Steven M. Sipple: NU's season in chokehold
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The scrum was on.
Baylor behemoth center Josh Lomers had Nebraska big man Aleks Maric in one heck of a wrestling hold in the lane Saturday. No whistle. No problem. Big 12 basketball is a rugged business. Nobody wearing scarlet and cream will argue that painful fact right now.
Baylor, perhaps the Big 12’s most improved team, essentially put Nebraska’s season in a chokehold with a 72-70 victory before 9,408 spectators at the Devaney Sports Center. And now the Huskers, with a 0-3 record in the league, are gasping for air.
What a quick reversal in fortune. It was just more than a month ago that Nebraska picked up a huge surge of momentum with an 88-79 win against then-No. 16 Oregon in Omaha. Visions of the NCAA Tournament danced in Big Red fans’ heads. It seemed so possible. I was convinced. Now the Oregon win seems like years ago, and an NCAA invite feels like a pipe dream. NIT anyone? Heavy sighs all around.
Nebraska basketball in the past few weeks is like the wrestler who seems in control of a match, then suddenly gets flipped over on his back.
“It’s got to hurt. ... I mean, it’s the worst feeling since I’ve been here,” second-year Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said after the Huskers dropped to 11-5 overall.
Sadler’s team was 10-2 after that win against Oregon. Then Nebraska beat three absolutely awful teams in Lincoln before lapsing into a horrific offensive funk against Kansas and Colorado. Not that it mattered against the surging and ultra-talented Jayhawks. NU wasn’t going to win that game anyway, even though it was in Lincoln.
Of course, Big Red then played miserably Tuesday in losing 55-51 to the Buffaloes in Boulder, which set the stage for Saturday.
This game was about Nebraska somehow getting its mojo back. It was about the Huskers holding serve at home. It was about regaining energy. But the crowd was too often listless, and the Huskers made only 61.8 percent of their free throws (21-for-34) and 38.2 percent of their field-goal attempts (21-of-55).
Nebraska’s offensive funk continues. Heavy sigh.
“We come out and have too strong of practices for our season to go like this,” said Nebraska sophomore guard Jay-R Strowbridge. “I still think the season will work out for us.”
Yes, it’s far too early in the schedule to completely write off Nebraska. Sometimes we apply a football mentality to Husker hoops, in that we place too much emphasis on individual wins and losses. The basketball season is a marathon. There’s plenty of time to make up ground.
Trouble is, Nebraska is staring at a 0-5 start in Big 12 play. Next up are road games against Kansas and Missouri. Ouch. Heavy sigh.
Put it this way: At 0-3 in the league, Nebraska needs to go 8-5 during the remainder of the regular season just to finish 8-8 in the conference. That means the Huskers probably will need to win all six of their remaining home games and somehow pick up two triumphs on the road. Find me two sure-fire Husker wins on the road. And anyway, 8-8 probably wouldn’t be good enough to land an NCAA Tournament bid.
“It’s way too early ...” Sadler started to say before his voice trailed off. Perhaps he was about to say it’s way too early to become overly concerned, but I’m not sure that’s how he feels. Judging by his demeanor, he foresees an unwieldy road ahead. You’ll seldom see Doc as forlorn as he was after Saturday’s game.
Of course, Sadler’s generally upbeat nature dictates that he will rebound quickly, as will his team. The good news is Nebraska pushed a good Baylor team to the brink. The Huskers were a questionable call — it didn’t look like both of Strowbridge’s feet left the ground on the late traveling call — from perhaps tying the game in the final moments.
Again, heavy sigh.
“The fact of the matter is, it still goes back to the fact that with eight or nine teams in this league — probably eight — you can flip a coin,” Sadler said. “That’s why you better take care of your home court.”
One can’t fault Nebraska’s effort. The Huskers always play hard on defense and had only 13 turnovers Saturday. Maric rebounded from a disappointing effort in Boulder to produce 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four blocks. He put forth maximum effort. Steve Harley showed life offensively with 15 points.
Yet this Nebraska team seems to lack a strong offensive identity. It tries to play a half-court game despite its lack of size among key players other than Maric. Bottom line, the Huskers’ lack of a power forward gets them in bad mismatches down low. Baylor held a 40-32 advantage on the boards.
Nebraska has more size and athleticism than it did last season. The Huskers have improved, but so has the rest of the league.
The fact Sadler is redshirting four players, including two excellent shooters in 6-foot-6 Toney McCray and 6-foot Brandon Richardson, shows that Doc is in this for the long haul. How much patience will he receive from Nebraska fans?
That’s a question for another day. For Nebraska, the short haul has enough issues to ponder.
“You saw us,” Sadler said. “I think we’re playing as hard as we can play. I don’t know what else you can do. We made some shots today. That’s what’s frustrating. We could be sitting here 2-1. We’re 0-3, and that’s what it is.
“It hurts, I know that.”
A game next Saturday at Kansas looms. Indeed, heavy sigh.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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