[Husker] Nebraska 73, Wyoming 58

[NUStLNorris at aol.com]

Doc Sadler’s Cornhuskers raced to a quick 10-2 lead, never let up,  withstood 
a couple of runs by Wyoming, and never looked back.  I don’t know  how good 
Wyoming is (8 and 2 coming in), but NU looked great tonight.
 
Aleks Maric, ailments-and-all, went for (unofficially) 22 points on 9-of-14  
shooting along with 9 rebounds.  Wyoming had no answer for him as their big  
man picked up three fouls early.  NU’s backcourt of Charles Richardson and  
upstart Jay-R Strawbridge (where did THIS guy come from?!) was  outstanding.  
Strowbridge is getting the minutes that were thought to be  reserved for Jamel 
White.  
 
Strowbridge is a 6-foot freshman who came from Ardmore, Alabama.  He’s  
quick, a good ball-handler, and he’s showing confidence and having success from  
the outside.  He’s wearing a mask while recovering from a broken  schnoz.  Looks 
like an aggressive, talented, smart young player.
 
At the outset, three-pointers by Richardson and Strowbridge followed a jump  
hook by Maric to give Nebraska the early 10-2 lead at the first t.v.  timeout.
 
The Huskers led by as much as 12 in the first half as Why-oh had no answer  
defensively for Maric.  The Cowboys pulled to within 28-22 at the final  t.v. 
timeout of the first half, but Sadler was substituting freely and NU never  
lost control, despite having the lead cut considerably.
 
30-26 was the halftime score.  The end of the first half saw NU  substitute a 
lot and Wyoming climb back into it a bit.  Even though the  liberal 
substituting may have led to Wyoming getting back into it, you can see  Sadler working. 
 He wasn’t going to burn everyone up in the first half of  the first game 
(three games to play in four days).  And, he was going to  limit Maric’ minutes 
while he’s hour-to-hour with his stress fracture  issues.  
 
I had a feeling at halftime, with Maric only having one foul, that NU would  
be fresh and play a very good second half.  Boy, did they.
 
NU went on a spurt to lead by ten after a Strowbridge mid-range jumper, a  
Jay-R lay-up on an assist from Richardson and Richardson’s steal and hoop at  
about the 13:30 mark.  The lead increased to 39-28 at the under-12 t.v.  
timeout.  Richardson AND Strowbridge were racking up the assist  numbers.  Freshman 
Ryan Anderson has been the biggest surprise of the  season.  He struggled 
tonight in the first half, but was noticeably better  in the second.
 
The lead grew to 51-38 after Paul Velander hit some technical foul  shots.  
Charles Richardson kinda’ took over the game for a point around the  10 minute 
mark of the second half.  Unbelievable improvement from the  senior over the 
past few years.  He’s flourishing under Sadler’s  system.  Seems like he plays 
40 minutes a game.  He’s actually a  threat from the outside now, and it‘s 
HIS show.  He’s doing an  outstanding job right now as NU’s floor general.
 
When Nebraska escaped Wyoming’s full-court pressure tonight, they not only  
got it over the time-line, they took it to the hole with an attitude and had a  
ton of success.  They had at least four or five dunk finishes.  
 
It was interesting to watch Nebraska work, with their  
three-and-sometimes-four guard line-up.  They’d have Sek Henry and  Velander, or Strowbridge or 
White work at getting the ball inbounds and close to  the time-line.  Sadler had 
Richardson break to the middle and catch the  ball and lead the fast break the 
rest of the way.  It’s like, “hey, you  wanna' to press us?  O.K., but we’re 
gonna’ be dunkin’ on the other  end!”
 
The lead grew to 67-53 at the under-four minute t.v. timeout of the second  
half.  NU was looking great at this point.  Wyoming cut a 14-point  lead to 
eight, but then the Huskers were lead by Maric and Strowbridge in  building it 
back up.  J.R. Strowbridge … wow!  Outta’ nowhere.  
 
Marcus Perry didn’t play tonight (injuries?).  There was no one in the  
stands when the game started.  Hometown Hawaii is playing right now so I’m  sure 
there’s at least a couple hundred in there.
 
Nebraska plays the winner of the Hawaii-San Francisco game that’s going on  
now on Friday night at 11:30 Lincoln time.  Charlotte, Houston, Valparaiso  and 
Creighton are on the other side of the bracket.
 
Sadler’s philosophy seems to me to be all about a disciplined all-out  attack 
on offense and contesting and confronting everything on defense.
 
It’s early in the season and foul trouble and injuries can really hurt this  
team.  But Doc Sadler is THE man right now as far as I’m concerned.  I  love 
the way he wants his teams to play.  It’s the kind of style that  should 
attract top recruits and bring the fans back in a hurry.
 
I love watching him on the sidelines.  He’s “in” to the game … he  works 
the refs.  Coaches dress a bit more casually on the island during  this 
tournament.  I swear once he looked like a tourist who was letting the  hotel manager 
have it because he was promised a shuttle that never showed.   He’s 
entertaining.
 
I’m trying to curb my enthusiasm.  Doc’s makin’ it tough.
 
Dave Norris