Friday, February 16, 1968
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
5
Hawks face NU in big cage test
The most important game thus far in the 1968 Big Eight basketball race unfolds at Allen Field House Saturday night when the streaking Nebraska Cornhuskers risk their half-game lead against the cliff-hanger kids of Kansas.
The Huskers have won six straight since early season setbacks at Iowa State and Kansas State to take the lead all to themselves for the first time.
The Jayhawks, trying for their third straight conference championship, have climbed into second place on the strength of three nerve-wracking victories over Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Colorado.
He's right. The two most prolific scorers in Nebraska history, Tom Baack and Stuart Lantz, lead the Nebraska attack. Both men are averaging over 20 points a game this season. Baack has 20.5 and Lantz 20.3, good for third and fourth in the league, respectively.
KU head coach Ted Owens has said, "We'll probably have to play our best game of the season to win."
Lantz is the only Big Eight basketballer to be ranked among the conference leaders in all four individual departments, scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and free throw percentage. K-State coach Tex Winter has called Lantz "the best all-around player in the Big Eight."
NU also has two impressive sophomores in Tom Scantlebury and Bob Gratton.
Both Owens and assistant Sam Miranda feel this year's Nebraska team is better than the good Husker squads of the last two years.
"They're better disciplined and able to do more things well. They can play fast or slow to control the game they want to. They're a very fine shooting team," Miranda said.
Look for Nebraska to use a press against the Jayhawks all over the court. They use both a man-to-man and a zone press in an effort to confuse the opposition.
Kansas will go after Nebraska with the same game plan it has used in recent outings.
"We're not going to try anything new. We're just going to do what we have been, only better--both offensively and defensively," Miranda said.
"We haven't been moving the ball on offense and we've been playing very bad defense. Defense has been one of our strong points in the last couple of years, but we just haven't been hustling this year," Owens said.
KU will have to hustle Saturday if there is to be any hope of the third straight Big Eight crown.
"The team has always been ready for the big games the last few years and I'm sure they'll be ready for this one," Miranda said.
Tip-off time is 8:05 p.m. for the varsity game. The first meeting in history of the schools' freshman squads will begin at 5:45 p.m.
Scanning the Big 8
By Steve Morgan Kansan Sports Editor
Here are the predictions for this week's games:
Kansas 76, Nebraska 73
This is really a tough one to pick. It should be one of the best games in the Big Eight this season. Nebraska has been riding a hot streak the last few weeks and will be very tough to handle, but I have to go along with the home team. The Jayhawks have always been able to rise to the occasion in recent years and this weekend should be no exception. KU must be able to handle the ball well to win against Nebraska's fullcourt pressing defense and we have the personnel to do it. The Jayhawk defense must toughen up to stop the sharp-shooting Huskers. Look for another nail-biter, decided in the final minutes.
Kansas State 72, Oklahoma 58
This week's Big Eight TV-Game-of-the-Week should be somewhat one-sided. K-State was humiliated by Nebraska last weekend and is eager to redeem itself against conference competition. This is a must game for the Wildcats in order to stay in the title picture. They're now a game and a half behind NU. Nick Pino, who scored 28 points and grabbed 24 rebounds for KSU in a non-conference game earlier this week, may finally be coming into his own after three years in the league. If he can continue to produce, the Wildcats will be greatly strengthened. Look for K-State to win this one handily.
Colorado 63 Oklahoma State 55
Iowa State 84, Missouri 65
The Buffalooes are finally beginning to play good basketball after losing their first seven conference games. They gave Kansas a scare last Saturday and then beat Missouri Monday night to show they are ready to give the conference leaders some rough times. O-State surprisingly rolled over MU and played Iowa State to the wire this past week but I think they'll run into trouble with CU. The Buffs should use a lot of speed to good advantage against O-State's slow-down basketball. If CU can get an early lead it should be their ballgame.
The Cyclones should prove much too much for the faltering Tigers to handle. Iowa State seldom loses at home and should take advantage of this opportunity to show they are still very much in the conference race. A victory would move them at least even with the loser of the KU-NU game. Two of the better centers in the league, Don Smith of ISU and Gene Jones of MU, will square off in this one. Smith should prove he is much the superior. The Cyclones will win easily.
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