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Ohio State and Wisconsin to Meet in Big Ten Football Championship Game

Big-Ten-Championship-FootbaRosemont, Ill. – With a victory on Saturday, Wisconsin earned its third Big Ten Football Championship Game berth in four seasons and will meet Ohio State on Saturday, Dec. 6, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Buckeyes, who clinched a title game berth last weekend, were also victorious on Saturday and joined the Badgers as outright division champions.

The 2014 Big Ten Football Championship Game will be broadcast nationally on FOX with kickoff set for 8:17 p.m. ET. The winner will earn the Amos Alonzo Stagg Championship Trophy and a chance to play in one of the six bowls that comprise the College Football Playoff, including the Rose Bowl Game.

Wisconsin will make its third championship game appearance after claiming the title in 2011 and 2012 while Ohio State earned a second straight championship game berth. The Badgers and Buckeyes last met on Sept. 28, 2013, with Ohio State earning a narrow 31-24 triumph in Columbus, Ohio.

With a championship game berth on the line, Wisconsin defeated Minnesota today to end the regular season at 10-2 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten West Division. The Badgers are on a seven-game winning streak and earned their first outright division title in four seasons after sharing first place in 2011.

Ohio State picked up a victory over Michigan today to secure a third straight outright division title and extend its Big Ten record conference winning streak to 24 games. The Buckeyes are the first program in Big Ten history to go undefeated and untied over a three-year period and the first school to go without a conference loss in three straight seasons since Minnesota from 1933-35.

Ticket blocks were held for Ohio State and Wisconsin and are now being sold through university ticket offices. Tickets can also be purchased through Ticketmaster atwww.ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745-3000. Those interested in purchasing a suite should contact Stephanie Arnold of Indiana Sports Corp at (317) 237-5036.

Every Big Ten Football Championship Game ticket will allow complimentary admission to the Big Ten Fan Fest presented by Dr Pepper, to be held at the Indiana Convention Center on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5-6. For more information on Big Ten Football Championship Game tickets and fan events, go to www.bigten.org.

No. 15 Big Red Brace for Bears in Battle of Unbeatens

Nebraska-Huskers-BasketballThe No. 15 Nebraska women’s basketball team tries to close a perfect November when the Huskers welcome unbeaten Northern Colorado to Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Tip-off between the Big Red (5-0) and the Bears (4-0) is set for 2 p.m. (central) with tickets available in advance at Huskers.com. Tickets are also available at the Pinnacle Bank Arena Box Office beginning at noon on Sunday.

Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch will call the action on the Husker Sports Radio Network. The game can be heard live in Lincoln on B107.3 FM, 93.3 FM in Omaha and 880 AM in Lexington, along with free live audio on Huskers.com. Live premium video for the game will be available on BTN Plus.

Nebraska returns home after completing a three-game sweep of Pac-12 Conference foes with a 71-66 win at UCLA on Friday.

Junior Rachel Theriot led the Huskers back from a 16-point first-half deficit by scoring 19 of her game-high 24 points in the second half against the Bruins. The 6-0 junior point guard from Middleburg Heights, Ohio, was named to the preseason watch lists for both the Wooden Award and the Wade Trophy earlier this week. Theriot, who added a career-high eight rebounds and a season-high seven assists against the Bruins, leads four Huskers in double figures on the season with 18.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and a team-high 5.0 assists on the year.

Senior forward Emily Cady added 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field at UCLA to increase her season averages to 14.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists. In her last appearance in Lincoln, Cady erupted for a career-high 25 points in a win over Utah.

