Now This A Good Week For Basketball.

We won Three Bball games.

Brandon Richardson, a senior guard form Los Angles lead the team with a career high 25 points to lead the Huskers to a 79-73 win over Iowa for their third B1G ten win for a 3-6 standing

Richardson hit 6-7 from three point range to help the Huskers come back from a double-figure first half deficit. Richardson came up big in the game’s decisive run, scoring six points in a 12-2 Husker spurt to help Nebraska erased a 61-56 deficit and take the lead for good. Richardson’s 3-pointer started the run before Brandon Ubel hit a pair of free throws to pull the Huskers even at 61 with 5:29 left. Moments later, Richardson’s 3-pointer – his sixth of the night – put the Huskers ahead 66-63 before Dylan Talley’s jumper gave Nebraska a 68-63 lead with 3:26 left.

The Huskers (11-9, 3-6 Big Ten) had an answer for every Iowa rally down the stretch, as the Hawkeyes cut the lead to two points three times, only to see Nebraska get either a big basket or a pair of free throws to keep Iowa at bay.

Iowa trailed 73-71, only to see Richardson slice the Hawkeye defense for a layup to make it a four-point game. The Hawkeyes pulled to within 75-73 with 1:07 left, but Toney McCray sealed the win with a pair of free throws to seal the win. Nebraska went 13-of-16 from the foul line in the second half.

“With six freshman on the floor, they play like Seniors.,” the words from women’s basketball Coach Connie Yori.

Jordan Hooper, a 6-2 sophomore forward from Alliance, Neb., hit 7-of-14 shots from the field, including 3-of-6 three-pointers, while connecting on 5-of-6 free throws.

She was the only Husker to have a solid shooting night, as Nebraska shot a season-low 32.1 percent (18-56) from the field, including a season-low 20 percent (6-30) from three-point range. NU also hit just 18-of-30 free throws and was outrebounded, 41-40 by the Hawkeyes.

The Hawkeye’s were scheduled to be one of the top three team in pre season posting. This gives the Huskers two wins over the their next door neighbors.

Hooper was the only Husker to have a solid shooting night, as Nebraska shot a season-low 32.1 percent (18-56) from the field, including a season-low 20 percent (6-30) from three-point range. NU also hit just 18-of-30 free throws and was outrebounded, 41-40 by the Hawkeyes.

“We won the game,”  Coach Connie Yori said. “We didn’t shoot well. We didn’t hit a lot of shots. We didn’t hit many free throws, and tonight we also got out rebounded, but we still won the game. We really got after it on defense and took away their driving lanes and didn’t give them a lot of open looks. We also forced some turnovers. I think it says a lot for a team as young as us, to not let our struggles on offense carry over to our defense. That’s why we won the game.”

To think that we will have the majority of this team for the next two to three years is exciting. There are six freshman who have added so much to the wins of this team.

Junior point guard Lindsey Moore joined Hooper as the only Huskers in double figures with 15 points, while adding five rebounds, three assists and four steals, but Moore hit just 5-of-13 shots and went just 1-of-8 from three-point range.

Freshman forward Emily Cady provided strong contributions with nine points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. The 6-2 native of Seward, Neb., also played a key role in Iowa center Morgan Johnson fouling out of the game. Johnson, who scored 21 points and had 12 rebounds against NU in Iowa City, committed all five of her fouls in the second half, playing just six minutes after halftime. Johnson finished with eight points and nine rebounds.

Nebraska’s Emily Cady captured the first Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week award in Husker women’s basketball history when she earned the conference honor on Tuesday, Jan. 24.

The 6-2 forward from Seward, Neb., produced the best week of her Husker career by averaging 18.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game against Ohio State and Minnesota. Cady erupted for a career-high 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field at No. 10 Ohio State on Thursday, before adding 13 points, seven rebounds and a career-high three three-pointers in Nebraska’s win over Minnesota on Sunday.

For the season, Cady has increased her season averages to 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game while starting all 19 games for the 16-3 Huskers. Cady also leads No. 19 Nebraska in blocked shots (15), is tied for second on the team in steals (25) and ranks third on the team in assists (29). She has been at her best in Big Ten Conference play, averaging 13.9 points and 6.1 rebounds through seven league contests, while hitting 9-of-21 three-pointers (.429). To put Cady’s conference numbers in perspective, 2011 Big 12 All-Freshman selection Jordan Hooper averaged 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds in 16 conference games a year ago.

Starting the second half of the conference season the Connie Clan went to the home grounds of the Illini. This team had just knocked off Michigan State 71-62 after suffering most of their losses by one or two possessions. They were not a team to be underestimated and especially looking for a win on the road.

When the games are not on BTN, I clue into the Huskers.com broadcast. Just after half time, with the Huskers leading 40-22 I switched over to the Australian Tennis Championship between Novak and Jokavitch. But in spite of my absence and coaching from the sidelines the ladies did alright winning 67-47.

Shooting percentages were low but second chance rebounds were very effective. Lindsey Moore lead the Huskers with 20 points, 3 assists and 3 steels. True frosh Emily Cady contributed 17 points with 8 for 8 from the line. Jordon Hooper had a little off night connecting but still came up with 12 pints but a career high 16 rebounds.

Like Coach Yori stated earlier, the frosh coming off the bench, Williams, Jeffry, Laudermill and Woodberry added another sterling performance with 27 points,6 rebounds and 2 steels.

In conference standings, we are in a good position.. Front leading Purdue was defeated Sunday by Michigan State to drop to 8-1. Also OSU dropped one to Minnesota to stand at 8-2 along with the Cornhuskers at 8-2. Coming up this week is a very big match for Nebraska.

Nebraska returns to Big Ten road action on Thursday, when the Huskers take on conference-leading Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind. Tip-off between the Huskers and the No. 13 Boilermakers is set for 6 p.m. (central) with live radio coverage on the Husker Sports Network, including free live audio on Huskers.com. So pals line up your own watch site, invite friends in and listen to this major game. This game will be at 5:00 PM our time. Don’t try and call me ‘cause I will be watching the game with the phone turned off.

Now other areas of Nebraska athletics were fully engaged.

Gymnastics: The No. 9 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team posted a team score of 332.600 to finish third at the Stanford Open on Saturday night. No. 6 Stanford finished in first (348.400), while No. 5 California took second place (339.000) and Washington finished in fourth (251.200).

Freshman Grant Perdue led the Huskers on the night, cracking the top three of both floor exercise and vault. Perdue posted a 14.80 on floor exercise before adding a 14.70 on vault. (Did you catch that? Another Frosh.)

Additionally, senior Andreas Hofer tacked on a fourth-place finish in the all-around competition with a mark of 81.50. Sophomores C.J. Schaaf and Eric Schryver finished fourth and fifth in parallel bars with marks of 14.20 and 14.10, respectively.

Wrestling: The No. 7 Nebraska wrestling team put together a dominant performance on Sunday afternoon by shutting out the Wisconsin Badgers, 36-0, for its fifth Big Ten dual win of the season. The Huskers recorded their second shutout of the year by winning all ten bouts, including five in bonus-point fashion at UW Field House.

