2008 Woodie Awards
Huskers hope to end slump with win against KSU
Jon Crowl
Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: Sports
Ryan Anderson shrugged his shoulders, leaned forward on the wooden bleacher, turned away and back again. He had only one word and a pained grimace to answer the question.
Is Nebraska ready to move past its meltdown loss at Iowa State?
"Yeah," Anderson said.
It's as simple as that. But the degree to which the Cornhusker men's basketball team anticipates their game against Kansas State is far understated.
It's been four disappointing days since Nebraska lost 60-52 to the Cyclones after combusting on defense. A long four days, if you ask Anderson.
Kansas State brings the nation's most illustrious college freshmen into the Bob Devaney Sports Center tonight, but the opponent isn't as important. Two tough losses to ISU and Missouri last week has Nebraska ready to move on.
To what, exactly, is unclear. With a 3-7 league record, only lowly Colorado separates the Huskers from the Big 12 Conference basement.
Nebraska is far removed from the outlook they had this time last week, when they were 3-5 in the Big 12 with two winnable games on tap.
Now, Nebraska's postseason is up in the air.
"Just not knowing what that (postseason) situation is hurts our team," Anderson said. "Not knowing how good the team really is. It's hard to see until the season's over, and you see where we finish, or whatever happens, and that shoulda-coulda-woulda thing kicks in."
Nebraska is no stranger to games they should have or could have won. Three of its conference losses this season were decided by four points or less or sent into overtime.
It's a rare occurrence when the team allows 49 points in the second half after allowing 11 in the first, as was the case against Iowa State.
What was likely Nebraska's most favorable stretch of the conference season has now passed. To climb back into contention for any postseason bid, the Huskers will fight an uphill battle.
Kansas State will present a tall order. The Wildcats are one of the hottest teams in the conference right now, in a three-way battle with Kansas and Texas for the regular season title.
Star freshman Michael Beasley hasn't let up in the Big 12, either. He leads the conference in scoring and rebounding. Against Nebraska earlier this season, he played beyond his averages, scoring 35 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
"(Beasley) is very diverse," senior center Aleks Maric said. "He can put it on the floor, he can post up and he can shoot. We've got to limit his touches."
Beasley has shown the ability to handle whatever defenses throw at him. His length and range make it difficult for big men to follow him out to the three-point line, where his speed and athleticism almost always puts him at an advantage.
The Wildcats also have the luxury of a talented supporting cast that prevents opposing defenses from throwing gimmick schemes at Beasley to try and slow the forward down.
So far this season, Beasley has proven almost impossible to contain. If Nebraska wants to reverse its fortunes against Kansas State, it won't be without an arsenal of ways to slow down KSU's star.
"You've got to show (Beasley) a bunch of different looks," NU assistant Coach Dave Anwar said. "You've got to show him man, you've got to show him zone. You're never going to contain him, but to slow him down you've got to throw a bunch of different things at him."
JONCROWL@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
Is Nebraska ready to move past its meltdown loss at Iowa State?
"Yeah," Anderson said.
It's as simple as that. But the degree to which the Cornhusker men's basketball team anticipates their game against Kansas State is far understated.
It's been four disappointing days since Nebraska lost 60-52 to the Cyclones after combusting on defense. A long four days, if you ask Anderson.
Kansas State brings the nation's most illustrious college freshmen into the Bob Devaney Sports Center tonight, but the opponent isn't as important. Two tough losses to ISU and Missouri last week has Nebraska ready to move on.
To what, exactly, is unclear. With a 3-7 league record, only lowly Colorado separates the Huskers from the Big 12 Conference basement.
Nebraska is far removed from the outlook they had this time last week, when they were 3-5 in the Big 12 with two winnable games on tap.
Now, Nebraska's postseason is up in the air.
"Just not knowing what that (postseason) situation is hurts our team," Anderson said. "Not knowing how good the team really is. It's hard to see until the season's over, and you see where we finish, or whatever happens, and that shoulda-coulda-woulda thing kicks in."
Nebraska is no stranger to games they should have or could have won. Three of its conference losses this season were decided by four points or less or sent into overtime.
It's a rare occurrence when the team allows 49 points in the second half after allowing 11 in the first, as was the case against Iowa State.
What was likely Nebraska's most favorable stretch of the conference season has now passed. To climb back into contention for any postseason bid, the Huskers will fight an uphill battle.
Kansas State will present a tall order. The Wildcats are one of the hottest teams in the conference right now, in a three-way battle with Kansas and Texas for the regular season title.
Star freshman Michael Beasley hasn't let up in the Big 12, either. He leads the conference in scoring and rebounding. Against Nebraska earlier this season, he played beyond his averages, scoring 35 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
"(Beasley) is very diverse," senior center Aleks Maric said. "He can put it on the floor, he can post up and he can shoot. We've got to limit his touches."
Beasley has shown the ability to handle whatever defenses throw at him. His length and range make it difficult for big men to follow him out to the three-point line, where his speed and athleticism almost always puts him at an advantage.
The Wildcats also have the luxury of a talented supporting cast that prevents opposing defenses from throwing gimmick schemes at Beasley to try and slow the forward down.
So far this season, Beasley has proven almost impossible to contain. If Nebraska wants to reverse its fortunes against Kansas State, it won't be without an arsenal of ways to slow down KSU's star.
"You've got to show (Beasley) a bunch of different looks," NU assistant Coach Dave Anwar said. "You've got to show him man, you've got to show him zone. You're never going to contain him, but to slow him down you've got to throw a bunch of different things at him."
JONCROWL@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
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