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01/12/2014 - At Purdue Report Card


hhcdave

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OFFENSE: B-

 

Nebraska (for the most part) did a nice job of attacking the rim and getting inside against Purdue and that in turn:

 

A. Led to some easy baskets.

 

B. Got Nebraska to the foul line 18 times (though NU converted on only 66% of its attempts)

 

And:

 

C. Got A.J. Hammons into foul trouble and held him to just 22 minutes played (though he proved to be killer, with 18 points and 4 blocked shots). 

 

I liked seeing the inside-out game with Leslee Smith and NU perimeter players in the first half. That didn't lead to any points, but its a nice look that we haven't seen much of, outside of three possessions today. I like at least trying to establish inside ON TOP of attacking the rim.

 

Ray Gallegos seemed to get things going early (finishing with 10 points on 4-7 from the field) but for the second straight game, completely disappeared in the second half. 

 

NU saw completely awful days from Shavon Shields (1-5 from the field, 3-7 from the foul line), Deverell Biggs (4-11 from the field) and Walter Pitchford (2-7 from the field).

 

The play of Shields (in particular) is worrisome, especially since we don't know how much his knee is hurting. The full week off comes at a good time for the KC area sophomore.

 

Nebraska went over six minutes without a field goal in the latter stages of the second half.

 

DEFENSE: C

 

Nebraska wasn't particularly good or bad today on the defensive end.

 

The zone was a nice way of slowing down Purdue and helped lead to 12 turnovers, though many were unforced.

 

Nebraska DID, however, get a couple of steals and fast break layups at the other end, which we've seen a total of maybe five times in the last month, so that was nice to see (defense leading to instant offense).

 

Besides Hammons, Ronnie Johnson was particularly good today, scoring 14 points since NU refused to take away his strong hand (left) the majority of the game.

 

REBOUNDING: C

 

I give Nebraska only a "C" because it was horrific at securing rebounds down the stretch, most notably on the play where Shields palmed the ball with one hand out of bounds after a key missed Boilermaker free throw. That was the nail in the coffin today.

 

Pitchford finished with just one rebound because he wasn't doing a single thing right today (offense, defense or rebounding) and couldn't stay on the court (15 minutes).

 

Smith had just three boards.

 

It was our Player of the Game Terran Petteway (19 and 9) who led the way on the boards for NU, and since I ripped Shields offensively and for missing the key rebound, I will at least give him a little credit for also grabbing nine boards.

 

For the game, the Boilermakers out rebounded NU by four (38 to 34).

 

BALL HANDLING: B

 

Ball handling was better today - twelve assists (which I believe is a Big 10 high) and only nine turnovers.

 

I thought Tai Webster was particularly strong today, though his line didn't really suggest it (5 points, 0 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover). The assist on the drive and wrap around pass to Smith was a big time play that we haven't seen an NU point guard make around here since probably Tyronn Lue.

 

COACHING: B+

 

Coach did a nice job wrinkling up his defense but too often, NU looked brain dead on how it guarded Johnson by giving him the left.

 

Some nice plays were drawn up out of timeouts but once again, not executed by the offense (including Smith's too hard of a pass to Petteway which would have been a key wide open layup in the second half).

 

Nine man rotation seems set, though I'm a bit confused as to why Benny Parker gets a token 5-6 minute first half appearance and either no minutes or two minutes in the second. Seems unnecessary for him to play and I NEVER like the combo of him and Webster on the floor at the same time. That is killer on the NU offense.

 

BONUS - OFFICATING: F

 

The referees were truly awful for the first time since the Charleston Classic, missing THREE block-charge fouls that wiped two points (plus one) off the board for NU AND led to Purdue points off of the next possession. AKA, an easy 3-7 points were given away by the refs.

 

Also, the phantom foul on Smith when he got all ball on a block shot late in the second, which led to another point.

 

Still, this wasn't enough for the officials to get Purdue at the -7 that they bet in Vegas, so it was for not and they lost their wagers they had on the game.

 

OVERALL GRADE: B

 

Nebraska hasn't found a way to win in the Big 10 yet, but its getting closer and closer. This was a 40 minute game for the second straight contest and outside of one half against OSU, the Huskers have been very competitive in league play.

 

With that said, after we lose to Ohio State, it'll have been six straight losses and Penn State will be hungry as hell for a victory. It could be nearing FEBRUARY by the time NU wins again.

 

I and most who watch this team every night can see progress happening.

 

However, I worry that an overall Big 10 record of 4-14 or 5-13 will show stagnance instead of the progress which is happening to the casual observer/recruit.

 

Just something to think about.

 

PLAYER OF THE GAME: TERRAN PETTEWAY

 

2013-2014 PLAYER OF THE GAME RESULTS:

 

TERRAN PETTEWAY - 8

 

TAI WEBSTER - 2

 

WALTER PITCHFORD - 2

 

LESLEE SMITH - 2

 

SHAVON SHIELDS - 1

 

DEVERELL BIGGS - 1



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I and most who watch this team every night can see progress happening.

 

However, I worry that an overall Big 10 record of 4-14 or 5-13 will show stagnance instead of the progress which is happening to the casual observer/recruit.

 

Amen

Yep, those that that "don't even know we have a team" will really start to jump off the wagon.

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