neb advacnes over ou

[KansasHusker]

nebraska just upset ou once again!!! nebraska is one game away from the ship!!! I had a party with friends watching the game tonight, which is why I did not provide the usual play-by-play...huge win we did awesome tonight even with maric not dominating! jamel came up huge! go big red!!!!!!!!!!!

[austinhusker]

That was so AWESOME! Jamel is a stud! Bring on KU..

[KansasHusker]

we got smached by ku the first 2 times...how sweet would a 3rd time being the charm be?!?! you can only hope so...so much confidence and momentum for our squad, but ku's D is so ferocious...

[DJR313]

NU played a great game tonight. Did absolutely everything they had to. Looked 100% better than they did on thursday. If NU could play at that level every game, NU would be an NCAA tourney team without a doubt. Hopefully, if they don't run the table, they can get in the NIT and get some momentum from that.

[kc_husker]

Oh yeah my sons baseball practice on Sat. was suppose to be from

2-4 now its from 2 to 3:15. Beat the Gayhawks!!!!!!!!!!!

[Eric the Red]

Postseason plans look brighter for NU

 

Nebraska probably played its way into the NIT with Friday night's 69-63 win over Oklahoma in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.

 

Could an NCAA bid be around the corner?

 

It at least has to be part of the discussion. Two more victories would give NU (19-12) its first league tournament title since 1994 and an automatic spot in the NCAAs.

 

A semifinal win today won't come easily. The opponent at 3:30 p.m. is No. 17 Kansas, which has thrashed NU by 42 and 21 points already.

Today's semis • Texas (26-5) vs. Texas A&M (21-7), 1 p.m. (Cox 2)

 

• Kansas (23-7) vs. Nebraska (19-12), 3:30 p.m. (Cox 2, KFAB AM)

 

 

 

"That first game against them was a nightmare," NU coach Barry Collier said. "And the second one was at least a bad dream."

 

But that wasn't the prime topic after the Huskers upset the 22nd-ranked Sooners before about 10,000 fans at American Airlines Arena. Among those in attendance was Nebraska Athletic Director Steve Pederson, who through a spokesman declined any comment on the embattled Collier's job status.

 

The main talking point was the play down the stretch of Nebraska freshman guards Jamel White and Marcus Walker.

 

White, averaging 8.3 points a game, scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, including nine in the final 2:16 as NU stretched a one-point lead to six. Walker, averaging 5.8, scored eight points in the final 5:20 and 10 overall.

 

"That was huge," said senior guard Jason Dourisseau, who had 10 points and 10 rebounds. "Those guys grew up today."

Click to Enlarge

Nebraska head coach Barry Collier, center, and assistant Scott Spinelli return to the locker room after the Huskers upset Oklahoma Friday night in the Big 12 tournament. The victory moved the Huskers into the semifinals of a conference tournament for the first time since 1994.

 

Part of what sparked the guards in both tourney wins has been a quicker pace than Nebraska has used most of the season.

 

Hard dribble penetration and attacking the basket has become the mode of operation instead of standing and dribbling 35 feet from the basket.

 

White said he didn't seek to take over the game in the second half.

 

"It just kind of evolved like that," he said. "My team was finding me and I was shooting well. The shots were there, and I kept shooting."

 

Nebraska, down 27-23 at halftime, scored the first six points of the second half to retake the lead. White got four of those points.

 

The Sooners later took their largest lead at 42-36. But NU responded with a 10-2 run, capped by guard Marcus Perry's 3-pointer, to regain the lead 46-44 with 8:12 to go.

 

Over the next five minutes, the lead changed hands six times and neither team led by more than two points. Then White and Walker scored NU's final 13 points for the win.

 

Offense wasn't the only key to this win.

 

Nebraska played most of the game in a diamond-and-one - four men in a zone and point guard Charles Richardson chasing OU 3-point shooting star Michael Neal.

 

Neal, averaging 13 points a game, went scoreless in the first half and never attempted a shot. He finished with six points.

 

"We really took them out of their comfort zone," Richardson said. "Our coaches really prepared us, even though we hadn't worked on that defense a lot.

 

"The main point in this diamond-and-one was to limit Neal's touches as much as possible. We made them play to our defense."

 

Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said his team had been practicing well, but didn't show it against Nebraska.

 

"Tonight was a little bit of an ambush," Sampson said. "I didn't see this coming."

 

Nebraska, which had lost four of its final five games entering the tournament, now has won two in a row.

 

"This feels real good," White said. "We've been through a lot of ups and downs."

 

Dourisseau was more blunt.

 

"We have been through a lot of adversity this year with our local media and everything," he said. "It feels great to get to this point.

 

"We're not satisfied yet. We've got another one tomorrow, and we'll be ready to play."

[Eric the Red]

Huskers knock off OU

 

Nebraska came into the Big 12 tournament with a three-game losing streak. Now the Huskers are in the semifinals after winning their second straight, 69-63 over No. 22 Oklahoma on Friday night.

 

Jamel White had 22 points and the sixth-seeded Huskers (19-12), who hadn't won in the tournament since 1999 before their opening-round victory over Missouri on Thursday, became the only lower seed to win in the first two rounds.

 

The game was tied six times and there were 11 lead changes in the second half, the last when Charles Richardson made two free throws with 3:15 left to put the Cornhuskers ahead 56-55.

 

Terrell Everett missed the front end of a bonus situation for Oklahoma, then Marcus Walker penetrated and made a short bank shot to make it 58-55. White was fouled with 2:16 left, and after missing the first free throw, made the second for a 59-55 lead -- the Cornhuskers made their last nine free throws.

 

Third-seeded Oklahoma (20-8) is likely still headed to the NCAA tournament after its second loss this season to Nebraska, which has won consecutive games in the Big 12 tournament for the first time.

 

Nebraska plays in the semifinals Saturday against No. 17 Kansas (22-8), a three-time Big 12 tournament champion.

 

Jason Dourisseau, Wes Wilkinson and Walker had 10 points each for Nebraska.

 

Everett had 14 points for Oklahoma, and Austin Johnson had 12 points -- on four 3-pointers. The Sooners made 11 of 24 3-pointers, but that wasn't enough.

 

Oklahoma had extended its lead to 42-36 with 13 minutes left after Michael Neal and Johnson hit consecutive 3-pointers.

 

Nebraska only was 6-for-17 on 3-pointers, but its makes came at key times.

 

White quickly cut the gap in half when he called for the ball from Richardson, and hit from the top of the key. A few possessions later, Walker drove toward the basket, but passed out to Marcus Perry for a 3-pointer from the left corner. That finally pushed Nebraska back ahead, 46-44 with nine minutes left.

 

The teams traded the lead five more times, the gap never more than two points, until Richardson's go-ahead free throws.

 

One of the lead changes came when Walker made 2-of-3 free throws after a questionable foul call with 5:20 left. Johnson appeared to have a clean block, and was still palming the ball as he walked in disbelief toward the Oklahoma bench, where coach Kelvin Sampson also couldn't believe the call.

 

Since winning four straight one-point games, the Sooners have lost two in a row. They ended the regular season Sunday with a 72-48 loss at Texas.

 

Oklahoma led 27-23 at halftime after Everett made a 3-pointer and assisted on David Godbold's 3. Those sandwiched a 3-pointer by Perry, who made the shot from the right corner despite being pushed by Godbold without a foul being called.

 

The Sooners had five 3-pointers in the first half, including consecutive long-range shots by Johnson in a 40-second span after Nebraska had gone ahead 13-8.