Nebraska improved to 14-1 on the season and 5-1 in the Big Ten Conference, while Wisconsin dropped to 5-8 and 0-6 in conference matches. The Huskers’ 36-point margin of victory is the largest over a Big Ten opponent in school history, and the win also marks the first time a Husker squad has recorded two shutouts in a season since 2004 when NU shutout Findlay and Wyoming in back-to-back duals.

Senior James Nakashima (197) won a thrilling match to open the dual by taking down Jackson Hein (UW) in the second tiebreaker, 7-5. After an escape by Hein in the second tiebreaker to take a 5-4 lead, Nakashima was able to record a takedown to reclaim the lead at 6-5. The Dwight, Ill., native then earned an escape point to extend his lead to two points and secure the victory.

Nakashima has now won four straight Big Ten duals and has wrestled in overtime four times in his last five matches, going 3-1 in those duals.

No. 9 Tucker Lane (Hwt) won his 20^th match of the season by taking down Cole Tobin (UW) by decision, 5-0. Lane is now only two victories away from recording his 100^thcareer win as a Husker.

Tennis: The No. 39 Nebraska women’s tennis team was narrowly edged by No. 12 Northwestern in the regional final of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Sunday. The Huskersr (1-1) won the doubles point but fell just short in singles, falling by a score of 4-3 against the Wildcats (3-0).

The Huskers began the afternoon with another dominating doubles win by Mary Weatherholt and Patricia Versova. The pair topped Veronica Corning and Belinda Niu (NW) by a score of 8-2 in No. 2 doubles.

Northwestern pushed back, capturing a victory on the No. 3 doubles court. The doubles point came down to the No. 1 position, where No. 53 Madeleine Geibert and Stefanie Weinstein (NU) took the big upset win over No. 6 Linda Abu Mushrefova and Nida Hamilton (NW), 9-7. The win marks the highest ranked opponent Geibert and Weinstein have defeated during their time at NU.

The No. 39 Nebraska men’s tennis team was defeated in its first match of the season at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Sunday by the No. 34 Virginia Tech Hokies, 4-3. The match was tied at three and came down to singles play on court No. 5 when Virginia Tech’s Corrado D. Tocci downed Nebraska’s Eric Sock, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), to win the Hokies’ their fourth point and clinch the match.

The loss drops the Huskers to 0-1 on the season. The Hokies improve to 1-0.

The Huskers started the match off winning the doubles point when they won the first two doubles matches. On court No. 2, NU’s No. 44 ranked team of Robert Schulze and Andre Stenger defeated Virginia Tech’s Lucas Oliviera and Hunter Koontz, 9-7.

Nebraska’s second doubles victory came on court No. 3 when the duo of Stefan Gollner and Sock downed Virginia Tech’s Patrick Daciek and Marko Lovrinovic, 8-1.

In singles play on court No. 1 Virginia Tech’s No. 50 Luka Somen got the better of NU’s No. 41 Christopher Aumueller, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. On court No. 2 the Huskers’ No. 78 Benedikt Lindheim downed the Hokies’ No. 71 Oliviera in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2.

Softball: The Nebraska softball team earned a preseason top-25 ranking in both major polls ranking in a tie for 20th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and coming in at No. 21 in the NFCA/USA Today poll.

Nebraska finds itself in the preseason polls for the first time since 2007. The Huskers are coming off a 41-14 record and a No. 21 final ranking in both polls last season. Nebraska returns eight starters from that group, including six players who have earned an all-conference award in their Husker careers, the highest total to begin a season in school history.

Nebraska was one of two Big Ten Conference teams to appear in the poll, as Michigan earned a No. 15 ranking in the NFCA poll and tied for 16th in the ESPN.com poll. Ohio State and Northwestern also received votes in the ESPN poll, with the Buckeyes receiving the second-highest vote total of any team outside the top 25.

In addition to Northwestern and Ohio State, several other Husker opponents earned preseason recognition. Nebraska is scheduled to play a total of 10 teams ranked in the ESPN.com poll and two other teams receiving votes. In the NFCA poll, the Huskers are scheduled to face nine ranked teams and two teams receiving votes.

Baseball: The Nebraska baseball team is starting with a clean slate in 2012 as the Darin Erstad era begins at Haymarket Park. Along with a new coaching staff and a roster that includes 12 new players, the Huskers will enter their first season of Big Ten baseball after 15 successful seasons in the Big 12 Conference that included three regular-season titles and four tournament crowns.

“It is a great honor to be the head coach of the Nebraska baseball program,” Erstad said. “My family and I believe strongly in what the University stands for, and I am excited to have this opportunity to help influence kids’ lives in a positive way and help them turn into young men. I am committed to helping them grow as people.”

Both the softball team and the basketball team will be playing in Arizona in February. Check the last Husker Huddle for the dates and lets give the Nebraska Huskers a big welcome by being there.

Swimming and Diving: Five seniors were honored on Saturday afternoon as the Nebraska swimming and diving team finished its regular season on a high note by defeating the Iowa State Cyclones, 200-100. It was the final dual at the Devaney Natatorium for Nebraska’s Bobbi Balogh, Mailene Leslie, D’Arcy Schmidt, Riley Seidel and Caroline Shea.

The Cyclones won the first event of the afternoon in the 200-yard medley relay with the NU team of Rebekah Land, Shannon Guy, Hayley Martin and Ariel Weech coming in second for NU. Bailey Pons, Morgan Flannigan and Mailene Leslie then got the Huskers started in their winning ways by sweeping the next event, the 1,000-yard freestyle. Pons shattered her previous season-best time (10:19.68) in the event by nearly seven seconds. It was the first of two straight swept events for the Huskers as Martin, Shea and Kelly Dunn followed up in the 200-yard freestyle in the third event of the dual.

Ellan Dufour gave the Huskers a third win in the 100-yard backstroke (57.75). Dufour set a season-best time in the race, eliminating her previous best against Kansas at 58.24.

 NU’s Natalie Morris and Katie Davis earned back-to-back finishes in the 200-yard butterfly before Ariel Weech and Kelly Dunn added second and third place finishes in the seventh event of the day, the 50-yard freestyle.

Payton Michaud closed out the regular season on a high note, sweeping both the 1-meter (290.02) and 3-meter diving (308.67) events. It was a a season-best for Michaud in the 3-meter, besting her previous score of 306.05 set at the Iowa Invitational. Alyson Ramsey added a season-best 303.07 score in the 3-meter for a second-place finish in the event. Kaitlan Walker also tallied third-place finishes in both diving events.

Roger

The Red Clad Coot in the Desert

Its Been A Very Busy Week For Husker Athletes.

It seems like every team was in action this past week. No one was left out: men and women’s basketball, field and track, wrestling, men and women’s gymnastics, swimming and diving, bowling, and rifle. So lets get started with our run down.

 Wrestling: Two matches and winners in each one. First on the B1G road at Indiana the Huskers journeyed to Indiana where Junior Josh Ihnen recorded the quickest pin of his career and his first pin of the season to rally the No. 7 Nebraska wrestling team to a 23-17 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers. The Huskers, who fell in a 14-3 hole after four matches, improved their overall record to 11-1 and 2-1 in Big Ten duals. Indiana drops to 6-5 on the year and 0-5 in the conference.

