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WNBAT-C-U (2-1) At Nebraska (1-1)
GAME NOTES: In an effort to bounce back from a tough loss on the road this past Wednesday night, the Nebraska Cornhuskers find their way back to the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln where they will contend against the TCU Horned Frogs in a non-conference showdown.
The Huskers started off the season well enough with a 76-49 defeat of South Carolina Upstate, but following that home date the team was sent to Saint Louis where it was taken out by the Billikens in a 69-55 decision.
As for the Horned Frogs, they too began strong to kick off the 2009-10 campaign with wins over Mid-American Christian and Cal State Northridge, but then came the first real test of the season on Tuesday night. Up against a strong Pac-10 club in Arizona State, TCU struggled down the stretch and allowed a possible win to slip away in a 52-49 final versus the Sun Devils.
With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the Huskers are ahead by a 4-2 count, winning four of the last five encounters. The most recent contest took place last season in Forth Worth where Nebraska captured a 62-50 win.
The Horned Frogs shot a miserable 29.6 percent from the field and 3-of-13 behind the three-point line in the first half at Wells Fargo Arena on Tuesday night, yet the team trailed by just a single point at the break. Edvinas Ruzgas tallied 16 of his 18 points in the second half for the visitors, which had to have been a good sign for the Frogs, yet they still came up three points shy. Ronnie Moss added 17 points, seven boards and five of the team's 10 assists in a losing battle as well. After three games Moss paces the team in scoring with his 20.0 ppg, shooting almost as well from three-point range (.440) as he is the field overall (.455). In similar fashion, Ruzgas (14.7 ppg) has converted 42.1 percent of his three-point tries and 50 percent from the floor overall. Handling a little bit of all the action for the Frogs is Zvonko Buljan who is putting up 12.0 ppg and 13.0 rpg, although he is also guilty of 5.3 turnovers per outing as well.
Just like TCU in its most recent game, the Cornhuskers trailed by just a point at the break versus Saint Louis at Chaifetz Arena a few nights back, but unlike the Frogs, Nebraska shot a mere 33.3 percent from the field in the second half and that's what did the team in. Sek Henry made all six of his free throws to finish with a team-best 14 points, while Ryan Anderson got away with 3-of-9 shooting from the floor to post his 10 points as the only other double-digit scorer for the Huskers. Although he failed to hit for double digits versus the Billikens, Lance Jeter is still the top scorer for this team after two games with his 12.0 ppg, while Henry is coming close with 11.0 ppg. One would be hard-pressed to find a more balanced team in the Big 12 Conference these days, as this team outrebounds opponents by six per game, yet no one player is pulling more than six rebounds per contest either. Despite limited attempts beyond the arc (12-of-27), the Huskers have still made that aspect of the offense something that can work for them if they so choose.
As long as the Horned Frogs don't wait until the second half to make their move on Nebraska this afternoon, this is certainly a matchup that TCU can take advantage of in Lincoln.
Predicted OutcomeTCU 69, Nebraska 60Copyright 2009 Courtesy of The Sports Network.
