uneblinst's postgame chatter: vol 16; ed 28- Minnesota

[hskr4life]

Well that was a fun one to be at.  Those 2 hour drives back are a little rough though.  A few notes from me.

 

- There were a couple of times where I thought the roof was going to blow off the place.  We missed the big shot, but overall crowd was great.

 

- To overcome the shooting start we had was big and the way we did it was partly due to D.  We certainly made the gophers uncomfortable and didn’t give them many clean looks.

 

- Being in house, I didn’t notice the refs much yesterday which was a good thing.  Surprised to see so many comments about them this morning.  I thought they were consistent (for the most part) at least which is all I ask.  There was only once (on an and-1 drive for Minny in the 1st half followed by a KT drive and no call) where I was upset.

 

- Happy that Fidone didn’t blow an ACL at half and wouldn’t mind seeing the dude who won the dunk contest do one of those over the goal posts after a pick-6 this year lol.

 

- I thought Ben was relatively calm considering what was on the line for Minny.

 

-Huge kudos to the students.  Our Students really are great for not being known as a basketball school.  They’re loud, keep the energy, and the “NIT” chant made me laugh (even though the NIT probably saved Johnson’s job) lol.

 

- The OSU game now is really a “nothing to lose” type of game.  We’ve already assured ourselves a .500 conference finish.  We can beat OSU but it won’t be easy.

 

- This team man.  Love them.  Love the fact that we can beat you with multiple players.  Love the fact that we can beat you inside at times and from outside.

 

- KT had a struggle game.  CJ couldn’t get going.  But Gary and Williams picked up the slack and it was never in doubt after we pulled away.

[49r]

12 minutes ago, hskr4life said:

the “NIT” chant made me laugh

 

That one was a bit of a miss for me, considering if you asked any Gopher fan at the beginning of the season if they would be happy with an NIT berth this year, I'm sure all of them would have not hesitated to say yes.

[AuroranHusker]

20 minutes ago, 49r said:

 

That one was a bit of a miss for me, considering if you asked any Gopher fan at the beginning of the season if they would be happy with an NIT berth this year, I'm sure all of them would have not hesitated to say yes.

 

Well, it's the tournament that Lincoln, Nebraska, has won. So, I guess, when in Rome.... 

 

[KZRider]

12 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

We cannot drop a home game to NET #89 or a road game against NET #122. So, even if we beat Ohio State, I'm gonna still feel like we've got to avoid any bad losses.

Norm, I think your PTSD is kicking in.

[hhcmatt]

From UNL

 

*-Nebraska improved to 20-8 on the season, matching its best 28-game start in the Big Ten era (also 2017-18).It is the seventh time Nebraska has won 20-or-more games in the regular season (also 1919-20, 1977-78, 1965-66, 1990-91, 1992-93 and 2017-18). 

* Nebraska tied a school record with its 17th home win, which had been done three other times in school history. Nebraska is 17-1 at Pinnacle Bank Arena this season.

*-Nebraska has now won 10 Big Ten games, marking only the third time since joining the conference that NU has reached double figures in conference wins.

*-Nebraska held Minnesota to a season-low 55 points as its previous low was 58 at San Francisco on Nov. 26. Minnesota entered Sunday’s game averaging 76.7 points per game.

*-Nebraska has won four straight Big Ten games by at least 15 points including tonight’s 18-point victory.  This marks the first time Nebraska has won four straight conference games by 15 or more points since winning four straight Missouri Valley Conference games by at least 15 points in 1911-12.  

*-Nebraska last won four straight conference games by double figures in 1998-99 when the Huskers won four straight Big 12 games by at least 13 points.  

*-Juwan Gary posted a career high with 22 points, betting his previous career high of 20 on two other occasions. Gary also had a career-high four 3-pointers, topping his previous best of three on two other occasions. 

*-Nebraska is 15-0 this season when holding opponents under 70 points and has won 19 straight dating back to last season. 

