art (sprained ankle). They cut R.J. Hunter and draft pick Ben Bentil, keeping James Young, and they also signed 6-foot-11 Ryan Kelly, who starts the season wi

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska led overmatched University of Mary by 10 points less than five minutes into the game Tuesday on its way to a 70-38 win in a game that gave the Huskers bench the opportunity to play more than half the minutes.That was key for a team that has only five experienced players on the roster, all of whom start.It was good for them to get a feel for what the game is like, said Michael Jacobsen, who led the Huskers with 10 points. Weve been practicing for about two months now. Its hard when you go against each other so much. ... In the game its a totally different feel. I think its good for them to get their minutes and just figure out their roles.All five of Nebraskas non-starters played at least 20 minutes and combined for 30 points with each making at least a field goal. That was a marked improvement from Sundays home opener against Sacramento State in which the Nebraska bench made just two field goals and contributed only nine points.It was really, really important, said Isaiah Roby, who came off the bench to score seven points in 24 minutes. Obviously, we have to execute stuff against other people and also just getting tired. All of us were dripping sweat. ... He (Nebraska coach Tim Miles) kind of challenged us to step our game up tonight. We still have a lot to work on obviously ... but I think we stepped up a little bit more.Nebraska (2-0) was never challenged by the NCAA Division II school from North Dakota that is Miles alma mater. Nebraska went up by 12-2 on Jack McVeighs 3-pointer at the 15:18 mark and stretched the lead to 30-8 on another of McVeighs 3s with 5:52 left in the first half.Mary (0-3) cut the Nebraska lead to 15 on Damonta Henrys 3-pointer that opened the second half. But the Huskers quickly pushed the lead over 20, going up 41-19 on McVeighs 3-pointer with 17:37 left. Nebraskas largest lead was 32.The Marauders struggled against the Nebraska defense, hitting just 7 of 28 shots in the first half and finished 29 percent from the field. The bigger, stronger Huskers also dominated on the boards, outrebounding Mary 45-21Nebraska hit 50 percent of its shots, but committed 17 turnoversMary played in front of the largest crowd it will likely see this season (8,459). Attendance at Marauder games, home and on the road, averages about 1,000. That should work to Marys advantage, said coach Joe Kittell.Theres not going to be any atmosphere thats going to be more hostile than this, Kittell said. Our guys understand that, played in it, and it shouldnt bother us anymore. Really excited about this group, I know were zero and three right now but there are a lot of good kids out there. They want to win, they want to get better.BIG PICTURENebraska: Miles said the relatively low score and margin of victory can be attributed to Marys strategy of running down the shot clock on offense and impatience on the part of the Huskers once they finally got the ball.University of Mary: The Marauders took full advantage of a game against a Division I foe, chartering a flight to bring fans from Bismarck to Lincoln. Those who paid $289 for the trip got lunch with Nebraska football coach Mike Riley, a tour of the athletic facilities and a dinner with Nebraska baseball coach and North Dakota native Darin Erstad.UP NEXTNebraska will host Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m. Saturday, a starting time set to avoid conflict with the Nebraska-Maryland football game at 11 a.m.Mary will return to Bismarck where it will host Yellowstone Christian Monday.Bill Walton Blazers Jersey . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. Brandon Roy Blazers Jersey . And when it opened, every player was at his stall. Thats a sure sign that a team is in a slump and is searching for answers. "Its embarrassing to be at home and play the way we did," said defenceman Josh Gorges. http://www.blazersteamofficial.com/ . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. Anfernee Simons Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. C.J. McCollum Blazers Jersey . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end.BOSTON -- With expectations raised after the signing of free agent Al Horford, the Boston Celtics open the season with a home game against the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night.Thats the Nets -- the gift that just keeps on giving for the Celtics after the monster trade between the teams in 2013.Part of the reason I came here was because -- and I had a good situation in Atlanta like weve established before -- but when I looked at the guys who were here, I was like: It would be great to play with those guys, Horford said as he and his new team prepped for the opener. We can build out from there.Signing a four-year, $113 million contract that surprised the basketball world and made him the biggest free agent signing ever for the tradition-rich Celtics, Horford left his Atlanta home and also left a Hawks team that eliminated the Celtics in the first round of last years playoffs.But when he looked at Boston, he saw a team that went from 25 to 40 to 48 wins in the three years under coach Brad Stevens. He saw a team with depth. And he saw a team that even had a bright drafting future -- and that is where the Nets come in.Back in 2013, the Celtics sent aging stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn in a mega-deal that brought Boston all kinds of draft picks from what turned out to be a bad Nets team.The haul got them the No. 3 pick in the most recent draft, and the Celtics used that selection to take athlete Jaylen Brown. After this season, which doesnt figure to see the Nets suddenly spring into the playoff picture, the Celtics have the right to swap picks with Brooklyn. That would put Boston back in the lottery regardless of where the Celtics finish -- and the Celtics also have the Nets top pick in 2018.Asked about the future selections, Celtics offensive leader Isaiah Thomas shruggedd it off, saying, I worry about scoring the ball, getting my teammates involved and winning games.dddddddddddd I dont know nothing about those first-round picks. And I wasnt a first-round pick, so I dont care about first-rounders.Even without what awaits down the line as the building continues, the Celtics, still looking for their first playoff-series win under Stevens, are in the discussion regarding the second-best team in the Eastern Conference. They should at least improve on last years 48 wins.Kenny Atkinson is the new Nets coach, and he has his team firing 3-pointers, something that wont help low-post center Brook Lopez a whole lot. But that is the current plan.I think we can (make the playoffs), swingman Bojan Bogdanovic told the New York Post. They can write what they want. ... But were going to work hard to give it our best. When we get in a game, we have a chance to beat anybody. Its going to be tough, but if we play like we practice, we have a chance.Atkinson was instrumental in bringing Lin-sanity back to New York, where Jeremy Lin became a phenomenon for the Knicks and now runs the show in Brooklyn.The Celtics come into the opener without Kelly Olynyk (recovering from shoulder surgery) and Marcus Smart (sprained ankle). They cut R.J. Hunter and draft pick Ben Bentil, keeping James Young, and they also signed 6-foot-11 Ryan Kelly, who starts the season with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League.Veteran shooting guard Randy Foye will miss the opener for the Nets due to a mild hamstring pull, but Brooklyn comes in with a positive attitude.If youve got a lot of guys working hard every day, its contagious, veteran forward Luis Scola said. ' ' '