Open Thread: Madness, B1G Baseball vs Michigan, Husker Women's BB in NCAA

March Madness

No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 15 New Mexico State, 11:15 a.m., CBS (central time)
No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 10 Georgia, 11:40 a.m., truTV
No. 5 Northern Iowa vs. No. 12 Wyoming, 12:40 p.m., TBS
No. 5 West Virginia vs. No. 12 Buffalo, 1:10 p.m., TNT
No. 7 Wichita State vs. No. 10 Indiana, 1:45 p.m., CBS
No. 2 Virginia vs. No. 15 Belmont, 2:10 P.M., truTV
No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 13 UC Irvine, 3:10 p.m., TBS
No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 Valparaiso, 3:40 p.m., TNT
No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State, 5:50 p.m., TBS
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 Robert Morris, 6:10 p.m., CBS
No. 7 Iowa vs. No. 10 Davidson, 6:20 p.m., TNT
No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Albany, 6:27 p.m., truTV
No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 16 Coastal Carolina, 8:20 p.m., TBS
No. 8 San Diego State vs. No. 9 St. John's, 8:40 p.m., CBS
No. 2 Gonzaga vs. No 15. North Dakota State, 8:50 p.m., TNT
No. 6 Providence vs. No. 11 Dayton, 8:57 p.m., truTV

Husker Women's Basketball - NCAA First Round

No. 9 Seed Nebraska Cornhuskers (21-10, 10-8 Big Ten) vs. No. 8 Seed Syracuse Orange (21-9, 11-5 ACC)
Friday, March 20, 6:30 p.m. (Central), Colonial Life Arena (Columbia, S.C.)
TV: ESPN2 (Pam Ward, Carolyn Peck)
Live Radio: Husker Sports Network (Matt Coatney, Jeff Griesch) 107.3 FM, Lincoln; 93.3 FM, Omaha; 880 AM, Lexington
Free Live Audio: Huskers.com

Huskers Clash with Syracuse in NCAA First Round Friday

Nebraska seniors Emily Cady, Brandi Jeffery, Tear'a Laudermill and Hailie Sample made history by advancing to their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament. The seniors, who all came to Nebraska as true freshmen in the same recruiting class prior to NU's first season in the Big Ten in 2011-12, are also the first class in Husker history to produce four straight 20-win campaigns. Cady, a four-year starter from Seward, Neb., is set to tie a Nebraska record with her 132nd consecutive start. The 6-2 forward also needs just five rebounds to catch 2014 first-team All-American Jordan Hooper at No. 2 on the Nebraska career rebounds list (1,110).  Learn a bit more about Syracuse's excellent sophomore center, Briana Day. You can also check out more on Syracuse women's basketball here.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (21-10, 10-8 Big Ten)

3 - Hailie Sample - 6-1 - Sr. - F - 7.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg
23 - Emily Cady - 6-2 - Sr. - F - 12.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg
1 - Tear'a Laudermill - 5-9 - Sr. - G - 13.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg
5 - Natalie Romeo - 5-7 - Fr. - G - 8.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg
13 - Brandi Jeffery - 5-7 - Sr. - G - 7.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg
Off the Bench
33 - Rachel Theriot (OUT) - 6-0 - Jr. - G - 16.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg
22 - Allie Havers - 6-5 - So. - C - 4.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg
31 - Anya Kalenta - 6-3 - Jr. - F - 3.2 ppg, 1.4 rpg
30 - Chandler Smith - 6-0 - Fr. - G - 1.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg
34 - Jasmine Cincore - 5-8 - Fr. - G - 1.3 ppg, 0.2 rpg
12 - Emily Wood - 5-5 - Fr. - G - 0.2 ppg, 0.5 rpg
11 - Esther Ramacieri - 5-8 - So. - G - 0.1 ppg, 0.5 rpg
50 - Darrien Washington - 6-2 - Fr. - F - Redshirting
Head Coach: Connie Yori (Creighton, 1986) 
13th Season at NU (262-152); 25th Season Overall (457-292)

Syracuse Orange (21-9, 11-5 ACC)
1 - Alexis Peterson - 5-7 - So. - G - 15.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg
11 - Cornelia Fondren - 5-8 - Jr. - G - 7.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg
13 - Brianna Butler - 5-11 - Jr. - G - 13.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg
10 - Isabella Slim - 6-0 - So. - F - 1.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg
50 - Briana Day - 6-4 - So. - C - 9.8 ppg, 10.6 rpg
Off the Bench
0 - Diamond Henderson (OUT) - 5-6 - Sr. - G - 10.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg
22 - Taylor Ford - 6-0 - Jr. - F - 6.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg
4 - Maggie Morrison - 5-8 - Sr. - G - 2.8 ppg, 1.1 rpg
55 - Bria Day - 6-4 - So. - F - 1.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg
44 - Amber Witherspoon - 6-4 - Fr. - C - 0.5 ppg, 1.1 rpg
21 - Danielle Minott - 5-8 - Fr. - G - 1.4 ppg, 1.0 rpg
Head Coach: Quentin Hillsman (St. Mary's, Md., 1993)
8th Season at Syracuse (167-99); 8th Season Overall (167-99)

Husker Baseball Opens Big Ten Play Against Michigan

Hoping to extend their seven game winning streak, Nebraska plays the first of a three-game series with Michigan with the first pitch at 6:35. Jon's Flakes article this morning had a nice breakdown of current Big Ten baseball standings.

Nebraska leads the all-time series with the Wolverines, 8-7. The two teams last met in the 2014 Big Ten Tournament in Omaha, Nebraska, with the Cornhuskers coming out on top, 6-1.  Wolverine Senior Jackson Glines leads the Big Ten and is fourth in the nation in batting average (.475) while leading the conference in on-base percentage (.569) and hits and is sixth in the conference in walks (11).

Overall, Michigan's offense ranks ahead of the Husker in quite a few categories: hits (197), doubles (40), batting average (.302), on-base percentage (.384) and RBI (107). Having played one more game than Michigan, Nebraska has 174 hits with a team batting average of .272.  The Huskers get on base at a .338 clip and have  79 RBI's.

On the mound and on defense the advantage goes to the Huskers as U-M is sixth in ERA (3.32) 7). Michigan is eighth with a .970 fielding percentage. Michigan ranks 6th in team pitching with a 3.32 ERA.  Nebraska is second in the B1G with a .980 fielding percentage and ranks 4th in team pitching (2.64 ERA). Nebraska will start senior Chance Sinclair on Friday night. Sinclair has a 2-3 record with a 4.40 earned-run average in five starts. Lefty Kyle Kubat is 3-0 with a 1.69 ERA and will make the start on Saturday.

The Husker offense has been off to a sluggish start this season. Injuries and illness have played a small role, as has Coach Erstad's desire to get his talented reserves some playing time; however the offense is going to have to become more consistent and prolific in order for this team to reach its goals.

Jackrabbits in the NIT

If you made it all the way down here - kudos to you. Since we don't have a Husker men's team to cheer for in the postseason, I have appointed the South Dakota State Jackrabbits as our replacement.

Ranchbabe's alma mater is a #8 seed in the men's NIT tournament. On Wednesday, they took down the #1 seed Colorado State Rams and face #5 Vanderbilt at 8:30 pm on ESPNU. Who wouldn't love to see our Dakotan neighbors taken down an SEC team? Yes, I realize this is basketball, but it still counts, right?

Enjoy your Friday afternoon open thread and Go Big Red!