Sadler fired as Nebraska basketball coach

LINCOLN, Neb., March 9 (UPI) -- Doc Sadler was relieved of duties as men's basketball coach at Nebraska, Cornhuskers Athletic Director Tom Osborne said Friday.

Nebraska was beaten 79-61 by Purdue in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday, dropping the Cornhuskers to 12-18 on the year. Nebraska was 4-14 in conference play.

"I appreciate all of the efforts of Doc Sadler and his coaching staff," Osborne said. "Doc has worked hard, has great integrity and has been nothing but positive through a difficult season.

"Unfortunately, I feel the program has lost momentum, which makes recruiting and fan support more problematic, thus the change."

Sadler, 51, coached at Nebraska for six seasons, compiling a 101-89 record. The team never finished higher than seventh in their conference. The Cornhuskers tied Penn State for last in the Big Ten this season, their first in the conference.

Prior to taking the job at Nebraska, Sadler was at Texas-El Paso for two seasons putting together a 47-16 record.

He was the second Big Ten coach fired Friday. Illinois said it was replacing Bruce Weber, who had led the team for nine seasons, as men's basketball coach.