Daily Nebraskan

Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: Sports

Nebraska's Sek Henry boasts his ball-handling skills. [Click to enlarge]

The fate of Cookie Miller hasn't derailed Nebraska's plans.

It didn't on Saturday, when the Cornhuskers turned in a 65-59 upset of then-No. 22 Texas A&M. It didn't on Monday, either, when NU returned to practice without Miller and the severely sprained right shoulder he suffered in a collision with an A&M player.

The Huskers' offense of late has been too efficient to alter, at least at the behest of one player's absence.

"We're still going to play the same," NU sophomore forward Chris Balham said. "We played as a team the whole year. Obviously, we'd like to have Cookie right now, but we're still going to play as a team and play hard."

Miller's status for Wednesday's game against Oklahoma is dubious. NU's offense, on the other hand, seems the opposite.

Four players scored in double figures against the Aggies, helping the Huskers grab hold of the momentum from start to finish.

Their offensive sets certainly helped. Nebraska routinely combined a pick-and-roll play with a backdoor cut to help thwart A&M's defense, making the higher-ranked opponent look like it was daydreaming at times.

In reality, the play was simple. Balham or senior center Aleks Maric would run to the outside and set a ball screen for the guard. That guard would then swing it to sophomore Ryan Anderson, who quickly offered a no-look dish to the retreating big man cutting to the hoop, be it Balham or Maric.

More often than not, an easy dunk ensued.

"It makes scoring easier," NU coach Doc Sadler said. "Anytime you can get a basket by getting a play off of a set, it means that's just one less thing that you have to do. It's hard to score any time, but when you can score by a play, it makes it easier."

Balham scored a career-high 10 points against A&M, most coming off backdoor dunks or lay-ups. But the play's effectiveness didn't end there.

Whenever the post player set the screen, his defender usually followed him. If that defender stayed up top, Balham or Maric would be open as they cut back to the hoop.

If the defender fell back, though, an NU guard would be wide open. The Aggies found that out the hard way.

With the score knotted at 57 late in Saturday's game, sophomore guard Sek Henry caught the ball and began running the play. Maric set a screen, and his defender retreated at his side back to the paint, memories of those backdoor embarrassments still fresh.

Henry was wide open.

He buried the trey, giving the Huskers a 60-57 lead with 1 minute, 22 seconds left and putting an exclamation mark on the eventual victory.

"When something's working, you just keep going to it until it gets stopped," Anderson said. "We just try to utilize it. We just did what (Sadler) wanted us to do."

All that happened after Miller had been dragged off the floor. And when NU's point guard hurt his shoulder with six minutes remaining, there was still plenty of work to do.

The Huskers got it done, defeating their second ranked opponent in four days. They knocked off No. 25 Kansas State last Wednesday.

Miller or no Miller, NU's tactics stayed the same.

"As a team, when everybody's contributing, it's definitely a good feeling," Anderson said. "And you're getting victories."

MICHAELMCHALE@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM

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