Coatney's Call: Wisconsin/Michigan State Previews

#22 Nebraska at Wisconsin
Wednesday, Feb. 5, 7 p.m. (central)
Kohl Center (Madison, Wis.)
Radio: Husker Sports Network
(Matt Coatney-PBP; Jeff Griesch-Analyst)
107.3 FM-KBBK, Lincoln; 93.3 FM-KFFF, Omaha; 1400 AM-KCOW, Alliance; 94.1 FM-KNEB, Scottsbluff; 97.3 FM-KRGY, Grand Island; 98.5-KHAQ, North Platte
Internet: Free live audio on Huskers.com 
Live Video: BTN.com All-Access

#22 Nebraska vs. #24 Michigan State
Saturday, Feb. 8, 2 p.m. (central)
Pinnacle Bank Arena (Lincoln, Neb.)
Television: BTN (Lisa Byington-PBP; Stephanie White-Analyst)
Radio: Husker Sports Network
(Matt Coatney-PBP; Jeff Griesch-Analyst)
107.3 FM-KBBK, Lincoln; 93.3 FM-KFFF, Omaha; 1400 AM-KCOW, Alliance; 94.1 FM-KNEB, Scottsbluff; 97.3 FM-KRGY, Grand Island; 98.5-KHAQ, North Platte
Internet: Free live audio on Huskers.com

Huskers Battle Badgers Before Coming Home to Face Spartans
I’ve seen a lot of players go on a ‘tear’. The first (and probably only) time I went on a ‘tear’ was when I went 4-for-4 in a 7th grade baseball game in Golden City, Mo., in 1977. George Brett went on a season-long ‘tear’ in 1980 when he flirted all season with a .400 average and finished at .390. But when your first name actually starts with “Tear”, apparently you can give the word some added significance.

Husker junior guard Tear’a Laudermill is smoking hot right now. In the past three games, ‘Tee’ is 20-for-33 from the field, 10-for-17 from three-point range and 12-of-14 at the free throw line line.  Over the last four games, Laudermill has connected on 12-of-20 (.600) three-pointers, compared to .288 (15-for-52) in the first 16 games of the season. She has tied or achieved a career high in points each of the last three games, including last Saturday's 80-67 win at Iowa.

Laudermill scorched the Hawkeyes in the best performance of her career. She scored a career-high 26 points, hit 9-of-12 from the floor, tied her career high with four three-pointers and scored Nebraska’s final six points to close out the win. She wasn’t the only gun firing.  Senior All-American Jordan Hooper  continued her hot shooting, posting 25 points and 13 rebounds, which was her Big Ten-leading 10th double-double of the season. 

Hooper was named Big Ten Player of the Week after averaging 25.0 points and 11.5 rebounds in a pair of NU victories last week.  She became just the third Husker and fifth Big Ten player to achieve the combined career milestones of 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.  Hooper has 36 career double-doubles and will move past Nebraska legend and 1993 Wade Trophy winner Karen Jennings into sole possession of second on the Nebraska career list with her next double-double. 

Hooper needs 53 points and six rebounds to move into second place on NU’s career scoring and rebounding charts.

Laudermill, Hooper and the Huskers will try win to win their second straight road game Wednesday night when they face Wisconsin in Madison at 7 (central).

Wisconsin is coming off an impressive 82-71 win over Ohio State Sunday afternoon in Madison.  It snapped a four-game losing streak for a Badger team that is 10-11 overall, and gave Wisconsin their third Big Ten win of the season, tying last year’s conference win total.  After struggling from the field the past several games, the Badger offense exploded against the Buckeyes.

Junior Jacki Gulczynski, a 6-1 wing, played the full 40 minutes and posted a double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds. She also hit 4-of-5 three-pointers.  Last season, Gulczynski scorched Ohio State for 32 points and 15 rebounds. She is one of four Badgers to start every game this season and averages 8.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Gulczynski was named honorable-mention All-Big Ten at the end of last season.

