Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.LINCOLN — This is hardly the senior season Nebraska forward Toney McCray imagined.
The Huskers (11-12, 3-9) play at Penn State (10-15, 2-10) on Saturday needing to beat the Nittany Lions for a second time this season to avoid joining them in the Big Ten men's basketball cellar.
"It's pretty tough," said the fifth-year player from Missouri City, Texas. "Nobody likes losing. Losing is hard, especially when you don't think you're outmatched talent-wise."
That has been Nebraska's underlying source of frustration.
The Huskers, coming off a solid 2010-11 season, entered this year with a veteran team touted as the best in coach Doc Sadler's six seasons.
"I've had high expectations every year I've been here," McCray said. "You just never know how a season is going to play out. So many things go on.
"But I definitely had high expectations for us. Talent-wise across the board, I thought we were good enough to get to the (NCAA) tournament. I looked forward to it."
Now, the talk is about a coaching change at season's end.
McCray, NU's second-leading scorer (10.3) and rebounder (4.9), said he tries to shut out the criticism and focus on getting the most he can out of the remaining games.
"When you've been through all the things I've been through," he said, "I'm really thankful just to be out here and able to play and contribute."
McCray played three games as a sophomore before undergoing season-ending surgery for a torn elbow ligament. As a junior, he played through the pain of plantar fasciitis before undergoing surgery last summer on both feet.
"I remember when I wasn't able to play, much less worry about losing," he said. "So I'm happy I'm playing, but winning makes you feel better."
The Huskers know they can beat Penn State. They did it Jan. 11 in Lincoln, 70-58, a game in which McCray had 13 points and five rebounds.
"I'm looking forward to a road game," he said, "hopefully for us to come together as a team and carry the same thing we did when we beat them the first time."
Contact the writer:
402-444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com
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