Ihnen played a crucial part in the Huskers’ victory by picking up key bonus-points at 184 pounds with his 44-second pin over Luke Sheridan (IU). Ihnen wasted no time getting on the offensive, taking Sheridan straight to his back on his first shot attempt. The Sheldon, Iowa, native improved his record to 16-2 on the season and 11-1 in conference duals.

Ihnen’s win gave the Huskers a 20-14 lead and then Senior James Nakashima (197) put the dual out of reach for IU with his overtime victory over Joe Fagiano (IU), 4-3. After being tied through the first tiebreaker and second sudden-victory period, Nakashima nearly held Fagiano in the down position for the first 30 second period, but gave up the escape with one second left. Nakashima was able to escape in the last 30 second period and was awarded the victory because of the 19 seconds of riding time he had accumulated throughout the match.

Behind a streak of six consecutive victories that included three major decisions, the No. 7 Nebraska wrestling team cruised past the Purdue Boilermakers, 24-9. The Huskers improved their overall record to 12-1 on the year and have a 3-1 record in Big Ten Conference matches, while Purdue dropped to 7-8 with a 2-4 mark in the conference. 

For the second consecutive dual, freshmen James Green (157) and Robert Kokesh (165) recorded back-to-back major decisions to boost the Huskers. No. 9 Green used an array of takedowns to win his team-leading ninth major decision over Tommy Churchard (PU), 16-7. Green now owns a 23-3 record on the season and is 4-0 in Big Ten Conference dual matches. The true freshman now only sits four victories away from cracking the top 10 season victories chart for freshmen at Nebraska.

Seventh-ranked Kokesh was a force in the top position, amassing seven points in nearfalls to pull away from Kyle Mosier (PU), 11-1. Kokesh joined Green as the only two varsity starters to reach the 20-win mark, and is now 12-1 in duals.

The only conference loss for Nebraska was to #2 ranked Iowa.

Gymnastics: The B1G top-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team captured all five event titles and improved its record to 2-0 on the season after defeating the Iowa State Cyclones, 195.775-193.925, in Ames, Iowa.

Along with winning all five event titles, the Husker gymnasts placed the top two scores on every event except the floor exercise, while also placing the top three all-arounders in Lora Evenstad (39.450), Jessie DeZiel (39.40) and Emily Wong (39.225), who competed as an all-arounder for the first time in her career.

Head coach Dan Kendig said he was happy the Huskers came out of Ames with a victory, but is looking forward to this week of practice as the Huskers look to improve on their routines.

“I say the biggest thing to take away from this meet is we came out of it just as healthy was we came into it,” Kendig said. “I think we could have competed a little bit better, been a little tougher. We have to stay more focused on handstands and those kinds of things. On a meet like this, we’ll make some adjustments and get to work. I’m excited for practice this week.”

Nebraska jumped out of the gate on the bars, scoring their second-highest event score of the night at 49.10. Janelle Giblin took home her second consecutive bars title with a score of 9.90. Evenstad finished in second with a 9.875, while DeZiel recorded a 9.80.

Following the uneven bars, the Huskers competed in the vault where they would have two true freshmen in the lineup in Jessie DeZiel and Jennifer Lauer, who was seeing her first action as a Husker. Lauer finished fifth in the vault with a 9.80, while DeZiel tied Wong for the event title, both scoring 9.875. Jamie Schleppenbach and Evenstad each scored a 9.85 to tie for 3^rd-place.

True freshman Jessie DeZiel was named the Big Ten’s Gymnast of the Week and Freshman of the Week for her performance in Nebraska’s season-opening match against the Denver Pioneers. The awards, which were released last Monday, come after the Huskers defeated No. 20 Denver in record fashion, 197.375 – 195.225.

DeZiel becomes the first Nebraska gymnast to earn an individual conference honor after capturing the all-around title with a score of 39.575, which is the highest debut in school history. DeZiel scored at least a 9.875 on all four events, including a 9.925 to win the floor exercise title.

The No. 10 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team upended No. 9 Air Force 336.55-331.75 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Sunday. The victory came just one week after the Falcons edged the Huskers at the Rocky Mountain Open. The win moves NU to 3-2 on the season, while Air Force drops to 3-2 overall.

Nebraska captured five event titles on the day, led by senior all-arounder Andreas Hofer. Hofer posted a total score of 82.20, including a 14.75 on vault and a 14.00 on still rings. NU was also powered by strong performances from several freshmen. Gabriel Jolley exploded for a 14.85 on vault, the highest mark by any athlete on the day and the best vault mark for the Huskers so far this season. Freshman Grant Perdue added his first event title with a 14.15 on vault, while sophomore Eric Schryver picked up the pommel horse event title with a mark of 14.70. Senior David Jacobs snagged NU’s final event title on the day, posting a 14.45 on high bar.

Senior Lora Evenstad and freshman Jessie DeZiel both earned weekly Big Ten honors for their performances in NU’s road victory over Iowa State last Friday. Evenstad earned Co-Big Ten Gymnast of the Week, while DeZiel was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second straight time, as the conference announced the weekly awards Monday afternoon.

Bowling: The Nebraska bowling team finished third at its lone home event of the year in the third-annual Big Red Invitational. The Huskers finished just behind Central Missouri and tournament champion Arkansas State. Nebraska averaged nearly ten pins more per game than fourth-place finishing Sam Houston State. NU’s Kristina Mickelson earned a spot on the Big Red Invitational’s All-Tournament Team with her individual average of 222 pins per game in Friday’s singles competition.

Rifle: Memphis defeated the Huskers, 4,624 – 4,600. Janine Dutton led the way in the air rifle portion of the match with a 589. She finished with 543 in smallbore. Kelsey Hansen had the second-best air rifle score among the team, shooting 583. She led the team in smallbore with 574.

Sheena Mahloch turned in the third-best Husker air rifle score against Memphis, scoring a 581, while Sunny Russell and Katelyn Woltersdorf each added 576s. Woltersdorf added a 570 in smallbore and Russell had a 563. Joyce Kim shot 564 in smallbore.

Swimming and Diving: The Nebraska swimming and diving team dropped its second dual of the season on Saturday against the Illinois Fighting Illini at the Devaney Natatorium. NU fell to the Illini, 148-152, in a dual that went down to the last event. Nebraska drops to 2-2 on the season and 1-4 all-time against new conference foe Illinois.

 The Illini started the day hot, winning the 200-yard medley relay in 1:45.70 over the Husker squad of Ellan Dufour, Shannon Guy, Natalie Morris and Ariel Weech (1:47.16). NU’s Bailey Pons, Morgan Flannigan and Mailene Leslie got things started for the Huskers by sweeping the second event of the morning, the 1,000-yard freestyle.

In the final and deciding event of the afternoon, the Nebraska team of Martin, Kelly Dunn, Pons and Weech won the 400-yard freestyle relay, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Illini squad from finishing second and third, ensuring the dual for the Illini.