Senior guard Tear’a Laudermill added 15 points, including a trio of threes and a career-high-tying four steals at UCLA to push her season averages to 13.0 points per game. Fellow senior guard Brandi Jeffery pitched in 11 points against the Bruins and is averaging 11.2 points and 5.2 boards on the year.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
3 – Hailie Sample – 6-1 – Sr. – F – 6.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg
23 – Emily Cady – 6-2 – Sr. – F – 14.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg
1 – Tear’a Laudermill – 5-9 – Sr. – G – 13.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg
13 – Brandi Jeffery – 5-7 – Sr. – G – 11.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg
33 – Rachel Theriot – 6-0 – Jr. – G – 18.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg
Off the Bench
31 – Anya Kalenta – 6-3 – Jr. – F – 7.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg
5 – Natalie Romeo – 5-7 – Fr. – G – 4.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg
22 – Allie Havers – 6-5 – So. – C – 4.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg
34 – Jasmine Cincore – 5-8 – Fr. – G – 2.5 ppg, 0.8 rpg
2 – Kaylee Page – 6-2 – Fr. – F – 0.5 ppg, 0.5 rpg
11 – Esther Ramacieri – 5-8 – So. – G – 0.0 ppg, 0.5 rpg
12 – Emily Wood – 5-5 – Fr. – G – 0.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg
30 – Chandler Smith – 6-0 – Fr. – G – High School
50 – Darrien Washington – 6-2 – Fr. – F – High School
Head Coach:
 Connie Yori (Creighton, 1986) 
13th Season at NU (246-142); 25th Season Overall (441-282)

Northern Colorado Bears (4-0, 0-0 Big Sky)
22 – Amber Van Deudekom – 5-11 – Sr. – F – 3.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg
44 – Stephanie Lee – 6-1 – Sr. – C/F – 15.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg
3 – D’Shara Strange – 5-10 – Sr. – G – 16.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg
20 – Lindsay Mallon – 6-0 – Sr. – G – 3.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg
24 – Kyleigh Hiser – 5-9 – Jr. – G – 10.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg
Off the Bench
2 – Savannah Scott – 5-7 – Fr. – G – 1.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg
14 – Kourteney Zadina – 6-2 – So. – F – 9.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg
15 – Katie Longwell – 5-6 – So. – G – 1.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg
31 – Rebecca Howell – 6-1 – Jr. – C/F – 1.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
33 – Kianna Williams – 5-9 – Fr. – G – 3.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg
34 – Janniqua Thomas – 5-11 – Jr. – F – 0.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg
Head Coach:
 Kamie Ethridge (Texas, 1988)
1st Season at UNC (4-0); 1st Season Overall (4-0)

Another 9-Win Season Can’t Stop Bo Pelini Debate

Bo-Pelini-Huskers-Football-Another nine-win season puts Nebraska in elite company in college football. Only Alabama and Oregon can match the Cornhuskers’ streak of winning at least that many games every season since 2008.

But the debate for Nebraska fans — and what athletic director Shawn Eichorst must decide — is whether that’s good enough for a program with the proud history of the Cornhuskers.

Pelini is 66-27, the highest win total for a Nebraska coach through his first seven seasons and one more than Hall of Famer Tom Osborne had.

But the Huskers (9-3, 5-3 Big Ten) still haven’t won a conference championship since 1999, and they’ve had a habit of losing high-stakes games by big margins the past four seasons. Also, Pelini hasn’t come out of a season with fewer than four losses.

A fan base that has sold out an NCAA-record 340 straight games since 1962 is splintered. Some argue Pelini has hit a ceiling and isn’t capable of taking the program further. Others argue that Nebraska would be crazy to fire a coach who is winning 71 percent of his games.

Pelini said after Friday’s 37-34 overtime win at Iowa that he hadn’t had any conversations with Eichorst about his future. “That’s the furthest thing from my mind,” Pelini said.

Pelini added, “I know what we have going. People can make their deductions any way they want. And they’re going to say whatever they want. I couldn’t care less.”

The Huskers went into Iowa City off back-to-back losses in conference games for the first time since 2008, and they found themselves down 17 points after the Hawkeyes’ Drew Ott returned a punt that bounced off the back of an offensive lineman 12 yards for a touchdown.