Wisconsin runs the triangle offense and 6-3 junior transfer Michala Johnson has benefitted from that style of play.  After playing limited minutes her first two years at Connecticut, Johnson leads Wisconsin in scoring (16.3 ppg) and is second in rebounding (7.4 rpg) in her first year on the court for the Badgers. 

You probably are more familiar with Badger 5-9 senior guard Morgan Paige’s brother Marcus than his sister.  Marcus is the starting point guard for Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels.  Morgan is the second-leading scorer on this season’s Wisconsin team (12.6 ppg). 

Senior Taylor Wurtz is back after missing all but five games last season with a back injury that required surgery. The fifth-year guard has started all 21 games. She leads the team in three-pointers (32), rebounds (7.9) and adds 12.0 points per game. 

Sophomore Dakota Whyte rounds out the Badgers’ probable starting lineup. The 5-8 point guard was previously a member of several Canadian Junior National Teams. Whyte leads the team in assists and adds 6.8 points per game.    

Wednesday night's game could be the quickest game of the season in Division I women’s college basketball.  Wisconsin (5th) and Nebraska (3rd) both rank in the top five nationally in fewest fouls per game. Neither team gets many steals, with both teams in the bottom third nationally in that category. The Badgers are last in the Big Ten in scoring offense (65.8 ppg), assists and turnover margin (-3.0), while Nebraska leads the league in scoring defense (61.6 ppg).

Third-year Badger Head Coach Bobbie Kelsey was a long-time assistant at Stanford and five other schools before becoming the sixth head coach in Wisconsin history.  She was a team captain at Stanford and helped the Cardinal to the 1992 NCAA Championship.

Since joining the Big Ten Conference, Nebraska has won all four meetings against Wisconsin, but the Badgers lead the all-time series 5-4.  In the last meeting, the Huskers prevailed 55-53 in Madison on Feb. 28, 2013. Hailie Sample's layup off an assist from Lindsey Moore with 43 seconds left brought the Huskers back from a five-point deficit in the closing minutes for the win.

Nebraska returns home to the Pinnacle Bank Arena Saturday afternoon looking to split the season series with Michigan State in a 2 p.m. contest. The Spartans are off to their second-best Big Ten start in program history after Sunday afternoon’s 89-73 win over Purdue in East Lansing. Junior center Jasmine Hines, who missed seven games earlier this season recovering from symptoms related to a concussion, emerged off the bench for a season-high 16 points and drew two charges.

MSU is 15-7 overall and one game behind Penn State for the league lead with a 7-2 mark. Earlier this season, Nebraska saw its five-game winning streak snapped, losing 70-57 at Michigan State on Jan. 9. Aerial Powers led the Spartans with 17 points and 15 rebounds, while Annalise Pickrel added a double-double of her own with 17 points and 10 boards. Becca Mills and Tori Jankoska each added 10 points for the Spartans in the win. Last year at the Devaney Center in Lincoln, Jordan Hooper scored a game-high 25 points to offset MSU point guard Kiana Johnson’s career-high 22 points as the Huskers defeated the Spartans 59-54, handing MSU their first conference road loss of the season.

I cordially invite you to join Jeff Griesch and me for Nebraska women’s basketball on the Husker Sports Network.  Our radio broadcast Wednesday evening begins with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m. (central) with the tip-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on the Husker Sports Network including KBBK (B107.3) in Lincoln, KFFF 93.3 in Omaha, KCOW 1400 in Alliance, KNEB 94.1 in Scottsbluff, KRGY 97.3 in Grand Island, KHAQ 98.5 in North Platte, KBRB 1400 in Ainsworth, and many others.  All Husker Women’s Basketball broadcasts are also available for free worldwide on the internet at www.huskers.com.  I hope you can join us.   

There are a number of ways to get enhanced information about our broadcast and Husker Women’s Basketball via social media.  You can learn more about the team on the Nebraska Women’s Basketball Facebook page or follow the team on their official Twitter page @huskerswbb.  I also invite you to friend me on Facebook (Matt Coatney) or follow me on Twitter @coatman1.

Go Big Red! 

Matt