The Harsh Reality About Tonight

[NUdiehard]

A lot of people writing off this season already, which I expected at the first sign of adversity. Rhode Island was a game we should of won as well, but I didn't see the implode as much there. I am used to it on this board though. Shoot, we have done it every year since I can remember. I don't know how many times that I saw this kind of stuff after losses last year, and look how it turned out.

 

First, I haven't seen anybody "write off this season", but rather show frustration over this loss and show some "concern" for the rest of this season if we don't get it together soon.  Second, you do realize that those "people" who have shown concern in past years after bad losses like this were CORRECT in "every year since you can remember" EXCEPT just one (last year).  Third, people are not reacting to just this one loss.  Many are reacting to the first seven games, none of which NU has played particularly well.  NU has only played 3 teams that are worth anything, and has lost to 2 of them (one of them being at home where we are supposed to have a huge home court advantage).  And even against the cupcakes NU has not looked very good. 

[lanigan123]

I think next years team will be better than this years, with or without Petteway.

[hhcmatt]

I think next years team will be better than this years, with or without Petteway.

 

We're going to have a guy in White who hopefully will be the knock down 3pt shooter we haven't had since Ryan Anderson. I hope Ed Morrow brings his big boy pants when he steps on campus because I'll take an undersized power forward on our roster of oversized guards.

[hskr4life]

A lot of people writing off this season already, which I expected at the first sign of adversity. Rhode Island was a game we should of won as well, but I didn't see the implode as much there. I am used to it on this board though. Shoot, we have done it every year since I can remember. I don't know how many times that I saw this kind of stuff after losses last year, and look how it turned out.

First, I haven't seen anybody "write off this season", but rather show frustration over this loss and show some "concern" for the rest of this season if we don't get it together soon.  Second, you do realize that those "people" who have shown concern in past years after bad losses like this were CORRECT in "every year since you can remember" EXCEPT just one (last year).  Third, people are not reacting to just this one loss.  Many are reacting to the first seven games, none of which NU has played particularly well.  NU has only played 3 teams that are worth anything, and has lost to 2 of them (one of them being at home where we are supposed to have a huge home court advantage).  And even against the cupcakes NU has not looked very good.

I have seen a few very negative comments, most out of fresturation, and that was the point of the post. People were pissed posting without thinking about the overall picture.

I never said people were wrong about showing concern. Just stated that I'm used to it and it's happens every year where you get on the board ahfter a concerning loss and everyone's already talking CIT (sarcasm btw)

NU has a true road win over an ACC team, and has two clunkers. Many point these out but fail to realize we have looked good in stretches. Not EVERYTHING about this early portion of the season has been bad. Is there some concerning things? Yeah, I and everyone would agree. Is all hope lost? Not by a long shot.

[Cazzie22]

I'm not sure NU had the two best players on the court.  Austin Chatman might have been the best player on the court.  Too bad the Hansen kid got away to CU.  He could give us a post presence.  Creighton will be OK in the Big East.  They will be tough to beat in Omaha.

[Ron Mexico]

No report cards this year, but I'll chime in from time to time with some thoughts.

 

Yes, its probably convenient my first at length post game post comes after a bitter loss.

 

No, it won't always be this way. I'll post after plenty of good moments to come, too.

 

Where do we start with tonight?

 

First of all, the prevailing talk with the coaches, players and fans of Husker Nation is that "in the grand scheme, this doesn't really matter. It's like our 19th or 20th most important game."

 

Touche - you can make that argument. Certainly this game does NOT rank in the most important of the year.

 

HOWEVER, if we lose the technical stuff and look at the big picture, this one stings very badly. And its disturbing.

 

First of all, I don't believe I have really ever said anything bad about Coach Miles. Here and there, I may have given him bad grades on report cards the last two years but overall, I would say I have a man crush on him. I love the guy.

 

With that said, he STUNK tonight. Was COMPLETELY out classed by Greg McDermott, who I DON'T (or at least DIDN'T) consider to be a very good coach.

 

Boy, was I wrong (at least tonight)... Nebraska did whatever they wanted the first ten minutes and its true that had the players made a few more shots, this one could have been different. Give Miles credit for taking Creighton out of their game the first ten minutes.

