Game Time: Wednesday, Feb 22th, 2012 5:30 pm @ Purdue

Follow the game in the forum game thread

This is going to be a tough task to swallow for the Huskers

Huskers on TV/Radio/Internet

Television: Big Ten Network
(Ch. 610 on DirecTV; Chs. 439, 9500 on DISH; Chs. 24 and 333-SH, 1333-HD on Time Warner Cable; Chs. 80 SD, 1080-HD on Cox Cable)
Play-by-Play:  Eric Collins
Color: Dan Bonner

Internet: BTN.com

Radio: IMG Husker Sports Radio Network (including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln; KFAB 1110 AM in Omaha; KRVN 880 AM in Lexington)
Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka
Color: Matt Davison

Internet Radio/Stats: Google it dude
Satellite Radio: XM 190, Sirius 92

	Game Notes vs. Purdue
	Live Audio

Mascot: Boilermaker
Shirt color not to wear: Old Gold and Black

Opposing player to watch:  Robbie Hummel

Purdue had a great season last year led by a couple of future NBA draft picks in JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore ending with a 26-8 record in the 2nd round of the tourney.  It’s possible they might have gone further had Hummel not torn his ACL during the preseason.  RH has made a full recovery and is now leading the team in scoring and rebounds.  At 6-8 the senior is also one of the tallest Boilermakers on the team.

Opposing player to watch:  Lewis Jackson

The leading assist man for the Boilers is not only the second leading scorer on the team but also noted as being one of the best defenders in the conference.  Bo Spencer just dropped 27 on an Illinois team not caring on defense.  Is he going to be reduced to taking low percentage NBA 3ptrs in this game?

Opposing player to watch:  Ryne Smith

The other senior in Purdue’s starting lineup, Smith is a fairly proficient 3 pt shooter currently hitting at a 41.5% clip.  While not the best long range shooter on the team, Smith has the green light and leads the team in attempts behind the arc.  Current 3pt% leader D.J. Bird is coming off a one game suspension for allegedly assaulting a bouncer while former starter Kelsey Barlow is simply off the team.

Time for a crossroads?

While highly unlikely, there is nothing like a big time home win to give you the realization that the Huskers could still play themselves into the NIT if they can start winning games.  While Purdue might be down a couple of players they have, minus a blowout loss to Penn State, been taking out the teams they’re supposed to beat…..which would define Nebraska.  Purdue is a fairly small team…trotting out no one over 6-8 which bodes well for the Huskers.  What doesn’t bode well is the fact that Purdue is one of the best teams in terms of stealing the ball and generating turnovers.  If Doc has been saving up Brandon for something, this might be the game to roll him out for 40 minutes.

Purdue has an ok team this year…not great but probably on their way to the tourney. Winning this game and a future Penn State home game would guarantee at least a .500 record in the toughest conference in the league.  Unless the Boilermakers over look Nebraska or we’re experiencing a Husker team that was simply “trying to hard” for the first 13 conference games, this should be a double digit win for the Boilers.  Once again, please prove us wrong.

Prediction:  Purdue 70 – Nebraska 59

Explaining The Grades:

Near Flawless	Poor
Good	Awful
Average

OFFENSE:

Nebraska shot 56% from the field, including an impressive 50% (10-20) from downtown. The Huskers scored 80 and had they wanted to, could have pushed the 86-88 range by leaving their key players in a bit longer.

Nebraska looked loose today offensively, which is something we haven’t seen much this year. The ball zipped around the floor to open shooters who in turn, buried open shots. The Huskers did a GREAT job at getting baskets in transition and many times, found easy layups after Illini defenders fell asleep.

Bo Spencer was extremely efficient, going 9-11 (5-7 from downtown) for 27 points. He also made his “daily alley oop pass” to Caleb Walker for a dunk that SHOULD be on Sports Center’s Top 10 Plays of the Day. Please tweet them and get Husker Hoops some love!

Only negative, how the freshman (namely Hilliard) finished this one, in a bit of a sloppy and selfish way.

DEFENSE:

About seven minutes in, after having their man to man defense shredded for open look after open look, the Huskers got into a zone and from that point forward, literally DECIMATED Illinois. The Illini shot just 40% from the field for the game, and the Huskers had a run of 36-4 at one point based on Illinois scoring only two baskets in about eleven minutes. That is stunningly good defense.