Track and Field: The Nebraska track and field team swept the meet titles at the Adidas Classic for the fourth straight year on at the Devaney Center Indoor Track. The Husker women dominated the field with 203 points, while Houston finished second with 117 points. The men’s race was a bit tighter, but the Huskers held off Iowa 175-133. The afternoon was highlighted by a record-breaking performance by Ashley Miller and a NCAA automatic-qualifying performance by Luke Pinkelman.

 Miller etched her name into the Husker record books in the 3,000 meters with a personal-best time of 9:21.59 in the event, placing her second all-time among top 3,000 meter performers at Nebraska. Jessica Furlan came in third, with a personal-best mark of 9:29.20, giving her the fourth-best time in 3,000 meter history at Nebraska. Martina Barinova finished fourth, recording a mark of 9:51.67.

 Pinkelman provided a show for Husker fans as well, with a NCAA-qualifying performance and a season-best throw of 63-7 1/2 (19.39) in the shot put to take top honors. Tyler Hitchler finished second with a personal-best throw of 60-10 (18.54), while finishing third with a personal-best mark of 59-11 1/4 (18.27).

Nebraska seniors Ashley Miller and Luke Pinkelman were honored by the Big Ten Conference on Monday after being selected as the Big Ten Female Track and Male Field Athletes-of-the-Week. The accolade marks the first Big Ten Indoor Track and Field weekly award for both Miller and Pinkelman.
Basketball: It was No. 20 Nebraska, the visitors, against No. 10 Ohio State on their home court. It was the Connie Clan with a starting line up of 1 Senior, 1 Junior, 1 Sophomore and 2 Freshman. It was OSU with 1 Senior, 2 Juniors, 1 Sophomore and 1 Freshman. It was the 4-1 Huskers against the 4-1 Buckeyes. It was one tough game.

The game featured four of the top six scorers in the Big Ten: Ohio State’s Hill (first at 21.4 points per game) and Prahalis (fourth at 18.3), along with Nebraska’s Hooper (third at 19.8) and Moore (sixth at 16.6). It was a real tough game.

Ohio State shot 59% the first half to take a 41-36 lead at half time. They started slow in the second half only scoring 2 points in the first 3 minutes. But from then on the Lady Buckeyes took control to build up a 51-39 lead. After that their lead never got below 8 points with the final score 82-68.

Nebraska shot just 35.1 percent (13-37) from the field in the first half, and hit all five of its free throws. The Huskers out rebounded Ohio State, 22-14, including 14-4 on the offensive glass, but the Buckeyes won the first-half turnover battle, 8-6, and outscored NU 10-4 on the turnovers to account for the difference in the halftime score.

Emily Cady scored a career-high 24 points for the Huskers and Jordan Hooper added 19 points and matched a career best with 14 rebounds and Lindsey Moore contributed 13 points for the Cornhuskers (15-3, 4-2), who lost their second in a row. They were beaten at home by Penn State 93-73.

Returning home the Lady Huskers took on Minnesota. Jordan Hooper notched her 10th 20-point scoring performance of the season with 23 points to lead three Huskers in double figures, as the No. 20 Nebraska women’s basketball rolled to a 64-49 win over Minnesota at the Devaney Center.

Freshman forward Emily Cady added 13 points, including a career-best three three-pointers, while pitching in seven rebounds. Fellow freshman forward Hailie Sample contributed a career-high 10 points to go along with seven rebounds for the Huskers. Hooper, a 6-2 sophomore forward, knocked down four three-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds for NU, while matching her career high with two first-half assists.

The Gophers closed Nebraska’s lead to 27-23 with 4:45 left in the half. Then Hooper scored the last seven of 12 straight points for NU to push the Huskers’ lead to 34-23 with just over a minute left in the half. Lindsey Moore, who finished with five points and eight assists while playing a season-low 21 minutes, then hit Tear’a Laudermill for a layup with 17 seconds left. Nebraska ended the half on a 9-0 run and took a 36-23 margin to the locker room at the half.

The Huskers continued the surge to open the second half, scoring 11 straight points in just over five minutes to extend their margin to 47-23. Cady, Sample and the rest of the Nebraska freshmen did the damage during the start of the second half, scoring all 11 of NU’s points during that 20 point run over two halves.

It wasn’t the same for the men’s basketball. Ohio State’s William Buford’s 15 points led three Buckeyes in double figures, as sixth-ranked Ohio State topped Nebraska, 79-45, in front of a season-high crowd of 12,214 at the Devaney Center Saturday night.

The Buckeyes (17-3, 5-2 Big Ten) used an 10-0 run midway through the first half to take control and never looked back, stifling the momentum after Nebraska’s quick start. A 3-pointer began a run of 13 straight points for the Buckeyes, as Nebraska went over seven minutes without a point to falling behind 18-8.

Brandon Richardson then ended the scoring drought as his layup started a 6-2 spurt for the Big Red, as Nebraska pulled within 20-14 on a Bo Spencer jumper with 7:37 left in the half. The Huskers fell behind by 10 before a Dylan Talley 3-pointer and Caleb Walker free throw made it 24-18, but the Buckeyes closed the half on a 12-2 spurt to take a 36-20 lead into the locker room as Evan Ravenel’s basket beat the first half horn.

The second half wasn’t any better as Brandon Ubel and Bo Spencer led Nebraska with eight points apiece as Nebraska shot a season-low 29.5 percent from the floor and committed a season-high 27 turnovers that led to 22 Buckeye points.

Where do we go from here? In three games the Huskers have scored 50 or under points, and only two games 51-60 points. All of them loosers. The 34-point margin of defeat is Nebraska’s largest since the Devaney Center opened in the 1976-77 season. The previous was a 30-point loss to Kansas on Feb 1, 2003.

Roger

The Red Clad Coot in the Desert

Not A Good Weekend For Basketball

Both of our teams got beat this weekend. The men fell to Wisconsin 50-45 while the women ended their 9 game win streak by loosing to Penn State 93-73. Both games were kind of weird so lets take a look at each.

In a college game with low scoring, 50-45, You really have to wonder if it is all defense or just bad playing. Wisconsin racked up 6 points before the Husker’s Brandon Ubel hit a layup at the 18:05 mark. Then he added a jumper for 2 more points to make it 6-4 at 17:23. From that time until 12:13 the Huskers force 5 turnovers and neither team could make a basket with a number of lay-ups missed by both.

So after 5 minutes and 10 seconds of no scoring Husker Caleb Walker hit a jumper to tie the game at 6 all. From that point on both teams went on a scoring rampage ending with the Badgers ahead 24-21. Wow what a rampage! And yes it was good defense for both teams.

The second half was about the same with Wisconsin scoring 26 and the Huskers getting 24. The Badgers lead throughout the whole game with the score only tied once at 6 all.

Midway through the second half the Huskers feel behind36-25 but Bo Spencer, Tony McCray and Dylan Talley rallied with 8 unanswered points to make it 36-33. How ever that is the closest the Huskers could come as Wisconsin controlled the ball for lengths of time the rest of the game.

