Did the Cornhuskers celebrate their first-round win over Tulsa by boozing and chasing SELs around Vegas all night? It certainly looked like it Wednesday, as BYU bottle blasted NU 88-66. The Cougars jumped out to a 39-7 lead, as Nebraska played without its team leader and leading scorer (given, it's a whopping 11 ppg) Ryan Anderson.
Doc Sadler got two bright spots, as Bear Jones scored 21 points and Brandon Richardson had 13. Sadler is going to have to play these guys more, as they are proving to be the only guards who can compete and score against top Division I teams. Translation: teams that aren't Chicago St., South Carolina-Upstate, or similar dogs.
Hopefully, he can mix them in with Anderson, Brian Diaz and uber-kraut Christian Standhardinger (upon his return in four games) to provide a core that will log heavier minutes and give NU some rhythm. Hopefully, Standhardinger is not another 'star' that NU fans wait on for a year, who then averages six points for his career. The Cornhuskers dearly need someone who can pour in 15 a game, consistently. Mix in some bench minutes for the promising Ray Gallegos and some low-post banging minutes for Quincy Hankins-Cole, and then bench the stiffs. Supposed Big 12-ready point guard Lance Jeter is on the verge of becoming a flop. PYB is sure glad Sadler ran Cookie Miller out of town. Read more HERE.
Otherwise, it will be a long season, especially when the Big 12 begins. Six of NU's conference foes at least received votes in the latest AP rankings. Kansas and Texas are ranked numbers one and two. Colorado is much improved, Kansas State is rated 12th, Texas A&M is 19th (even though team leader Derrick Roland snapped his leg in a gruesome injury this week. Video link HERE, listen for the SNAP! as he comes down) Texas Tech is 23rd and blasted Stanford in its last game, Okie State got 29 votes, and Baylor got six.
Doc, find a rotation, and soon. NU needs some quality wins to impress the NIT committee.
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