REBOUNDING:

Nebraska kept Illinois off of the offensive glass (only five second chance boards by Illinois). Really, only one offensive rebound was allowed that led to an easy basket, and that was in the first six minutes of the game (Illinois’ 13th and 14th points, I believe, on a non-box out by Dylan Talley).

The Huskers out boarded Illinois overall by a margin of 33-27.

BALL HANDLING:

Only Bo Spencer had more than one turnover for the Huskers, and he had five.

Otherwise, for the game, Nebraska nearly doubled assists to turnovers (19 to 10) and did a terrific job of running the floor and making Illinois pay for its lack of transition defense.

COACHING:

Nebraska REALLY laid the wood shed to Illinois in the second half, but its the first half I want to talk about and give Doc props for.

First of all, as we mentioned above, he made a great defensive switch about eight minutes in when he went to the zone and curtailed the Illinois offense. To that point, it looked like it would be a long day for Nebraska.

Then, there were a couple of times out of timeouts, where Doc switched back into a man to man right after, so that the play Bruce Weber drew up would not work.

Also, what was most impressive to me in the first half was Doc’s use of Brandon Ubel and Toney McCray.

McCray got two early fouls and Ubel had one, so you had that “oh crap” in the back of your head without Jorge Brian Diaz.

Well, Doc pulled out McCray for Fox around the 14:00 mark and finally, Ubel got his first rest at around the 10:00 mark and at first, you thought, “okay, he’ll bring him back at the under 8:00 timeout.” However, Fox and Niemann were on the floor during a nice run, and at the under 8:00 timeout, Doc smartly brought in Toney McCray for Mike Fox, who had played nearly seven straight minutes.

From the 8:00 to under 4:00, the Huskers played even better, so Ubel was able to stay out of the game until the under 4:00. And, McCray was able to avoid his third foul.

This is when I really applaud Doc. At the 3:35 mark, out of the under 4:00 timeout, he took out McCray for Fox, so McCray wouldn’t pick up a cheap third foul. And, he went back to Ubel for the final few minutes, thus limiting his minutes and chances of a second foul while also resting him so he could go seventeen minutes in the second half if he needed to.

Smart, smart coaching, for a guy whose been blasted this year. Makes you wonder, if he made adjustments so quickly in this game defensively, why didn’t he do so in a game in Evanston, Illinois, just two weeks ago, before halftime? Mind blowing.

My theory? He has no pressure on him now. He knows its over, so he’s able to relax and be the same Doc we used to know and love.

I believe pressure and angst change people and make them forget who they were and what made them good. They panic and lose focus and demeanor.

And it seemed like NU played a lot more loose today, too, and perhaps that’s why so many shots were pouring in. They seemed to just play in a “free spirited way,” if that makes sense. A “what the hell, we have nothing to lose” mode.

OVERALL GRADE:

Who would have ever thunk that Nebraska would give Bruce Weber a 23 point loss (tying the worst during his tenure) AND get straight “A’s” on this report card?

These kids deserve it and I’m happy for them.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:  Bo Spencer

SEASON TOTALS:

Bo Spencer – 7

Brandon Richardson- 6

Toney McCray – 5

Jorge Brian Diaz – 3

Dylan Talley – 2

Brandon Ubel – 1

Josiah Moore – 1

Game Time: Saturday, Feb 18th, 2012 4:00 pm @ The BoB

Follow the game in the forum game thread

Huskers on TV/Radio/Internet

Television: Big Ten Network
(Ch. 610 on DirecTV; Chs. 439, 9500 on DISH; Chs. 24 and 333-SH, 1333-HD on Time Warner Cable; Chs. 80 SD, 1080-HD on Cox Cable)
Play-by-Play:  Kevin Kugler
Color: Jim Jackson

Internet: BTN.com

Radio: IMG Husker Sports Radio Network (including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln; KFAB 1110 AM in Omaha; KRVN 880 AM in Lexington)
Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka
Color: Matt Davison

Internet Radio/Stats: Google it dude
Satellite Radio: XM 193, Sirius 113

	Game Notes vs. Illinois
	Live Audio

Mascot: Fighting Illini
Shirt color not to wear: Orange

Opposing player to watch:  Joseph Bertrand

Last time against the Huskers Bertrand went crazy, running the same play over and over again down the middle of the paint for 25 points.  More than likely he won’t be able to duplicate but who is the guy who is going to go off on the Huskers?

