Why did it work this year? What's different?

[Norm Peterson]

I'm not going to go back and cut and paste comments from old threads. I just remember there seemed to be a consistent complaint earlier in the season that we didn't have anyone on this roster who had lateral quickness and explosiveness and that was going to affect our ability to play good defense, and probably also score on the offensive end.

 

I think we've done better than the vast majority of people on this board would have expected. So what happened? What is different about this team that allowed us to go from a .500 squad a year ago to a probable NCAA tourney entrant this year?

[cornfed24-7]

12 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

I'm not going to go back and cut and paste comments from old threads. I just remember there seemed to be a consistent complaint earlier in the season that we didn't have anyone on this roster who had lateral quickness and explosiveness and that was going to affect our ability to play good defense, and probably also score on the offensive end.

 

I think we've done better than the vast majority of people on this board would have expected. So what happened? What is different about this team that allowed us to go from a .500 squad a year ago to a probable NCAA tourney entrant this year?

A continuation of buy-in to the system by the players, Quality depth,  and avoiding TWO possible catastrophic injuries. 

[huskerkid21]

2 minutes ago, cornfed24-7 said:

A continuation of buy-in to the system by the players, Quality depth,  and avoiding TWO possible catastrophic injuries. 

all of that ^ plus we have shooters galore

[big red22]

21 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

I'm not going to go back and cut and paste comments from old threads. I just remember there seemed to be a consistent complaint earlier in the season that we didn't have anyone on this roster who had lateral quickness and explosiveness and that was going to affect our ability to play good defense, and probably also score on the offensive end.

 

I think we've done better than the vast majority of people on this board would have expected. So what happened? What is different about this team that allowed us to go from a .500 squad a year ago to a probable NCAA tourney entrant this year?

I think it is fairly simple actually

 

1. Team Chemistry is good

2. No Hero Ball

3. We have multiple people that can get hot opposed to 2 or 3

4. Effort you can see how they have been boxing out for Rebounds it a thing of beauty.  Reink Mast said "The whole team boxes out so whoever on our team is closest to the ball has the easiest path to the ball."

5. Tominaga threat only started last year after the first 2/3's of the season.  It has been a constant this year.  Teams have to account for him, and that frees up our other guys.  Then tie in #3 Wilcher or someone else takes over if Tominaga is cold.

 

This is a good team that works great together, and IMO that all starts with the head coach.

Edited February 29, 2024 by big red22

[Norm Peterson]

Age/experience

Depth

Quality bench

Buy-in

More shooters

Maybe a little more athleticism

Lack of injuries

 

Partial list

 

[Navin R. Johnson]

The buy in on defense.  Our system helps with the lack of quickness.  We force teams to do certain things.

 

Williams settling in as the shooter many thought he was and Mast and Gary hitting 3's.

[Husker4theSpurs]

Culture
Age/Experience
The hire of Loenser
Depth (we are not deep but we aren't reliant on one or two players)

[KZRider]

Assistant coaches really began to kick in from the middle of last year.

Don't think you can over state the impact of Mast and Allick on and off the floor.

[Vinny]

Buy in on both ends. We’re playing team defense and doing it with a lot of effort. Offensively we’re running offense so we don’t need to rely on one player to spark us offensively. We have several guys who can put up points any given night and give us momentum on that end.

 

It’s been so nice to watch the change and see it game in and game out. Not just here or there, or just a couple players.

[millerhusker]

Agree with everything said above.
Also we’ve made 264 threes this year. Indiana has made 140. Wow. 
 

I believe we have an elite coaching staff who work well together and understand how to mask individual deficiencies and maximize strengths. Of course, if you don’t have players willing to be coached up and able to execute then none of that matters. 

[AGHANSEN]

I think a large part of it comes down to free throw shooting and three point shooting.

Here is comparison from last years (22-23) numbers to this year (23-24).

Last years stats are end of the year stats.

We still have at least 5 games left.

These numbers are insane.

3P makes:
22-23 - 214
23-24 - 264

3P%
22-23 - 32%
23-24 - 36%

Free throw makes:
22-23- 323
23-24 - 411

FT%
23-23 - 64%
23-24 - 76%

 

 

[49r]

Playing the 342nd toughest non-conference schedule helps.

[royalfan]

One important thing is the ability to feed the hot hand.  We have done a great job of feeding that guy and we have several who it can be that day,  I think we are overachieving to an extent as well.  

[Norm Peterson]

2 minutes ago, 49r said:

Playing the 342nd toughest non-conference schedule helps.

 

What was it last year?

[AGHANSEN]

The other big factor is our schedule.

We had a cupcake non con for the most part and avoided playing Purdue, Sparty and Illinois twice. 

KenPom has us ranked 69th in strength of schedule which is 13th in the Big Ten.

Honestly, we probably had the easiest Big Ten schedule in terms of matchups. 

 

I'm just glad we took advantage of it!

[AuroranHusker]

Honestly this is what I expected from Hoi-ball from the jump, well, it took 3+ years to figure it out in the current landscape in the B1G. 

