8:21 a.m.: It could be a historic day for the NU women's basketball team, but chances are, the Huskers haven't yet considered the significance.
No. 3 Nebraska travels to Manhattan, Kan., today for a noon game against K-State, a shorthanded team plagued by injuries all year. The Wildcats, whose 2-point win Wednesday at Colorado snapped a five-game losing streak, likely will only dress seven players today.
If the Huskers win, they'll become the first team in Big 12 history to finish the regular season with a perfect record. Oklahoma, in 2006, is the only squad to go unbeaten during league play.
Will they do it? Michael Wilbon posed that question to his colleague Dan Le Batard toward the end of ESPN's “Pardon the Interruption” Friday. Wilbon asked Le Batard if Nebraska would win today.
Le Batard's response: “They will, but nobody's beating UConn this year.”
We'll see. One thing's for sure, though. You won't catch this NU team making predictions.
The players haven't wavered from their season-long goal to maintain a certain level of mental sharpness. When they are trying to stay focused, they don't set aside any time for the hypothetical.
So, coach Connie Yori and the Huskers haven't paused to assess the magnitude of what they could accomplish today.
“It's obviously in front of us. There's no hiding from it,” Yori said earlier this week. “But I think the main thing that we've been true to is that we have a perfect record, but we're far from perfect. As long as we can keep striving to be better as a basketball team, I think we'll continue to make progress.”
It's the same kind of even-keel approach that all championship-caliber teams seem to carry.
Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale has led her Sooners to three regular season titles in the last four years. She knows a thing or two about what kind of it takes to be great.
Humility's at the top of the list, she said.
“I don't think you can win a title in this conference if you don't have at least a healthy dose of that,” Coale said.
Nebraska's already won its title, though the Huskers will try for a postseason trophy in Kansas City next weekend.
First, though, they have to deal with KSU at noon today. We'll have full coverage following the game's conclusion here on Omaha.com.
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