This is getting ugly

Given that both teams haven’t won in February, it’s not surprising that both coaches are showing up in national hot seat columns.  It would seem that the Illini have the advantage today as unlike the game in Champaign there is no Brian Jorge Diaz so there are going to be times where Meyers Leonard and the rest of the rest of the team destroy the Huskers in the paint.  However, if the Huskers can pack the paint against one of the wost 3 pt shooting teams in the league they might have a chance to pull out the upset.  Either way expect this one to be ugly in terms of shooting and scoring and let’s throw a little motivation out there by picking Illinois.  Feel free to prove us wrong.

Prediction:  Illinois 59 – Nebraska 54

Explaining The Grades:

Near Flawless	Poor
Good	Awful
Average

OFFENSE:

Nebraska BARELY hit 50 points (51) and the Huskers connected on just 39% from the field, including 6-20 from downtown (30%). The Huskers were also only able to get to the free throw line for eleven attempts. For a team that struggles to score, but is typically good at the charity stripe, NU needs to be attempting 20+ free throws a game if its to be successful.

Today, like most others during the 2011-2012 season, the Huskers had no clear plan on offense, and shot way too many three’s. The Player of the Game goes to Dylan Talley (12 points) but that says something when he was just 4-11 from the field and 1-4 from the foul line.

It says you weren’t real good today.

DEFENSE:

Nebraska allowed yet another team to get open look after open look, both from downtown and in the lane.

PSU connected on 52% for the game, including 58% from the field in the first half. The Nittany Lines also shot a proficient 39% from downtown, which for a team that is well below average out there, was way too high.

Nebraska also allowed too many of its patented wide open layups in the second half, as we’ve grown accustomed to this season.

In good developments, the Huskers held Tim Frazier to 23 after giving up 30 the first time these two teams met. Hey, I’m trying to find SOMETHING good!

REBOUNDING:

Nebraska allowed only four offensive rebounds, which is good for a team that attacks the glass as hard as the Nittany Lions do.

However, when you hardly miss, it doesn’t give you a lot of opportunities for offensive boards, either.

Conversly, Nebraska had plenty of chances for offensive rebounds but also grabbed just four.

For the night, PSU out boarded the Huskers by 9 (30 to 21).

BALL HANDLING:

Only 11 turnovers on the road is good.

COACHING:

We got bitch slapped by 16 points at the hands of the pre-season 12th placed team (real life 11th place team) in the Big 10.

Chances are, PSU will win one more game and hit 4.

Chances are, we won’t, and will finish with 3.

That, my friends, is depressing.

OVERALL GRADE:

Six more of these is all. Thank God.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:  Dylan Talley

SEASON TOTALS:

Bo Spencer – 6

Brandon Richardson- 6

Toney McCray – 5

Jorge Brian Diaz – 3

Dylan Talley – 2

Brandon Ubel – 1

Josiah Moore – 1

Game Time: Tuesday, Feb 11th, 2012 12:00 pm @ Penn State

Follow the game in the forum game thread

The Huskers have been beaten at home but have a chance to match their road win total from 2009

Huskers on TV/Radio/Internet

Television: ESPNU (DirecTV Ch. 208, Dish Ch. 141, Ch. 235 on Time Warner Cable; Ch. 220 on Cox Cable)
Play-by-Play:  Mark Brown
Color: Tim McCormick

Internet: BTN.com

Radio: IMG Husker Sports Radio Network (including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln; KFAB 1110 AM in Omaha; KRVN 880 AM in Lexington)
Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka
Color: Matt Davison

Internet Radio/Stats: Google it dude
Satellite Radio: XM 193, Sirius 113

	Game Notes vs. Penn State
	Live Audio

Mascot: Nittany 
Shirt color not to wear: Navy Blue/Blue/Cougar gear

Opposing player to watch:  Tim Frazier

Last time Frazier faced the Huskers he torched the team for a career high 30 points.  He’s also putting up points against the rest of the BiG so “shutting him down” really hasn’t happened.  While you might be tempted to focus all of your defensive effort on Frazier really you need to make sure he doesn’t get the rest of the team involved.  In other words, make Frazier take bad shots (he will) and don’t double team at the expense of a teammate rolling for an easy layup

Blood in the water

The last time the Huskers had a game before a 10 day break they came back against Iowa and for a week all was good in Huskerland.  Since that time they’ve weathered a painful 3 game losing streak, the loss of their only inside scoring presence, and the local media gearing up to call for Doc’s head.