On the free throw line, the Huskers could only get 2 points while the home team racked up 18 points on the line. I told you it was kind of a weird game.

The women’s basketball team has been off to a roaring action in the B1G winning their first four games and most of these were done the hard way, coming from behind.

With frosh leading the way, the Huskers enjoyed a 24-13 lead early in the game but then PSU came on to make it 30-27 but the Huskers closed the first half with a 44-38 lead.

During this stretch true freshman, Emily Cady, Brandi Jeffery, Tear’a Laudermill and Hailie Sample, played a major role in leading the Huskers. This dynamic bunch scored 20 of the first 24 points. But then PSU came on to make it 30-27. The Huskers closed the first half with a 44-38 lead.

The “Cori Clan” has developed a tradition of coming from behind but Sunday was not the case. Leading 44-38 at the break, the Huskers found an adjudicating Nittney group that said, “You beat us on our court, now it is our turn to beat you on ours. It was all PSU from that point on as they outscored the Huskers 55 to 29.

Junior Lindsey Moore lead UNL with 18 points while Emily Cady and Jordon Hooper each added 13. Penn States starting five all reached double figures.

Since both games were played on Sunday, we might come to the conclusion that Sunday is a bad day to play basketball.

In their first competition after the winter break the Husker’s bowling team was in action at the Mid-Winter Classic in Jonesboro Arkansas. Nebraska finished fourth in this 16 team tournament which was won by Vanderbilt.

Individually, NU’s Kayla Johnson finished twelfth on the tournament with an average of 203.20 through five games. Valerie Calberry finished twenty-second individually after games of 232, 176, 192, 188 and 190.

Ranked No. 6 in the nation the Women’s gymnastic team started their season with 197.375 – 195.225 win over 20^th Denver University. Finishing fourth in last years NCAA tournament the Huskers were dominate in all areas with a 49.30 on all four events en route to chattering the previous opening-meet record set in 2004 and is the 10^th highest score in school history.

“Wow!” Coach Dan Kendig said. “Tonight, we competed extremely well as a team and we had a lot of momentum early. It’s a long season and we made some mistakes, but it was a great start for us. On Wednesday, I didn’t know who we would have in the lineup because of bumps and bruises, but yesterday’s practice was better, and I was proud of how we came out tonight. We got a great start on vault and it just carried through.”

The Huskers swept all four event titles and also took the top four places in the all-around. Freshman Jessie DeZiel won the all-around in impressive fashion with a score of 39.575, the highest debut in school history. DeZiel scored at least a 9.875 on all four events, including a 9.925 to win the floor exercise title.

“She warmed up just OK, but when the flag went up, she was all business,” Kendig said of DeZiel. “She is that talented, and I am hoping she can stay that way.”

Janelle Giblin finished second in the all-around with a career-high mark of 39.50, taking event titles on vault (9.925) and uneven bars (9.90), while Emily Wong took the balance beam crown with a 9.925, giving Nebraska a clean sweep of the night. Wong tied Lora Evenstad for third in the all-around with a final mark of 34.475.

The Nebraska swimming and diving team fell to 2-1 on the season after dropping a close dual against Kansas in Lawrence. The Jayhawks and the Huskers both won eight events on the day, but the Huskers fell just short on points in the dual. The Huskers fall to 11-23 all-time against the Jayhawks.

Nebraska started off strong, with the team of Ellan Dufour, Shannon Guy, Natalie Morris and Ariel Weech winning the 200-yard medley relay in 1:47.24. Kansas’ Rebecca Swank won the 1,650-yard freestyle immediately after to earn nine points for the Jayhawks. NU’s Bailey Pons finished second in the event at 17:11.13. Mailene Leslie and Riley Seidel rounded out the event for NU, earning two and one points, respectively.

Hayley Martin won her first event of the day in the 200-yard freestyle. At 1:51.43, Martin finished 1.36 ahead of Kansas’ Shannon Garlie to take the third event of the afternoon. Kaitlan Walker won the first diving event of the afternoon for the Huskers in the 1-meter dive. Her score of 285.29 was good enough to best teammate Payton Michaud, who finished second in the event with a score of 269.25. Michaud won the second diving event of the afternoon in the 3-meter dive with her score of 277.35. Alyson Ramsey and Kaitlan Walker of NU finished second and third, respectively, at 274.35 and 268.12.

The No. 9 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team opened their 2012 campaign with a third-place finish at the Rocky Mountain Open on Saturday. Sophomore Eric Schryver tied for the parallel bar event title to lead the Huskers.

NU’s team score of 333.300 trailed No. 1 Oklahoma (343.700), who captured their 13^th-straight Rocky Mountain Open title. No. 11 Air Force placed second (333.300), while NU finished ahead of Arizona State (314.100) and Washington (248.100). Several athletes from the U.S. Olympic-Training Center competed as well, but their scores did not count for finishes.

“For the first meet of the year, we did well,” Head Coach Chuck Chmelka said. “We were sharp, we were clean and we hit really well. Overall, I’m happy on how they did on the first five events.”

Eric Schryver had a strong night on parallel bars, tying OU’s Chris Stehl for the event title with a 14.500. Schryver also contributed a 14.200 on pommel horse, good for second place overall.

Junior Wyatt Baier also had a strong performance on vault for a second place with a score of 14.800. For the second consecutive year, Baier’s vault score was the highest of any Husker performance at the Rocky Mountain Open.

Freshmen Grant Perdue, Gabriel Jolley and Hayden Henrioulle made their collegiate debuts on Saturday night. Perdue had a solid evening for the Big Red, seeing action in both floor and vault while notching NU’s second-highest vault score (14.400).

Roger

The Red Clad Coot in the Desert

Well the big football season is over. Yes there were bumps, but there were also climbs to the peaks. But now it is past and we are opening a number of new B1G battles for the winter sports. So lets tune in on th0se now.

Basketball: Well it hasn’t been easy for the men so far, 0-4 after their loss to Illinois on Saturday. If you look at all the stats it appears that the Huskers have a problem in scoring with in the paint zone. Meaning inside the 3 point margin.   Doc Sadler has been fielding a team that is short three starters.  Against Illinois 6’-11” Jorge Brian Diaz, who makes a big difference in rebounding and scoring and 6‘5“ Dylan Talley were back in the line up. This should make a difference in the remainder of the season.

Earlier they lost to the #2 Ohio Buckeyes and only scoring 40 points. That is the second game where they couldn’t crack the 40 point mark in B1G play. The other was against Wisconsin when they lost 64-40. Against Michigan State they tallied 55-68 in a loss and then 40-71 against Ohio State

Against Illinois they really had a chance but went town 54-59.

Looking at the scoring stats, Nebraska is scoring most of their points from out side the paint line, while opponents are scoring inside that area. In four conference games the Huskers have 72 inside the paint points while the opponents have 120. Penetration is lacking in our offense. Watching the games so far, there is slow passing from one side to the other which allows opponents to set up a defense.

On the other hand, opponents pass quickly and look for that person in the paint zone or a driving player breaking for the bucket. That is Big Ten Style of play and Nebraska better adjust.

