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Personally think this is a must win game tonight. Yeah, yeah....there is a lot of time left in the year...blah blah....but I think we need this one if we are going to have a successful season. We need this for a few reasons in my opinion. Number one for confidence. Beating the North Dakotas and Marists is certainly better than losing to the Incarnate Words, but it doesn't really do much for you mentally. A win tonight would be a nice boost of confidence for the team entering the heart of the season. Number two, it curbs the tide of a potential run of negativity. Lose tonight and we likely follow it up with two more losses. Yes, all the goals are still in front of us at 6-6, but the road is that much tougher. 10-5 entering January is a lot nicer than 9-6. Especially when that extra win is over a likely 4 seed or better in the dance. Number three....resume builder. We lose tonight and we will likely enter January with not one win over a Top 100 school/team. Losing at St Johns and UCF, can be overcome, but they took away a couple opportunities for an RPI building win. With the Big 10 looking a little down and with us getting some favorable draws with the Big 10 schedule, we won't have a ton of opportunities for high quality wins. Going 18-13 might not be enough with those considerations. Minnesota is a very good team, but not unbeatable, especially at home. We need to take advantage of the opportunity.

So, he finishes with one career steal?

I think the people who generally don't think every game is a must win game can probably discern that it's still possible to have a successful season without grabbing this win and I doubt that this particular thread is going to cause anyone on the team to feel more or less pressure. I also think a lot of us see that there is some talent on this team it has shown the ability to execute at high levels for some period of time. Since we've mostly seen us excel vs poorer team and fade vs better teams, it really seems like it's a team that is unsure of itself. Thus, when I'm hyping up this sort of game it's because I see the importance of playing a very good team in a home environment where we can vocally send some level of confidence towards this team. In the grand scheme of things we can all give our Stenson Hat tickets to our neighbors and we win that game; I don't think we sit on our hands in this one and win. Yeah, this team has looked terrible against good competition. It's also never played in front of anything close to a ruckus home crowd. Why can't this be the game where that changes?

We have a proper AD now. If we win this year, awesome and we'll roll it again with Miles. If we lose, we can count on Moos to spend money on someone who will win here. Either way this June we should be right as rain and don't get too caught up with the bumps along the way.

you called?