Thus, playing against Penn State once again comes at an opportune time.  Last time the Huskers faced the Nittany Lions they had just lost their first four BiG games and desperately needed a win.  This time it’s going to be a little harder with Diaz and against a Penn State team who plays a bit better at home.  Both teams are pretty awful at shooting and scoring so it’s going to come down to whoever can come up biggest in the last four minutes.  While the Husker’s season won’t be saved by beating Penn State today, it’s not like it the end of the world either.

Prediction:  Huskers 54 – Penn St 50

Explaining The Grades:

Near Flawless	Poor
Good	Awful
Average

OFFENSE:

Two points in the first 7:59, 15 points at the half. Two points in the first 5:08 of the second. Twenty-one percent in the first half, 39% for the game. 46 points, but sixteen points in the last three minutes to make it look better than it was.

Brandon Richardson’s seven points in the first half was the only thing that kept the Huskers in the game in the first half. He gets the player of the game honors because he kept the Huskers competitive when Michigan was struggling. After the half, nothing of consequence was accomplished.

DEFENSE:

Holding the Wolverines to 32% in the first half kept the Huskers from being out of the game after 20 minutes, but chalk that up to Tim Hardaway Jr. going 0 for 7 in the first period. They gave up in the second half, surrendering a ton of open looks in the paint and allowing Hardaway to break out of his slump and surrendering 9 points to Matt Vogrich a 1.8 ppg scorer this season.

REBOUNDING:

Huskers led in rebounds 27 to 20 with 8 offensive boards, but the inability to make baskets gave them more chances for boards. Ubel pulled down 9 rebounds.

BALL HANDLING:

Poor shooting killed the Huskers tonight, but the turnovers prevented the Huskers from making any run at Michigan when they were also struggling to score.  The Huskers travelling, charges, and poor court awareness just made the game uglier.

COACHING:

Tried a little zone, played one freshman when the game was still in question (a little)  but other than that, there just seemed to be no effort to shake things up and find an answer to a Michigan team that has some talent but is not as good as the Huskers made them look in the second half.

OVERALL GRADE:

Not much to say, just another nail in the pine box of this season.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:  Brandon Richardson

SEASON TOTALS:

Bo Spencer – 6

Brandon Richardson- 6

Toney McCray – 5

Jorge Brian Diaz – 3

Brandon Ubel – 1

Dylan Talley – 1

Josiah Moore – 1

Explaining The Grades:

Near Flawless	Poor
Good	Awful
Average

OFFENSE:

The Huskers were fairly efficient in the first half, and had they not missed a couple of “bunnies,” they would have reached 37-39 points. Though I suppose you could also say NU was pretty fortunate to get that three at the buzzer, so it probably evens out.

I want to talk about that play because I want to give B-Rich HUGE props for recognizing that at the end of half number one, the clock DOES NOT STOP after a basket. I see so many players who seem clueless about this and take their jolly time inbounding the ball. Brandon was all over it and made a nice baseball pass to Caleb for that shot. Headsy play.

Nebraska was pitiful in the second half. Lower than an “F”. They had thirteen points scored at the 5 minute mark of the second half, and something like six at the 8 minute mark.

Bo Spencer appeared to be either sick or disinterested for much of the game. His stats (18 points, 5 assists) were bloated by “scrapping the offense” at the end and Minnesota kind of going to a “prevent” to make sure they didn’t foul. But there was one notable time in the first half where he had a WIDE OPEN three that he didn’t take, and a couple others where it appeared away from the ball, he wasn’t working hard.

WAY TOO MUCH DRIBBLING with nothing going on in the second half.

DEFENSE:

Just like offense, Nebraska played GOOD defense in the first half. Yet in the second half, Minnesota got a dunk or lay up on about 75% of their possessions in the final five minutes, en route to 54% shooting from the field.

Also, Nebraska allowed FORTY bench points from the Golden Gophers. That’s right, FORTY bench points.

