03/14/2013 - Big Ten Tournament, Purdue: Report Card

[hhcdave]

OFFENSE: B

 

Nebraska was JUST good enough to pull this one out, as the Huskers finished with 45% from the field and 71% from the stripe (though they finished just 3-8 from the line).

 

In the opening half, when NU's legs were fresh, they were en fuego, finishing with 52% from the field, including 15 first half points for Shavon Shields, who continues to look better and better with each passing game. For the night, the Olathe, Kansas freshman finished with 19 big points.

 

If you asked me at the half, there would be NO WAY he wasn't the Player of the Game.

But after four quick second half points, Shields wouldn't be heard from again, and it was up to Brandon Ubel to finish with Shields started, as the senior put in 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists!!!

 

Ubel is a "slam dunk" Player of the Game and speaking of which, imagine his line if he'd have finished the "bunnies" around the rim.

 

It was great to see NU run its offense THROUGH THE POST in this game, as I've been harping on NU for not doing this for several weeks now. Ubel got touches nearly every possession and once the ball went inside or to the middle, good things happened.

 

Had the Huskers shot a little better in the second half and at the line, this would be an "A" but as it is, it was a solid night for the Big Red.

DEFENSE: B

 

Purdue missed a lot of foul shots (7 of 14) or they'd easily have scored 60, which is not enough for NU to win this game.

 

Therefor, I give Huskers a solid "B" even despite holding the Boilermakers to 55 points and 40% shooting from the field. I feel as though a lot of Purdue's scoring in the mid 50's was more their doing than ours, is what I'm trying to say.

 

HOWEVER, NU's defense in the first half (again, when they were fresh) was TREMENDOUS. And for the night, even if you hold Purdue to 60-65, as the Huskers probably should have, its still a "solid" defensive effort.

 

Let's please give both Ray Gallegos and Benny Parker some defensive credit in this one. Especially Parker, who I thought was perhaps the best of the year on the defensive end. For as much flack as he gets, let's give him some love.

 

REBOUNDING: B

 

Purdue out rebounded the 'Skers by five (36 to 31) but manhandled the Huskers on the offensive glass (12 to 5).

 

However, how about that HUGE box out by a couple of Huskers that allowed Shavon Shields to grab that KEY KEY KEY late second half offensive board off of the Ray Gallegos missed foul shot. That could have been a game changing swing of things.

 

Along with Ubel's eight boards, it was good to see Shields and David Rivers pull down six.

 

BALL HANDLING: A+

 

2.5 to 1.0, Assist to Turnover ratio.

 

AKA, 15 assists, 6 turnovers. PHENOMENOL JOB BY NU!!!!

 

3 assists, 1 turnover by Dylan Talley (though it was a costly one that cost NU 3 points and a 2nd foul on Rivers).

 

Ubel had 5 assists and 3 turnovers as well.

 

Great, great night.

 

COACHING: A+

 

Tim Miles' team looked like a legitimate "middle of the pack" Big 10 team in the first half. They were crisp and efficient offensively, with a clear plan and on defense, they moved Purdue 3-5 feet further away from the basket than they'd like as the Boilermakers got into the offense.

 

Miles was AGAIN able to get his team to the end of the game without multiple guys fouling out (by the skin of his teeth). He used Jordan Tyrance nicely to get us to the second half without much foul trouble.

 

Good use of the timeouts and I liked not using them at the end, so that Purdue didn't have extra time to plan and think.

 

OVERALL GRADE: A-

 

Nebraska played just a step below "great" and got a HUGE win.

 

I don't think the importance of this win can be understated.

 

Maybe I'm the only one, but watching this game on television in my living room, I could almost feel this program rising tonight. It's hard to explain - its almost like this win proved a lot tonight.

 

This is a momentum win for the program heading into next season and as Tim Miles hits the recruiting trail early next week.

 

VERY PROUD OF THIS TEAM and VERY PROUD to be a Husker Hoops Fan.

 

PLAYER OF THE GAME: BRANDON UBEL

2012-2013 PLAYER OF THE GAME RESULTS:

RAY GALLEGOS - 11

DYLAN TALLEY - 10

BRANDON UBEL - 6

SHAVON SHIELDS - 4

DAVID RIVERS - 3

ANDRE ALMEIDA - 1

JORDAN TYRANCE - 1

This post has been promoted to an article

[Buglem]

Great report card, I'm in agreement. Getting a win in the tournament on national tv is great exposure and something Miles can sell to recruits. It's amazing seeing this team now versus the non conference. Great overall job by Miles and staff!

[tcp]

nice card. All I can say is I agree. And really it's been good to see Andre come alive a bit here at the end of the season, too. I'd like to see him have one more quality moment tomorrow since he'll be one of the fresher players we'll have and will need to play quite a few quality minutes in order for us to have a chance at the upset.

[huskers10094]

How can you not go with Shavon for player of the game?

[lang]

Agree Dave, this game was really HUGE.   Just a great game to capstone this amazing season.  I think coach Miles has done an amazing job and I'm not using hyperbole.   I fully expected this season to be just brutal, routinely getting blasted by 20-40 points by the big boys in our conference.   Can we pull off yet another gutty performance tomorrow ?   If not, it will do very little to diminish my enthusiasm.

[Silverbacked1]

I think this tells what kind of coaches we have and what kind of players we have here.

 

High character people on both sides.

 

Coaches that saw that these kids will give them everything they have (most nights) and found ways to use what they could.

 

Players who understood that we might not be very good but if you give an effort good these coaches are willing to help put us in the right place to win.

 

Just been a fun ride all around.  And I hope just the beginning of great things to come.

 

I really love the whole staff.  I think that they work very well together.

[HB]

I think this tells what kind of coaches we have and what kind of players we have here.

 

High character people on both sides.

 

Coaches that saw that these kinds will give them everything they have (most nights) and found ways to use what they could.

 

Players who understood that we might not be very good but if you give an effort good these coaches are willing to help put us in the right place to win.

 

Just been a fun ride all around.  And I hope just the beginning of great things to come.

 

I really love the whole staff.  I think that they work very well together.

 

Great post, Silverbacked.  I concur.  This has been a great season; I've enjoyed rooting for this group more than any in recent memory.  15  wins; are you kidding me?   I was hoping to get to 10.   A shout out to Uneblinstu, who said all along we'd win at least 5 games in conference. 

 

Agree about the staff.   It was interesting to see Coach Smith handle the entire timeout huddle late in the game. 

 

I appreciate this staff not tanking the season for "the future".  So many times a new coach sacrifices a season to implement his system (and sometimes ego) in a program.  Our seniors deserved better than this, and they got it.  (Contrast Collier's first year) I believe this will pay dividends down the road in terms of the players currently in the system respecting and buying in to the staff. 

[Handy Johnson]

Shavon's post-game interview with Jim Jackson was priceless. His unbridled, little kid enthusiasm for the game and the win made me smile. We're playin' with house money now Cornhuskers, so let's keep it rollin'!