Pavelka, Davison Ready to Call Huskers' Most Important Game in 12 Years

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Light the fire, warm the hot chocolate, pop some corn and curl up on the couch next to a radio or a plop yourself down in your favorite chair and connect to Huskers.com. Nebraska just might be playing its most important basketball game in 12 years Saturday night in Boulder, Colo.

That means Kent Pavelka and Matt Davison will be your evening hosts because as crucial as this game is to Nebraska's and Colorado's NCAA Tournament hopes, it will not be on television. So the Big 12 Network's loss is the Husker Sports Network's gain.

Get your weekend chores done early. Take in a Saturday matinee at the local theater. Just make sure you're home by 7:35 p.m. (Central) so you don't miss the pregame show or the last Big 12 Conference regular-season game that both schools will play before they move on to their respective Big Ten and Pac Ten Conferences. Tipoff is 8:05 p.m. (Central)

"Everything considered, this is the biggest game I've done since I've come back," said Pavelka, Nebraska's ultra-passionate play-by-play man. "The Big Eight Tournament Championship was probably the most important game I called in 1994. The NIT Championship in 1996 might have been next. The win over Texas a couple of weeks ago ranks right up there. I also called a couple of big wins over KU that had game-winning shots from Beau Reid and Bobby Moore."

Davison, the Huskers' calm color analyst on the Huskers Sports Network, says NU-CU is as big a basketball game as he has broadcast. "This might be Nebraska's biggest game since I was in high school," he said. "Off the top of my head, it's the biggest since I was a freshman in 1997 and Tyronn Lue was still here."

Actually, we have another opinion. The Huskers' crucial matchup Saturday night against the Buffaloes in a sold-out Coors Event Center is the most pivotal Nebraska game since 1999, according to Keith Mann, NU's assistant athletic director for media relations.

1999 Team Couldn't Beat KU a Third Time

That 1998-99 Nebraska team finished 10-6 in the Big 12 Conference, drew a first-round bye in the league tournament in Kansas City, clubbed Texas Tech by 19 in the quarterfinals and faced perennial power Kansas in the semifinals.

"Win that game and beat KU for a third time that season, and most people thought that would put Nebraska in the NCAA," Mann recalled Friday.

It didn't happen. The Huskers, an 84-69 winner over KU in Lincoln and a 64-59 survivor in Lawrence that season, were drubbed, 77-53, in the conference semifinals before going on to beat UNLV and lose to TCU in the NIT.

Pavelka and Davison are hoping this Nebraska team can qualify for a four-letter postseason tournament instead of settling for the three-letter NIT.

"I've been saying for three or four weeks now how the conference regular-season is the tournament before the (Big 12) tournament before the (NCAA) tournament," Pavelka said. "It's been that kind of season every game. When we beat Missouri and Iowa State outlasted Colorado earlier this week, it gave both teams the same kind of chance to make the NCAA."

The Huskers and Buffs are tied with Baylor for sixth place in the conference with 7-8 records entering the final weekend of the season. Should Nebraska win and Kansas beat Missouri in Columbia, the Huskers would tie for fifth place in the final regular-season standings. It would be their best finish since that 1998-99 team - led by Cookie Belcher, Venson Hamilton and Andy Markowski - came within a game of making the NCAA.

The Last Chapter for Both Programs in the Big 12

"This is a great ending to the season," Pavelka said. "Personally, I believe if we beat Colorado and win a first-round game in the conference tournament, we're in the NCAA. If we don't beat CU, the only way we go to the NCAA is by winning the Big 12 Tournament."

Davison agrees with Pavelka. "By all accounts, if Nebraska wins in Boulder and gets a better seed in the conference tournament, one more win should put us in," he said.

Mann does not trust the inexact science of bracketology as much as the Huskers' radio commentators. He believes two wins need to follow a win over CU to guarantee an NCAA bid. "There are so many results that can change everything," he said. "That's just my opinion."

However the experts analyze the results doesn't really matter unless the Huskers can beat the explosive Buffs before another packed house.

"This is a record fifth sellout they've had this season," Pavelka said. "I've been to Boulder 24 times announcing games against Colorado, and I think this will be the first sellout I've seen there. Tad Boyle has really brought this CU program together. They know what's at stake. This is their ticket to the NCAA, too. It's going to be a war Saturday night."

Pavelka, well known around the league for his unending passion, says he's decided to hold himself "in check a little bit so I can do a better job," he said. "I'm just trying to soak up everything I can about this game. I can't get too wound up before it even starts."