 

*Jamarques Lawrence finished with 11 points off the bench, the 25th double-figure effort off the bench by a Husker this season. NU has had at least one double-figure bench scorer in 23 contests.

[Norm Peterson]

1 hour ago, hskr4life said:

Well that was a fun one to be at.  Those 2 hour drives back are a little rough though.  A few notes from me.

 

- There were a couple of times where I thought the roof was going to blow off the place.  We missed the big shot, but overall crowd was great.

 

- To overcome the shooting start we had was big and the way we did it was partly due to D.  We certainly made the gophers uncomfortable and didn’t give them many clean looks.

 

- Being in house, I didn’t notice the refs much yesterday which was a good thing.  Surprised to see so many comments about them this morning.  I thought they were consistent (for the most part) at least which is all I ask.  There was only once (on an and-1 drive for Minny in the 1st half followed by a KT drive and no call) where I was upset.

 

- Happy that Fidone didn’t blow an ACL at half and wouldn’t mind seeing the dude who won the dunk contest do one of those over the goal posts after a pick-6 this year lol.

 

- I thought Ben was relatively calm considering what was on the line for Minny.

 

-Huge kudos to the students.  Our Students really are great for not being known as a basketball school.  They’re loud, keep the energy, and the “NIT” chant made me laugh (even though the NIT probably saved Johnson’s job) lol.

 

- The OSU game now is really a “nothing to lose” type of game.  We’ve already assured ourselves a .500 conference finish.  We can beat OSU but it won’t be easy.

 

- This team man.  Love them.  Love the fact that we can beat you with multiple players.  Love the fact that we can beat you inside at times and from outside.

 

- KT had a struggle game.  CJ couldn’t get going.  But Gary and Williams picked up the slack and it was never in doubt after we pulled away.

 

The "Husker Power" chant is a winner. It started during a late Minnesota offensive possession and it was loud. We need to use it EVERY time the opposing team is forced to call a timeout.

 

I was happy that Dawson Garcia's 5th foul corresponded with the under 4-minute official timeout. The students absolutely have to come up with a different way of harassing opposing players who foul out. Guys, opposing players have figured out how to time your "SIT DOWN!" with when our guy is shooting free throws. Don't make our guy miss just to dunk on their guy fouling out. Sometimes, we need those points.

 

A little bit of "DEE-FENSE (clap clap) DEE-FENSE (clap clap)" would be nice as well.

[AuroranHusker]

1 hour ago, hskr4life said:

Well that was a fun one to be at.  Those 2 hour drives back are a little rough though.  A few notes from me.

 

- There were a couple of times where I thought the roof was going to blow off the place.  We missed the big shot, but overall crowd was great.

 

- To overcome the shooting start we had was big and the way we did it was partly due to D.  We certainly made the gophers uncomfortable and didn’t give them many clean looks.

 

- Being in house, I didn’t notice the refs much yesterday which was a good thing.  Surprised to see so many comments about them this morning.  I thought they were consistent (for the most part) at least which is all I ask.  There was only once (on an and-1 drive for Minny in the 1st half followed by a KT drive and no call) where I was upset.

 

- Happy that Fidone didn’t blow an ACL at half and wouldn’t mind seeing the dude who won the dunk contest do one of those over the goal posts after a pick-6 this year lol.

 

- I thought Ben was relatively calm considering what was on the line for Minny.

 

-Huge kudos to the students.  Our Students really are great for not being known as a basketball school.  They’re loud, keep the energy, and the “NIT” chant made me laugh (even though the NIT probably saved Johnson’s job) lol.

 

- The OSU game now is really a “nothing to lose” type of game.  We’ve already assured ourselves a .500 conference finish.  We can beat OSU but it won’t be easy.

 

- This team man.  Love them.  Love the fact that we can beat you with multiple players.  Love the fact that we can beat you inside at times and from outside.

