[Husker] Texas Tech 70, Nebraska 64

[NUStLNorris at aol.com]

Considering what was at stake, the momentum and resurrection garnered after  
Wednesday night’s big win in Ames … this egg-layer-of-a-defeat is just a 
crusher  for Nebraska.  Bobby Knight and a relatively big crowd were on-hand today 
 to watch Texas Tech guard Jarrius Jackson do just about anything he wanted … 
and  today he felt like scoring 41 points on the Huskers -- shooting a hole a 
 mile-wide in NU’s goal-oriented “bubble.”
 
This one was tough to watch.
 
I think the crucial point of the game was when Nebraska was up 21-13 in the  
first half.  NU looked like they were in a position to put some distance  
between themselves and the Red Raiders.  Tech’s big man picked up his third  foul 
with about 11 minutes to play in the half.  About a minute later Aleks  Maric, 
who scored six points early-on in the contest, picked up his second  foul.  
The Huskers were up eight with ten minutes to play, and Collier  chose to take 
Maric out and sit him for the remainder of the first half.   Texas Tech 
outscored NU 22-10 the rest of the half.  While Maric sat, Tech  clawed back in it 
and past the Huskers, finishing with a flurry when Jamel White  had some 
ball-handling difficulties in the last 1:30.  
 
White had 18 today, and played well for the most part.  He might  have taken 
a couple of quick, ill-advised shots late, but at least he  wasn’t afraid to 
take ‘em.  I didn’t think NU showed a lot of toughness  today.  No 
sense-of-urgency that was evident in Ames.
 
The Huskers had absolutely EVERYTHING to play for.  Colorado had lost  
earlier in the day and a win would tie the Buffs with the NU-CU game coming up  
Wednesday in Lincoln.  But they didn’t play like a team that had as much to  play 
for as they actually did.  I was questioning the decision to let Maric  sit 
while Tech turned the game completely around.  That’s NOT a slam-dunk  “
by-the-book” coach's decision to automatically sit your star for the rest of  the 
half when he picks up his second.  I think Aleks is a pretty smart  player and 
can avoid fouling when need be.  He didn’t pick up his third  until at least 12 
or 13 minutes into the second half.  Put it this way --  foul trouble didn’t 
end up being an issue today for Maric.
 
Wes Wilkinson continues to struggle after being NU’s best and most  
consistent player over the first half of the year.  He had some big shots  -- some good 
looks at the basket -- and he couldn’t get ‘em to go down.  
 
I suppose you’ve got to hand it to Jarrius Jackson for going off for 41  
points (is that a Devaney Center record?  I remember Rich King’s 40 against  
Northern Illinois back in the 90-91 season.  King was on-hand today with  his 90-91 
teammates for a halftime tribute) … but I thought Nebraska’s defense  was 
pretty lame today -- especially on Jackson.  About the time Maric sat  with his 
second foul of the first half, Jackson started to take off.  And I  thought 
about this time that Nebraska’s defensive effort went into  neutral.

I think ex-Husker coach Moe Iba would have been disgusted if a guy  went-off 
on you for 41 and your team only had a few team-fouls for the majority  of the 
second half.  Jackson wasn’t met with much resistance.  He was  moving great 
without the ball, but no one was denying him the ball, pushing him  away from 
where he wanted to catch the ball, or making any attempt to provide a  lot of 
help.  Nebraska lost track of him a couple of times and that’s  unfathomable 
when a guy’s goin’ that good.  Moe would have told someone to  “hair-lip him!”
 about the time he continued on with his stroll-through-the-park  way of 
moving to and catching the ball anywhere he so desired.
 
This Nebraska basketball season is starting to remind me of the movie  
"Groundhog Day."  They really laid an egg when they had everything to play  for. 
 
Elsewhere in the conference today, Iowa State went to Norman and ended up  
giving one away to the Sooners.  OU won 83-82 on three free throws with  about 8 
seconds left.  A&M beat Baylor in Waco, 64-60, to move into a  tie with NU 
and Texas Tech.  Kansas State did Nebraska a favor by beating  the Buffs in 
Manhattan, 72-60.  Kansas took apart the staggering Missouri  Tigers, 79-46.  To 
the best of my knowledge, the up-to-date standings look  like this (with Texas 
playing at Oklahoma State tomorrow at 12:30):
 
Texas: 10-1, 22-3
Kansas: 10-2, 19-6
Oklahoma: 8-4, 17-6
Colorado:  7-5, 17-6
Texas A&M: 6-6, 16-7
Nebraska: 6-6, 16-9
Texas Tech:  6-6, 14-12
Kansas State: 5-7, 14-9
Iowa State: 4-8, 14-11
Missouri:  4-8, 11-12
Oklahoma State: 3-8, 13-12
Baylor: 2-10, 2-10
 
Huge opportunity lost today.  There were a lot of disappointed Husker  fans 
filing out of the Devaney Center after today’s effort.  As you looked  at the 
last five games of the conference season after the win in Ames on  Wednesday, 
this is one that you HAD to think Nebraska HAD to win.
 
Jarrius Jackson had his career night, Bobby Knight finally beat Barry  
Collier on the road and Nebraska didn’t look like they had as much to play for  as 
they actually did.  I’m having a hard time hiding my disappointment on  this 
one.  That’s just the way it looked to me today.
 
Nebraska baseball loses to the Citadel as Johnny Dorn gets rocked.  A  gray 
day in HuskerLand.
 
Dave Norris