Nebraska’s press was very Mickey Mouse at the end and all of the defensive intensity of the first 25 minutes of this game seemed to dwindle in the closing moments.

REBOUNDING:

Second chance points KILLED Nebraska today, and the Huskers were out boarded 29 to 20.

Blah blah blah, the Huskers don’t have Diaz or Andre “NBA ready” Almeida.

However, Minnesota doesn’t have their LEGITIMATE First Team All-Big Ten post, either. Adjust.

BALL HANDLING:

13 turnovers, not bad. However, a TON in the first half that along with missed bunnies, took Nebraska out of a position to have a commanding lead. The box score for some reason doesn’t have “points off of turnovers” in the version I’m looking at, so I can’t put that score, but I’m willing to bet it was quite a few, especially in half number one.

COACHING:

The second half was pathetic. The team appeared flustered and unnerved. What’s worse, nobody in the building really seemed to care, players included.

OVERALL GRADE:

Nebaska has now lost SIX games at home, in year SIX of Doc Sadler, with SIX upperclass scholarship players appearing in todays tilt against a “Last Four In” or “Last Four Out” team playing without its potential All-American player. Minnesota is a mediocre team; we, are NOT. I don’t want to hear the term ‘mediocre’ anymore because its not fair to mediocre teams. We are not close to that.

This is Doc Sadler’s “best team,” and we’ll be lucky to win two more games (home for Iowa, at PSU), with or without Jorge Brian Diaz.

That, folks, is not good. Not good at all.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Bo Spencer

SEASON TOTALS:

Bo Spencer – 6

Brandon Richardson- 5

Toney McCray – 5

Jorge Brian Diaz – 3

Brandon Ubel – 1

Dylan Talley – 1

Josiah Moore – 1

Game Time: Tuesday, Feb 5th, 2012 12:00 pm @ the Bob

Follow the game in the forum game thread

Let's go crazy!

Huskers on TV/Radio/Internet

Television: Big Ten Network (Ch. 610 on DirecTV; Chs. 439, 9500 on DISH; Chs. 24 and 333-SH, 1333-HD on Time Warner Cable; Chs. 80 SD, 1080-HD on Cox Cable)
Play-by-Play:  Tom Hart
Color: Keno Davis

Internet: BTN.com

Radio: IMG Husker Sports Radio Network (including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln; KFAB 1110 AM in Omaha; KRVN 880 AM in Lexington)
Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka
Color: Matt Davison

Internet Radio/Stats: Google it dude
Satellite Radio: XM 191, Sirius 92

	Game Notes vs. Minnesota
	Live Audio

Mascot: Golden Gophers
Shirt color not to wear: Yellow/Gold/Caddyshack gear

Opposing player to watch:  Elliot Eliason

No other opposing 10th man in the BiG will receive as much press this year as Nebraska native Eliason.  The redshirt freshman has been logging 14 minutes a game and helping to ease the loss of Trevor Mbakwe. However, don’t expect a warm welcome at the Devaney today because given the lack of Division I players coming out of the state it’s pretty easy to keep track of who has turned down a scholarship from the Huskers.

Opposing player to watch:  Rodney Williams

The Gophers aren’t afraid to let everyone play as they constantly shuffle players in and out of the lineup trying to wear you down.  Williams is the only player averaging over 30 minutes a game as the 6-7 Junior is the best shooter and rebounder on the team.  If the game is close don’t expect him to be on the court as Rodney is making just over half of his free throws on the year.

Who will win the turnover game?

Coming back from Northwestern where the Wildcats torched the Huskers from the 3pt line the Huskers will be able to deploy the same game plan against a Gopher’s offense who scores the majority of their points in the paint and use their switching defense against the screens and passes of Minnesota.  However, will the Huskers be able to protect the ball against Minnesota’s pressure?

This will more than likely be a close game at the end and if you check the stats, the team who wins the turnover and fast break points battle is the one that will pull out the victory in Lincoln.  Look for it to be the Huskers today.

Prediction:  Huskers 64 – Golden Gophers 60 with a 20% chance of Free Runzas

Explaining The Grades:

Near Flawless	Poor
Good	Awful
Average

OFFENSE:

Nebraska earned a “B” in this game for “bi-polar.”