 

- KT had a struggle game.  CJ couldn’t get going.  But Gary and Williams picked up the slack and it was never in doubt after we pulled away.

 

Save for a few non-conf. snoozers, the atmosphere has been progressively getting more & more 'lit' in 2023-24. I suppose 17-1 might have something to do with that. The most wins by Nebrasketball at home in PBA. GBR

 

[huskerkid21]

unfortunately for our haters/doubters/jayskers... this team is locked the f*ck in. 23-8 incoming

[hhcmatt]

Nebraska presser

 

 

[Norm Peterson]

10 minutes ago, hhcmatt said:

*Jamarques Lawrence finished with 11 points off the bench, the 25th double-figure effort off the bench by a Husker this season. NU has had at least one double-figure bench scorer in 23 contests.

 

Of a great number of contributing factors to our success this year, this one is not to be overlooked.

 

We have the strongest bench I can remember any Husker team having, certainly this century but perhaps even longer.

 

Every guy who comes off the bench has a tool that makes him a weapon. Every one of them brings something important to the table. Every one of them has the ability to score. Sure, there are reasons they come off the bench rather than starting, but each one of our bench players can be a contributor, and generally one or two of them are significant contributors in every game.

 

Lawrence is so fast bringing the ball up the floor he really stresses the opponent's transition D, he plays tenacious defense, he picks his spots to score, and lately has been on fire.

 

CJ is generally pretty heady, while not uber-athletic he's very skilled, he needs very little space to get off a shot, and when he's on, look out.

 

Sam -- I don't think I've ever seen a player who makes his own luck as well as Sam Hoiberg. So very often, he's in the right place at the right time to make a big play. Last night, he was knocking rebounds away from Dawson Garcia. He's an opportunist when it comes to jumping the passing lanes. He just makes heads-up play after heads-up play, and he is shockingly good at man defense while not hurting you on offense.

 

We go 8 deep with almost no drop-off. Show me another B1G team that can say that.

[Norm Peterson]

7 minutes ago, huskerkid21 said:

unfortunately for our haters/doubters/jayskers... this team is locked the f*ck in. 23-8 incoming

 

That would be all alone for 2nd most wins in a season by a Husker basketball team EVER.

 

Just for some historical context.

[hhcmatt]

5 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

Of a great number of contributing factors to our success this year, this one is not to be overlooked.

 

We have the strongest bench I can remember any Husker team having, certainly this century but perhaps even longer.

 

Every guy who comes off the bench has a tool that makes him a weapon. Every one of them brings something important to the table. Every one of them has the ability to score. Sure, there are reasons they come off the bench rather than starting, but each one of our bench players can be a contributor, and generally one or two of them are significant contributors in every game.

 

Lawrence is so fast bringing the ball up the floor he really stresses the opponent's transition D, he plays tenacious defense, he picks his spots to score, and lately has been on fire.

 

CJ is generally pretty heady, while not uber-athletic he's very skilled, he needs very little space to get off a shot, and when he's on, look out.

 

Sam -- I don't think I've ever seen a player who makes his own luck as well as Sam Hoiberg. So very often, he's in the right place at the right time to make a big play. Last night, he was knocking rebounds away from Dawson Garcia. He's an opportunist when it comes to jumping the passing lanes. He just makes heads-up play after heads-up play, and he is shockingly good at man defense while not hurting you on offense.

 

We go 8 deep with almost no drop-off. Show me another B1G team that can say that.

 

Rutgers can make the argument. They're the only B1G team playing more bench minutes than us.

[AuroranHusker]

1 hour ago, thrasher31 said:

I guess I see what you're saying, but keisei was basically being smothered all game. I saw Brice look his way when running off screens, but no opening and moved onto the next read. Didn't knock down any of his 3s, which one or two had to have come off passes from Brice without remembering, and all of his shots were self created.

