ChipperF1
11-29-2002, 10:04 PM
We're A Team Again.
(Sung to the tune of "Best Friend")
People let me tell ya we're a team again.
Only have seven kids, but we'll fight you to the end.
People let me tell ya we're a team again.
We're two-and-oh, we're on the go, with Connie and Amy runnin' the show.
People let me tell ya, this year's really fun.
Margaret Richards scores the points, Little Jina makes us run!
'Cause we're a team again!
Yeah, we're a team again!
The two-and-oh start of Nebraska has the friends of the scarlet and cream singing. After seeing a year of a ballclub that had all the skills of Jamaal Lord on third-and-long, the supurb start of the season is nice lift.
Nebraska 63, Grambling State 40
Nebraska 71, Rice 56
Two wins built on what were Nebraska staples. Solid defense, and a patient but proficient offense. Built around players who win give maximum effort at every point during the game.
Along the way, we've found some people enjoy a rebirth. Alexa Johnson's opened up with two fine performances. She had 24 points and 13 rebounds against Grambling State, and 21 points against Rice.
Amanda Cleveland has continue her miracle story, by a adding a new chapter. Amanda has averaged 7 minutes a game since returning to uniform two years ago. Against Rice, she play 35 minutes and had 15 points, 9 rebounds. Not bad for a kid who had one foot in the grave a few years.
Margaret Richards has been much maligned by this observer. I have no reason to malign her first two games this year. Averaging 12.5 points and 8 rebounds per game, in addition to improved defensive play. She's also become a leader on the ballclub.
Katie Morse is playing strong and confident and starting to show the signs of being "The Next Karen Jennings". She's second on the team in rebounds (8.5 per game), but she a complete 180 degree turn from the hopelessly player we saw wearing #53 last year. So far, no one can mistake Katie Morse for Casey Leonhardt. That is a good thing.
And at quarterback, Jina Johansen. 5'5" in your program with 55'5" of heart, and now improved skills. Notice her 8 steals this season. Perhaps we should change her name to "Lupin". Offensively, solid. Eight points and eight assists a game so far.
It took a woman from Bluejays country to reinstill basic Cornhusker values, and that's what Connie Yori and her staff have done. All the talk of a new spirit in Lincoln is showing up, and so far the Yori Administrations getting good reviews. Now, any rumors of Connie Yori seeking the Nebraska football job are completely unsubstatiated at this time http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/wink.gif
But Sunday, the new look Huskers will get a test from an old friend. At Omaha Civic Auditorium, all of Connie's children will meet.
Nebraska wears Red, Creighton wears Blue, the Birds of Omaha believe they're due.
NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (2-0) at CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS (1-1)
Tipoff: 3:05 pm Omaha Civic Auditorium/Omaha, Nebraska
Radio: Nebraska Sports Network http://www.huskers.com
Creighton Sports Network http://www.gocreighton.com
CREIGHTON: Who's That Guy On The Sidelines Running Connie's Plays?
When Connie Yori left Creighton to take the 50-mile trip west to Nebraska, the Bluejays didn't have to go far to find a head coach (Although they did spend a month looking).
Jim Flanery got the nod. For ten years, the former Creighton basketball reserve turned assistant coach was Connie Yori's faithful companion. He was the "good cop" when Connie was the "bad cop". When Coach Yori broke the youngsters down, Jim began the process to build them back up. He was a solid first officer, well respected by his head coach and by the players.
Now he's the captain on the bridge, and he has a solid starship at his command.
Last season Creighton surprised the Missouri Valley Conference with smarts, heart, and having the conference MVP on their side. The Bluejays ended up taking the regular season and tournament MVC Championship and ended their season in the NCAA Tournament (lost first round to Florida International).
This is a capable, opportunistic Creighton team that really hasn't change their basic MO. Outside setting up inside offensively and a gambling, pressing style defensive fused together with all-out intensity when it comes to getting the basketball. That explain why an undersized team gets so many rebounds.
Creighton has had an uneven start. Despite, 27 points by Dayna Finch against Michigan, lack of a consistent inside game kept the Bluejays a step behind the Wolverines in a 75-66 loss. They rebounded with a win over Missouri-Kansas City.
A disadvantage Creighton will have immediate is Finch being out. The 5-6 junior shooter from Smith Center, Kansas suffered a broken finger on her shooting hand in the UMKC game and she'll sit out the Bragging Right Battle.
The Bluejays do have solid depth at guard, even with losing Finch and her red hot start.