In the first half, the Huskers scored just 26 points en route to 40% shooting and only three free throw attempts. Honestly, this was more because of lack of execution than Northwestern’s defense. Had Nebraska hit some open jumpers they would have been in the 33-35 point range, which is definitely acceptable.

In the second half, Nebraska was en fuego, making nine of their first ten field goal attempts and finishing the half at 62%, including 54% from downtown. Nebraska also doubled their free throw output, getting to the line six times, though that’s still not enough.

Bo Spencer put in a game high 24 points, but he gave back 8-10 of them on turnovers and played one of the worst first halves I’ve seen out of a Nebraska point guard in many, many years. Just awful in half number one, with 6 turnovers and only 5 points.

Toney McCray is our Player of the Game for his 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 0 turnovers in 32 minutes.

DEFENSE:

Nebraska was spectacularly bad defensively in this game, especially in the first half, thanks to a GENIUS coaching display by Doc Sadler.

Honestly, I think it was a bad game plan in the first place, to “pack the lane, take away back cuts and give Northwestern the outside shots.” I doubt it was quite as bad as the announcers kept saying, because I certainly don’t think Doc just wanted the Wildcats to get open three’s.

However, his defensive game plan of sagging and setting up around four feet under the three point line left the Wildcats with open look after open look. In fact, out of Northwestern’s TEN first half three pointers (out of 21), NINE were WIDE FREAKING OPEN. NINE OF TEN, WIDE OPEN.

Doc knows much more about basketball than me, so even if his game plan was sound, FREAKING DITCH IT BY THE UNDER TWELVE MEDIA TIMEOUT. That’s what Northwestern did in the second half when we were lighting up the 1-3-1 zone. We didn’t see it from about the 12 minute mark until the 2 minute mark, and our scoring slowed down from that point forward.

Doc was absolutely embarassing tonight. We had a week to prepare for this game, Northwestern has virtually ZERO post presence and yet, we sit back and allow open shot after open shot after open shot without adjusting our defense until halftime.

Enjoy that $2.5 million dollars coming your way Doc, and I’ll enjoy waiting another three years for the next guy to turn it around while being pushed further from the court in the new arena, having less atmosphere and having the genius that is Marc Boehm in charge of the basketball program during arguably the most crucial time in school history.

Life couldn’t be better!

REBOUNDING:

The Huskers were fine rebounding the ball. Both teams shot lights out so its tough to judge this one. For the game, Northwestern out boarded NU by two (29 to 27) while grabbing 11 offensive boards. That’s a bit high, which is why its a “C.”

BALL HANDLING:

As aforementioned, Spencer had 8 of the 14 NU turnovers in this one, and Dylan Talley appeared he’d never seen a 1-3-1 zone in his life. I did, however, enjoy his pump fakes after he’d given up his trouble, 35 feet from the hoop. Very constructive and I’m glad our mastermind coach decided he should play 27 minutes over Caleb Walker, who was the unsung hero of this game and played only 23.

Walker was 3-4 from the field for 6 points, had 3 assists and 1 turnover. He defended well in this game and the hi-low him and Brandon Ubel had going at the beginning of the second half worked well.

However, we felt the need to go with Talley for 27 minutes.

That’s okay, we’ve got another rejected former Pitt coach with connections to Pederson and Boehm coming next year. I’m sure that’ll end well.

COACHING:

This game was ALMOST as bad as the WORST coached Divison I game I’ve ever seen, which was last years home loss to Iowa State. That game was butchered more than a chicken in a slaughter house.

We had a week to prepare for this team and came up with that piss poor defensive game plan.

We took TWENTY FREAKING MINUTES to adjust. TWENTY. Only took ONE first half timeout.

We played our 3rd best player in this game (Walker) for only 23 minutes, while we had a robotic 27 minutes out of Talley.

We played in a high school gym, in front of 5,239 diehard, nutty fans, and still couldn’t win.

We played a team with no post presence and decided to leave them wide open from downtown.

We have three scholarship freshman on our bench that we’ll be relying on big next year, except that two of the three will transfer once Doc is fired.

This is pathetic and unacceptable.

The way Doc has been coaching in recent months makes Barry Collier’s last two years look like the UCLA dynasty under John Wooden.

OVERALL GRADE:

No more to say.