 

They were also throwing doubles at keisei on dhos forcing him to pass to a big underneath or allick in the corner. Good gamelan by ben Johnson to shut the water off from him. Force him to create his own shot and don't give him C&S opportunities. He did have a lob pass to Brice at the rim which would've been an assist had he finished it, but got fouled. I saw keisei point in his direction afterwards as if to say "I got you" after the play. There may have been opportunities to look each other's way more often, but the gamelan they had was working, and it led to a 20 point win. 

 

I don't see much animosity between them personally, but I don't pay that close of attention to stuff like that. 

 

Actually I have not noticed any perceived animosity or real angst from the guys in the past month. There's always going to be a play or two that happen between the guys, but this year nothing has seemed to be an ongoing lack-of-trust or anything like that. That's a big reason this specific team has a high ceiling right now. Camaraderie, resiliency, and toughness.

 

[Huskerpapa]

27 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

The "Husker Power" chant is a winner. It started during a late Minnesota offensive possession and it was loud. We need to use it EVERY time the opposing team is forced to call a timeout.

 

I was happy that Dawson Garcia's 5th foul corresponded with the under 4-minute official timeout. The students absolutely have to come up with a different way of harassing opposing players who foul out. Guys, opposing players have figured out how to time your "SIT DOWN!" with when our guy is shooting free throws. Don't make our guy miss just to dunk on their guy fouling out. Sometimes, we need those points.

 

A little bit of "DEE-FENSE (clap clap) DEE-FENSE (clap clap)" would be nice as well.

Our section attempts to start a chant "take it away Deeeeeee take it away" with a modicum of success.

[Keenan9595]

1 minute ago, AuroranHusker said:

 

Actually I have not noticed any perceived animosity or real angst from the guys in the past month. There's always going to be a play or two that happen between the guys, but this year nothing has seemed to be an ongoing lack-of-trust or anything like that. That's a big reason this specific team has a high ceiling right now. Camaraderie, resiliency, and toughness.

 

Plus in the post game both Brice and Juwan commented how much this team loves to get others involved and watch other teammates go off.  Every once in a while someone might take a heat check and when it’s KT more times then not it’s going in our favor, so I don’t think there is anything truly bad going on between people.  I truly think this team just wants to win and shove it in a lot of doubters faces from the preseason predictions.  

[Huskerpapa]

Just now, AuroranHusker said:

 

Actually I have not noticed any perceived animosity or real angst from the guys in the past month. There's always going to be a play or two that happen between the guys, but this year nothing has seemed to be an ongoing lack-of-trust or anything like that. That's a big reason this specific team has a high ceiling right now. Camaraderie, resiliency, and toughness.

 

Btn talking heads praised the huskers saying it is quite obvious that this team loves each other and it shows on the court. 

During the early pregame shooting and stretching, the team is somewhat separated between front and back court players.  There is clear comraderie on display.  Perhaps we are seeing things that don't really exist.  Like any family and every team that I was ever involved with, there are occasional flare ups; but what separates good teams from bad teams is the ability to put any and all pettiness in the rear view mirror and simply play team ball.

[AuroranHusker]

26 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

Of a great number of contributing factors to our success this year, this one is not to be overlooked.

 

We have the strongest bench I can remember any Husker team having, certainly this century but perhaps even longer.

 

Every guy who comes off the bench has a tool that makes him a weapon. Every one of them brings something important to the table. Every one of them has the ability to score. Sure, there are reasons they come off the bench rather than starting, but each one of our bench players can be a contributor, and generally one or two of them are significant contributors in every game.

 

Lawrence is so fast bringing the ball up the floor he really stresses the opponent's transition D, he plays tenacious defense, he picks his spots to score, and lately has been on fire.

 

CJ is generally pretty heady, while not uber-athletic he's very skilled, he needs very little space to get off a shot, and when he's on, look out.

 

Sam -- I don't think I've ever seen a player who makes his own luck as well as Sam Hoiberg. So very often, he's in the right place at the right time to make a big play. Last night, he was knocking rebounds away from Dawson Garcia. He's an opportunist when it comes to jumping the passing lanes. He just makes heads-up play after heads-up play, and he is shockingly good at man defense while not hurting you on offense.

