[Husker] Missouri 64, Nebraska 63

[NUStLNorris at aol.com]

A bad Missouri team outscored Nebraska 16-4 over the last 4:45; and 13-4  
over the last three minutes … (pause) … this game ended about three hours ago  
and it’s still difficult to comprehend this classic case of how to “give-away” 
a  basketball game.  
 
Nebraska played poorly in the first half, but somehow managed to only be  
down 31-25 at the break (… it had everything to do with the fact that Missouri’s 
 NOT very good).  Aleks Maric didn’t score in the first twenty minutes,  
missed his only shots (no more than three in the half) and just got physically  
abused down low.  The ‘zebes’ let-‘em-play, it got very physical, and Aleks  
and the Huskers didn’t adjust until the break.  
 
The first fifteen minutes of the second half saw Nebraska play some very  
good basketball.  They outscored Mizzou 34-17 over the first 15 minutes of  the 
second half.  Maric dominated this stretch of play.  The 6-foot-11  sophomore 
center scored 16 points and controlled everything in the paint.   Wes Wilkinson’
s trey put NU up 59-48 with 4:42 to play in the game. 
 
No way should Nebraska have let this one get away.  
 
At around the 3:00 mark, with NU still up 59-51, the officials blew an  
obvious double-dribble call on Mizzou; who then eventually kicked it  out-and-over 
to Thomas Gardner.  Gardner then started on his personal  Husker destruction 
mission during the game’s waning minutes.
 
Nebraska’s defense on Gardner late in the game was poor.  You can’t  even 
let the guy CATCH the ball in that situation.  Gardner getting hot was  Mizzou’s 
ONLY chance to pull off a miracle (he’s their only REAL, consistent  threat 
and he’s a point-a-minute machine when he gets rollin’ -- and when  “given!” 
the opportunity!).
 
This may have been a colossal collapse of seal-your-fate proportions for  
Nebraska’s head coach Barry Collier.  I really DO hate to say that, but the  
results, or lack thereof, are speaking for themselves.
 
Around the beginning of February, I had difficulty listening to the “Fire  
The Coach!” faction while the team was in the midst of an impressive recovery  
from a potentially season-crippling dismissal of their leading returning scorer 
 and pre-season ‘marquee player.’
 
My personal hope was that Nebraska would play well enough in league-play  and 
down-the-stretch to save their coach’s job.  As it’s turning out, it  doesn’
t look like that’s going to happen.
 
Nebraska had gotten hammered at Creighton, at Kansas and at Colorado WITH  
McCray … then Collier made the decision, and the Huskers started to show signs  
of making something out of their season.  Collier was having a  tough-go-of-it 
in the papers, on the message boards and on the sports talk  shows.  On the 
court, Nebraska had gone 5 and 3 in the first half of the  conference season 
and I, at least, thought that what was actually happening on  the court should 
be factored in to Collier’s eventual fate, shouldn‘t it?
 
But at the same time (and using the same criteria), look at the  unbelievable 
2 and 6 collapse down the stretch.  NU wins three conference  road games 
total -- today should have been number four -- but lose to Iowa  State, Kansas, 
Texas Tech and Kansas State at home.  The ISU, KU and Texas  Tech games occurred 
with EVERYTHING still on the line.  A ticket to the Big  Dance was well 
within grasp and … thud.  NU had recovered from the  back-to-back scheduling 
challenge of KU and Texas with the ‘MaricMonsterGame’ in  Ames.  The Texas Tech 
loss was one that just CAN’T happen to a team who’s  coach is "under fire."
 
It really doesn’t matter what I or any of us on ‘The List’ think about what  
should happen to Collier.  Pedersen and Boehm know what big time basketball  
is all about.  Without getting in to what I or anyone else thought of the  way 
the A.D. handled the football coaching situation, I AM interested in hearing  
what these guys have to say about building a basketball program.  The  
University of Pittsburgh is a perennial collegiate basketball power and our  
guys-in-charge were the one’s behind its construction.
 
I will defer to them on Collier’s fate.  Barry’s a great guy, but I  want 
Nebraska basketball to produce.  I can’t even imagine what attendance  would be 
like next year if Barry returns.  Even though some of the  “returnees” are 
encouraging (start with Maric, Jamel White and Charles  Richardson; other 
experience as well), I can’t imagine much "returning  enthusiasm" from so-called ‘
Husker Nation.’
 
NU gets a re-match against Missouri at 8:20 p.m. on Thursday night in  
Dallas.  Might as well play Mizzou as opposed to Baylor, who I think is  every bit 
as good as the Tigers are currently.
 
This is getting long enough, but one other thing …
 
I listened to Barry’s post-game show and he sounded like a guy about ready  
to resign.  He took full responsibility for today’s collapse.  He was  critical 
of Jamel White’s shot selection (I’ll still take White in my program  any 
day), but he said that he was the one who has final accountability, and he’s  
right.  Paraphrasing here, but announcers Randy White and Matt Davison then  
more-or-less tried to console him saying “ultimately, the players  make-or-don’
t-make plays, Coach.”  But then Collier said “well, I don’t  HAVE to play the 
players who may-or-may-not make the plays.”  It was sad to  hear, but good to 
hear someone not wanting to pass the buck.
 
Jamel White probably DID cast up a couple of ill-advised jumpers today, but  
he also did a lot of good things and has, I think, shown a lot of guts and  
willingness to step-up and take on McCray’s old role, head-on.  He is not  
afraid.  He still makes some freshman mistakes but, hey, … he’s a  freshman!
 
I care greatly about Nebraska basketball, but I’m ready for this season to  
end.
 
Dave Norris