6B • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
FRIDAY.JANUARY31,2003
Nebraska looks to rebound despite tough schedule
By John Domoney
jdomoney@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Jared Soares/Kansan
Senior Nick Collison nabbed a career high 23 rebounds to complement his 24 points against Texas. After his impressive performance Monday night, eyes are on Collison to lead the Jayhawks to defeat the Cornhuskus.
When Kansas and Nebraska take the floor tomorrow at 1 p.m. at the Devaney Center in Lincoln, Neb., the Jayhawks and Cornhuskers will be meeting at different points in their seasons.
Nebraska (9-10 overall, 1-5 Big 12 play) still has its tough stretch ahead of them.
After losing to No. 25 Missouri 63-56 Wednesday night, Nebraska's next five games are against Big 12 powers Kansas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Texas and Missouri, again.
Kansas is coming off a 91-74 defeat to No. 1 Arizona and a 90-87 victory over No. 3 Texas in what many labeled as the toughest part of the Jayhawks' schedule.
"You look at that," sophomore forward John Turek said. "But we're not like 'Oh, no, the next six games are against Top 25.' We're trying to keep our heads up."
The Huskers may strive to keep their heads up when treading the waters of the Big 12 Conference, but their shooting percentage rivals the bitter-cold air of winters
in Lincoln.
Entering tomorrow's game, Nebraska is shooting 41.1 percent from the floor as a team. In comparison, Kansas is leading the Big 12 with a 49.8 shooting clip from the field.
"It's not the same (from game to game), although I think there's
been a fairly consistent struggle to shoot the ball," Nebraska coach Barry Collier said. "It's a combination of a lack of experience, and I just think we're pressing a bit."
During the last five games, the Huskers have shot worse during the second half than the first half.
In Wednesday night's defeat to the Tigers, Nebraska went to the halftime break with a 31-22 lead after shooting 39.3 percent from the floor.
But the second half saw the Huskers' shooting percentage dip to 30.9 percent leading to 25 second-half points.
"It's just patience," Turek said. "A lot of times, we've been settling for the outside shot. We just need to have the patience to work the ball around and get a better shot."
Much of the offensive problems for Nebraska have been a result of the absence of point guard and team captain Jake Muhleisen, who injured himself in a 92-59 defeat to Kansas on Jan. 11. Since Muhleisen was declared lost for the season with a broken hip socket, Nebraska has lost four of its last five games.
Senior guard Brennon Clemmons said the offensive philosophy had not changed without Muhleisen, but he said the Huskers needed to perform better in game situations.
"In practice, we beat each other up," Clemmons said. "Everybody wants to play, and in order to play you have to show you can. We have good practices, hard practices, but we've got to carry it on to the court."
Texas Tech hopes to crush Kansas' self-esteem
By Shane Mettlen
smeltlan@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
By Shane Mettlen
Edited by Ryan Wood
The Kansas women's basketball team will go for its third straight victory when it hosts No. 8 Texas Tech at 2.05 p.m. tomorrow.
The Jayhawks will face a tough test as they try to continue their winning ways. The Red Raiders have won the last three meetings between the teams and currently sit atop the Big 12 conference standings. Texas Tech also leads the conference in scoring, averaging 76.6 points a game and are winning games by an average of 20 points.
"They're not just one of the best teams in the conference. They are one of the best teams in the nation," Washington said. "Being in that arena with them is going to help this ball club."
Kansas coach Marian Washington acknowledges her players may have their hands full.
The Jayhawks have seen improvement as of late. Kansas has moved out of the Big 12 cellar with back-to-back victories and leads the conference in free throw percentage, giving them some optimism going into the game.
"With two wins now the confidence level certainly is stronger," Washington said. "We're going to figure out what game plan we need to have and their job is to try and stay disciplined throughout the ball game and see if we can make a game of it."
The Red Raiders are led by the conference's fourth leading
scorer, Plenette Pierson, who is scoring 18.5 points per game. Pierson and teammate Jia Perkins also lead Texas Tech in rebounding, pulling down 7.4 a contest. Perkins is the team's second leading scorer at 16.4 points a game. Texas Tech junior Jolee Ayers had a career high 22 points against Kansas last season. The trio provides the Red Raiders with plenty of offensive weapons.
But Kansas has a rising star of
its own. Freshman Crystal Kemp has averaged 20 points per game in her last three outings and has been the key to the Jayhawks resurgence. Kemp said that her team must pick up where it left off.
"We're just going to go out there and work as hard as we can," Kempsaid. "All we can do is go out and play our game."
- Edited by Todd Rapp
Freshman guard Erica Hallman has come strongly off the bench with a team-leading 3.7 assists per game.
Brandon Baker/Kansan
BASEBALL Texas baseball team favored by coaches
DALLAS — Texas has been picked by coaches as the favorite to win the Big 12 this season.
Atter Texas, league coaches predicted a finishing order of Baylor, Oklahoma, Nebraska Texas Tech, Oklahoma State Texas A&M, Kansas State, Missouri and Kansas. Colorado and Iowa State don't have baseball teams.
New Kansas coach Ritch Price is the only coach who has seen his team play, as the Jayhawks (4-2) began the season with three straight doubleheaders last weekend in Hawaii, where the temperature was 81 degrees
- 87 degrees warmer than the subzero weather back in Kansas.
The Associated Press
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