KANSAS CITY—No one ever said Cinderella was pretty.
Even a team with a record as ugly as Nebraska’s can wear a glass slipper on some days.
Nebraska’s 75-60 win against an NCAA tournament-caliber Missouri Tiger team qualifies as a stunner. The Huskers now have almost as many wins over Big 12 opponents in postseason play as they did in the regular season.
Nebraska looked ready for Wednesday’s game against the Tigers. Despite the disparity in talent, wins and fans, the Huskers came out and met Missouri’s energy and effort. To an uneducated onlooker, Nebraska played like the team that will be part of the field of 65, not the team that lost 14 conference games.
Forward Ryan Anderson hit big first half shots and chased down rebounds. Guards Brandon Richardson and Lance Jeter consistently broke the Tiger’s press, setting up a good half court offense. Center Jorge Brian Diaz even played like a Big 12 caliber big man, scoring 10 points in the paint.
Who are these ringers?
Give Nebraska coach Doc Sadler credit. His team continued to play hard all year, and Wednesday’s win finally rewarded that.
Sadler said motivating his team was easy because all he had to do was point out its dire situation.
“Our guys, I think, understand that there’s not much room between their back and that wall,” Sadler said. “We’ve got to come out and give everything we’ve got and see what happens.”
Despite the loss, Missouri gets to move forward with its season. The Huskers don’t have that luxury. Feel free to illustrate their precarious situation with any given cliche – the players used a number of them: everyone is 0-0, it’s a one-game season, it’s one game at a time, fight to see another day. But it worked. The team prolonged its expiration date, and the Huskers’ season is extended by exactly one day.
Wednesday’s win might make it a few more.
This team, as inept as it has been for most of 2010, might have turned a few necessary heads in regards to a postseason tournament bid, specifically the College Basketball Invitational.
This is not interesting to a team with a bigger goal in mind. After the game, senior guard Sek Henry said at this point he wasn’t interested in any postseason tournament besides the big one.
“We all know that the big dance is the NCAA tournament,” Henry said. “I don’t want to lose first round or lose second round. I want to keep winning and have the chance to make it to the NCAA tournament. If we give ourselves a chance each game, I am happy with that.”
For now, the challenge remains to continue playing with the energy and confidence displayed today. They’ll have to do it against a team with fresher legs. Texas A&M will be coming off a first round bye. To some teams, the idea of back-to-back games can be grueling, but to a Sadler-led squad, a game is a great relief. It means no practices.
“We do this every day,” freshman guard Eushante Jones said. “We practice hard. We’ve had two 5 a.m. practices this week. I really think that helps us rally together and play together.”
The locker room was filled with happy players who looked relieved to finally be allowed to enjoy themselves. This season has been particularly draining. The losses have piled up, and as early as last week, it looked like the grind had finally broken the Huskers down.
But Wednesday’s win appears to have rejuvenated the team. They’ll accept their role as an ugly Cinderella and try to win as many games as they can before the clock strikes midnight on this season.
Michael Schaefer is a senior news-editorial major. Reach him at michaelschaefer@dailynebraskan.com.
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