Flanery is sticking with the three-guard "SwingWing" offense that Connie Yori's used with the team for the last four years. The tweaks Flanery's install is in an effort to get more post play involved, but the basic set up centered around a distributor, a shooter and a court-superiority fighter who plays inside-and-out.
Creighton's guard float between the three roles of the backcourt, but the main quarterback is 5-9 sophomore Laura Spanheimer. She's a legacy on this team. Her older sister Krissie was a four year starter at the same spot for Creighton. In fact if look at them both on the court, you'd swear they are the same person.
Last year against Nebraska, Laura was a terror on the Huskers, and nearly forged a Creighton victory with 10 points and 3 key steals. Her play all over the floor led a pair of CU comebacks in the game.
This season, Spanheimer's been challenged to score more. So far she's been about 30% from the field in the first two games and is struggling to find her shot. Defensively, she's about what one would expect from a Spanheimer. She has 10 steals this year, and graded out very well against Michigan's aggressive backcourt.
Without Finch as the main shooter a greater burden will be put on the team's best offensive threat. Last season Christy Neneman was challenged by Connie Yori to raise her game. Neneman responded with a 16.6 point per game, 6.7 rebound per game performance.
Neneman was top scorer from the team in 18 games, and top rebounder in 14. At the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, she put together a Larry Bird-Xavier McDaniel-Jackie Stiles body of work. Twenty-five points per game, 8 rebounds per game. Against Drake, she punched the Bluejays' NCAA Tourney ticket with 39 points.
In the new season, Neneman's gotten off to a solid start. She's averaging 12 points per game, but Michigan's pressure defense held her to 5-for-12 shooting in opener. A similar pressure style that Yori will employ Sunday.
With Finch out, the third guard spot will see some different faces in it. If Flanery wants to good big, he has 5-10 Sophomore Codi Walker as a solid outside shooter who can also handle the ball. In the first two games, she has struggled like much of team with shooting, going 2-for-11 thus far. Last year she shot 47% in spot duty.
Sophomore Laura Ferguson maybe 5'6", but she made some big impact as the bench sharpshooter last season (remember her two three vs. Nebraska). 5'8" Freshman Kristi Woodard has played impressively in the opening two games. She's the teams second most-accurate shooter (46%), the teams third leading scorer (9.5 points per game), and she's been a solid backup to Spanheimer at the point, but also developed a good knack from getting her shots in traffic. Woodard was a highly regarded local recruit and was a key target for Yori when she was at Creighton. Expect to see a lot of this youngster Sunday.
The achilles heel of Creighton in recent seasons has been inside play. It is something Yori and now Flanery have attempted to address in their recruiting targets. CU is deeper at the forward/center spots this year, but there is still a size gap between the Jays and most teams they'll play.
Jenny Burns (5-11 senior Minnetonka, Minnesota) plays much bigger than she is, averging 6 rebounds per game last year. She also has active hands (41 steals in '01-'02) and good spring (18 blocks in '01-'02). This season, Burns is running into the old adage that "You Can't Teach Height." Giving up 5 inches to Lee Ann Bies and Jennifer Smith, who led Michigan with 21 points.
Teresa Wessling (6-0 senior, Bayard, Iowa) is just as undersized, and can be just has victimized. Both her and Burns as starters had a tough time tracking a taller faster Katie Robinette in last years battle in Lincoln.
On the bench, coach Flanery's hoping for youngsters to provide a lift in the paint. Angis Janis (6-0 freshman, Millard, Nebraska) was a key recruiting target for Connie Yori, and was a prospect she was very excited about getting to Creighton. Janis was impressive in fall camp with her ability and athleticism which can close the size gap she'll has against other centers in the non-conference schedule and in conference play. She's averaged a respectable 7 points and 3 rebounds per game so far.
Janis will most likely serve in a rotation Sunday, hoping that fresh legs can provide the equalizer against a Nebraska team that has limited substitutions.
6-3 freshman center Amy Hoffman will also figure into this post central committee. She's the tallest Creighton Bluejay and has averged 4 rebounds in the opening two games.
