Tuesday Morning Sports – UNK Men Fall in Final Moments, Bronco Women Can’t Close Bellevue, Cook Comments on NCAA Tournament, Husker Weekly Conference Awards

UNK MEN’S BASKETBALL EDGED BY WAYNE IN FINAL MOMENTS

Wayne State hit a three with 12 seconds left to edge Nebraska-Kearney, 67-64, Monday night at Rice Auditorium.

The Wildcats, a 2021 NCAA Tournament team who was picked to finish second in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conf. (NSIC) this year, improve to 4-3 while the Lopers fall to 3-2.

Alliance senior forward Austin Luger had a game-high 19 points thanks to 7 of 9 field goal shooting, including three three pointers on three attempts. 

UNK travels to Emporia State (5-1) Thursday night to begin MIAA play.  

HASTINGS COLLEGE WOMEN CAN’T ESCAPE BELLEVUE RALLY

The Hastings College women’s basketball team led by as many as 13 points in the second half only to see Bellevue wipe that lead away and escape with the 92-87 victory on Monday evening inside the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.

The Lady Broncos led by 13 at halftime and held a 54-41 lead over the Bruins but Bellevue caught fire in the second half.

Senior Ali Smith led the way for Hastings with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting including a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.

Hastings falls to 6-3 (2-1) on the year and will be back in action Friday Dec. 3 hitting the road to take on Dakota Wesleyan with tipoff set for 6:00 pm inside the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD.

COOK NCAA TOURNAMENT COMMENTS:

COOK – BRACKET CREATES INTERESTING DISCUSSION

Head Coach of Nebraska Volleyball John Cook was asked his thoughts on the overall NCAA Volleyball bracket and the Huskers placement as a number 10 seed… 

The Huskers host the first two contests of their regional at the Devaney Center on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s contests pits Florida State against Kansas State and Nebraska against Campbell. 

COOK – REMINDERS OF UPSETS IN FIRST ROUNDS

Head Coach John Cook is pleased his Huskers have the chance to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Volleyball tournament in Lincoln, but added he doesn’t want his team to lose focus on the first few matches of the bracket… 

Back in 2011, Nebraska was the Number 2 seed and lost to an unranked Kansas State in Lincoln. Kansas State takes on Florida State in the first contest in Lincoln on Friday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. 

COOK – BIG TEN SHOULD HAVE EARNED HIGHER SEEDS

Head Coach of Nebraska Volleyball John Cook was mildly shocked to see Big Ten schools not receive higher seeds in the NCAA Tournament despite playing tougher schedules… 

The Big Ten had five teams receive Top 16 national seeds: No. 4 Wisconsin as Big Ten Champions, Purdue at No. 6, No. 9 Ohio State, No. 10 Nebraska, and No. 12 Minnesota. Illinois and Penn State were also selected in the 64 team field. 

The Huskers finished second in the Big Ten conference. 

COOK – HUSKERS ARE BATTLE TESTED

John Cook spoke to the media after the Huskers were announced as the No. 10 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

Cook added that his team’s tough schedule prepared them for the road ahead… 

The Huskers take on Campbell on Friday night at 7 PM at the Bob Devaney Center. 

RODRIGUEZ EARNS ANOTHER BIG TEN AWARD

Lexi Rodriguez earned the final Big Ten Freshman of the Week award of the 2021 season.

Rodriguez’s Freshman of the Week distinction is the fourth of her career and the most of any Husker freshman in a single season. She has collected six total weekly awards from the conference this season, having been tabbed Defensive Player of the Week twice and Freshman of the Week four times.

NU concluded the regular season as Big Ten runner-up. In Rodriguez’s inaugural campaign, she ranked third among Big Ten players with 4.71 digs per set in conference play.

Nebraska has counted 12 Big Ten weekly award winners this season.

MARKOWSKI EARNS BIG TEN HONOR
Alexis Markowski was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the first time in her career, and sophomore Jaz Shelley claimed a spot on the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll for the second consecutive week when the conference announced its weekly women’s basketball awards

Markowski averaged 6.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in 15 minutes per game off the bench for the Big Red in a pair of wins at The Dana on Mission Bay Holiday Tournament in San Diego

Shelley earned her first Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll spot (Nov. 22) after producing just the fourth triple-double in Nebraska history with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over North Carolina Central

McGOWENS EARNS BIG TEN HONOR

For the second time in three weeks, Nebraska’s Bryce McGowens was honored as Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday.

McGowens averaged 20.0 points on 50 percent shooting, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in helping the Huskers to a perfect 2-0 record last week, helping Nebraska enter this week’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge riding a four-game win streak.

McGowens leads all Big Ten freshmen in scoring (17.7 ppg) and ranks second in rebounding (6.9 rpg), as he paces the Huskers in both categories. McGowens is the first Husker men’s basketball player to earn multiple weekly freshman honors since Shavon Shields in 2012-13.

HUSKER VOLLEYBALL EARNS NCAA BID, SITS AT No. 10 SEED

The Nebraska volleyball team was selected as the No. 10 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament Sunday night and will host the NCAA first and second rounds at the Bob Devaney Sports Center this coming weekend.

The Huskers, making their 40th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, will open the tournament on Friday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. against Campbell (21-9), champions of the Big South Conference. The 4:30 p.m. match will feature Florida State (19-9) of the Atlantic Coast Conference and Kansas State (15-12) of the Big 12 Conference.

Louisville, Texas, Pitt and Wisconsin received the top four seeds from the NCAA Tournament Committee. Should those teams all advance past the first weekend, they would host an NCAA Regional the following weekend.