Nebraska scored 21 straight points, with De’Mornay Pierson-El’ls 80-yard punt return giving the Huskers their first lead. Iowa went ahead again, but Drew Brown’s 20-yard field goal sent the game into overtime.

Tommy Armstrong Jr.’s career-high fourth touchdown pass, a 9-yarder to Kenny Bell, won it for the Huskers. Bell became the third Nebraska player ever to record 20 career touchdown catches.

He said it would have been easy for the Huskers to fold, especially with injuries having taken a toll on the offensive line and other positions.

“There’s no Big Ten championship, there’s no accolades or awards for winning this football game,” Bell said. “We just rolled up our sleeves and went to work. We kept fighting like we always do.”

The 17-point comeback tied for the largest road comeback in school history and for the second-largest overall comeback in program history.

Now Nebraska will wait a week to find out its postseason destination, with the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Dec. 27 a good possibility. The opponent would be from the Pac-12.

Between now and then, the debate over Pelini and the direction of the program will undoubtedly continue.

Vols Have Helmet Stickers Honoring Chiefs’ Berry

Eric Berry
Eric Berry

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee plans to wear helmet stickers honoring Kansas City Chiefs defensive back and former Volunteers star Eric Berry during Saturday’s game at Vanderbilt.

Vols coach Butch Jones tweeted a picture Saturday that showed a red arrowhead with the message “29 Strong VFL” and said it would be added to each player’s helmet. Berry wears No. 29 for the Chiefs. The term “VFL” stands for “Vol For Life.”

Berry went on the non-football injury list Monday after a mass was found on his chest that doctors believe could be lymphoma.

He starred for Tennessee from 2007-09 and won the 2009 Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back.

Two of Berry’s brothers are Tennessee freshmen defensive back/kickoff returner Evan and linebacker Elliott.

Nebraska Agency Sets Meetings on Big-Game Issues

Nebraska_game_and_parksLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is inviting hunters and landowners to discuss big-game issues at meetings with commission officials.

Staff biologists will explain and take questions on several topics, including deer management and damage.

All meetings begin at 7 p.m.

Meetings are set for Dec. 9 at Chadron State College in Chadron; Dec. 10 at Scheels at Village Point Plaza in Omaha; Dec. 11 at the Nemaha County Fairgrounds 4-H building in Auburn; Dec. 15 in Ord at the Valley County Extension building at the fairgrounds and at the Red Willow County Fairgrounds community building in McCook; Dec. 16 at the Eagles Club in Oshkosh; Dec. 17 at the Yanney Heritage Park Environmental Resource Center in Kearney; and Dec. 18 at the Isaak Walton League lodge in Columbus.

Mississippi Beats No. 23 Creighton 75-68

Creighton-Jays-BasketballNICEVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jarvis Summers scored 23 points and Mississippi closed with a 12-3 run to beat No. 23 Creighton 75-68 on Friday night in the Emerald Coast Classic.

Summers was 6 of 14 from the field and made 9 of 10 free throws for the Rebels (4-1).

LaDarius White scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half, and Martavious Newby had all nine of his points in the final 2 minutes.

Isaiah Zierden led Creighton (5-1) with 18 points. Austin Chatman added 15, and Devin Brooks had 14.

Mississippi will play Cincinnati on Saturday night, and Creighton will face Middle Tennessee. Cincinnati beat Middle Tennessee 69-51 in the first game.

Newby made a 3-pointer to put the Rebels ahead with 1:50 left. After Creighton missed free throw, the Rebels made it 68-65 on M.J. Rhett’s jumper with 1:03 left.

Pitchford, Nebraska get past UT-Martin 75-64

Nebraska-Huskers-BasketballLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Walter Pitchford missed all five of his three point attempts against Omaha Tuesday. Friday, Pitchford hit his first four 3-pointers and finished with a career-high six threes and 19 points to lead Nebraska past Tennessee-Martin 75-64.