As with any Associate Athletic Director I look forward to wondering what the heck Matt Davison even does any time we lose.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-3) vs Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-1) Date: Tuesday Dec 5, 2017 Time: 8:00 pm CST Arena: PBA TV Broadcast: BTN Minnesota Info Head Coach: Richard Pitino Location: Minneapolis, MN Conference: B1G Nickname: Golden Gophers Mascot: Goldie the Gopher Last time out: Beat Rutgers Typical Rotation Depth: 6+ Line: Minnesota by 9.5 Tempo: B1G Fast Style: High assist, low 3pt attempts Four Factors Effective FG%: 54.5 63 46.1 49 50.7 Turnover %: 15.4 20 18.2 222 19.4 Off. Reb. %: 36.0 33 28.5 156 29.1 FTA/FGA: 40.0 72 24.7 26 34.8 Most Frequently Used Lineup over the last 5 games PG SG SF PF C Pct 1 2 Nate Mason 6-2 190 Sr 1 Dupree McBrayer 6-5 195 Jr 5 Amir Coffey 6-8 205 So 3 Jordan Murphy 6-6 250 Jr 22 Reggie Lynch 6-10 265 Sr 23.5 1 5 Glynn Watson 6-0 173 Jr 11 Evan Taylor 6-5 208 Sr 24 James Palmer 6-6 210 Jr 14 Isaac Copeland 6-9 221 Jr 32 Jordy Tshimanga 6-11 268 So 20.5 Both teams currently have a pretty established starting lineup. Miles Presser The biggest thing to note is that he gave the presser from the PBA. One of the big downsides to this great arena is that often times we don't actually get to practice there. Player to watch: Nate Mason I honestly thought this guy was a senior last year. While Jordan Murphy might be double-doubling his way to B1G player of the year, Reggie Lynch is a block machine inside, and Coffey/McBrayer provide a ton of fire power, it's still Mason who sets the table offensively leading the team in assists. He's also leading the team in 3pt makes so you can't just sag off of him. This team will really punish you if you double team anyone so pestering Mason is the name of the game. The Skinny Minnesota has been as good as advertised this year with a win at Providence and their only loss coming with Dupree McBrayer out of the lineup. Their starting 5 is as good as anyone in the country but should anyone get in foul trouble and/or injured there is a decent drop-off. The Gophers tend to be pretty good at defending without fouling so it's not something you can really bank on. While Michigan St is the overwhelming #1 2pt defense in Div 1, Minnesota buoyed by shot blocking Reggie Lynch is currently #3 in that category. While you can't completely stop bringing the ball inside, a lot of teams have been attacking Minnesota from outside and Nebraska finally seems but to that challenge. Nebraska's revamped lineup is currently just outside the top 100 in 3pt%. Can pick and roll with Copeland or Roby with a guard be effective? Miami ate up the Gophers in the Barn as the weak side defense was too slow. Defensively you're looking to slow down Minnesota and hope they have a poor night from outside. It seems tempting to zone this team that doesn't shoot a ton from 3 but you have to wonder how effective it will be against a team that passes as well as the Gophers. A portion of the mental part of playing a team like this is realizing they are talented and will go on runs...you just have to be tough enough to answer back. I think that generally we try to win every single game but it really seems like we're pulling out all the stops in this one to the point where you wonder if we're still trying to bring in new coach Scott Frost as the half time entertainment. This team really seems like it's talented enough to stay in some of these games in which they've been killed...are they tough enough? Is there an edge? To be honest I really should pick Nebraska to win tonight because they simply haven't shown they're a combination of willing and capable of winning this type of game. However, I think that at some point this team embraces the challenge of being undersized on the boards and this new ball sharing concept on offense. I think this game could be it. Prediction: Nebraska 82 - Minnesota 79 View full article

We also have 9 home games in the conference including tonight. We still have 4 home games in the non-con as well. Defending the home court is huge. If we can somehow find a way to go 12-1 with our remaining home games, that leaves us at 18 wins! Steal a couple on the road and you are at 20 BEFORE the conference tournament. Our conference home schedule is not even close to cupcakeish. However, it is the furthest thing from very very difficult. Purdue and Michigan State are two of the three tougher teams this year. We play them each once and it is on the road. We get Minny twice. Our run to the dance started with defending the Vault. I think that is what we are going to have to do to get there. As you have noticed, we do not play well on the road right now. That confidence can change with a few nice home wins though. Defend the home floor. If we can go 12-1 at home the rest of the way and steal 2 on the road somewhere, we will dance. For every loss at home though, we will need another on the road or in New York. For a team that isn't playing well on the road, I will take all the wins at home that I can. I think some of our best ball has come at home so far as well.

https://www.sporttechie.com/why-nebraska-cornhuskers-analyze-hoops-players-workload-spit/ Really fascinating article about some new technology we started using last year. Might shed some light on why in the past we seemed to fade down the stretch...

Was this the most human nustudent post of all time? Did we just see into his soul?

I agree with everything you said and would add that I think Miles needs to get Roby more minutes. I don't understand his logic for playing him less than half the game. Roby is only averaging only 18 minutes a game. Reason why he should be starting over Jordy and getting more minutes: 1) leads the team in field goal percentage with .514% 2) He's the only player shooting above .500% from the field 3) He is 3rd on the team in 3 point shooting percentage behind Taylor and Gill 4) He is 2nd on the team in defensive rebounds behind Copeland 5) He is tied for 4th place for assists 6) Leads the team in block shots And is doing all of these playing was less minutes then the starters. Imagine what he could do if he was getting another 10 minutes a game.