HOW NEBRASKA CAN WIN THIS GAME
Overall, Nebraska has better athletes than Creighton. The Huskers often do, BUT
1. The Huskers MUST LIMIT TURNOVERS!
This is how Creighton has kept the most recent engagements danger-close, they've taken advantage of Nebraska being sloppy. The 1999 game, Nebraska committed 25 turnovers and Creighton turned those into an 18 point lead that Nebraska had to fight back on to win. In 2000, Nebraska committed 34 turnovers, and the Bluejays made them pay for every one of them. In 2001, the Huskers had a stretch of 7 turnovers that staked Creighton an 8-point lead in the second half. Nebraska had 24 turnovers in that game, and needed a herculean final 5 minutes to get a win, in a game that Nebraska had a lead as big as 13 points at two points in the game.
The Bluejays are among the best in country at turning miscues into points. Its how they won 24 games, they hustle for everything and they cash in everything.
If Nebraska turns the ball over 25 time OR more Sunday, Creighton wins, because they have enough firepower to cash in.
The Huskers so far are averaging 19 turnovers per game, but I am worried about the backcourt. Jina Johansen and Margaret Richards are averging 5 turnovers per game, Katie Morse is averging about the same number. With scavagers like Burns and Kamikaze Shrimps like Spanheimer and Woodard, who can get the ball to a finisher like Neneman, that's 8-0, 10-0 runs waiting to happen.
2. Win Penetration with the idea of scoring not passing.
Margaret Richards can have a big game if she gets aggressive and attacks the basket. She'll most likely draw Neneman, who is a solid defensive player, but I think a new-look Richards can win that battle, BUT when she gets the alley. Margaret must continue to FINISH!
Nebraska must FINISH well inside, because Creighton will flow 5 defenders to the ball to get defensive rebounds. Plus, Nebraska for all there improvment are not an outside shooting team (The Huskers are hitting about 15% of their threes right now).
3. DEFENSE WITH DISCIPLINE.
Last season, the Husker defense was caught chasing against Creighton's passing offense and the result was open looks, clutch shots and fouls.
Nebraska especially can't afford fouls, because they don't have enough bodies to begin with, and as much as Lacey Hansen and Kala Sledge have shown heart, and desire, if they have to play 15 minutes or more, then that puts Big Red in a serious strategic hole.
The solid defense of the first two games has to step up another notch Sunday, because the Creighton kids run their game plan well. Plus there is Neneman. She's the best player wearing Blue, and possibly the best player on the floor. You have to account for her, and then stop every else. Last season, she was under wraps, but other weapons did come through, because Nebraska at a number of points in the game lost discipline.
3. FEED KATIE MORSE! FEED KATIE MORSE!
Katie will be the tallest player out there, and she can get her position and make a lot of plays inside and cause some havoc. Get her the ball and force Creighton to make adjustment against her that will open up the rest of the offense...and this leads to number four.
4. OUTSIDE SHOTS NEEDED!
Jim Flanery's going to pack the inside and try to cut off the driving lane with a mix of zone pressure in many situations. At points in the game, the Huskers will get looks. Big Red has to be the Big Drain. Hit some outside shots and get momentum, forced Creighton to cover more ground and actually move, and hopefully expose Creighton as a mid-major version of Iowa State. Once they extends, penetrate, pass and FINISH!
OVERALL OUTLOOK: If you are in the Omaha area, or can easily get to Civic Auditorium, DON'T MISS THIS GAME.
This is gonna be good basketball chess. Two coach who know each other, kids who know each other. A ton of local talent. This game will be very fun to watch so tape the darn NFL and GO TO THE GAME!!!
As far as a pick goes, I dread picking this game because I like both teams. I like and respect both coaches and programs. I'll bet this game will be very emotional for Connie Yori. Even with her change to a red wardrobe, you can bet she'll be looking over at the Creighton sideline wistfully. One just doesn't forget their roots so easily, and I'm sure Connie hasn't at all.
On the Creighton sideline there will be a lot of confidence. In the past, CU teams have hoped to win, but in the last three years the Bluejays have started to expect success. Last season, this team learned how good they are, and this season they come in with a good head of steam and a little bit of a chip on their shoulder when it comes to their rivals down Interstate 80. The Bluejays feel they should win this ball game.
I see Nebraska winning a hard-fought game for three reasons.
1. Connie Yori, she knows her team, she know the other team because it was her team.
2. Nebraska has the athleticism and the kids are playing smart basketball.
3. The Huskers are hungry and are taking this game seriously. For the first time in a while in this series, the kids in red are the underdogs.
Nebraska 67, Creighton 65 (OT)
--ChipperF1
[This message has been edited by ChipperF1 (edited 11-29-2002).]
[This message has been edited by ChipperF1 (edited 11-29-2002).]