 

However, from that point forward, Creighton outscored us by approximately 20 points, as they made adjustments (especially on offense) and we didn't. We remained stagnant. Had no answers or different strategies. It was sink or swim with what we had done the first ten minutes.

 

Now, let's give McDermott a lot of credit. It's not ALL on MIles, certainly. Greg coached a hell of a game. And his players hit shots that maybe some nights, they don't normally hit.

 

They took away driving lanes and packed it in, making Webster, Smith, Parker and Rivers beat them. They didn't and couldn't.

 

Defensively, the screens drove us nuts, as did the double teams, and we were unable to keep with CU guys in the last 25 minutes. It was sad.

 

As much as I hate Creighton (as much as anyone)- they are our daddy and that isn't changing anytime soon. McDermott's bunch will be better next year and we will be without (most likely) Petteway, on the road. I don't see this series changing much in the next couple of years.

 

Simply put, if you can't beat (what I would call a) rag tag CU team (yes, I'm aware they beat OU at home), AT the PBA, in "your year," where you have the TWO BEST PLAYERS ON THE COURT... and you lose by double figures... at home... you ain't beating them anytime soon. Its pathetic. We are their step sons. Let's quit the tough talk and finally admit it.

 

Other notes that WEREN'T Miles fault (and there's plenty - it really was out coached and out classed).

 

1. Can't make free throws.

 

2. Forced some jump shots, especially in the second half. They were calling touch fouls all of a sudden the last 12 minutes. So what do we mainly do? Shoot jumpers.

 

3. Parker needs to stop stepping out of bounds.

 

4. Webster has been a complete bust. The "he's young" talk can stop pretty soon, as he's 1/3 of the way through is eligibility at Nebraska and marginally better than he was at 0%.

 

5. Pitchford will decide if we go to the NCAA or NIT. If he can't shoot the rock (and fall away 20 footers after starting 1-5 aint gonna get it done), and if he can't get more than 2.5 rebounds per game, we are going nowhere.

 

6. This loss, coupled with two more non conference, almost assures us an NIT berth barring a Top 5 Big 10 finish. And if we can't beat 2 of the 3 of Cincy, Hawaii and Wichita, we probably don't deserve to go. Then again, Purdue lost to UNF at home, Michigan at home to NJIT, Indiana to EWU, so who knows.

 

7. I have attended 14 of the last 16 CU/NU games. 6 of them I flew home from Florida and NC just for the games. Tonight I dropped $500 on primo seats and took time off tomorrow. No more.

 

They. Are. Our. Daddies.

 

Pathetic.

 

And one last thing - if our coach is going to openly mock their fanbase before the game, you better win the damn thing. This one is embarrassing and hurts more than most of the last 15 years.

Can't say I disagree Dave. I also agree with the point someone made about missing Gallegos. We have essentially replaced Galeegos with the combination of Webster and Smith. I want to see less Webster and more Smith. I don't know what the deal is with Webster and the college game vs international play that has him playing like two completely different players. I'm not giving up on Tai as I believe he can and will provide depth for us down the road. 

 

Where we lost this game was:

1. Sheilds getting bottled up. He was a complete non-factor in this game. If we are going to have any success this year Shields has to make his presence felt. This is probably the worst game I've ever seen him play.

2. Parker got beat by Chapman...often. CU spread the court and Chapman was able to dibble drive. 

3. We did played horrible perimeter defense which left the CU shooters wide open. 

 

When a team is packing it in like CU was we have to be able to make the 15-20 foot shots. There was a lot of indecision. The shots were there we just weren't taking them.

 

I'm not sure what is going on with Pitchford but he is not playing like he did last year. He needs to figure it out in a hurry.

 

While our interior defense wasn't that bad and we have improved on our rebounding we have little to no post offense.

 

I know it is easy to get on Petteway but he is not the reason we lost this game and as a matter of fact was the reason we were able to stay in it for so long. He had to take some bad shots because no one else was shooting. I was really impressed with how well he did rebounding the ball and his overall composure. He didn't commit any of his usually silly fouls. 