I am hoping we can win at least 5 games in this our first basketball season.

On the other hand, read the article about Coach Connie Yori being so happy to be coaching in the Big Ten League. What? You haven’t read it. Well my gosh what kind of an all sports Husker fan are you. (Grin)

The “Connie Clan”, what I have named them, is a group of young ladies, inexperienced in major college basketball who have taken it upon themselves to say they will match the records set by the 09-10 team where they were ranked 1 or 2 during the season and Connie would wind up being the NCAA Coach of the Year.

The question is, will she be considered again this year?

Our gals took on the Nittany Lions and walked of with a 71-63 win. OK, what’s so great about that? Well PSU was rated #16 while the Huskers were #19 and this was on the home court of the Lions.

Jordan Hooper, a native Alliance sophomore, scored 19 of her 31 points in the second half while adding her sixth double-double of the season with 12 rebounds to lead the Huskers back from a nine-point second-half deficit against the Lady Lions. This is Jordan’s third Player of the Week award and gives UNL 4 awards as Junior Lindsey Moore also grabbed this honor in November.

Jordan and Lindsey are more than team mates. They are very good friends and  room mates and Lindsey has played a big hand in helping Jordan develop this year into a leading player in the Big Ten. For more about these two stars, read Randy Yorks two articles.

Iowa was also picked as one of the top B1G teams, and the “Clan” took them on at Iowa City. It was very similar to the Penn State game. Fall behind, catch up, go ahead and then repeat it.

Junior Lindsey Moore basically took the leadership role in the second half, scorings 16 of her total 22 points. Team mate and best friend, Jordan Hooper was doubled timed throughout the game but still managed 17 points with some critical ones in the last couple of minutes.

This team is loaded with young dynamic players and one thing the Huskers do is rotate players and wear down the opposition. It wasn’t just that as there were some very key plays made in the drive that saw GBR outscore Iowa 24-10 in the last part of the second half.

Junior Meghin Williams came in off the bench and hit big shots when the Huskers trailed 56-51. First was a three pointer and then two free throws to tie the game at 56 all. She finished with 7 points and 6 important rebounds.

Two true frosh, Brandy Jeffery and Emily Cody from Seward consistently made big plays. In the final five minutes Brandy forced a tie up as Iowa was setting up their play and the ball returned to Nebraska. Then she nailed a three from the corner to give the Huskers a 70-62 lead with 3:14 left.

Cady has developed into a high production player. Again her strong play produced her fourth double-figure scoring performance in the last seven games with 14 points and four rebounds. Cady went 2-for-2 from three-point range, including a huge three to put NU up 65-62 with 4:43 left.

This was their eighth straight win to go 14-1 for the season and 3-0 in conference play. The performance of Moore was probably her best one of the year, not just the 22 points but also seven rebounds, nine assits and three steels.

Wrestling: The University of Iowa has always been labeled as the elite of the college ranks. After all they have won 23 NCAA championships. But this year there might be a strong challenge for the Hawkeyes in the form of the Red Clad Huskers.

Opening the B1G venture the Huskers took on the Ohio State Buckeyes, ranked #6 in the nation. Nebraska was only ranked # 12.

Behind a trio of bonus-point victories, the Nebraska wrestling team upset Ohio State Buckeyes, 18-16, on Friday night in its Big Ten opener. The Huskers won their school-record 10^th straight dual to open the season, while giving the Buckeyes their first loss on the year to drop their record to 7-1.

Wrestling in front of 1,451 fans at the NU Coliseum, NU beat its first top 10 opponent since defeating No. 6 Missouri on Jan. 21, 2009. Nebraska got three key bonus-point wins on the night, including one from true freshman Jake Sueflohn (141), who upset No. 6 Hunter Stieber by major decision, 10-2. After an early takedown by Stieber, No. 7

Sueflohn responded with 10 unanswered points, including a 3-point nearfall with 58 seconds left to put the Buckeye away. Sueflohn has now defeated five ranked opponents this season and owns an overall record of 16-3.

Senior Tucker Lane (Hwt) got the Huskers started with his dominating win over No. 17 Peter Capone to open the match. Lane gained a 3-1 advantage going into the third period and was able to keep Capone in the bottom position for final two minutes of action.

The B1G is a powerful wrestling conference with 6 teams in the top 8 and Nebraska, after defeating OSU, just might make it to the 10^th spot.

Other Sports:

It wont be long before softball and baseball will be starting out. In February our two teams will see a lot of action in Arizona.

For the Lady Huskers, three Nebraska softball players have earned individual preseason honors from CollegeSportsMadness.com, which kicked off its 2012 softball season coverage last week.

Sophomore catcher Taylor Edwards was chosen as a third-team preseason All-American and a first-team preseason All-Big Ten selection. Her twin sister Tatum Edwards also earned a spot on the preseason All-Big Ten first team, while senior right-hander Ashley Hagemann was tabbed the Big Ten Preseason Pitcher of the Year.

Overall, Nebraska’s roster features six returning all-conference performers including Ashley Guile, Nikki Haget and Brooke Thomason, the highest total to begin a season in school history. The Huskers also add three talented newcomers, including a pair of first-team high school All-Americans Jordan Bettiol and Mattie Fowler and Courtney Breault, transfer from Arkansas who was a two-year starter for the Razorbacks and earned SEC All-Freshman team honors in 2010.

Baseball fans are anxious to welcome the new Head Coach, Darin Erstad, a former two sport Husker. Coach Erstad has landed five junior college players and one high school senior have signed their National-Letters-of-Intent to play baseball at Nebraska. The class is Erstad’s first as a head coach and includes three players with ties to the state of Nebraska, as well as one each from Montana, Texas and North Dakota.

“We are very excited about the class we have assembled,” Erstad said. “Every student-athlete will excel not only on the field but in the classroom as well. Each of them bring a blue collar mentality which is the backbone of Nebraska Baseball. We expect every student-athlete to come in and contribute right away.”

January 13 marks the beginning of women’s gymnastics and the Nebraska women’s gymnastics team will begin the 2012 season as the preseason favorite in the Big Ten Conference after being voted on by the conference coaches. The Huskers, who will begin the season ranked at No. 6 in the country, return six gymnasts who have earned All-America honors in their careers.

Michigan was picked second in the poll, while Penn State, Ohio State and Illinois round out the top five.

The Huskers finished fourth at last year’s NCAA Championships, which tied for the highest finish in school history. The Huskers will look to make an immediate impact in their first year as members of the Big Ten Conference after winning the Big 12 last season. Nebraska will be led by senior Lora Evenstad and junior Janelle Giblin. Evenstad is a two-time first-team All-American while Giblin is a three time honoree and earned first team accolades on the vault in 2011.

The Nebraska men’s gymnastics team was picked to finish sixth in the Big Ten Men’s Gymnastics Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Illinois topped the list of seven schools after winning their third consecutive conference championship in 2011, with Michigan and Penn State rounding out the top three.