 

Biggest reasons are the quality and depth of 'fits' on the roster, and same can be said for the assistants as they're really, really good culture fits at NU. Next is that Freddy acquired and honed the shooting prowess of so many dudes on this team. I had my doubts on cranking up 27' shots early on by anyone not named Keisei. Well, they proved me wrong on that aspect as NU has a solid seven dudes who make 33.3% or greater on threes, and more than half of 'em are upper 30s to mid 40s.

 

The other reasons are the schedule laid out perfectly for this team to gel. And, even with Mast's surgery being when it was, it allowed the guys to face a struggle against North Dakota and prevail without their big leader. The Dutch Oven has dragged a lot of dudes in the Big Ten, including Zach Edey, and how many thought that possible? And then you have Juwan Gary, we all thought it was Isaac Copeland 2.0 when J.G. went down against Rutgers. Well, it sucked to lose that one (and Minny too), but guess what, NU got payback in Lincoln for Minny already & will do so again when Rutgers is in Lincoln on Senior Day. The schedule down the stretch has been perfect, whenever has that been the case for Nebrasketball? Almost never.

 

The stars are aligning, and the team is a cohesive, locked-in unit, which is another factor. This group is a team that loves each other, wants each other to do well, and that's a rarity in Fred's time in Lincoln. We have a lot of things going right in 2023-24, just need to FINISH. That, too, has happened, when a lot of B1G road games didn't go that well. Even at Illinois, the final score was an L, but this team went on an 11-0 run to push ahead of the #2 B1G team, and that wouldn't have occurred earlier on this season. It was a sign of growth, and then they busted down the road-woe door with the performance at Indiana. That's positive growth.

 

 

Edited February 29, 2024 by AuroranHusker

[49r]

4 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

What was it last year?

 

#96

[hhcmatt]

8 minutes ago, 49r said:

Playing the 342nd toughest non-conference schedule helps.

 

This and avoiding injuries possibly would have gotten us 20 last year

[Norm Peterson]

Just now, 49r said:

 

#96

 

Feels like we were never rewarded for playing a tough schedule and now it looks like we are being rewarded for beating up a bunch of patsies. So, I guess the schedule will look soft again next year.

 

Lesson for the NCAA: You get what you reward.

 

Or, as Tim Miles would have said, "You get what you tolerate."

[49r]

2 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

Feels like we were never rewarded for playing a tough schedule and now it looks like we are being rewarded for beating up a bunch of patsies. So, I guess the schedule will look soft again next year.

 

Lesson for the NCAA: You get what you reward.

 

Or, as Tim Miles would have said, "You get what you tolerate."

 

I'm guessing the strength of our non-con next year will depend a lot on who we return from this roster next year.

[AuroranHusker]

6 minutes ago, hhcmatt said:

 

This and avoiding injuries possibly would have gotten us 20 last year

 

I thought they often played better after some of the injuries occurred. Losing that Minny game in the BTT cost them post-season. Florida got into the N.I.T. at 16-16 over NU.

 

[hskr4life]

Confidence and positive momentum.  Theres something to feeling like you can’t lose at home.  It’s why that win at Indiana was huge.  Our road mindset was complete affected by the “can’t win on the road narrative.”

[tcp]

Jobu was pleased with the sacrifice of 6 large tootsie rolls dipped in brandy, a 4 day old cinnamon roll and a copy of Nun's Life. 

 

Your welcome. 

[jason2486]

One name who doesn't get enough attention is Josiah Allick. It's been said before, and I've told my friends as well, that he's our Dennis Rodman. He even wears his shorts short!! He does the dirty work, flies after loose balls, etc. He's okay not scoring. His attitude appears to be that a rebound is as critical as scoring a bucket, just like Rodman did back in the day.

[Husker4theSpurs]

I have to give Fred credit with the re-boot he made. I wasn't sure he had it in him to make the changes he did and get a bit more re-engaged with talent acquisition. We have chose REALLY wisely in the portal for the most part (Uhlis may end up being a good choice, but it wasn't this year for certain). Maybe some of this is a bit of luck. Some will fight me on this but we were still a bit underfunded as far as NIL and I'm hoping this season will push that to another level yet.

I think culture is the main thing and it seems like we've committed to being tough minded and defensive ... I think the character of our guys is really showing through and permeates the culture - Mast, Gary, Williams, Hoiberg even as a walk on, and Allick. I feel like it's been a bit of fake it till we made it and we still seem a bit vulnerable mentally but it's improved. Being experienced and older than the rest of the league has paid off.

And the schedule was designed well for what they thought they had ... I'd imagine it's gone better than Hoiberg and the basketball admin even thought it could. I think Alberts and Hoiberg's values align fairly well. Again, I will give kudos to Fred because I wasn't sure he had a reboot in him or the overall hunger to do so but he has proven me wrong. Let's see how we can sustain this.

I suppose the administrative support and engagement has to be mentioned as well. The entire athletic department is in a way different place. While I have my concerns about Trev in some ways, he has seemed to have done a good job leading and building an overall culture in the athletics department.