[This message has been edited by ChipperF1 (edited 11-30-2002).]
(Sung to the tune of "Best Friend")
People let me tell ya we're a team again.
Only have seven kids, but we'll fight you to the end.
People let me tell ya we're a team again.
We're two-and-oh, we're on the go, with Connie and Amy runnin' the show.
People let me tell ya, this year's really fun.
Margaret Richards scores the points, Little Jina makes us run!
'Cause we're a team again!
Yeah, we're a team again!
The two-and-oh start of Nebraska has the friends of the scarlet and cream singing. After seeing a year of a ballclub that had all the skills of Jamaal Lord on third-and-long, the supurb start of the season is nice lift.
Nebraska 63, Grambling State 40
Nebraska 71, Rice 56
Two wins built on what were Nebraska staples. Solid defense, and a patient but proficient offense. Built around players who win give maximum effort at every point during the game.
Along the way, we've found some people enjoy a rebirth. Alexa Johnson's opened up with two fine performances. She had 24 points and 13 rebounds against Grambling State, and 21 points against Rice.
Amanda Cleveland has continue her miracle story, by a adding a new chapter. Amanda has averaged 7 minutes a game since returning to uniform two years ago. Against Rice, she play 35 minutes and had 15 points, 9 rebounds. Not bad for a kid who had one foot in the grave a few years.
Margaret Richards has been much maligned by this observer. I have no reason to malign her first two games this year. Averaging 12.5 points and 8 rebounds per game, in addition to improved defensive play. She's also become a leader on the ballclub.
Katie Morse is playing strong and confident and starting to show the signs of being "The Next Karen Jennings". She's second on the team in rebounds (8.5 per game), but she a complete 180 degree turn from the hopelessly player we saw wearing #53 last year. So far, no one can mistake Katie Morse for Casey Leonhardt. That is a good thing.
And at quarterback, Jina Johansen. 5'5" in your program with 55'5" of heart, and now improved skills. Notice her 8 steals this season. Perhaps we should change her name to "Lupin". Offensively, solid. Eight points and eight assists a game so far.
It took a woman from Bluejays country to reinstill basic Cornhusker values, and that's what Connie Yori and her staff have done. All the talk of a new spirit in Lincoln is showing up, and so far the Yori Administrations getting good reviews. Now, any rumors of Connie Yori seeking the Nebraska football job are completely unsubstatiated at this time http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/wink.gif
But Sunday, the new look Huskers will get a test from an old friend. At Omaha Civic Auditorium, all of Connie's children will meet.
Nebraska wears Red, Creighton wears Blue, the Birds of Omaha believe they're due.
NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (2-0) at CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS (1-1)
Tipoff: 3:05 pm Omaha Civic Auditorium/Omaha, Nebraska
Radio: Nebraska Sports Network http://www.huskers.com
Creighton Sports Network http://www.gocreighton.com
CREIGHTON: Who's That Guy On The Sidelines Running Connie's Plays?
When Connie Yori left Creighton to take the 50-mile trip west to Nebraska, the Bluejays didn't have to go far to find a head coach (Although they did spend a month looking).
Jim Flanery got the nod. For ten years, the former Creighton basketball reserve turned assistant coach was Connie Yori's faithful companion. He was the "good cop" when Connie was the "bad cop". When Coach Yori broke the youngsters down, Jim began the process to build them back up. He was a solid first officer, well respected by his head coach and by the players.
Now he's the captain on the bridge, and he has a solid starship at his command.
Last season Creighton surprised the Missouri Valley Conference with smarts, heart, and having the conference MVP on their side. The Bluejays ended up taking the regular season and tournament MVC Championship and ended their season in the NCAA Tournament (lost first round to Florida International).
This is a capable, opportunistic Creighton team that really hasn't change their basic MO. Outside setting up inside offensively and a gambling, pressing style defensive fused together with all-out intensity when it comes to getting the basketball. That explain why an undersized team gets so many rebounds.
Creighton has had an uneven start. Despite, 27 points by Dayna Finch against Michigan, lack of a consistent inside game kept the Bluejays a step behind the Wolverines in a 75-66 loss. They rebounded with a win over Missouri-Kansas City.
A disadvantage Creighton will have immediate is Finch being out. The 5-6 junior shooter from Smith Center, Kansas suffered a broken finger on her shooting hand in the UMKC game and she'll sit out the Bragging Right Battle.
The Bluejays do have solid depth at guard, even with losing Finch and her red hot start.