Hope Doc enjoys the nice buyout.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Toney McCray

SEASON TOTALS:

Bo Spencer – 5

Brandon Richardson – 5

Toney McCray – 5

Jorge Brian Diaz – 3

Brandon Ubel – 1

Dylan Talley – 1

Josiah Moore – 1

Explaining The Grades:

Near Flawless	Poor
Good	Awful
Average

OFFENSE:

Nebraska started hot and finished hot in this one, including 48 points on 54% shooting in the second half, en route to an impressive 79 points.

The Huskers saw the best game of Brandon Richardson’s life, as the 6’1″ senior poured in a career high 25 points on 9-10 shooting (6-7 from downtown) while grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists. For good measure, B-Rich had two steals and turned the ball over only once.

This was the biggest statement “Player of the Game” we’ve seen this year. As in, it was the first real time I totally remember a player “willing the Huskers,” almost single handedly, to win. Sure, Bo Spencer had some similar games earlier in the year, but not on the road and not in conference play, and not all around like this. I can’t say enough about how proud I am of B-Rich or how he played.

Now, let’s give some credit where its due, too. Spencer had a VERY NICE night, finishing with 16 points, and I thought Caleb Walker played big in the opening portions of the game (finishing with 8 points).

Dylan Talley also played clutch, hitting two HUGE shots in the final two minutes of the game.

While Nebraska DID look bad for about five minutes offensively, I believe the Huskers played about the best game of the year in the other 35 minutes.

DEFENSE:

Nebraska looked very poor defensively in the first half, and even into a bit of the second half. The Huskers allowed WAY TOO MUCH penetration and WAY TOO MANY wide open three’s. That has been the norm (not to be confused with our Norm, Norm Peterson) for the majority of this year.

However, GREAT MOVE to go to that 2-3 zone in the second half. Doc gave credit to Coach Flanigan but either way, whoever called it, great move.

Nebraska played hard and you could tell they actually were TAKING PRIDE in their defense again down the stretch. It was obvious. This reminded me of EARLY Doc teams, in the first three to four years. They took pride in their “D.” Am I the only one who thinks this team, and last years team, have NEVER really consisitently taken PRIDE in the “D”? I think defense is largely an attitude.

REBOUNDING:

Nebraska was FANTASTIC on the boards tonight, sans a couple of big offensive rebounds and dunks/layups Iowa got in the first half, when NU decided to be a spectator rather than box out.

For the night, the Huskers dominated Iowa, out boarding the Hawkeyes (34 to 27) while pounding the offensive glass to the tune of 12 rebounds, including a GIGANTIC ONE by Brandon Ubel in the final 40 seconds.

I want to give props to Toney McCray for his toughness on the glass. He is undersized down there and playing the “4″ out of necessity. He has a great attitude and plays hard, especially on the boards.

Great job T-Mac.

BALL HANDLING:

This report card is like a broken record but again, other than a couple of AWFUL entry angles (that’s what she said) in the first half, which resulted in buckets at the other end, Nebraska played pretty flawlessly with the ball. 11 turnovers, on the road, WILL get it done in many occasions, such as tonight.

COACHING:

The bad?

A shot clock violation out of a timeout.

Again, I’ll harp on this and be consistent, but Mike Fox playing. Problem. Period. Why? Because we lose four seniors this year and we have THREE scholarship freshman on the bench, two of whom could play spot minutes in the same way Fox does (AKA undersized, out of position).

The good?

Defensive adjustments. Were FANTASTIC. Defensive intensity, down the stretch. GREAT. Offense – shot the ball well and seemed to have a pretty good understanding of what we were trying to accomplish all night.

The great?

A HUGE road win and a huge “Eff You” to Gessel.

OVERALL GRADE:

Nebraska got it done, in a big way.

They were tougher than Iowa and for the third time this year, came back from more than 11 points for a victory (at TCU, Indiania, tonight).

Let’s enjoy this game and take ONE GAME AT A TIME. Our players now get a couple of days off the next week to hopefuly, rest and recover and get a little healthier. Then, its the stretch run, where the Huskers have a chance to build on this and have a nice little run to end the season.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Brandon Richardson

SEASON TOTALS:

Bo Spencer – 5

Brandon Richardson – 5

Toney McCray – 4 

Jorge Brian Diaz – 3

Brandon Ubel – 1

Dylan Talley – 1

Josiah Moore – 1