Nebraska football players gathered at midfield at the Hawks Championship Center and took a knee. They’d just completed their first spring practice, around 8 a.m., or nearly 4 hours after most had arrived Friday.

Their new leader, Scott Frost, stood at front of the semicircle. He lauded players for their effort and enthusiasm, telling them how much better prepared they were than the last time Frost and his staff had a first practice, at Central Florida. He told them hard work is what makes a Nebraska football player.

To conclude, Frost instructed his team to get “active rest” over spring break, so as they don’t lose the physical gains they’ve made over the last eight weeks, and come back ready to go.

All the while, barley an eyeball drifted away from Frost. Players zoned in on their head coach, some nodding along as he spoke.

So yes, Day One of the Scott Frost Era seemed a huge success.

“The guys took to the style of practice that we’re going to have really well,” Frost told reporters. “A lot of details still need to get fixed, but that was good effort and intensity.”

Why have one practice and then take spring break off before resuming? Because per NCAA rules, by having one practice this week, Frost was able to count this entire week as a practice week, so players and coaches could have meetings all week.

“That really got us ahead, as far as schemes on both sides of the ball,” Frost said. “I also thought it was good for these guys to get a taste of what practice was like before they went on spring break. Hopefully that will discourage a little extra curricular over spring break if they know they have to come back and work like this.”

Frost quipped that he didn’t ask players their opinions about morning practices, but that he’s a firm believer in them and is working with schedules to allow them in the fall, too.

“This is earlier than I want to go, but the schedule right now dictates that,” Frost said. “Our kids will be better football players, better students and better citizens on campus when we get our work done in the morning.”

Frost credited Jerald Foster, Mick Stoltenberg, Ben Stille and Stanley Morgan Jr. among those players who’ve assumed a leadership role. All but Stille is a senior.

“We have some older guys who have bought in, and that’s important because those have to be the guys who are holding everybody else accountable,” Frost said. “There’s nothing better as an athlete, or just as a human being, than being a part of something that’s bigger than just yourself. I think these guys are starting to understand that, and we’ll keep building it.”

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The Nebraska women’s basketball team will try to become the seventh in program history to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament when the No. 10 seed Huskers face No. 7 seed Arizona State on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the Austin, Texas, Regional.

Nebraska’s first NCAA Tournament win came from the 1993 team, coached by Angela Beck, that featured Wade Trophy winner and first-team All-American Karen Jennings. That Nebraska team defeated San Diego in the school’s only home NCAA Tournament game in history on March 17, 1993 – 25 years to the day of Nebraska’s game against Arizona State.

The Huskers have twice reached the Sweet 16, including the last time they played the NCAA Tournament in the state of Texas.

Ten of Nebraska’s 15 away games this season have come against top-65 RPI teams, with the Huskers going 6-4 record in those games  Nebraska is 11-4 overall away from home, while Arizona State is 8-9 (5-6 road, 3-3 neutral).

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Somebody – likely either Nebraska or Michigan – will be crowned Big Ten Champions in women’s gymnastics on Saturday after two separate B1G Five Meets – one at Michigan State, the other at Rutgers.

The way the Big Ten standings look now, Nebraska is the frontrunner for the Big Ten regular season title. (Score doesn’t matter this weekend in order to determine a regular season champion.) Here are few scenarios:

— Nebraska, 5-0, wins its B1G Five Meet at Michigan State, improves to 9-0 and will be crowned on site as Big Ten champions.

— Nebraska, 5-0, finishes in second in its B1G Five Meet, and finishes 8-1. If Michigan (4-1) wins its B1G Five Meet at Rutgers, it will tie Nebraska at 8-1, and the teams will share the Big Ten Regular Season title.

— Nebraska finishes second and Michigan finishes second in their respective B1G Five Meet, the Huskers win the regular season title outright with an 8-1 record, with Michigan falling to 8-2.

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The No. 2 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team looks for its fourth straight win against Penn State on Saturday at State College, Pa. The Huskers have not won four consecutive meets in the regular season since 1999.

A first-place finish would also keep the Huskers undefeated in Big Ten Conference meets.

Last weekend, Nebraska took first place at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio. The Huskers finished with a score of 404.000 over Ohio State (401.600) and Air Force (390.250).

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Nebraska’s Tyler Berger (157) and Isaiah White (165) advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland.

In addition to Berger and White, Chad Red Jr. (141), Colton McCrystal (149), Taylor Venz (184) and Eric Schultz (197) stayed alive in the consolation bracket.

Nebraska sits tied for 20th place overall with eight team points. Ohio State leads the tournament with 36 points, while Penn State is second with 28.