“Somebody said I was in a slump, I say ‘What slump?,’ Pitchford said “It’s not in my vocabulary…Some nights they go in, some nights they don’t. Changes? I put in a little extra time in the gym, just concentrating, tweaking little things.”

Nebraska coach Tim Miles said he and assistant Kenya Hunter worked with Pitchford on his shot in practice this week, then ran plays for him to start the game.

“He’s worked really hard to get a rhythm shooting,” Miles said. “We ran some stuff for him early. I thought that was critical and it got him going.”

Nebraska (4-1) used a 17-4 run in the last seven minutes of the first half to take a 13-point halftime lead. The Huskers stretched that advantage to 19 on Benny Parkers’ free throws with 14:26 left.

Tennessee-Martin (3-2) then responded with a 17-2 run of its own, slicing the Nebraska lead to 54-50 after the second of Deville Smith’s back-to-back 3 pointers with 9:10 remaining.

Terran Petteway’s jumper started a 10-3 Nebraska run that was capped by Shavon Shields’ layup with 6:38 left and made the score 64-53. The Skyhawks cut the Nebraska lead to 8 on Twymond Howard’s jumper with 56 seconds left. Nebraska made five of six free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

The Huskers trailed 24-23 after Myles Taylor’s free throws with 6:36 in the half. Tai Webster hit a 3-pointer to start a 17-3 Nebraska half-closing run. Webster’s jumper with 51 seconds left put Nebraska up by double digits for the first time and Tarin Smith’s buzzer-beating layup pushed the halftime lead to 40-27.

“We had a lot of good things going offensively,” Miles said. “I thought we were a little tired tonight, both teams were. Thanksgiving does that to you. That turkey makes you sleepy. We got the lead, then they started draining the 3s. I liked what we were doing offensively for a long time.”

Tennessee-Martin coach Heath Schroyer also liked how his team played on offense, but they had no answer for what Pitchford brought Friday.

“We have been pretty good offensively so far this season,” Schroyer said. “We have shot 50 percent on the year, and I thought we got pretty good looks tonight, when guys stepped up and made them. Pitchford came out and hit his first three 3s. It makes them really hard to guard when that five-man can start knocking down shots and spreading the floor.”

Howard had 18 points to lead Tennessee-Martin. Smith had 15 points for the Skyhawks, Taylor finished with 11 and Alex Anderson had 10.

Petteway finished with 18 points and a career-high 8 assists for Nebraska.

TIP-INS

Nebraska: Shavon Shields, Nebraska’s leading scorer averaging 23 points a game coming into Friday’s contest, had just five points on 2-of-9 shooting. “You thought there’s no way he’s going to be sustaining that high level,” said Nebraska coach Tim Miles. “I’m glad Walt (Pitchford) picked us up.”

Tennessee-Martin: Friday’s game was the second of six straight road games for the Skyhawks. Tennessee-Martin won’t play at home again until it faces Presbyterian on Dec. 20.

UP NEXT

Nebraska: Nebraska visits Florida State Monday.

Tennessee-Martin: UT-Martin visits Northern Kentucky Wednesday.

Huskers Wrap Up Regular Season at Penn State

Nebraska-Volleyball-HuskersAfter facing No. 11 Illinois Wednesday night in Champaign, the No. 10 Nebraska volleyball team travels to State College, Pa., where the Huskers will take on No. 4 Penn State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (CT) on BTN. The match against the Nittany Lions concludes the regular season. 

The Huskers are 20-8 overall and 14-5 in the Big Ten after a 3-2 loss at Illinois on Wednesday snapped the Huskers’ eight-match win streak. Nebraska is 7-3 in true road matches this season and 9-3 in all matches played away from the Devaney Center. John Cook is in his 15th season as head coach at Nebraska and is 433-56 leading the Huskers. The two-time AVCA National Coach of the Year is 594-129 in his 22nd overall season as a head coach. 