Flanery is sticking with the three-guard "SwingWing" offense that Connie Yori's used with the team for the last four years. The tweaks Flanery's install is in an effort to get more post play involved, but the basic set up centered around a distributor, a shooter and a court-superiority fighter who plays inside-and-out.
Creighton's guard float between the three roles of the backcourt, but the main quarterback is 5-9 sophomore Laura Spanheimer. She's a legacy on this team. Her older sister Krissie was a four year starter at the same spot for Creighton. In fact if look at them both on the court, you'd swear they are the same person.
Last year against Nebraska, Laura was a terror on the Huskers, and nearly forged a Creighton victory with 10 points and 3 key steals. Her play all over the floor led a pair of CU comebacks in the game.
This season, Spanheimer's been challenged to score more. So far she's been about 30% from the field in the first two games and is struggling to find her shot. Defensively, she's about what one would expect from a Spanheimer. She has 10 steals this year, and graded out very well against Michigan's aggressive backcourt.
Without Finch as the main shooter a greater burden will be put on the team's best offensive threat. Last season Christy Neneman was challenged by Connie Yori to raise her game. Neneman responded with a 16.6 point per game, 6.7 rebound per game performance.
Neneman was top scorer from the team in 18 games, and top rebounder in 14. At the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, she put together a Larry Bird-Xavier McDaniel-Jackie Stiles body of work. Twenty-five points per game, 8 rebounds per game. Against Drake, she punched the Bluejays' NCAA Tourney ticket with 39 points.
In the new season, Neneman's gotten off to a solid start. She's averaging 12 points per game, but Michigan's pressure defense held her to 5-for-12 shooting in opener. A similar pressure style that Yori will employ Sunday.
With Finch out, the third guard spot will see some different faces in it. If Flanery wants to good big, he has 5-10 Sophomore Codi Walker as a solid outside shooter who can also handle the ball. In the first two games, she has struggled like much of team with shooting, going 2-for-11 thus far. Last year she shot 47% in spot duty.
Sophomore Laura Ferguson maybe 5'6", but she made some big impact as the bench sharpshooter last season (remember her two three vs. Nebraska). 5'8" Freshman Kristi Woodard has played impressively in the opening two games. She's the teams second most-accurate shooter (46%), the teams third leading scorer (9.5 points per game), and she's been a solid backup to Spanheimer at the point, but also developed a good knack from getting her shots in traffic. Woodard was a highly regarded local recruit and was a key target for Yori when she was at Creighton. Expect to see a lot of this youngster Sunday.
The achilles heel of Creighton in recent seasons has been inside play. It is something Yori and now Flanery have attempted to address in their recruiting targets. CU is deeper at the forward/center spots this year, but there is still a size gap between the Jays and most teams they'll play.
Jenny Burns (5-11 senior Minnetonka, Minnesota) plays much bigger than she is, averging 6 rebounds per game last year. She also has active hands (41 steals in '01-'02) and good spring (18 blocks in '01-'02). This season, Burns is running into the old adage that "You Can't Teach Height." Giving up 5 inches to Lee Ann Bies and Jennifer Smith, who led Michigan with 21 points.
Teresa Wessling (6-0 senior, Bayard, Iowa) is just as undersized, and can be just has victimized. Both her and Burns as starters had a tough time tracking a taller faster Katie Robinette in last years battle in Lincoln.
On the bench, coach Flanery's hoping for youngsters to provide a lift in the paint. Angis Janis (6-0 freshman, Millard, Nebraska) was a key recruiting target for Connie Yori, and was a prospect she was very excited about getting to Creighton. Janis was impressive in fall camp with her ability and athleticism which can close the size gap she'll has against other centers in the non-conference schedule and in conference play. She's averaged a respectable 7 points and 3 rebounds per game so far.
Janis will most likely serve in a rotation Sunday, hoping that fresh legs can provide the equalizer against a Nebraska team that has limited substitutions.
6-3 freshman center Amy Hoffman will also figure into this post central committee. She's the tallest Creighton Bluejay and has averged 4 rebounds in the opening two games.
HOW NEBRASKA CAN WIN THIS GAME
Overall, Nebraska has better athletes than Creighton. The Huskers often do, BUT
1. The Huskers MUST LIMIT TURNOVERS!
This is how Creighton has kept the most recent engagements danger-close, they've taken advantage of Nebraska being sloppy. The 1999 game, Nebraska committed 25 turnovers and Creighton turned those into an 18 point lead that Nebraska had to fight back on to win. In 2000, Nebraska committed 34 turnovers, and the Bluejays made them pay for every one of them. In 2001, the Huskers had a stretch of 7 turnovers that staked Creighton an 8-point lead in the second half. Nebraska had 24 turnovers in that game, and needed a herculean final 5 minutes to get a win, in a game that Nebraska had a lead as big as 13 points at two points in the game.