 

Mostly this loss was all on Miles. CU is completely in Miles head. I believe he is 0-11 vs CU. He needed to make some adjustments when he saw that CU was going to take away dribble drive at all costs. I would have liked to seen Petteway go into the block with his back to the basket and force CU out of the zone and into double teaming him which would have opened up some passing lanes.

 

Like Dave said, this loss hurt, more than any other game  with them has in very long time. There is no reason we should have lost to them and this is going to hurt us when it comes to selection Sunday. We now are in a must win situation for the rest of our non-conference schedule with the Diamond Head classic taking on a lot more importance than it should have had we beaten RI and CU. 

[bball23]

The thing I love about NU hoops fans is they have a football mindset.  We lose one game and the end of the world has hit us. 

 

Look, NU has a LOT of flaws right now, they really do.  CU had a great game plan, executed well and deserved to win last night.  Kudos to them.  NU missed a lot of open shots last night that we hope we can start to hit.  When we do, we will look like a pretty darn good team.  When we don't, we will look average.  This goes for almost EVERY team in basketball.  When you put that orange ball into that orange cylinder you look much better.  NU was awful from behind the arc.  CU took a chance, packed the lanes and forced NU to shoot over the top.  NU missed, and missed often.  Equals loss.  CU hit 10 3 pointers and they won.  On Saturday, NJIT hit like 12 3's and upset Michigan.  That's basketball.

 

What I want to see is how NU responds after a loss to their in-State foe. 

 

And I have news for people, we're going to lose again.  Numerous times.  And like most times, people will be jumping off bridges and being pissed off.  I get to be frustrated, but the thing about basketball is you can't get too high after wins, and too low after losses.  Coach Izzo told Miles before the season to schedule some tough games, get your brains beat out and learn from it.  So far we have had two games where we simply weren't very good.  The key is to see how they bounce back from it.

 

I still think this team will do good things this year.  When you have guys like Petteway and Shields who can go off on any given night, you have a shot.  If our defense continues to improve, we will only get better.  The ONE thing that does make me a bit nervous is not having Leslee  The thing Leslee brings is the ability to score on the block.  Which then opens up shooters as well as driving lanes.  So hopefully he can be back around B10 time and help us in that department. That and post defense and rebounding. 

[hhcmatt]

The thing I love about NU hoops fans is they have a football mindset.  We lose one game and the end of the world has hit us. 

 

Michigan just dropped a game to NJIT. It happens.

The reaction you're seeing has a lot to do with losing and it being to a Creighton team a lot of us would like to beat.

[Handy Johnson]

They. Are. NOT. Our. Daddies.

 

They are the annoying little bastard child of the neighbor lady who got knocked up by the milk man.

 

The bottom line is the team played worse tonight than any other game in the Miles era.  Just horrible shooting performance.  Bottom line.  We didn't defend particularly well but well enough to win if we could just shoot the damn ball.  Tonight was probably the low water mark for shooting in the Miles era.

 

We desparately need a guy who is willing and able to bury semi-open looks from the corner when they try to collapse on the driving lanes.  We don't have that guy.  Tai either needs to step up or go play pro ball in New Zealand.  Quit passing up the open looks and start burying them instead.  And, if you can't do that, then go start making a paycheck playing down under.

 

Walt, quit being a frickin' pussy.  There's more to the game of basketball than shooting threes.  Especially when you're 6'10" and have a 40+ inch vertical.  Get the hell inside and learn how to bang a little bit.

 

We're a better team than the one that showed up tonight.  But we might have dug ourselves and RPI hole that will be difficult to climb out of because I expect Creighton to not have a very solid RPI by season's end and it'll hurt having a home loss to a team outside the RPI top 100. 

 

This was a very bad loss.  But we lost because we played like crap; not because Creighton is our daddy.

What he said...

[bball23]

 

The thing I love about NU hoops fans is they have a football mindset.  We lose one game and the end of the world has hit us. 

 

Michigan just dropped a game to NJIT. It happens.

The reaction you're seeing has a lot to do with losing and it being to a Creighton team a lot of us would like to beat.

