uneblinstu's post game chatter: ed 3, vol 6 - Kent St.

[hhcmatt]

Post game notes from UNL Media Relations

Notes:

*-Dylan Talley went over 20 points for the second time this season with a career-high 27 points (NU high was 22; career high was 25). Talley also added six rebound and three assists.

*-Brandon Ubel posted his second double-double of the season and third of his career with 17 points and a career high 13 rebounds. Ubel’s previous rebound high was 12 against Southern.

*-Mike Peltz grabbed a career high six rebounds, including four on the glass.

*-David Rivers had multiple blocks for the second time this season

*-Kent State shot a season-high 57.1 percent against NU (Previous high was 46.7 percent by UNO on Nov. 18)

Nebraska Head Coach Tim Miles

Opening statement

“Well I credit Kent State. I thought they did a great job with their offensive execution. I can question our effort all I want, but at the end of the day they made some great plays. I thought they executed really well.”

On if their switch to the zone defense slowed the offense or if it was something else

“Well we missed some shots. I think some of our guys let their offensive performance, or lack of it, affect their defensive effort. You could just see wheels turning a little bit, especially on a guy like Ray Gallegos. Andre Almeida, I thought, felt like they were spacing him out and driving him. He was just a little uncomfortable. Instead of responding with a little more edge or intensity, I think we kind of go downhill.”

On if Kent State is a team that stresses getting into the paint

“Yes, I think they did. We knew that No. 5 was going to post up a whole bunch. He was tough, and the Goodson kid was the guy who was averaging three or four points per game that they had expectations for. He got benched last game and then came out and played like gang busters. Then Ortiz comes out and hits two 3-pointers right in our mug. We just let some guys hurt us who hadn’t been doing those things. We knew Holt and we knew Evans. Those guys were going to be go-to guys, no doubt about it. I thought from the games that I’ve seen, and I’ve seen most of their games, that this was their best game and their most complete game.”

On if a team has mobile big guys if it is a concern

“At this point I’ve got a lot of concerns. Yes, obviously that’s a concern, but I question our mental readiness and I have to put that on me. I actually thought that we had practiced alright. Shavon kind of came as a late scratch but even that doesn’t matter. I thought we practiced alright and I thought that we would be ready to go. Sometimes when you’re in a break, and the guys don’t have any kind of routine, then they don’t handle it very well.”

On if he sensed tired legs toward the end or if it was more mental

“To me it was more mental. I think our guys are in really good condition. I think that (Strength) Coach Tim Wilson has done an outstanding job with them. I feel like I can play them. There are a couple of guys that I thought I should get them out quick and get them back in, but I thought we just did a poor job defending all night. And then we start the second half first five possessions with three turnovers. That led to some easy baskets for them and just momentum for them. That’s not the way to grind. We had eight straight stops in the first half and then to go into the locker room and to come out and absolutely give it back to them.”

Nebraska Guard Dylan Talley

On if it seemed like Nebraska took the momentum at the end of the half

“I felt like we were, I felt good about the game. I felt like we didn’t come out with the spark we should have in the first half, and then we came back and got into it, and then we just didn’t come out with the spark in the second half. They were on the attack all 40 minutes.

On if it is one of those nights the spark is not there

“I don’t know what it is. We are just going to have to get it together, coming to practice tomorrow and going hard, because the schedule is not getting easier. The competition stiffens up. We got to compete if we want to win. You aren’t going to win if you don’t compete for 40 minutes.”

On the teams overall defensive intensity

“As a team it wasn’t how it should have been, it wasn’t how it usually is, it is not how we practiced it. That’s on the players and me as a senior, we got to do better than that. There is no excuse to come out like that. We have to do better.”

On Kent State changing into a zone at the end of the first half

“We worked on it at practice a lot. We go against it in practice, Coach (Miles) prepared us well, so we were prepared for it. I think a lot of it was because of our defense, we didn’t have the same intensity we usually have, and we had to have if we want to win any game.”

On if Nebraska is ready for a road game

“We are ready for a road game. It is all mental, it is all mental, if we come prepared we can compete, and if we come prepared and compete for 40 minutes I think we will be okay.”

On if the team thinks they owe Wake Forest from last year

“Yeah, I feel like we owe everybody one, we got to play. We are trying to win every game we can. Every game is circled on the calendar.”

Kent State Head Coach Rob Senderoff

Opening Statement

“This was a great team effort for us, coming on the road and getting the win against a Big Ten school. We haven’t done that in a long time, and we have a pretty good program, but winning on the road against a Big Ten school doesn’t happen often for us. Great win for us and our program.”

On Chris Evans play

“Chris played really hard, and the biggest thing for us is him making sure his main focus was on winning, which it was. He made a ton of winning plays for us and made some really tough baskets. He is a good player, and he stepped up tonight and played really well.”

On if the victory tonight can be a high point going into the conference season

“Yeah for us it is something to grow on. We have a really young team, seven new players and even the returners are all in new roles except for Randal (Holt) and we have one returning starter. For us to win here, it is a great start for us, and is something we can look to when we get into conference play, and when we play tough road games.”