The Bluejays are among the best in country at turning miscues into points. Its how they won 24 games, they hustle for everything and they cash in everything.
If Nebraska turns the ball over 25 time OR more Sunday, Creighton wins, because they have enough firepower to cash in.
The Huskers so far are averaging 19 turnovers per game, but I am worried about the backcourt. Jina Johansen and Margaret Richards are averging 5 turnovers per game, Katie Morse is averging about the same number. With scavagers like Burns and Kamikaze Shrimps like Spanheimer and Woodard, who can get the ball to a finisher like Neneman, that's 8-0, 10-0 runs waiting to happen.
2. Win Penetration with the idea of scoring not passing.
Margaret Richards can have a big game if she gets aggressive and attacks the basket. She'll most likely draw Neneman, who is a solid defensive player, but I think a new-look Richards can win that battle, BUT when she gets the alley. Margaret must continue to FINISH!
Nebraska must FINISH well inside, because Creighton will flow 5 defenders to the ball to get defensive rebounds. Plus, Nebraska for all there improvment are not an outside shooting team (The Huskers are hitting about 15% of their threes right now).
3. DEFENSE WITH DISCIPLINE.
Last season, the Husker defense was caught chasing against Creighton's passing offense and the result was open looks, clutch shots and fouls.
Nebraska especially can't afford fouls, because they don't have enough bodies to begin with, and as much as Lacey Hansen and Kala Sledge have shown heart, and desire, if they have to play 15 minutes or more, then that puts Big Red in a serious strategic hole.
The solid defense of the first two games has to step up another notch Sunday, because the Creighton kids run their game plan well. Plus there is Neneman. She's the best player wearing Blue, and possibly the best player on the floor. You have to account for her, and then stop every else. Last season, she was under wraps, but other weapons did come through, because Nebraska at a number of points in the game lost discipline.
3. FEED KATIE MORSE! FEED KATIE MORSE!
Katie will be the tallest player out there, and she can get her position and make a lot of plays inside and cause some havoc. Get her the ball and force Creighton to make adjustment against her that will open up the rest of the offense...and this leads to number four.
4. OUTSIDE SHOTS NEEDED!
Jim Flanery's going to pack the inside and try to cut off the driving lane with a mix of zone pressure in many situations. At points in the game, the Huskers will get looks. Big Red has to be the Big Drain. Hit some outside shots and get momentum, forced Creighton to cover more ground and actually move, and hopefully expose Creighton as a mid-major version of Iowa State. Once they extends, penetrate, pass and FINISH!
OVERALL OUTLOOK: If you are in the Omaha area, or can easily get to Civic Auditorium, DON'T MISS THIS GAME.
This is gonna be good basketball chess. Two coach who know each other, kids who know each other. A ton of local talent. This game will be very fun to watch so tape the darn NFL and GO TO THE GAME!!!
As far as a pick goes, I dread picking this game because I like both teams. I like and respect both coaches and programs. I'll bet this game will be very emotional for Connie Yori. Even with her change to a red wardrobe, you can bet she'll be looking over at the Creighton sideline wistfully. One just doesn't forget their roots so easily, and I'm sure Connie hasn't at all.
On the Creighton sideline there will be a lot of confidence. In the past, CU teams have hoped to win, but in the last three years the Bluejays have started to expect success. Last season, this team learned how good they are, and this season they come in with a good head of steam and a little bit of a chip on their shoulder when it comes to their rivals down Interstate 80. The Bluejays feel they should win this ball game.
I see Nebraska winning a hard-fought game for three reasons.
1. Connie Yori, she knows her team, she know the other team because it was her team.
2. Nebraska has the athleticism and the kids are playing smart basketball.
3. The Huskers are hungry and are taking this game seriously. For the first time in a while in this series, the kids in red are the underdogs.
Nebraska 67, Creighton 65 (OT)
--ChipperF1
[This message has been edited by ChipperF1 (edited 11-29-2002).]
[This message has been edited by ChipperF1 (edited 11-29-2002).]
[This message has been edited by ChipperF1 (edited 11-30-2002).]