Nebraska stayed with Texas for the first 20 minutes today ... looking fairly
impressive, shooting 50 percent from the field and only trailing 38-35 at
intermission. But Texas is very good, the Huskers started missing more close-in
shots and turning the ball over, and things-in-general really got away from NU
in the second half. At one time, I believe that the number serven-rated
Longhorns had outscored the Huskers by 25-6 to start the second half.
Barry Collier, uncharacteristically, was the recipient of a technical foul
somewhere during this stretch, after he voiced his displeasure with what he
thought was inconsistent officiating ("That's a foul on the other end, John!!" ...
I think it was Omahan John Higgins he was talking to/yelling at).
Texas didn't need any help in the second half. It's really frustrating
watching NU's lack of focus-and-finish right around the basket. Texas also
dominated the boards -- the rebounding edge was 41-27 at one time in the second half.
In the first half, Marcus Perry hit three shots from behind the arc to spark
the offense. Wes W. hit a couple as well, and Aleks Maric had some success
around the hoop. I thought that Jamel White continued to show signs of possibly
developing into someone the Huskers can look-to-and-count-on for the future.
Kenton Paulino scored 19 for the Longhorns. P.J. Tucker wasn't his usual
self, but LaMarcus Aldridge, Brad Buckman and Daniel Gibson more than picked up
the slack. I think Gibson's going to be every bit the player down there that
T.J. Ford was. They've got a lot of talent.
Elsewhere in the Big XII today, A&M continued their move up-the-standings by
nipping OSU in College Station, 46-44; Kansas beat Iowa State in Lawrence,
88-75; Colorado secured (for the moment) sole possession of fourth place in the
league by escaping Texas Tech in Boulder, 66-64; and the Sooners pummelled
Baylor, 80-52. Kansas State plays at Missouri on Sunday (for anyone who didn't
hear, embattled Quin Snyder "resigned" yesterday as the Tigers' head coach).
To the best of my knowledge, this is what the up-to-date standings are
looking like through this afternoons games:
Texas: 9-1, 21-3
Kansas: 8-2,17-6
Oklahoma: 7-3, 16-5
Colorado: 6-4, 16-5
Nebraska: 5-5, 15-8
Texas A&M : 5-6, 15-7
Kansas State: 4-5, 13-7
Iowa State: 4-6, 14-9
Texas Tech: 4-6, 12-12
Oklahoma State: 3-7, 13-11
Missouri: 3-7, 10-11
Baylor: 2-8, 2-8
Nebraska is now past the Kansas-Texas portion of their schedule and they are
still (somehow) in sole possession of fifth place (for the moment, at least).
Texas A&M is gaining ground. Iowa State has lost two straight, but they get
NU in Hilton Coliseum next -- a huge game for both teams. I think Iowa State
is too good to lose three straight at this point in the conference season. I
hope I'm wrong.
Upcoming Games:
Monday--Kansas at Oklahoma State
Tuesday--Baylor at Texas
Wednesday--Nebraska at Iowa State, Kansas State at Texas Tech, Oklahoma at
Colorado.
The all-important fourth seed (Friday start in the league tourney as opposed
to a Thursday start) is still up-in-the-air. Husker, Cyclone and Aggie fans
should be pulling for OU this Wednesday in Boulder. Colorado then plays at
Kansas State and at Nebraska. After their game Wednesday, Nebraska returns home
for back-to-back home tilts against Texas Tech and the Buffs ... and the
Cyclones play at Oklahoma. A&M doesn't play until next weekend (at Baylor, then at
Missouri).
Dave Norris