In addition, a pair of Nebraska all-arounders were selected to the 2012 Gymnasts to Watch list. Senior Andreas Hofer and sophomore Wyatt Aycock were listed among the 14 conference gymnasts. Hofer has competed in the individual all-around finals at the NCAA Championships two times and finished in a tie for 11^th at the 2011 NCAA Championships. Aycock will be looking to improve on his freshman campaign in which he posted a school record mark of 88.60 in all-around competition against Iowa and Minnesota.

Nebraska men’s tennis starts out with national rankings. As a team, the men open the season ranked No. 40 in the country. The Huskers finished the 2010-11 season ranked No. 44 with a record of 15-13 as they lost to Miami (Fla.) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Huskers have two players ranked in singles. Christopher Aumueller is ranked No. 41. He finished last season with a singles record of 14-11. The second Husker ranked is Benedikt Lindheim, who’s ranked No. 78. Lindheim finished last season with a record of 15-10. The two will compete in the top two spots in the Huskers lineup this spring.

Nebraska has two teams ranked in doubles. The Huskers’ duo of Aumueller and Lindheim begin the season ranked No. 7. Andre Stenger and Robert Schulze are ranked No. 44.

Roger

The Red Clad Coot in the Desert

Well its time to repaint all the helmets, check jerseys for wear and tear, clean all the pads, re-cleat all the shoes. Get everything ready for spring practice and the annual Red/White game in April.

But it will be eight months before we really have a handle on the 2012 Huskers. Between now and then there will be lots of Husker Fans sitting around the wood stove and leaning back n their chairs giving their thoughts of the past season and all the “would of, could of and should of.” Hey that’s the right of Husker fans. Its just to bad the coaching staff doesn’t pay more attention to our knowledgeable uttering’s. Or maybe it’s a good thing they don’t.

Lets just hope that somewhere along the line we will come up with a Lavonte David. Lets just hope we can come up with a team that doesn’t shoot itself in the foot with penalties. Lets hope we can come up with a team that plays the full four quarters. Lets hope we can teach our receivers that the key to their play is to catch the ball and tuck it away. Lets hope we can beef up the OL and DL to meet the standards of our new conference.

It really was a mystifying season. At the beginning lots of remarks and predictions had Nebraska playing in the first B1G Championship game. I guess we all overlooked Wisconsin and Michigan and worse of all was our underestimate of Northwestern.

Every Husker fan was sitting on their hands shaking their heads after the first half against OSU. The second half the team came to life and the fans responded by standing up cheering them on to their first B1G and a record setting comeback. The fever carried on against the Spartans and then that weekend full of tension at Happy Valley and the Nittney Lions.

It was a season of ups and downs but I do believe all fans, especially this one, are very happy to be in the Big Ten and are looking forward to all the events and the opportunities of frequently seeing our teams on the Big Ten Network

Lets now take a look at what’s coming down the road over the next few months.

Basketball is off and running now with our two teams stepping into league play. The men are off to a tough schedule right away playing ranked teams Wisconsin, Michigan State and Ohio State in their first three games.

By the way I am watching the OSU game on BTN as I wrte this. It doesn’t look good as the Huskers are down 19-9 at the 9:00 mark. One problem right now is that we are short three good players due to injuries.

On the other side of the tent, the women’s team has taken a big step forward with a very young team by moving into national rankings at the 19^th slot following their victory over Penn State last week.

I have renamed this bunch that Coach Connie Yori has put together, “Connie’s Clan”. If you followed the girls this summer when they made their trip to the Scandinavian countries you know that a great bonding took place between all the team members and staff. It’s not just a team, it’s a family. They are a feisty, hard playing, defensive conscious team that will fit right in with the teams of the conference. The team will be returning to league play January 5^th against Indiana and will also be on the BTN.

January is a busy month for Husker fans and hopefully you will be checking the schedule on Huskers.com and the BTN to find out when and where our teams will be on TV. There will be wrestling, gymnastics, swimming and diving and track and field in addition to basketball.

On Husker Huddle #35 you got a list of all the Arizona appearances of softball and baseball teams, track and field and both men’s and women’s golf. Lots of these are all loaded into the short February month and extend into March. Don’t forget the Lady Husker golfers will be back here the end of March for the 14^th Mountain View Invitational at SaddleBrooke. They would love to see you in the gallery.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Holiday Season even though we lost the game to Carolina. My wife and I treated ourselves to a Christmas gift: a set of recliner chairs and ottomans. Now we set up the TV tables next to them, covered with popcorn and a, ah, refreshment, and sit back and watch our Huskers on the Big Ten Network.

Roger

The Red Clad Coot in the Desert.

We’re Off And Running In Basketball.

The Husker Men got their introduction to B1G basketball in not to good a fashion. It was bad enough that the Badgers introduced UNL to B1G football pounding them 48-17, but then they had to turn around and wrap up a 64-40 win over the Huskers in their first B1G basketball game.

At the Devaney Center, two days after Christmas, the Huskers took an early 10-5 lead as they scored the first seven points of the game. But then Wisconsin took charge with a 19-2 run to take a 24-12 lead.

It just didn’t get any better the second half as the 11^th ranked Cheese Heads shut down the Huskers to just 12 points as Wisconsin closed out the game with a 24 point win.

Toney McCray scored a team-high 16 points, hitting 6-15 but was the only Husker in double figures. Brandon Ubel also totaled eight points and nine rebounds in the losing effort.

Just like in football the schedule is a little vicious as an introduction. But what the heck. Get the tough games out of the way early.

Next up, the Spartans came to town. Michigan State, ranked No. 16 found the Huskers putting up a strong battle the first half. MSU scored the first point but then the Huskers took the lead and never let the guests catch up taking a 30-29 lead at the half.

Huskers Toney McCray and Bo Spencer combined for 29 points, but Spartan Keith Appling scored eight of his 14 points in a late second-half run, as No. 16 Michigan State pulled out a 68-55 win. It wasn’t an easy win as the Huskers kept fighting back. Trailing by 15, the Big Red came storming back to trail only 53-50 and the fans were on their feet. That would be the closest Nebraska would get as costly mistakes gave State five points to go ahead in the late two minutes.

“I couldn’t be prouder of my team“ Coach Doc Sadler commented after the game. “I thought we played as hard as you can play, and I think we did it for forty minutes. We made some mental mistakes that I don’t know if it is from fatigue or what. I told our team in the locker room, I wasn’t for sure that our team competed for forty minutes against Wisconsin. I thought we got down and frustrated. Tonight, I think for forty minutes, our guys played as hard as they can play and we just can’t make the mistakes that we made against good teams.”

Big Ten territory is also a hot bed of high school basketball. Every team is loaded with players from Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. With fifteen players on the squad 10 or 11 of them are from these states. The exceptions are Penn State and Minnesota.

Nebraska has no players from that area and it will probably be very tough cracking into that rich field of high school players. But lets go get our share Coach Sadler.

If you like basketball, tune into the Husker games on BTN and also watch other team games. It’s a power style, hard driving, tough defensive type of play in the Big Ten.

The Husker Ladies also kicked off their B1G opening game by taking on the 16^th ranked Nittney Lions on their home court.