The 2021 Husker squad looks to return to the Final Four for the 16th time in program history. This year’s NCAA Championship is set for December 16-18 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

NEBRASKA BASKETBALL TIME SET FOR SATURDAY’S INDIANA MATCH

The Nebraska men’s basketball team will open Big Ten play Saturday  at 11 a.m. (CT) at Indiana.

The game will be carried on BTN and on the Huskers Radio Network.

LOPER FOOTBALL HAS DREAM SEASON COME TO AN END

The 26th-ranked Angelo State Rams played strong defense to down 21st-ranked Nebraska-Kearney, 20-7, Saturday afternoon in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs

UNK ends the year at 10-3, just the third time in school history a squad reached double digits in wins.

UNK had a season low 203 total yards of offense.

NEBRASKA FOOTBALL POSTGAME COMMENTS:

SCOTT FROST:

FROST – TEAM NEVER QUIT BECAUSE OF SENIOR LEADERSHIP

Head Coach of the Huskers Scott Frost had his final postgame press conference of the season on Friday after the loss to Iowa. The Head Coach doubled down that his senior leadership helped his team through a tough season…

The Huskers end the season at 3-9 and look towards 2022 with many changes on the horizon, including the future hiring of a new offensive coaching staff.

FROST – SMOTHERS DID ENOUGH FOR HUSKERS TO WIN

Head Coach Scott Frost was pleased with the efforts by his first-time starter Logan Smothers in the loss to the Hawkeyes on Black Friday… 

Frost added the late game miscommunication on the final interception was due to not enough in-season reps for the quarterback. 

FROST – BLOCKED PUNT WAS THE GAME, LED TO SNOWBALL AFFECT

Scott Frost was asked what the biggest play on Friday’s contest that led to another one score loss for the Huskers. Frost said it all started with one play, then snowballed into catastrophe… 

The Huskers ended their season at 3-9, the first team in college football history to lose 9 games by only single digits. 

FROST – YOUNG CORE IS GOOD ENOUGH TO WIN

Head Coach Scott Frost reiterated in his postgame press conference he is disappointed with the results of the 2021 season, but added he is optimistic about his 2022 core… 

The Huskers will first have to wait to see who will be returning to the Big Red, including a looming decision from quarterback Adrian Martinez. 

LOGAN SMOTHERS:

SMOTHERS – PREPARED LIKE EVERY OTHER WEEK

Redshirt Freshman quarterback Logan Smothers had his first ever start on Friday against the Iowa Hawkeyes, performing admirably in a loss. 

Smothers said he went into the game preparing as he did every week… 

Smothers ended his first start with 198 passing yards, an interception, along with 64 rushing yards and two scores. 

SMOTHERS – DREAM COME TRUE, BUT MORE WORK TO BE DONE

Quarterback Logan Smothers replaced injured starter Adrian Martinez in Friday’s loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes. Smothers added in his postgame press conference that it was a dream come true to start in the rivalry matchup, but more work needs to be done… 

Smothers and the Huskers enter the offseason awaiting to hear the official word if Martinez will be leaving the program. 

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

MONDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a

• UNK:
  • MENS BASKETBALL: @ Wayne State
    • Wayne State 67-64

• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Bellevue University
    • Bellevue 92-87

TUESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Unified Bowling DISTRICTS

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a

• UNK:
  • N/a

• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a

WEDNESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a

• UNK:
  • N/a

• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • MENS WRESTLING: GPAC Duals

THURSDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL: Early Bird Classic Tournament:
    • Kearney v. Bellevue East – 4:30 PM
      • Pregame @ 4:15 PM
  • BOYS BASKETBALL:Early Bird Classic Tournament:
    • Kearney v. Bellevue East – 6:15 PM
      • Pregame @ 6 PM
  • WRESTLING: Dual @ Hastings – 6:30 PM

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • SWIMMING: Kearney High Triangular

• UNK:
  • VOLLEYBALL: NCAA D2 Regional @ Warrensburg, MO
    • UNK v. Northwest Missouri State – 12 PM
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Emporia State – 5:30 PM
  • MENS BASKETBALL: @ Emporia State – 7:30 PM

• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Dakota Wesleyan – 6 PM

FRIDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL: v. Sutton – 5:30 PM
  • BOYS BASKETBALL: v. Sutton – 7:15 PM

• UNK:
  • TRACK: Indoor Intrasquad – TBA

• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • MENS/WOMENS T&F: Indoor SDSU Holiday Invite
  • MENS BASKETBALL: @ Dakota Wesleyan – 7:45 PM

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL: Early Bird Classic Tournament:
    • Kearney High @ TBA
  • BOYS BASKETBALL: Early Bird Classic Tournament:
    • Kearney High @ TBA
  • WRESTLING: Kearney High Invite v. Multiple teams – 10 AM
  • SWIMMING AND DIVING: @ Hastings Invite

• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • SWIMMING: @ Hastings Invite
  • GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Holdrege – 2:30 PM
  • BOYS BASKETBALL:  @ Holdrege – 3:45 PM

• UNK:
  • WRESTLING: @ Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite – 11 AM
  • WRESTLING: @ Doane Invite – 9 AM
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Washburn – 1:30 PM
  • MENS BASKETBALL: @ Washburn – 3:30 PM
  • VOLLEYBALL: NCAA D2 Regional
    • Championship, TBA

• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • MENS BOWLING: @ Sioux City, IA
  • MENS WRESTLING: @ Doane Open
  • WOMENS BOWLING: @ Sioux City, IA
  • WOMENS WRESTLING: @ Leavenworth, KS
  • WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Jamestown – 2 PM
  • MENS BASKETBALL: @ Jamestown – 3:45 PM