 

Trust me, I get this as I can't stand CU either (mainly the fans).  And last night was definitely frustrating and I understand people being upset.  And a message board is a good place to vent as you are venting with other people that feel the same way you do.  I am just curious to see how we respond the rest of the OOC schedule before B10 play starts.  My goal for this season was to get to the NCAA tourney (no matter what seed) and somehow find a way to win a game.  I knew their would be peaks and valleys.  I just hope we have more peaks than valleys and find a way to play the way I know this team is capable of playing.

[huskerbaseball13]

 

 

The thing I love about NU hoops fans is they have a football mindset.  We lose one game and the end of the world has hit us. 

 

Michigan just dropped a game to NJIT. It happens.

The reaction you're seeing has a lot to do with losing and it being to a Creighton team a lot of us would like to beat.

 

Trust me, I get this as I can't stand CU either (mainly the fans).  And last night was definitely frustrating and I understand people being upset.  And a message board is a good place to vent as you are venting with other people that feel the same way you do.  I am just curious to see how we respond the rest of the OOC schedule before B10 play starts.  My goal for this season was to get to the NCAA tourney (no matter what seed) and somehow find a way to win a game.  I knew their would be peaks and valleys.  I just hope we have more peaks than valleys and find a way to play the way I know this team is capable of playing.

 

 

My main concern is that we have not looked all that great in pretty much every single one of our games.  Are we a bad team right now? No.  But are we a team that looks NCAA bound right now? I don't think so.  With that said, at this point last year many of us probably would have said we would be lucky to make the NIT.  But there are reasons for concern.  We have zero depth, no post presence on the offensive end, and our PG play is still lacking.  And I would argue our schedule this year will end up being more difficult than last year.  In the end...if we can find a way to win 10 Big Ten games we should be okay.  But, we will need to make some improvements to get there. 

[Hooper]

As much as I hate Creighton (as much as anyone)- they are our daddy and that isn't changing anytime soon. McDermott's bunch will be better next year and we will be without (most likely) Petteway, on the road. I don't see this series changing much in the next couple of years.

 

You really believe CU will be better next year after losing Chatman, Brooks, Dingman and Artino? That's hard to believe. Maybe it's true, but I'm skeptical.

[The Polish Rifle]

I hate the, "we are better, we just played bad" excuse. They beat us by 10 on our floor, and they've beat us 4 times in a row. They are the better basketball team. If the roles were reversed husker fans would be having fits if CU was saying they are better. To end my post on a lighter note, with Miles we are trending in the right direction, just not there yet.

[hhcmatt]

P.S. I fully expect to beat these guys at the CLINK next year because it's not like they're Wichita St or something. 

[PeltzFan12]

Hi all. Longtime season ticket holder here. (Since 1989) I was one of the "faithful 6,500" during the early 2000's and beyond..so I've seen the highs and the LOWS.  Just providing some background on myself.

Was at the game last night, then went home and watched it on DVR.  Needed to decompress before I made my first post on here. As I was stewing in my car waiting for the long line to move out of the festival, listening to Coach Mile's on the postgame show, I started to let some pretty negative thoughts enter my mind.  You see, I've lived in Omaha my entire life.  I can't stand Creighton.  I've gone to the last four NU vs. CU games in Omaha and have been treated pretty bad in 3 of the 4.  Almost got into a fight with a mid 40's drunk two games ago...(the Doc Sadler/Technical for going and sitting next to Greg game)

Anyway...I dislike Creighton as much as anything.  I formed a friendship with Mike Peltz the past couple of years, and he's my hero for putting Avery Dingman in a headlock. My point is, I hate Creighton, with a passion.  But last night, stewing, I slowly began to have a slight, small, sliver of respect for them. They get guys that don't look like they should be able to hang on the court with NU's guys, and just play more disciplined, team basketball.  It's their MO.  I don't even know what our MO is.  I guess inconsistency.  I want nothing more for us to beat CU.  I don't see this task next year being any easier, even if TP comes back and with the addition of our new guys.  Miles maybe was a bit too arrogant and NU paid.  It's not all on him, it's not all on our players, and very little had to do with our crowd.  But combined, it was just enough to allow CU to put themselves in position to get the win.  Oh yeah, that slight, small, sliver of respect I had for CU went out the window with my fart somewhere around the platte river...