As a former announcer used to say, “Man, woman and child…” that Connie’s Clan is a feisty bunch of players who never give up.

In the first five minutes PSU took an eleven point lead. I picked up the game late in the first half on the Husker audio program and marked down scoring. At that point the GBR team trailed 30-31 and then they started to roll and took a 35-31 lead but Penn State came right back to tie it at 38 all at half time.

The second half was a humdinger as the two teams kept changing leads with Penn State up 47-46 and then for the next five minutes the Huskers couldn’t find the bucket at all as they fell behind 56-48.

From that point on it was all Big Red as our gals poured in 23 points to Penn’s 7 to upset the Nittney Lions 71-63.

Sophomore Jordan Hooper had her third 30+ performance in the last four games tallying 31 points and 12 rebounds. Junior point guard Lindsey Moore, who finished with 16 points, four rebounds and four assists, then scored four straight to give NU a 66-63 lead before Hooper sealed the win.

The No. 14 Nebraska wrestling team matched its best start in school history after sweeping two matches at the ASU Duals in Tempe, Ariz. The Huskers improved to 9-0 on the season by beating Boise State, 34-3, in their first dual, before shutting out host Arizona State, 42-0, in the last dual of the day. The losses dropped Boise State to 0-2 and Arizona State to 4-3 on the season.

Nebraska won 19 of the possible 20 matches between the two duals, while recording a total of 11 bonus-point victories, including seven major decisions and three pins. The win against Arizona State was Nebraska’s first shutout since 2008 when they beat Augustana (S.D.), 50-0, while the 42 points was the most allowed by Sun Devil team in school history.

Senior Tucker Lane (Hwt) had one of the most impressive days of any Husker, defeating two nationally ranked opponents in No. 10 J.T. Felix (BSU) and No. 11 Levi Cooper (ASU). Lane cruised past Felix in his first match, 6-2, before taking down Cooper in overtime, 2-1, for his second victory over the Sun Devil wrestler this season. After swapping escape points in the second and third periods and a scoreless sudden-death period, No. 10 Lane was able to escape in the tiebreaker and held Cooper in the down position for 30 seconds to capture the victory.

True freshmen Jake Sueflohn (141) and James Green (157) continued their impressive first seasons by recording four bonus-point decisions between the two. No. 11 Sueflohn kicked off his day with a major decision victory over No. 16 John Strait (BSU), and pinned Nathan Hoffer (ASU) in 5:29 for his 15^th win of the year. No. 13 Green did much of the same by beating No. 15 George Ivanov (BSU), 12-1, and Victor DeJesus, 16-5, for his second major decision of the day.

NU 34, BSU 3

Full Results
197- James Nakashima (NU) by major dec. over Derek Toney (BSU), 10-2 (NU 4, BSU 0)
Hwt- #10 Tucker Lane (NU) by dec. over #19 J.T. Felix (BSU), 6-2 (NU 7, BSU 0)
125- Isaac Romero (BSU) by dec. over Shawn Nagel (NU), 5-1 (NU 7, BSU 3)
133- #17 Ridge Kiley (NU) by dec. over Shawn Jones (BSU), 6-2 (NU 10, BSU 3)
141- #11 Jake Sueflohn (NU) by major dec. over #16 John Strait (BSU), 14-3 (NU 14, BSU 3)
149- Brandon Wilbourn (NU) by dec. over Steve Hernandez (BSU), 7-4 (NU 17, BSU 3)
157- #13 James Green (NU) by major dec. over #15 George Ivanov (BSU), 12-1 (NU 21, BSU 3)
165- #5 Robert Kokesh (NU) by major dec. over Michael Cuthbertson (BSU), 9-1 (NU 25, BSU 3)
174- Tyler Koehn (NU) by dec. over Scott Bacon (BSU), 11-5 (NU 28, BSU 3)
184- #9 Josh Ihnen (NU) by medical forfeit over #12 Jake Swartz (BSU) (NU 34, BSU 3)

NU 42, ASU 0

Full Results
197- James Nakashima (NU) by dec. over Tommy Burriel, (ASU), 5-3 (NU 3, ASU 0)
Hwt- #10 Tucker Lane (NU) by dec. (TB1) over #11 Levi Cooper (ASU), 2-1 (NU 6, ASU 0)
125- Shawn Nagel (NU) by pin over Dalton Miller (ASU), 1:26 (NU 12, ASU 0)
133- #17 Ridge Kiley (NU) by dec. over Shane McGough (ASU), 6-1 (NU 15, ASU 0)
141- #11 Jake Sueflohn (NU) by pin over Nathan Hoffer (ASU), 5:29 (NU 21, ASU 0)
149- Brandon Wilbourn (NU) by major dec. over Kyle McIntosh (ASU), 14-3 (NU 25, ASU 0)
157- #13 James Green (NU) by major dec. over Victor DeJesus (ASU), 16-5 (NU 29, ASU)
165- #5 Robert Kokesh (NU) by pin over Derek Felton (ASU), 2:16 (NU 35, ASU 0)
174- Caleb Kolb (NU) by major dec. over Jacob Graham (ASU), 18-6 (NU 39, ASU 0)
184- #9 Josh Ihnen (NU) by dec. over Kevin Radford (ASU), 10-3 (NU 42, ASU 0)

The Nebraska women’s gymnastics team will begin the 2012 season as the preseason favorite in the Big Ten Conference after being voted on by the conference coaches. The Huskers, who will begin the season ranked at No. 6 in the country, return six gymnasts who have earned All-America honors in their careers.

Michigan was picked second in the poll, while Penn State, Ohio State and Illinois round out the top five.

The Huskers finished fourth at last year’s NCAA Championships, which tied for the highest finish in school history. The Huskers will look to make an immediate impact in their first year as members of the Big Ten Conference after winning the Big 12 last season. Nebraska will be led by senior Lora Evenstad and junior Janelle Giblin. Evenstad is a two-time first-team All-American (V, 2010; FX, 2011), while Giblin is a three time honoree and earned first team accolades on the vault in 2011.

The Nebraska men’s gymnastics team was picked to finish sixth in the Big Ten Men’s Gymnastics Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Illinois topped the list of seven schools after winning their third consecutive conference championship in 2011, with Michigan and Penn State rounding out the top three.

In addition, a pair of Nebraska all-arounders were selected to the 2012 Gymnasts to Watch list. Senior Andreas Hofer and sophomore Wyatt Aycock were listed among the 14 conference gymnasts. Hofer has competed in the individual all-around finals at the NCAA Championships two times and finished in a tie for 11^th at the 2011 NCAA Championships. Aycock will be looking to improve on his freshman campaign in which he posted a school record mark of 88.60 in all-around competition against Iowa and Minnesota.

Are you wishing to see the Huskers in action, especially here in Arizona. Thanks to SOAZ member Susan Johansen who made up this listing. Copy it and keep it in your “To Do” list.

　
Hope everybody had a Merry Christmas and their fill of football the last few weeks and lets see how many show up to watch the Huskers take on South Carolina on Monday. See you at the watch sites. Game time is 11:00 AM.

Roger

The Red Clad Coot in the Desert