Davison Knows His Partner Will Be All Wound Up

Davison laughs out loud when he hears that his broadcast partner made such a comment. "I don't believe him," he said. "You know, part of what makes Kent so good at his job is he's just really passionate about the team, and everyone knows it. He's the biggest fan out there. His preparation is tremendous. Sometimes, he does get a little too wound up, and a little overexcited."

If you're looking for proof of Pavelka's passion, go to the top of this column and check out the 2010-11 radio highlight calls that Husker Sports Network producer Jeff Culhane put together for us on Friday.

The calls will give you a flavor for the "overexcited" tag that described Pavelka when Nebraska beat Missouri in the 2008 Big 12 Conference Tournament opener in Kansas City. "We were in the front row, and Kent got so excited, he kept standing up," Davison said. "Well, when you're sitting at the extended free throw line and only two feet from the court with short tables around you, the TV cameras kept picking him up because he was blocking the view. The Big 12 finally had to ask Kent sit down. He made himself famous that year. He was kind of the buzz among the media. Everyone couldn't help but laugh about him becoming part of the show."

Marc  Boehm, Nebraska's executive associate athletic director who helped convince Pavelka to come back for a second run as the Husker basketball play-by-play man, was not surprised. Boehm says Pavelka's humor is every bit as much a part of his persona as his passion.

"I still remember Kent calling a Nebraska game against Kansas State in the Big Eight Tournament in Kansas City when Jack Moore played," Boehm recalled.

In that game, Pavelka became part of the action as well.

Shouting throughout an exciting game, Pavelka stood up during a big play at Kemper Arena, and sure enough, a ball bounced right into his arms.

Without missing a beat in his animated play-by-play, Pavelka told his listeners: "I have the basketball! I have the basketball in my hands!" within a fraction of a second after K-State deflected a Jack Moore pass out-of-bounds.

He Handed the Ball to Moore Instead of the Official

Moore was standing next to Pavelka, who told his audience that he was not giving the ball back to the official but rather putting it back into the hands of the Huskers' late point guard. "Here is the ball, Jack," he said. "I am giving it right back! Here you go, Jack!"

Only Kent Pavelka would hand-deliver an unofficial assist in a dramatic 60-59 loss to the Wildcats in the Big Eight Semifinals.

Boehm made the trip to Colorado Friday with the team and will be joined Saturday by NU Athletic Director Tom Osborne for this pivotal showdown with NCAA implications. Boehm describes Pavelka as an announcer who "paints a picture" for his audience. "That's why virtually everyone I know turns the TV down and listens to Kent and Matt whenever Nebraska's on television," Boehm said.

For this showdown, there will be no such need to multi-task. This is good, old-fashioned Saturday Night Live, radio style ... the way life used to be.The only picture for Husker fans will be what Pavelka paints in your mind.

"People love Kent's play-by-play. He just oozes passion," Boehm said. "He has so much energy and so much excitement that it just carries over to the fans. They bring it with them to the arena. There's not a person anywhere that cares more about Nebraska basketball than Kent does. In my mind, he's the best play-by-play announcer in the business. I really believe that. We are very fortunate to have him."

Davison wouldn't want Pavelka to be any other way. "I'm probably on the other end of the spectrum," said Davison, who lettered in Husker basketball as well as football. "I'm about as relaxed as Kent is excited, so we kind of balance each other out. I just love working with him. He gets me ready to go and makes me better on the air. I can't tell you how much I appreciate what a great professional he is. He has a great voice to go with his trademark passion. I think the listenership for this game is going to be really, really high, and I can't wait to go on the air with him."

Pavelka and Davison spent about 15 minutes Friday explaining what they thought were the keys to the Nebraska-Colorado showdown. They've analyzed this Big 12 regular-season swan song from more angles than any self-appointed Charlie Sheen psychologist. I could tell you every one of those angles, but that's why they have a pre-game show, so I would advise that you tune in early, especially if you want to hear Davison talk about which team just might feel the most pressure.

Analyst Andy Markowski Can Speak from Experience

Markowski, the other "headset" pictured above working with Pavelka, plans to tune in to the game within minutes of disembarking from an airplane. Markowski subs for Davison as Pavelka's color analyst when Davison moves over to help Greg Sharpe and Eric Piatkowski on Fox Sports Net telecasts of Husker basketball.

Markowski was the 6-foot-8 senior captain who was the only player to start all 33 games on that 1998-99 team that came within a game of being a likely NCAA qualifier.

"Wouldn't you know it? I don't get back to Nebraska until 8 o'clock Saturday night after a (medical sales) business trip to Tuscon," Markowski said Friday. "That means, I'm going to be in my car listening to Kent and Matt on my way home."