 

We go 8 deep with almost no drop-off. Show me another B1G team that can say that.

 

 

Kinda ironic that J-Law moved into the starting lineup last season late to spark NU, and this year he's become the key bench scorer late in 2023-24. He's so hot, he's moved his shooting 3FG percentage from 26.7% to 33.3% in two games by going 8 for 9!! He went from 20-75 to 28-84.

 

Edited February 26 by AuroranHusker
grammar "he's not his"

[Norm Peterson]

Also, on the bench thing, don't look now but Jamarques Lawrence is up to 33% from 3-point range after having hovered around 27% for much of the season.

 

If you include Eli Rice, we currently have NINE GUYS shooting 33.3% or better from 3-point range. Ten if you include Matar Diop's 1 for 2.

 

Pick your poison, mofos.

[AuroranHusker]

1 minute ago, Huskerpapa said:

Btn talking heads praised the huskers saying it is quite obvious that this team loves each other and it shows on the court. 

During the early pregame shooting and stretching, the team is somewhat separated between front and back court players.  There is clear comraderie on display.  Perhaps we are seeing things that don't really exist.  Like any family and every team that I was ever involved with, there are occasional flare ups; but what separates good teams from bad teams is the ability to put any and all pettiness in the rear view mirror and simply play team ball.

 

Yep, they do love each other. John Cook talks about we over me. That's on full display with Nebrasketball. Love it.

 

[AuroranHusker]

1 minute ago, Norm Peterson said:

Also, on the bench thing, don't look now but Jamarques Lawrence is up to 33% from 3-point range after having hovered around 27% for much of the season.

 

If you include Eli Rice, we currently have NINE GUYS shooting 33.3% or better from 3-point range. Ten if you include Matar Diop's 1 for 2.

 

Pick your poison, mofos.

 

Great minds, Normy, great minds. 

[Huskerpapa]

Just now, Norm Peterson said:

Also, on the bench thing, don't look now but Jamarques Lawrence is up to 33% from 3-point range after having hovered around 27% for much of the season.

 

If you include Eli Rice, we currently have NINE GUYS shooting 33.3% or better from 3-point range. Ten if you include Matar Diop's 1 for 2.

 

Pick your poison, mofos.

Did anyone else watch Matar shooting three's in the warmup drill.  He was actually shooting them pretty darn well.  

[hskr4life]

For those wondering if Coleman is locked in… kudos to him.  Even though this is a CJ videos he’s still up and going nuts with the guys.  

[Norm Peterson]

1 minute ago, Huskerpapa said:

Did anyone else watch Matar shooting three's in the warmup drill.  He was actually shooting them pretty darn well.  

 

Yeah. He's raw but there's definitely some potential there and the athleticism to back it up. Question is will he develop sufficiently between now and when Rienk graduates to be able to step in and not have us drop off too significantly at that spot?

[AuroranHusker]

1 minute ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

Yeah. He's raw but there's definitely some potential there and the athleticism to back it up. Question is will he develop sufficiently between now and when Rienk graduates to be able to step in and not have us drop off too significantly at that spot?

 

Rienk has 1 more year he could use as his extra season of eligibility. Will he, that's hard to say....

 

[basketballjones]

13 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

I know we won and I don't want to throw a damper on that, but this seems to be a recurring theme on the season: Keisei doesn't seem to like to pass to Bryce and Bryce doesn't seem to like to pass to Keisei. Neither assisted on a made shot for the other today. And there were times where they each made a harder play when the easier play and higher percentage play would have been to the other.

 

Stop it, guys. There's too much riding on this season. The offense stops when the ball stops in one guy's hands.

Been happening all season. 

But, fwiw, weren't both of Bryce's latest Lob attempts off of KT passses? Got fouled last night.