With a golden opportunity lost last Wednesday night in an 86-78 overtime home loss to Missouri, Nebraska will attempt to regain its momentum in a difficult road environment Saturday at Iowa State.
The Huskers had a chance to sweep the season series from the Tigers and win four out of five games in Big 12 Conference play for the first time since 1999, while remaining in the upper division of the league standings. Instead, Nebraska (14-8, 3-6 Big 12) now enters the 3 p.m. game in ninth place, a half game ahead of the Cyclones (13-12, 3-7).
"We've just got to get ready to play Iowa State at Iowa State and look forward to the next game," said Nebraska guard Steve Harley, who has scored in double figures in four of his last six games. "There's nothing we can do about the last one."
Two areas of concern seemed to stand out to NU coach Doc Sadler after the setback against Missouri. First, defense. Second, don't forget about the big guy in the middle.
The Huskers fell flat in both categories against Missouri. The Tigers used a 20-2 run in the final six minutes of the first half to take a 41-30 halftime lead.
Missouri wound up with 71 points in regulation and outscored the Huskers 15-7 in the five-minute overtime.
"You aren't going to win any ballgames giving up 86 points," Sadler said. "We can't score enough. We can't outscore people that's what we've got to understand."
Sadler said the Huskers also need to do a better job of recognizing offensive situations. After 6-foot-11 center Aleks Maric had scored a season-high 32 points and been almost unstoppable in the second half with 24 points, Nebraska seemed to forget about him in overtime.
That simply can't happen, Sadler said.
"When this team is good is when (Maric) touches the basketball," Sadler said. "To win in conference play, it's a game and you've got to play the game.
"Our game is that (Maric) has to touch the basketball and if we're not going to play the game and we're going to stray and do things it comes back to get you."
After getting off to a slow start in conference play, Maric has recorded five consecutive double-doubles. He's averaging 19.4 points and 14.2 rebounds in that stretch, while shooting 56.7 percent from the floor.
For his part, Maric didn't seem to blame his teammates for essentially rendering him useless in the OT period against Missouri. The senior said he just encouraged his teammates to play hard on the defensive end.
"Sometimes, you get caught up in the situation and you don't think," Maric said. "It's kind of strange how your mind works in situations like that. Sometimes the most basic thing is in front of you, but you don't see it.
"I'm not saying I'm perfect. Everybody makes mistakes. I made some mistakes, too, that cost us."
Game notes
Nebraska beat Iowa State 64-56 back on Feb. 2 in Lincoln in the teams' first meeting. The Cyclones will regain the services of leading scorer Wesley Johnson for Saturday's game. Johnson sat out the first contest against the Huskers due to an injury. NU leads Iowa State 129-96 in the all-time series and the Huskers have won two of their last three games in Ames, Iowa, after having won just two of the previous 10.
Starting Lineups
Nebraska (14-8, 3-6) Yr. Ht. Ppg. Rpg.
G Cookie Miller Fr. 5-7 6.6 *4.1
G Steve Harley Jr. 5-11 8.0 2.7
G Ade Dagunduro Jr. 6-5 8.9 4.0
G Ryan Anderson So. 6-4 9.5 6.0
C Aleks Maric Sr. 6-11 16.5 9.6
Iowa St. (13-12, 3-7) Yr. Ht. Ppg. Rpg.
G Wesley Johnson So. 6-7 13.5 3.8
G Bryan Petersen Jr. 6-1 5.0 *3.1
G Rashon Clark Sr. 6-6 9.1 5.9
F Craig Brackins Fr. 6-10 11.3 5.0
C Jiri Hubalek Sr. 6-11 13.1 7.1
*-Assists per game
WHEN: Saturday, 3 p.m.
WHERE: Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa
TV: ESPN Plus (G.I. cable channel 8)
RADIO: KRGI (1430 AM)
SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius (channel 125)
WEB: Huskers.com
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