@HuskerCager, you're starting to look reeeeeeeeaaaaal suspicious. I'm starting to think you're Ken Pomeroy himself hiding behind an alias name who's posted on here for years just to win some message board competition. I'm on to you!

Somehow I think Alford is fine with it. Sold his soul to the devil. Now he gets a reprieve.

Game Day email: The Social Media of the 1990s.

It doesn't work nearly as good without Ed back there. I think we like putting Roby out at the point of the 1-3-1 but wouldn't it make more sense to put him down in the post given that you need his rebounding? (have we put Roby in the post and I've just missed it?) Did anyone notice how aggressive Jack looked out there finally at the end of the game? How about a 1-3-1 with Roby Jack Copeland Palmer Taylor Minnesota isn't really putting a lot of pressure on the ball so I don't think we need a ton of ball handling on offense.

I think we could get Kevin Stallings here to not make the tourney for 3.5 mil

I think what he's saying is not all good coaches are established yet, so they probably don't cost as much. Tad Boyle at Colorado is a good example of this. Up until at least recently he was being paid a shockingly low salary for the results he was getting out at CU. IIRC, after Tom fired Doc we went after Tad before we settled on Tim. At the time Boyle's salary was about even with Doc's. He had just taken Colorado to the NCAA tourney (and won his first round game). Boyle is still getting paid significantly less than Miles and he's done significantly better (albeit in the less-challenging Pac 12) Colorado Buffaloes (Pac-12 Conference) (2011–present) 2011–12 Colorado 24–12 11–7 T–5th NCAA Third Round 2012–13 Colorado 21–12 10–8 5th NCAA Second Round 2013–14 Colorado 23–12 10–8 T–3rd NCAA Second Round 2014–15 Colorado 16–18 7–11 T–8th CBI Quarterfinals 2015–16 Colorado 22–12 10–8 5th NCAA Second Round 2016–17 Colorado 19–15 8–10 7th NIT First Round 2017–18 Colorado 5–0 0–0 Colorado: 154–95 (.618) 64–60 (.516)

Roy Williams never played in College. I have found no connection between good players and good coaches. Some players make good coaches and some do not.

You know me too well, my friend.

To start 0-6 they'd have to lose to Wisconsin at home. If they lose at home to this Wisconsin outfit, they might as well drop the sport, raze the arena, and salt the earth underneath it.

We're not talking 'bout Silverbacked, are we?

That gorilla weighs WAY more than 100 pounds...

Yeah, I'm typically not into the "must win" drama. But, there is no point in ignoring the 100 pound gorilla in the gym. If this wasn't year 6 at 81-89, with the rumblings from "reliable source guy" around Lincoln about what has to happen this year for the staff to survive, the game wouldn't be that important. There needs to be some hope put into this. Soon. Very important game, despite how uphill it looks.

Well that was quick. I'm anticipating his preparation for the NBA to be a lot like Andrew White's... https://nytimes.com/2017/12/04/sports/liangelo-ball-ucla.html

Loved the passion that Matt brought to broadcasts. He really wore his heart on his sleeve, which made us long-suffering Nebrasketball fans feel like we had someone to commiserate with. That being said, Matt sounded like he chewed gravel on the broadcasts. I'm looking forward to a color commentator that's a tad easier on the ears. Kent, as always, is still simply the best.

Big Baller Brands has been having issues with people shoplifting their products.

Hot seat years suck for this reason. A game where a loss might be good or bad gets magnified wildly in a hot seat year, where it seems like every week is a referendum on whether or not a coaching search is going to end the season. And that's part of the pressure and expectation on games like this by calling them "must win" when they otherwise wouldn't be. Personally, I'd be happy to just see this team compete with a quality basketball team first before anything else, and we haven't even done that yet. I'm actually nervous for this sucker! About two months earlier than usual!

Bailer Bond Brand is suffering in China.

Kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya.

I wonder how Big Baller Brand shoe sales are doing in Europe...

