Extra practice helps MU

By Sam Wilson

Published Feb. 15, 2008

Nine of the 12 MU men’s basketball players stayed after practice Monday night. They wanted to continue to prepare for Wednesday night’s game at Nebraska. Assistant coach Matt Zimmerman said it paid off.

“Everyone that hit the floor did something positive,” Zimmerman said of Wednesday’s 86-78 win in overtime.

The Tigers held Nebraska senior center Aleks Maric to 13 points in the 66-62 loss to the Huskers on Jan. 30. Zimmerman said Maric had adjusted to the Tiger defense by positioning himself better on Wednesday. Maric scored 32 points and had 16 rebounds.

“He was getting so close to the basket,” Zimmerman said. “He does a good job using his body.”

The game was a back-and-forth affair. There were four ties and nine lead changes. The teams went into overtime tied at 71. The Tigers outscored the Huskers 41-30 in the first half; Nebraska outscored MU 41-30 in the second half. Despite this, Zimmerman said his team had the edge throughout the game.

“They were the ones having to catch up to us,” he said.

Nebraska junior guard Steve Harley hit two free throws with five seconds to go in regulation to force overtime, but MU outscored Nebraska 15-7 in overtime to get the win.

“In overtime, really, we just did what we were doing throughout the course of the game,” Zimmerman said.

But there was one major difference. Maric remained scoreless in overtime.

“Our defense got a little bit tougher there,” Zimmerman said.

Despite Maric’s post domination, the Huskers outrebounded the Tigers only 39-35. Junior forward DeMarre Carroll, who dealt with an ankle injury earlier in the week, was back near his season average with seven rebounds. Junior guard Matt Lawrence and sophomore guard Keon Lawrence both had six rebounds.

“Those guys rebounding makes the difference,” Zimmerman said of the guards.

He said it was something the team had been working on.

“Rebounding is something Coach (Mike Anderson) has put a big emphasis on,” Zimmerman said.

The Tigers have played without senior guard Stefhon Hannah since he fractured his jaw in an incident the early morning hours of Jan. 27. He was dismissed from the team Tuesday for not meeting the team’s academic expectations, according to a statement by Anderson. Wednesday was the team’s first game in which Hannah was not a member of the team at all. Zimmerman said it was not a distraction for the remaining players.

“For guys like J.T. Tiller, Keon and Matt, it’s been a dead issue since Jan. 28,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman said Anderson has made sure the players focus on school and basketball and not other matters.

“Ever since the incident, Coach has been so good with our kids that were here that weren’t a part of it,” Zimmerman said.

Speaking by phone Thursday night, Zimmerman said he didn’t know whether Hannah would remain a student at MU. He said now that Hannah is no longer on the team, he hopes he will remain in school, an option the team has given him. But Zimmerman said he does not have day-to-day contact with Hannah now that he has been dismissed.