Markowski knows what it's like to compete in a game that determines whether you play in the NCAA or the NIT. "I'm excited about this program being in position to do something that it hasn't done in a long time," Markowski said. "I think this team has the poise and toughness to get it done."

However the ball bounces, the game will be exciting to listen to, even if you are spending this particular Saturday night in a time capsule.

"Just a couple of days ago, I was telling Kent that I had a chance to listen to the K-State win over Texas," Markowski said. "Those guys did a great job announcing that game, but I told him: 'I don't know what it is about you, Kent, but the passion you have just really comes through on your broadcast like no one else I've ever heard.' I told him that it clearly separates him from others, whether it's a big game or one that's not quite as meaningful."

Don't Wait Until Tipoff to Tune in to Pavelka and Davison

"There's no guy that wants Nebraska to do better than Kent Pavelka," Markowski said. "He bleeds red. He wants the program to do well. He wants it be a winner, and I think that comes through every time you turn on the radio."

Again, Saturday's game begins at 8:05 p.m. (Central). But start that fire, warm that hot chocolate and pop that corn at least 30 minutes before tipoff. Then, and only then, will you know what I know and what Pavelka and Davison think they might know.

"That's the beauty of basketball, isn't it?" Pavelka said, declining the opportunity to make a prediction. "I can't make one. All I know is what each team thinks it has to do to win. I invest everything I have to understand what can happen, and whatever unfolds is precious to one team, but not the other. That's why every game is important and why every game, at least for me, is a treasure."

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Voices from Husker Nation

Oh my, after reading your Kent Pavelka article today, and the archived January, 2009 story on Kent's Hall-of-Fame award, you should write a book about the men and women who have covered Cornhusker sports from behind a microphone, in front of a TV camera, tapping on a manual typewriter and ... well, whatever method computer geeks use these days! Because, and I'm sure Kent would agree, the history is rich. In my mind, Pavelka is the Lyell Bremser of Nebraska basketball. If the basketball program had won as many conference championships as the football team has won since 1974 (when Kent began calling Husker hoops), his status might have surpassed Lyelll's. Here's hoping that Kent can remain behind the mic for at least another 10 years as NU basketball moves into a new arena and competes for Big Ten titles. His contribution to the program is only surpassed by the players and coaches. In the meantime, how about getting started on that book? Kevin Horn, Alliance, Nebraska

Thanks for such great moments in time. I compliment Kent Pavelka in his announcing. He's incredible in how he excites us in his play-by-play. Kent is one of the very best in the business, and it's been my great opportunity to hear and see this wonderful man! Steve Gleason, Grand Island, Nebraska

I, too, love to listen to Kent Pavelka and Co. I was sorry when he left the football broadcasts. I just would like to see the delay used in the both the TV broadcasts and Kent & Matt's broadcast to be in sync. Just a suggestion from a fan who prefers his analysis over whatever's on TV. Jim Straube, Omaha, Nebraska

Kent Pavelka is like a fine wine. He only gets better with age. It's great to see someone recognized for what he's done in the past and what he's doing for us right now. I can't even imagine listening to him describe Lance Jeter weaving in and out of traffic in an NCAA game. Huskers.com would be the target of every Husker football fan around the world. Everyone would love to hear an old football play-by-play man carry the torch for the Huskers' renaissance in basketball. Ri Edwards, Yuba City, California

I've always wondered why I tune in to hear Kent Pavelka and Matt Davison call a basketball game that really doesn't mean all that much. I think it's because of their love for the team they cover. Let's hope, for their sake, Nebraska climbs up on a bigger stage so more Husker fans will realize what they've been missing. Steve Thomas, Lincoln, Nebraska

I laughed out loud reading about Kent Pavelka catching the basketball during the game and using it in his play-by-play. Classic stuff, I'm sure. Only wish I could have heard it live. Kudos to Kent. He really is priceless, and I have rearranged my schedule to catch his act tonight. Gary Thompson, Las Vegas, Nevada

Loved Kent Pavelka call football and love him even more in basketball. He's a hoot. Marsha Miller, Lincoln, Nebraska

I follow Nebraska basketball, but just figured out how passive I am in the way I follow the Huskers. I had no idea they were still in the hunt for the NCAA Tournament. Man, you changed my weekend. Big Red basketball has a bowl game in Boulder, and I'm going to do just what you suggest - have a cup of hot chocolate, pop some corn and wirelessly connect to Huskers.com, so I can listen to Kent Pavelka and Matt Davison, two of my all-time favorites. Here's hoping it will be a classic game to call. Definitely a lot to overcome, but certainly not impossible. Go Big Red!!!!!! Dave Farrell, Denver, Colorado