NU Notes: Jays, Tigers Await Huskers

Nebraska brings a new coach, and hence, a new storyline into its annual men's basketball instate rivalry with Creighton.
 
First-year coach Fred Hoiberg began his collegiate coaching career at Iowa State, where he replaced Greg McDermott, who left for Creighton, where McDermott is in his 10th season as head coach.
 
"Had that not happened," Hoiberg said, "I don't know if I would've gotten into this crazy business."
 
Hoiberg and McDermott remain good friends but will put that friendship aside for a couple of hours Saturday when Nebraska (4-4) plays Creighton (6-2) at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, where the Bluejays are unbeaten in five games this season.
 
McDermott is 7-2 against Nebraska while at Creighton. Hoiberg, though, won the only time he and McDermott have coached head-to-head, with Iowa State winning 91-88 against Creighton in 2010 in Des Moines.
 
"I think the world of him," Hoiberg said of McDermott. "I think the world of him as a person, I think the world of him as a coach. He's done an unbelievable job."
 
Hoiberg's connection with McDermott doesn't stop there. Hoiberg also coached Doug McDermott, Greg's son, while head coach of the Chicago Bulls.
 
"Doug was one of my favorite guys I've ever coached," Doug said. "He had such a passion for the game, and Doug could score the ball in so many ways."
 
The same could be said of this Creighton team, which averages 74.1 points and 9.1 three-pointers per game. Hoiberg said it's the most efficient team in transition the Huskers will see this season.
 
"They score a ton on the break, three-point shots," Hoiberg said. "If we're not committed to getting back in transition, we might as well not even get off the bus. It's going to be a long night if that happens."
 
While a newcomer to the Nebraska-Creighton rivalry, Hoiberg is no stranger to instate rivalries. When coaching at Iowa State, he led the Cyclones to a 4-1 record against Iowa. As a player, his Iowa State teams won three of four games against the Hawkeyes.
 
"Rivalry games are always more electric," Hoiberg said. "In my opinion, when I played in them, I thought they were fun."
 
Hoiberg is eager to see how his young team responds in what will be its most hostile road environment of the season. Matching Creighton's energy from the start will be key, he said.
 
"We have to withstand runs," Hoiberg said. "We have to go out there and stay together. We have to fight together as a team, stay together as group. If we do that, hopefully we'll at least give ourselves a chance."
 
Nebraska ended a seven-game losing streak against Creighton with a 94-75 victory last season in Lincoln, but the Huskers haven't beaten the Bluejays in Omaha since the 2004 National Invitational Tournament.
 
"Since I've been here," Nebraska junior Thorir Thorbjarnarson said, "this has always been talked about as the biggest game of the year."
 
It's a game in which Thorbjarnarson has been eager to fully participate, not watch from the bench. As it is, his action in the final minute of last year's game gives him more experience than any current Husker against Creighton.
 
"It's probably going to be a game of runs," he said. "We just have to stay together the whole time. We can't take our focus off the mission, and get that win."


 
Huskers Ready for Mizzou
 
Nebraska's "Drive For Five" began Friday night with the Huskers stepping on the gas pedal in the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament.
 
Lauren Stivrins and Madi Kubik each had 11 kills, and No. 6 Nebraska needed a mere 79 minutes to eliminate Ball State 25-15, 25-18, 25-10 at the Devaney Sports Center.
 
Nebraska (26-4) will face former conference foe Missouri in Saturday's second round, as the Huskers continue their quest for a fifth straight Final Four appearance.
 
"It's a good first-round win," Nebraska coach John Cook said. "Ball State came out doing some really good things, and we made some adjustments. I think we pretty much suffocated with our serve, block and defense, and I thought we hit really well tonight."
 
Nebraska hit .425, its second-highest mark of the season, committed only eight hitting errors and wasn't blocked in a match for the first time in five years.
 
"It just feels like we're flowing," said Nebraska setter Nicklin Hames, who had 32 assists. "We're just doing great on both sides of the ball, and it just feels like we're in this zone. We just have lots of fun when we're having great offensive nights."
 
Cook credited Hames for moving the ball and creating opportunities for the Huskers' hitters, who Hames credited for finishing.

"I'm putting them in great positions, and they're taking great swings," Hames said. "We went out there and we went for it."
 
Defensively, Nebraska limited Ball State (20-12) to a season-low .010 attack percentage, the only time in 32 matches this season the Cardinals hit below .120.
 
"They're a very well-coached team. I was very impressed with them on video," Cook said, noting the Cardinals entered the tournament with more aces than serve errors, a rarity. "The difference is they're not used to playing a Big Ten-level team night-in and night-out, and in front of this crowd."
 
Cook noticed his team was "excited and squirrely in the beginning," as evidenced by some long serves, but that he's seen much worse in opening rounds of postseason play.
 
"We've had some ugly first-round matches," Cook said. "I just think getting this one out of the way and doing it pretty convincingly is good. You want to get out and get on to the next match."
 
Missouri (22-7) swept Northern Iowa in Friday's other first round. The offensive-minded Tigers rank third nationally in attack efficiency.
 
"They have a really good serving and passing team, and it sets up their offense to be really successful," Hames said. "We're going to have to out there and suffocate them on defense, serve tough and get them out of system."
 
Reach Brian at brosenthal@huskers.com or follow him on Twitter @GBRosenthal.