I thought it worked well with Palmer at the top of the key and Watson running the baseline--there isn't a ton of rebounding from that spot and you need a lot of quickness to contest baseline/corner jumpers when the ball is being swung and skipped. Your rebounding comes primarily from the weakside wing and center. So, starters would be: Palmer Taylor Jordy Copeland Watson ^^^ The other nice thing I just realized is that Roby could be subbed in at literally ANY spot of that zone and function just fine. Ugh. I really want to see this more now. It completely ruins pick and roll offenses, which destroy us.

This is what is meant by learning how to win because expectations are part of becoming or being a good team. Luckily I think were in the Good cycle of our Bad-Good-Bad-Good pattern

Top 15 ranked team...must win game. But, you know, no pressure or anything... Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Completely agree. If we can notch this win we can expect at least 10-5 going into conference play against a bunch of teams that aren't as good as Michigan St, Minnesota, and Purdue. We really, really need a game against a good opponent where we don't spend time peeing our pants. http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/861753?referrer_id=331171 I suspect that we've seen this via the tape but Miami killed Minnesota with pick and roll in the Barn. I think Copeland + either Watson/Gill could pull this off.

Man I really hope my boss doesn't make me wear this at work.......

To me it looks like the guys that Miles recruits don't fit the offense that he runs. In my simple non-coach mind, if you recruit great athletes then you should increase tempo and create fast breaks (and press more on defense, but that's off topic). If you recruit shooters, then set up in the half-court and be patient. This is obviously a generalization but I think the principle holds true.

Ernie Kent

Woo! My favorite number!

Just FWIW; the Game Page @ Huskers.com shows Jake Muhleisen will be on the radio with Kent, calling game 10 (Minnesota). http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=211688417

I don't believe you got my pre-game Michigan State change calculated. Just saying....

It was 47.5% coming in which was more like 230th in the country Here it is even further breaking it down by at the rim 2s vs other 2s. B1G http://barttorvik.com/teampbp.php?conlimit=B10&year=2018&sort=1 All teams http://barttorvik.com/teampbp.php?year=2018&sort=1

It was in the "Game Day" email they typically send the day before home games. This email subject was "Game Day | Minnesota".

That's at least two wins so far. Nicely done @HuskerCager!

After seeing our 1-3-1, I wouldn’t mind us running it just as much as man. Could really help everything including scoring.

I absolutely hate our 2-3 zone. It's completely worthless unless you are a morph wizard like Boeheim--it's hardly a 2-3 with all the variations they work with. We don't have that level of sophistication here with ours, so we shouldn't run it. But the 1-3-1 has been very disruptive with our length. We've forced some uncomfortable shots and turnovers with it. Now, MSU hit a baseline jumper right away, and we never even bothered trying it again. I looked at it as a positive--everything we had given up to that point was a layup or putback, so at least it forced their center to shoot jump shots. And, yeah, I agree that Miles hates zone--he's adamant about this. I just don't get it when it comes to our current roster--we don't have great lateral athletes, but we have good length and skill in addition to straight line speed. It makes players like Jack and Jordy WAY more useful, and it creates a lot of fast break opportunities out of rebounds.

I think that's a big part of it though it's certainly not the whole story. This John Gasaway article that just came out today touches upon shot selection and also learning to score in the paint. To me the recruitment of Thomas Allen and Nana, two guys who are considered to be shooters first, is finally a move towards adding to our overall team shooting ability.

It looks like teams have figured out how to attack the 1-3-1 that we play, where we put our post player down low to protect the lane and he doesn't run the baseline. We've given up a lot of easy open 3s from the corner when we've rolled it out there.

I think you can say that we've valued athleticism over shooting ability. You can do it with just a few guys, too. We looked competent in the shooting department two years ago fueled by Andrew White, Shavon, with a boost from Ed in the paint.

Well, it looks like Purdue got this:

Wonder if Matt will help find our new basketball coach like he did for the football program.