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Asked about Nebraska's postseason future, coach Doc Sadler gave an honest albeit obvious assessment of where his Cornhuskers stand.
"I don't know," Sadler said before going to a tongue-in-cheek response. "We're in the postseason of the Big 12 Tournament."
Indeed, they are. The seventh-seeded Cornhuskers (18-11, 7-9) open Big 12 Conference Tournament play at 6:07 p.m. Thursday against No. 10 seed Missouri (16-15, 6-10).
After that, things become foggy.
Barring a miracle four-game run at The Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., Nebraska's postseason hopes are more realistically tied to gaining a bid in the National Invitation Tournament or the new College Basketball Invitational. A win Thursday would certainly bolster the Huskers' chances, but advancing beyond that appears difficult. The NU-Missouri winner advances to face second-seeded and No. 5-ranked Kansas in Friday's quarterfinal round.
However, Sadler seems confident that the Huskers won't be taking the floor Thursday with anything on their minds other than beating Missouri.
"This team has done a great job of talking about just this next basketball game," Sadler said. "If my opinion mattered which they haven't called me we would be (in the postseason), but that's something that we can't control."
Being in the same bracket with Kansas obviously isn't a favorable circumstance for Nebraska, which lost to the Jayhawks 79-58 at Lincoln and 84-49 at Lawrence during a two-week span early in the Big 12 season. However, Sadler said that in the big picture, none of it really matters.
"For us to do what we want to do, we're going to have to beat an excellent basketball team," Sadler said. "If we don't win that first game, none of it matters."
On the plus side for Nebraska, the Huskers are hoping to be closer to full strength now that starting point guard Cookie Miller has returned to action. The 5-foot-7 freshman missed three games with a shoulder injury before returning to play 19 minutes off the bench in Sunday's 68-49 home win over Colorado.
Miller finished with three assists, three turnovers and two steals in his first game action since Feb. 23 at Texas A&M.
"He was a little rusty the first two times he touched it, he turned the basketball over but you can't sit out (three) ballgames like he's done and expect to come back at the level that you left it at, especially not being able to practice" Sadler said of Miller. "So we've got to keep him fresh. I can't allow him to pace himself to play more minutes.
"I've got to get it across to him to play as hard as he can go and play as hard as he can play and don't be concerned about staying on the court."
After a 0-4 start in league play, Nebraska won seven of its last 12 conference games. The Huskers have won four of six heading into the tournament, which senior center Aleks Maric believes gives his team a little momentum.
"I think we really finished off the second half of the Big 12 really strong," Maric said. "We got some key wins and we're going into Kansas City with confidence, energy and excitement."
Missouri coach Mike Anderson would obviously like to prevent Maric from feeling too energized. The 6-foot-11 center averaged 22.5 points and 14.5 rebounds during two regular-season games against the Tigers this year, including a 32-point, 16-rebound performance in Lincoln.
"Hopefully we can just make him work for it more than anything else and he doesn't have those big, big numbers," Anderson said. "Not only that, but we've got to be aware of other guys. I think (Steve) Harley is starting to play well for them as Ryan Anderson.
"There's a lot more to it than just Maric, but we've got to make him work and see if we can limit him."
Nebraska's 66-62 victory at Missouri on Jan. 30 came in a game where the Tigers' roster was reduced to eight players due to suspensions after a bar fight in Columbia that cost leading scorer Steffon Hannah the rest of his season due to a broken jaw. However, Mizzou came back and posted an 86-78 overtime win against the Cornhuskers at the Devaney Sports Center on Feb. 13.
Anderson said he's expecting another tight ballgame in Kansas City.
"They came in and stole one here, we were able to go over there and eke one out in overtime, so now it's kind of like that rubber match," Anderson said. "Of course, now it's a lot different. It's tournament time.
"It's a big game for them. It's a big game for us."
Game notes
& Nebraska and Missouri are familiar foes in the Big 12 Tournament as the two teams will be facing off in the opening round for the fourth time in the past six seasons.
& The Tigers have been Nebraska's most frequent opponent in conference tournament play, meeting eight times since 1977 when the Big Eight Tournament began. Missouri is 8-2 against NU in those games.
& Nebraska is 14-31 all-time in postseason conference tournament games, including a 3-11 mark in Big 12 Tournament games.
Starting Lineups
Missouri (16-15, 6-10) Yr. Ht. Ppg. Rpg.
G Keon Lawrence So. 6-2 10.9 *2.4
G Matt Lawrence Jr. 6-7 8.7 3.0
G J.T. Tiller So. 6-3 7.0 2.2
F DeMarre Carroll Jr. 6-8 13.1 6.6
F Leo Lyons Jr. 6-9 13.3 5.7
Nebraska (18-11, 7-9) Yr. Ht. Ppg. Rpg.
G Sek Henry So. 6-3 6.0 3.2
G Steve Harley Jr. 5-11 9.2 2.6
G Ade Dagunduro Jr. 6-5 8.3 3.7
G Ryan Anderson So. 6-4 8.8 5.4
C Aleks Maric Sr. 6-11 16.0 10.2
*-Assists per game
WHEN: Thursday, 6 p.m.
WHERE: The Sprint Center Kansas City, Mo.
TV: ESPN Plus/KLKN (G.I. cable channel 8)
RADIO: KRGI (1430 AM)
SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius (channels 241/242)
WEB: Huskers.com (live audio)
Men's Big 12 Tournament
At The Sprint Center
Kansas City, Mo.
First Round
Thursday, March 13
Texas Tech (16-14, 7-9) vs. Oklahoma State (16-14, 7-9), 11:30 a.m.
Baylor (21-9, 9-7) vs. Colorado (11-19, 3-13), 2 p.m.
Nebraska (18-11, 7-9) vs. Missouri (16-15, 6-10), 6 p.m.
Texas A&M (22-9, 8-8) vs. Iowa State (14-17, 4-12), 8:30 p.m.
Quarterfinals
Friday, March 14
Texas (26-5, 13-3) vs. Texas Tech-Oklahoma State winner, 11:30 a.m.
Oklahoma (21-10, 9-7) vs. Baylor-Colorado winner, 2 p.m.
Kansas (28-3, 13-3) vs. Nebraska-Missouri winner, 6 p.m.
Kansas State (20-10, 10-6) vs. Texas A&M-Iowa State winner, 8:20 p.m.
Semifinals
Saturday, March 15
Texas/Texas Tech-Oklahoma State winner vs. Oklahoma/Baylor-Colorado winner, 1 p.m.
Kansas/Nebraska-Missouri winner vs. Kansas State/Texas A&M-Iowa State winner, 3:20 p.m.
Championship
Sunday, March 16
Semifinal winners, 2 p.m.
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