Shenanigans in the Big XII

Lead story tonight:
Duh. What else would it be?
A few thoughts:
1) Why not televise that game somewhere? I got to see the last few minutes thanks to “bonus coverage” on ESPN, but I wanted to see the whole thing.
2) Michael Beasley, please don’t kill my Huskers when you play them. Please? I really love seeing super-hyped players (think Kevin Durant last year, all of KU this year) in person, which is a bit of consolation when they beat up on my Huskers. So in that sense, I’m excited for February 20, when K-State visits The Bob in Lincoln. But I am a Nebraska fan first, so I’d rather see an upset of some sort.
3) I want to know what it felt like to be a K-State fan tonight. That’s the first time in my life I’ve ever said that, I think, and it could be the last. But The Streak came to an end, a streak that would not have been a huge deal if it were against any other team. The Jayhawks saw a somewhat significant streak of their own (a previously unbeaten record, for those of you just joining us) come to an end, and Wildcat fans got to see it happen in their house.
With 35 seconds left, KSU’s Bill Walker grabbed the ball away after a KU basket and stormed down the court, capping it off with a powerful dunk that sent the fans to the next level of Nirvana, I think. If I had been there, and if I were a K-State fan, I may have passed out from the sheer ecstasy of that moment, within the already ecstatic context of a historically MASSIVE win in the making.
Elsewhere in the Big XII, another in-state rivalry was an unexpected blowout, as the Aggies of Texas A&M had their way with the UT Longhorns. I didn’t see the whole game, just a few minutes at a time while the NU/MU game was in commercials, but the first score I saw of it was A&M’s 19-5 lead early on. Texas looked feeble, and all their attempts at making a comeback were quashed as soon as they got started.
And lastly, before I go back to pretending to do homework (hey, those Bill James tables LOOK like they could be some math homework, right?), my Huskers tried their darndest to lose to a shorthanded Missouri, but pulled out a 4-point win, much to my blood pressure’s delight. As per my request over the weekend, Aleks Maric did not attempt a single no-look hook shot. Lo and behold, he scored more than his zero-point performance against KU (13 tonight), which is what I suggested might happen if he were to look at the hoop when he pushed the ball towards it. Sek Henry led the Husker bench with 14 points, after losing his starting spot to the still-struggling Ade Dagunduro.
It wasn’t the greatest win for the Huskers, but it was a conference win, and that’s just what the doctor ordered. (Ha, get it? Doctor? Because our coach’s name is Doc–oh, never mind.)

Labels: basketball, Huskers, shenanigans

Related posts:

1. The not-so-big reveal
2. Eating my words — sort of; the Husker edition
3. An almost sad relience on sports