Four Lincoln County girls basketball teams are ranked in the latest batch of prep hoops polls released by the Omaha World-Herald, the first polls of the regular season. In Class C2, the St. Patrick’s Lady Irish moved up one spot to second on the strength of their 10-1 start. The Hershey Lady Panthers, who are 8-3, fell five spots to seventh in the same poll. In Class D1, Sutherland is down three spots to 10^th, with a 9-2 overall mark. And the Brady Lady Eagles have moved up four spots to fifth in the Class D2 poll thanks to their 10-1 record.

Nebraska junior center Adrianna Maurer has decided to end her playing career. The 6’3” Maurer suffered a back injury last season that cost her all but 10 games of her sophomore campaign and underwent major surgery this summer. She appeared in nine games this season, but the back injury recurred. Huskers head coach Connie Yori said in a statement that it was not in Maurer’s best interests to continue playing. Maurer will remain a student at the university.

The Denver Broncos are hoping their first-round bye allows them to enter their Divisional Playoff matchup against the Baltimore Ravens in much better shape health-wise. They expect to have their offensive line together intact for just the sixth time this season, with the return from injury of right guard Chris Kuper. Kuper missed the last four games of the regular season after aggravating a left ankle injury that kept him out for two games earlier in the season. Left tackle Ryan Clady took last week off of practices to heal an undisclosed injury, and is expected to be ready for Saturday’s game as well. Running back Willis McGahee may also return to practice this week, though he wouldn’t be ready to return unless the Broncos advance to the AFC Championship Game. The Broncos and Ravens face off Saturday afternoon in Denver.

The Husker men’s basketball team dropped to 0-2 in Big Ten play with a 47-41 loss to Wisconsin at the Devaney Center Sunday afternoon. In a low-scoring defensive slugfest, the Huskers went ice-cold from the field in the late stages, costing themselves a chance to open the home portion of their conference schedule in style. Nebraska led 38-37 with six minutes to play but was held to just one field goal from that point forward, a Brandon Ubel three-pointer with one minute left. Three Huskers finished in double figure scoring. Ray Gallegos and Dylan Talley scored 12 points apiece, and Ubel added 10 points. Ubel and Shauvon Shields led the team with eight rebounds each. The Huskers held the Badgers to just 38 percent shooting, but shot just 37 percent themselves. Nebraska falls to 9-6 overall with the loss. They’re back on the hardwood Wednesday night, traveling to face unbeaten and second-ranked Michigan.

A pair of prep defensive tackles committed to Nebraska over the weekend. First, Kevin Maurice, a 6’3”, 280-pounder out of Orlando, Florida, pledged to the Huskers on Friday afternoon. Maurice is rated a two-star recruit by most scouting services, but had offers and interest from several ACC programs. On Sunday, Maliek Collins gave his verbal commitment to the Big Red. Collins is a three-star recruit out of Kansas City Center High School in Missouri. The 6’2”, 285 pounder had offers from Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas, among others. With the signings of Maurice and Collins, the Huskers have 19 players committed to their recruiting class of 2013. They are the first defensive tackles to join the class. Nebraska was thin at the position last season and loses three-year starter Baker Steinkuhler.

The Denver Nuggets won their second game in as many nights, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 112-105 at the Staples Center. Danilo Gallinari’s three-pointer with 13 seconds to play was the dagger as the Nuggets staved off a late Laker rally. Both of Denver’s point guards had double-doubles in the game – Ty Lawson scored 21 points and added 10 assists, and Andre Miller had 12 points and 10 assists. The Nuggets improve to 20-16 with the win. They host Orlando Wednesday night.

The Denver Broncos know who their opponent will be in the AFC Divisional Playoff this Saturday. The Baltimore Ravens earned the right to face the Broncos with their 24-9 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. It will be a rematch of Week 15’s meeting in Baltimore, when the Broncos rolled to a 34-17 victory that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. The Broncos are 0-1 against the Ravens in the playoffs, having lost to them in the Wild Card round in 2000. Peyton Manning is 2-0 against the Ravens, having beaten them in the Divisional Round while a member of the Colts in 2006 and 2009. A win would put the Broncos in their first AFC Championship Game since the 2005 season. ESPN Radio 1410 will have coverage of the Broncos game on Saturday afternoon. Pregame coverage will get underway at 1:35, with the kickoff scheduled for 3:30.