Oklahoma City, Okla.- Righthander Chad Wiles threw a one-hitter as Nebraska shut out Oklahoma State, 5-0, in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City Wednesday afternoon.

Nebraska advances to a 5 p.m. winner's bracket game Wednesday against eighth-seeded Oklahoma, which upset No. 1 seed Texas A&M 10-5, in the session's first game Wednesday morning.

Wiles, who threw 151 pitches, stymied an Oklahoma State offense that had been averaging 11 runs a game and was third nationally in scoring. The Huskers' pitcher raised his record to 5-1 on the season, as Nebraska raised its record to 38-16 The 38 wins are the most by a Husker team this decade, topping the 1991 squad's 37-22 mark

"I think this was the biggest shot in the arm we needed," NU Coach Dave Van Horn said, referring to the Huskers' improving chances of qualifying for an NCAA regional. "I think the win should propel us into next week. We beat the No. 15 team in the country. This is what we needed to get over the hump."

OSU ace Matt Smith, who had tossed a three-hitter and one-hitter at the Huskers in previous career starts, absorbed the loss as Oklahoma State fell to 40-16 overall.

Nebraska touched the soph lefthander for five runs between the second and fifth innings to coast to the win. Freshman leftfielder John Cole, who has nine hits in his last two games after tying the NU school record with six hits in a 21-16 win over Kansas State last Sunday, paced the winners with three singles, while shortstop Brandt Vlieger added three hits to the 10-hit Nebraska attack.

It marked the first time since a 1-0 loss to Oregon State on Feb. 18 that the Cowboys (40-16) had been shut out. The Cowboys hadn't been shut out in a conference tournament since losing 8-0 to Colorado in 1976.

The five runs scored were the fewest in the Big 12 Tournament game, a record which lasted all of four hours as Baylor downed Missouri, 2-0, later in the afternoon.

Game Notes
* It was the first shutout in Big 12 Tournament history and the second one-hitter in the Big 12 this season (previous: Feb. 10, 1999, vs. Northeast Louisiana, Jason Jennings, Baylor)

* It was Nebraska