, Maric quickly picked up his fourth foul and was forced to sit on the bench. And NU freshman guard Cookie Miller took a knee to his thigh and had to leave the game for several minutes.
Mizzou nipped at NU's heals the rest of the way, finally tying the score at 58 with just more than three minutes left.
Sadler called a timeout to settle his players. The Huskers weren't going to give the game away.
On the next possession, Harley popped open for a 15-foot shot and buried it, giving the Huskers a 60-58 advantage.
They capitalized from there - unlike so many Big 12 games before.
"Any time you can get a win, and then you add the fact that you win on the road," Sadler said, "I don't care what kind of circumstances you're in, I think it's always good. And our guys stepped up."
MICHAELMCHALE@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
Nebraska snapped its losing streak on the road and in the Big 12 Conference by winning at Missouri 66-62 on Wednesday night.
Sure, five Tigers were suspended for getting into brawl outside a nightclub last weekend. But the Cornhuskers (12-6, 1-4 Big 12) ran into some obstacles of their own in Columbia, Mo.
And somehow they jumped over them.
"I'm so proud of our team tonight," NU Coach Doc Sadler said during his postgame radio interview. "All the pressure in the world was against us. Everybody just assumed that because they had some guys not playing, it was just going to be an easy basketball game."
In fact, it turned into a slugfest. After jumping to an early lead, the Huskers found themselves locked in a tie at 60 with less than three minutes remaining.
NU senior center Aleks Maric could only watch from the bench. He had fouled out.
But his teammates came through. With 1 minute, 15 seconds left, NU junior guard Steve Harley drove full speed into Mizzou's zone defense and laid the ball in the hoop, giving his squad a 62-60 advantage.
Mizzou had a chance to tie the score with less than 30 seconds on the clock. Then NU sophomore guard Ryan Anderson stole a pass, dribbled the length of the floor and finished the layup, giving the Huskers a 64-60 lead with 16 seconds left and all but sealing the win.
"We had to make plays to get that victory tonight," Sadler said. "And our guys did make the plays."
Nebraska entered the game as the league's coldest team, having lost its first four Big 12 games. Not to mention it had yet to win on the road.
All that changed on Wednesday. Four Huskers reached double figures in scoring and two recorded double-doubles.
Maric finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds, and sophomore guard Ryan Anderson added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Harley tacked on a game-high 15 points, and sophomore guard Sek Henry chipped in 14 off the bench.
Most of Henry's points came in the first half, when the Huskers struck the initial blow. He buried two 3-pointers in the opening minutes to help NU sprint to a 12-5 lead.
Nebraska continued to stretch the gap, going ahead 32-23 when Henry buried another trey with three minutes left in the first period.
"Thankfully," Sadler said, "we made some tough shots."
But the Tigers fought back. They went on a 7-0 run to close the half and cut NU's advantage to just 32-30.
After the break, Maric quickly picked up his fourth foul and was forced to sit on the bench. And NU freshman guard Cookie Miller took a knee to his thigh and had to leave the game for several minutes.
Mizzou nipped at NU's heals the rest of the way, finally tying the score at 58 with just more than three minutes left.
Sadler called a timeout to settle his players. The Huskers weren't going to give the game away.
On the next possession, Harley popped open for a 15-foot shot and buried it, giving the Huskers a 60-58 advantage.
They capitalized from there - unlike so many Big 12 games before.
"Any time you can get a win, and then you add the fact that you win on the road," Sadler said, "I don't care what kind of circumstances you're in, I think it's always good. And our guys stepped up."
MICHAELMCHALE@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
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