[Silverbacked1]

Hi all. Longtime season ticket holder here. (Since 1989) I was one of the "faithful 6,500" during the early 2000's and beyond..so I've seen the highs and the LOWS.  Just providing some background on myself.

Was at the game last night, then went home and watched it on DVR.  Needed to decompress before I made my first post on here. As I was stewing in my car waiting for the long line to move out of the festival, listening to Coach Mile's on the postgame show, I started to let some pretty negative thoughts enter my mind.  You see, I've lived in Omaha my entire life.  I can't stand Creighton.  I've gone to the last four NU vs. CU games in Omaha and have been treated pretty bad in 3 of the 4.  Almost got into a fight with a mid 40's drunk two games ago...(the Doc Sadler/Technical for going and sitting next to Greg game)

Anyway...I dislike Creighton as much as anything.  I formed a friendship with Mike Peltz the past couple of years, and he's my hero for putting Avery Dingman in a headlock. My point is, I hate Creighton, with a passion.  But last night, stewing, I slowly began to have a slight, small, sliver of respect for them. They get guys that don't look like they should be able to hang on the court with NU's guys, and just play more disciplined, team basketball.  It's their MO.  I don't even know what our MO is.  I guess inconsistency.  I want nothing more for us to beat CU.  I don't see this task next year being any easier, even if TP comes back and with the addition of our new guys.  Miles maybe was a bit too arrogant and NU paid.  It's not all on him, it's not all on our players, and very little had to do with our crowd.  But combined, it was just enough to allow CU to put themselves in position to get the win.  Oh yeah, that slight, small, sliver of respect I had for CU went out the window with my fart somewhere around the platte river...

Oh you are going to be a great addition to the board. Welcome!

[Handy Johnson]

As long as we lead the All-time series, 25 - 23 now, all the Creighton fans can do is chirp (pun intended).

[Norm Peterson]

As long as we lead the All-time series, 25 - 23 now, all the Creighton fans can do is chirp (pun intended).

What was the all-time series record in 2000?  Something like 21-11?  I take little comfort in looking at the overall series record when we've lost 12 of the last 16 games in the series.  I'm totally serious when I say that we all need to STFU about Creighton until we start winning some of those games.  And it didn't happen this year.

 

I agree with what Peltz said about Creighton.  They don't have talent that blows you away but they have elements that make for a whole system.  You can't really break down individual defense, so lets look at the offensive end.  They have a point who can not only distribute but score.  He has great quicks and can beat you off the dribble and dish or kick, but he can also hit from medium and long range.  I didn't see him find the rim too much but what he did do was certainly good enough.

 

They don't have great bigs, but they have a couple of guys who are willing to back their man down in the low post and score over the top of him.  We were getting into a position where we had to double their post, which was killer for us.  When we have to double their post and they have all those kick-out options, we're meat.

 

Finally, they have some guys who can shoot.  Not great, but they were hitting pretty well the other night.  A couple of them were shooting way better than usual.  But they were getting open looks because their posts were drawing double-teams and we were leaving shooters wide open.  Guess what happens when you give a mediocre shooter some wide-open looks?  I'll tell you what happens.  You make him look like a great shooter.

 

We either have to do a better job of our bigs manning up on theirs without help, or we're going to have to do a lot better job rotating and closing out on shooters when we send someone in to double the post.

 

Props to Creighton.  They have scoreboard on us.  Again.  We have no business criticizing or making fun of them until we start winning some of these games.  Period.

[hhcmatt]

Props to Creighton.  They have scoreboard on us.  Again.  We have no business criticizing or making fun of them until we start winning some of these games.  Period.

 

Yup. Yup. Yup. Nope.

I'm all about having not everything having to be about Creighton. I'm not sure why our current losing streak nor future winning streaks should alter this.  This is the Tim Miles era at UNL.  I certainly don't plan on wasting it dwelling on other teams.

