Mar. 9, 2011
 
Huskers fall in 1st round of Big 12 Tournment.
 
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ninth-seeded Oklahoma State thwarted eighth-seeded Nebraska's second-half comeback here Wednesday in the first-round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at the Sprint Center.

The Cowboys watched Husker point guard Lance Jeter slip inside the lane and lose the ball in the final seconds, allowing Oklahoma State to survive Nebraska's surge and score a 53-52 win over the Huskers and advance to a Thursday quarterfinal matchup against No. 2 Kansas.

The Huskers will now wait to learn their postseason fate on Sunday evening, as a berth in the National Invitational Tournament seems like the most likely scenario. That selection show is slated for 8 p.m. central on ESPNU.

Jeter, a third-team All-Big 12 point guard, scored 17 points to keep the Huskers in contention and was trying to capitalize on a golden opportunity when he slipped in the lane and was unable to find a crease in the Cowboy defense for one of his patented, acrobatic, driving layins.

Toney McCray's dunk with 23 seconds remaining pulled Nebraska within 53-52 of the Cowboys, and it took Nebraska seven seconds to foul Keiton Page, a 5-9 guard who wasn't about to let the ball out of his hands with the game on the line.

Page, the Big 12's leading free throw shooter with a .902 percentage (120-133), rimmed his first attempt off the right side with 16 seconds remaining. Brandon Ubel, who helped Jeter lead Nebraska's second-half surge, grabbed his sixth rebound to give the Huskers one final possession.

Nebraska Head Coach Doc Sadler called a timeout with 10 seconds remaining to plot a game-winning strategy. The Cowboy defense clamped down and by the time Jeter penetrated, he lost his balance, slipped and his hopes for a third meeting against the Jayhawks this season vanished.

In addition to Jeter's 17 points, Ubel and McCray each added 11. The Huskers, who shot only 22 percent in the first half, recovered to hit 34.5 percent (19-55).

Oklahoma State took control early on with dead-eye shooting from long range. The Cowboys, who were last in the league in 3-point percentage entering the tournament, hit their first five 3-poionters to build a 14-point lead, at 25-11 with 9:29 remaining in the half.

Nebraska then clamped down defensively, holding OSU to just two field goals in the final nine minutes of the half to give the Huskers a chance. NU was ice cold from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, shooting 22.6 percent but whittled the lead to 30-21 at the break after Jeter's 3-pointer.

Jeter and sophomore Brandon Ubel sparked the Huskers coming out of the locker room, as Nebraska went on a 13-4 run to open the half, tying the score at 34 after a Ubel layup with 14:15 remaining.

Ubel, who scored 10 of his 11 points in the second half, scored seven straight Husker points, as his 3-pointer with 11:21 remaining gave Nebraska its first lead of the day at 39-38.

Nebraska eventually pushed its lead to 48-44 after a Caleb Walker put-back with 5:59 left, but the Cowboys would have one more run in them. Page, who went 4-of-8 from 3-point range, scored six straight points, as the second of his back-to-back 3-pointers put Oklahoma State up 50-48 with 3:58 left.

The Huskers trimmed Oklahoma State's lead to 51-50 after Jeter hit a pair of free throws with 35 seconds left, setting up a frantic finish.

Notes

*-Nebraska falls to 4-10 all-time in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament and 4-3 against Oklahoma State in conference tournament history.

*-Nebraska held Oklahoma State to 53 points, the 17th time Nebraska has held an opponent under 60 points this season. NU is now 15-2 when holding opponents under 60 points.

*-Nebraska enters the postseason averaging 60.0 per game, lowest per game average since 1981-82, when Nebraska allowed just 55.3 points per game.

*-Nebraska has been involved in five one-point games this season, going 2-3 in those contests, and seven of the Huskers' 12 losses have been by four points or less.

*-Nebraska scored 52 points, its second-lowest point total of the season, and lowest against a conference opponent.

*-Lance Jeter had four assists, upping his total to 144. That ranks third on NU's senior class list. Jeter averaged 4.6 assists per game this season, which is the third-best total by a Husker in the Big 12 era. Over his last five games, Jeter averaged 16.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game.

*-With his four field goals against Oklahoma State, Jorge Brian Diaz moves into sixth place on Nebraska's sophomore field goal list, passing Eric Piatkowski (144) and Andre Smith (146).

*-Nebraska's 22 first-half points were the Huskers' lowest total since scoring 17 points at Kansas State, and matched Nebraska's second-lowest first half total of the season

-Brandon Ubel tied his high in Big 12 play this season with 11 points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench. He is averaging 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game over NU's last three games.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.