Regardless of the tournament NCAA, NIT or the new CBI all Nebraska coach Doc Sadler wants is for the Cornhuskers to play some postseason basketball.
With center Aleks Maric the only senior on the entire roster, Sadler said Monday that he would love to see Nebraska (17-10, 6-8 Big 12) still be playing well into March. That's especially the case if freshman point guard Cookie Miller could recover from his severe shoulder sprain in time to be a factor.
"For lack of a better term, it can be your spring practice games, so it's definitely important," Sadler said. "You need (tournament) experience and need to go through it at some point and this year would be a good year to hopefully have that opportunity."
The Huskers could give their postseason hopes a major boost Tuesday night with an upset win at No. 9-ranked Texas (24-5, 11-3 Big 12). FSN Midwest will televise the game live from Austin, Texas, with tipoff set for 6:35 p.m.
Nebraska had its three-game winning streak snapped last Saturday with a 77-63 loss at Oklahoma State. However, Sadler's team is still eyeing a .500 finish in Big 12 play if it can knock off the Longhorns and then beat Colorado at home Sunday.
"At least the opportunity's still there," Sadler said. "I think this team last year would've definitely been there, but this league this year is just so darn tough.
"To still have an opportunity when, in my opinion, the league is probably about as good as it's ever going to be, that's encouraging to me."
Nebraska managed to shoot above 50 percent from the field for the fourth consecutive game at Oklahoma State. However, playing their second full game without Miller at the controls, the Huskers committed 19 turnovers four shy of their season high.
Sadler said Sek Henry and Jay-R Strowbridge have done a decent job of filling in at the point guard spot and wouldn't blame Miller's absence for Nebraska's troubles against the Cowboys.
"I think all that would be speculation and I don't think that we need to do that," Sadler said. "The only thing I would say is that if you look at the other 13 (Big 12) games, that's one area that we've been very, very good at and we didn't do as good of a job Saturday as we needed to."
The problem with upsetting Texas is that the Longhorns just had an eight-game winning streak snapped Saturday with an 83-80 loss at Texas Tech. Coach Rick Barnes' team is 15-1 at home this season the only loss was to Wisconsin (67-66) on Dec. 29 and 6-0 in the Erwin Center in league games, including a 72-69 win over Kansas.
Then again, Big 12 cellar dweller Colorado only lost to Texas 69-67 at Austin on Jan. 19. Barnes indicated that the Longhorns definitely won't overlook Nebraska.
"Regardless of what people say, there's not a gimmie in this league," Barnes said. "You've got to play or you're going to get beat.
"Like any league, there are some days teams might not have it and you'll see some lopsided scores, but overall, this league this year has been as competitive as any league I've been in."
Game notes
Lincoln Southeast graduate Matt Hill remains on the Texas roster, but is out for the season after having surgery for foot and lower-leg problems. Sadler said that Miller, who was injured with six minutes to play in Nebraska's Feb. 23 win at Texas A&M, remains questionable for Tuesday's game. The 5-foot-7 freshman guard did work out Sunday, Sadler said. Texas leads the all-time series with Nebraska 14-4, including six consecutive wins. The Longhorns own a 9-2 mark against the Huskers since the formation of Big 12 Conference.
Starting Lineups
Nebraska (17-10, 6-8) Yr. Ht. Ppg. Rpg.
G Sek Henry So. 6-3 5.9 3.2
G Steve Harley Jr. 5-11 9.0 2.6
G Ade Dagunduro Jr. 6-5 8.7 3.8
G Ryan Anderson So. 6-4 8.9 5.6
C Aleks Maric Sr. 6-11 16.0 10.0
Texas (24-5, 11-3) Yr. Ht. Ppg. Rpg.
G D.J. Augustin So. 6-0 19.7 *5.8
G A.J. Abrams Jr. 5-11 16.5 2.7
G Justin Mason So. 6-2 6.9 4.2
F Damion James So. 6-7 12.8 10.5
*-Assists per game
WHEN: Tuesday, 6:35 p.m.
WHERE: Erwin Center Austin, Texas
TV: FSN Midwest (G.I. cable channel 26)
RADIO: KRGI (1430 AM)
SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius (channel 107)
WEB: Huskers.com (live radio, stats)
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