[PeltzFan12]

 

Hi all. Longtime season ticket holder here. (Since 1989) I was one of the "faithful 6,500" during the early 2000's and beyond..so I've seen the highs and the LOWS.  Just providing some background on myself.

Was at the game last night, then went home and watched it on DVR.  Needed to decompress before I made my first post on here. As I was stewing in my car waiting for the long line to move out of the festival, listening to Coach Mile's on the postgame show, I started to let some pretty negative thoughts enter my mind.  You see, I've lived in Omaha my entire life.  I can't stand Creighton.  I've gone to the last four NU vs. CU games in Omaha and have been treated pretty bad in 3 of the 4.  Almost got into a fight with a mid 40's drunk two games ago...(the Doc Sadler/Technical for going and sitting next to Greg game)

Anyway...I dislike Creighton as much as anything.  I formed a friendship with Mike Peltz the past couple of years, and he's my hero for putting Avery Dingman in a headlock. My point is, I hate Creighton, with a passion.  But last night, stewing, I slowly began to have a slight, small, sliver of respect for them. They get guys that don't look like they should be able to hang on the court with NU's guys, and just play more disciplined, team basketball.  It's their MO.  I don't even know what our MO is.  I guess inconsistency.  I want nothing more for us to beat CU.  I don't see this task next year being any easier, even if TP comes back and with the addition of our new guys.  Miles maybe was a bit too arrogant and NU paid.  It's not all on him, it's not all on our players, and very little had to do with our crowd.  But combined, it was just enough to allow CU to put themselves in position to get the win.  Oh yeah, that slight, small, sliver of respect I had for CU went out the window with my fart somewhere around the platte river...

Oh you are going to be a great addition to the board. Welcome!

 

Thank-you Silverbacked....Glad to be here!!

[AuroranHusker]

 

The thing I love about NU hoops fans is they have a football mindset.  We lose one game and the end of the world has hit us. 

 

Michigan just dropped a game to NJIT. It happens.

The reaction you're seeing has a lot to do with losing and it being to a Creighton team a lot of us would like to beat.

 

 

Mythagain also lost to EMU, 45-42, tonight. One would suspect that the Wolverines will figure it out yet this season... hope BIg Red basketball does as well.

[AuroranHusker]

 

Props to Creighton.  They have scoreboard on us.  Again.  We have no business criticizing or making fun of them until we start winning some of these games.  Period.

 

Yup. Yup. Yup. Nope.

I'm all about having not everything having to be about Creighton. I'm not sure why our current losing streak nor future winning streaks should alter this.  This is the Tim Miles era at UNL.  I certainly don't plan on wasting it dwelling on other teams.

 

 

 

"All the hexing, vexing, put that 'crap' on someone else..." Yep, what Miles said.

[hskr4life]

The thing I love about NU hoops fans is they have a football mindset.  We lose one game and the end of the world has hit us.

 

Michigan just dropped a game to NJIT. It happens.

The reaction you're seeing has a lot to do with losing and it being to a Creighton team a lot of us would like to beat.

 

Mythagain also lost to EMU, 45-42, tonight. One would suspect that the Wolverines will figure it out yet this season... hope BIg Red basketball does as well.

I wonder what their board is doing right now. How many "Not an NCAA team" and "Not going to happen this year" quotes are on their board. Shoot those last two losses are brutal.

[hhcmatt]

The harsh reality about this team is that we aren't good enough to win a lot of games unless we bring proper preparation and execution to the table. The hype coming into this year is often motivation enough for our opponents. What's our excuse?

 

That's how you lose to Rhode Island team that really didn't want to close us out.  

That's how you lose to an average Creighton team at home.

That's how you sleepwalk to start a game against UNO.

 

It's highly disappointing that this team hasn't seemed to pick up where we left off last year.

This season is far from over and Miles' squads here have been much improved to end the year.

Yesterday's presser was a message from Tim that he's ready to switch up the lineup and rotations. Lets hope he finds the right equation sooner than later because Incarnate Word won't back down and there aren't any gimmies left on the schedule.

[Silverbacked1]

I think this team gets it, they just ain't got it yet.