The Husker men led by 14 at the half, but couldn’t hang on to that lead, as they lost to Penn State last night 72-66 in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament in Indy. The Huskers end year-two under head coach Fred Hoiberg with a overall record of 7-20, and 3-17 in the Big Ten.
The Husker women topped a short-handed Minnesota squad 72-61 in the second round of the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Wednesday. Sam Haiby led the Huskers with a game-high 19 points while adding eight rebounds and three assists. With the victory, the 8th seeded Huskers advance to the quarterfinals where they will face the tourney’s top-seed Maryland. In their lone meeting during the regular season the Terps beat the Huskers in Lincoln, 95-73. Tipoff is this morning at 10:00.
17th ranked Creighton will the face Butler tonight in the quarterfinal round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Bluejays are the tourney’s 2nd seed. The 10th seeded Bulldogs needed overtime last night to get past the 7th seed Xavier. Creighton and Butler did split their two games during regular season, but the Jays did get a 20-point 93-73 win over the Bulldogs in Omaha last Saturday. Tipoff is tonight at 5:00.
Five of nine Huskers are seeded eighth or better for the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships as the NCAA released the championship brackets last night. This year’s championship tournament is set for March 18-20 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
The UNK volleyball team has moved up one spot to No. 15 in the latest AVCA Division II Top-25 Poll. Lewis tops the poll again this week and collected all 46 first place votes. Three other MIAA teams are ranked this week; Northwest Missouri State is 17th, Washburn is 20th and Central Missouri is 24th. The Lopers will make their first appearance at the Health and Sports Center this weekend when they host 17th ranked Northwest Missouri State Friday at 6:00, and Missouri Western State Saturday at 4:00.
The UNK softball team dropped a pair of games to Central Missouri yesterday in Warrensburg. The Lopers lost game one 8-0 in five innings, and the nightcap 16-5 in five innings. The Loper are now off until March 26th and 27th when they travel to Kansas for double-headers against Emporia State and Washburn.
Four members of the UNK track and field team will be trying to bring home some hardware and All-American honors at this week’s Division II Indoor Championships in Birmingham. The Lopers will be represented by senior Tiara Schmidt (weight throw), junior Seth Simonson and redshirt freshman Wes Ferguson (both 800-meters) and sophomore Brayden Sorensen (high jump). A top eight finish is good for first-team All-American honors.
Lopers Schedule at the NCAA Championships
– Thursday (March 11) – women’s weight throw at 4:00 p.m.
– Friday (March 12) – men’s high jump, 11:30 a.m.; men’s 800 prelims, 2:55 p.m.
– Saturday (March 13) – men’s 800 finals, 2:40 p.m.
The schedule for this year’s State Track and Field Championships has been expanded to four days. The Nebraska School Activities Association board on Wednesday approved the format, for 2021 only, that will have Classes A and D competing on May 19-20, followed by Classes B and C on May 21-22. There are expected to be no restrictions on attendance at Burke Stadium in Omaha, although masks are likely to be required. The City of Omaha’s current mask mandate extends through May 25th, after the meet is over.
Boy’s Basketball State Tournament
CLASS A
– March 9 at Pinnacle Bank Arena
No. 1 seed Millard North def. No. 8 Millard South – 73-44
No. 5 Millard West def. No. 4 Lincoln Pius – 47-45
No. 2 Bellevue West def. No. 7 Lincoln East – 55-47
No. 3 Creighton Prep def. No. 6 Papillion-La Vista South – 64-56
– Semifinals March 12:
No. 1 Millard North vs. No. 5 Millard West, 6:15 p.m.
No. 2 Bellevue West vs. No. 3 Creighton Prep, 8:30.
– Final March 13: 7:00 p.m.
CLASS B
– March 9 at Pinnacle Bank Arena
No. 1 Norris def. No. 8 Blair – 62-46
No. 5 Elkhorn def. No. 4 Platteview – 63-48
– March 10 at Pinnacle Bank Arena
No. 7 Waverly def. No. 2 Omaha Skutt – 41-40
No. 6 Beatrice def. No. 3 Elkhorn Mount Michael 49-39
– Semifinals March 12:
No. 1 Norris vs. No. 5 Elkhorn, 1:30 p.m.
No. 7 Waverly vs. No. 6 Beatrice, 4:00.
– Final March 13: 2:00 p.m.
CLASS C-1
– March 10 at Pinnacle Bank Arena
No. 1 Auburn def. No. 8 Pierce – 51-28
No. 4 Omaha Concordia def. No. 5 Milford – 66-54
No. 7 Wayne def. No. 2 Kearney Catholic – 59-52
No. 3 Adams Central def. No. 6 St. Paul – 63-56 OT
– Semifinals March 12:
No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 4 Omaha Concordia, 9:00 a.m.
No. 7 Wayne vs. No. 3 Adams Central, 11:15.
– Final March 13: 10:45 a.m.
CLASS C-2
– March 10 at Lincoln Northeast
No. 1 Grand Island CC def. No. 8 Tri County – 58-29
No. 5 Hartington CC def. No. 4 Freeman – 40-37
No. 2 Yutan def. No. 7 Chase County – 63-43
No. 6 BRLD def. No. 3 Bridgeport – 59-43
– Semifinals March 11 at PBA:
No. 1 Grand Island CC vs. No. 5 Hartington CC, 6:15 p.m.
No. 2 Yutan vs. No. 6 BRLD, 8:30.
– Final March 13: 8:45 p.m.
CLASS D-1
– March 10 at Lincoln Southeast
No. 1 Burwell def. No. 8 Central Valley – 53-45
No. 4 Howells-Dodge def. No. 5 Walthill – 68-49
No. 2 Humphrey/LHF def. No. 7 Southern Valley – 49-43
No. 3 North Platte St. Pat’s def. No. 6 Ansley-Litchfield – 59-47
– Semifinals March 11 at PBA:
No. 1 Burwell vs. No. 4 Howells-Dodge, 1:30 p.m.
No. 2 Humphrey/LHF vs. No. 3 North Platte St. Pat’s, 4:00.
– Final March 13: 9:00 a.m.
CLASS D-2
– March 10 at Lincoln East
No. 1 O’Neill St. Mary’s def. No. 8 Osceola – 62-50
No. 4 Lincoln Parkview def. No. 5 Loomis – 71-54
No. 7 Falls City SH def. No. 2 Mullen – 49-47
No. 3 Humphrey SF def. No. 6 Wynot – 49-41
– Semifinals March 11 at PBA:
No. 1 O’Neill St. Mary’s vs. No. 4 Lincoln Parkview, 9:00 a.m.
No. 7 Falls City SH vs. No. 3 Humphrey SF, 11:15.
– Final March 13, 3:45 p.m.
Third-place games at Lincoln North Star:
– March 12,
D-2 at 9:00 a.m.
D-1 at 11:30 a.m.
C-2 at 2:00 p.m.
– March 13,
C-1 at 9:00 a.m.