Penn State swept Northwestern on Wednesday and is now 29-3 overall and 17-2 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions have won 13 straight matches – and 12 in a row by sweep – since falling at home to Illinois, 3-1, on Oct. 11. Penn State is 15-1 at home. Russ Rose is 1,154-180 in his 36th season as head coach at Penn State.

No. 15 Huskers Rally for Win at UCLA

Nebraska-Huskers-BasketballLos Angeles – No. 15 Nebraska trailed by as many as 16 points, but rallied down the stretch for a 71-66 women’s basketball win over UCLA at Pauley Pavilion on Fridayafternoon.

Junior Rachel Theriot scored 19 of her game-high 24 points in the second half to lead the Big Red to their fifth straight win to open the season, while UCLA slipped to 0-4 with all four losses to current top-25 teams.

Theriot, a 6-0 point guard from Middleburg Heights, Ohio, erupted for 13 points in the final 5:43 to help the Huskers erase an eight-point deficit with just over seven minutes left. Theriot sealed the win by hitting eight consecutive free throws in the final 1:02.

Senior forward Emily Cady added 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, including a three-pointer, while adding five rebounds, an assist and two steals.

Senior guard Tear’a Laudermill added 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals. Laudermill’s three three-pointers in the final five minutes of the first half allowed the Huskers to turn a 16-point deficit in the first half into a 33-26 UCLA margin at halftime.

Senior guard Brandi Jeffery gave the Huskers four players in double figures with 11 points, including a huge three-pointer to give Nebraska a 63-57 lead with 1:54 left in the game.

Nebraska found a way to win despite a season-high 22 turnovers, while also being outrebounded 39-36. Theriot committed a career-high eight turnovers in the game, but just one in the second half to fuel the Husker comeback. She finished with team highs of seven assists and eight rebounds to go along with her game-high 24 points. She went 4-of-7 from the floor, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. She was also 13-of-14 at the free throw line.

The Huskers hit 40 percent (20-50) from the field, including 9-of-23 threes. NU also went 22-of-26 at the free throw line – all in the second half.

UCLA built leads of 16 points on two occasions in the first half, the last time at 33-17 with 4:04 left on a jumper by Corinne Costa. However, a three-pointer by Theriot (3:03) and back-to-back threes by Laudermill (1:491:23) got the Huskers back within striking distance at halftime.

The Bruins did not score in the final four minutes of the first half, then went nearly seven minutes without a field goal in the final 7:30 of the game, as Nebraska prevailed.

For the game, UCLA hit just 35.8 percent (24-67) of its shots from the floor, including 8-of-20 threes. The Bruins were 10-of-15 at the free throw line and committed 18 turnovers, including 10 in the second half.

Jordin Canada led four Bruins in double figures with 14 points, six assists and six steals. Kari Korver added 13 points, including 11 points in a span of just two minutes after Nebraska cut the Bruin lead to two points at 39-37 with 13:30 left in the game.

Nirra Fields added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Costa added 10 points of her own.

The Huskers return home to face unbeaten Northern Colorado on Sunday. Tip-off between the Big Red and the Bears at Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 2 p.m.

Marshall Expects to Play Sunday at K.C.

Brandon Marshall
Brandon Marshall

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Broncos top tackler Brandon Marshall says he expects to play Sunday night at Kansas City after clearing concussion protocol and practicing in full Friday.

Marshall was knocked out of last week’s win over the Dolphins when he ran into 6-foot-4, 265-pound tight end Dion Simms on T.J. Ward’s interception return.

Simms was unfazed while Marshall was wobbly and walked off the field with assistance.

Marshall said he was confident he’d clear the league’s concussion protocol this week “because honestly, it wasn’t that bad. Right after the game I could drive.”

This was the first concussion of Marshall’s career.

Marshall is officially listed as probable. Aqib Talib (hamstring) is 50-50. Three players are out: Kayvon Webster (shoulder), Ronnie Hillman (foot) and Montee Ball (groin).

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