uneblinstu's Post Game Chatter: ed 7, vol 18 - Minnesota

[royalfan]

Yep Benny was huge once again.  We need him to continue to make an impact even though our defensive scheme makes him a bit less usefull this year IMO. 

[Norm Peterson]

We only had 3 offensive boards and Leslee Smith had 2 of them in his 8 minutes.  In 192 minutes by other players, we only secured 1 offensive board.  Eight minutes of Leslee Smith and we got 2.  So double the offensive boards in 1/24th the amount of time.  I like me some Leslee Smith.  Damn shame he was injured and missed half the season.  I bet we'd have AT LEAST two more wins if he'd been healthy all season long.

[hhcmatt]

Notes and quotes

 

Notes: 
*-Nebraska picked up its third-straight win against Minnesota, matching the Huskers’ longest streak in the series which dates back to 1902. NU also won three straight between 1934 and 1936.
*-Terran Petteway has been in double figures for 29 consecutive games dating back to last season.
*-With his first 3-pointer of the night, Petteway went over 1,000 career points. Petteway now has 1,008 career points, including his freshman year at Texas Tech. 
*-Nebraska improves to 14-6 in games decided by five points or less under Tim Miles
*-Walter Pitchford reached double figures in rebounds for the third time this season and fifth of his career. Pitchford finished with a season-high 11 rebounds.
*-Nebraska held Minnesota to season-lows in points (49) and field goal percentage (.308).
*-The Huskers have held three of their last four opponents to under 50 points
*-Nebraska has now held 10 opponents to under 40 percent this season.

 

Nebraska Head Coach Tim Miles

 

On defense in final twenty seconds

“I though the initial one that (Andre) Hollins got off was a decent look. That one worried me because that one had a good line. The ones after that just didn’t have the arc or the line. We’re just trying to not allow threes, that’s the only thing going through our heads. I started yelling ‘foul’ at six seconds but I don’t think they heard me. On the first two, I thought we did a pretty good job. They have really good guards.  That’s a really good basketball team. They can hurt you in a lot of ways and their record doesn’t reflect how good they really are.”

 

On Minnesota’s success at three pointers in the first half

“It was all (Andre) Hollins to me. He’s such a good player. Tai Webster coming off the bench really did a good job on him. I really commend Tai (Webster).”

 

On Tai Webster

“He had practiced really well on the scout team. He hadn’t even practiced with the top guys. I just liked his body language in practice, and I liked his pace. I thought he was more aggressive and felt better.”

 

On if defense can get better

“Yeah because we can rebound better defensively. Then they’ll get less opportunities, and I think that’s the biggest thing. The number one thing I think we have to get better at is defensive rebounding and our play in transition on offense.”

 

On Shavon Shields’ technical

“They said it was unsportsmanlike conduct, so I don’t know if it was gesturing or stomping. They didn’t say he said anything. I think they all thought we were playing really good defense. On Walter (Pitchford’s) they said he pushed the kid down but I didn’t see that play at all. It was a feisty game. It’s so hard for the officials when the ball doesn’t go in the hole. That was a really good group of officials. They’re a veteran group. We couldn’t even make free throws tonight, but our crowd loved it, I’m glad they were cheering for us.”

 

 

 

Nebraska Guard Terran Pettaway

On the game overall 

"Ugly. We did some good things in that game, and we did some bad things in that game, but we will take it. We have to build on this. Now is the time we have to make our run."

 

On the bad stuff

"The turnovers early. They were careless. Then we calmed down a little bit and handled their pressure better."

 

On the good

"Our defense. We held them to under 30% in the second half, that is what we we hang our hat on. Plus, it was a low-scoring game, so we will take it."

 

On getting the win

"We knew this was going to be the type of game it was. We talked about it all week at practice that it was going to be a low-scoring, physical game and that was exactly what it was. It is the Big Ten. That is what you live for every night."

 

On his thoughts during the last shot

"Man, I tried to block that shot with everything in me. I tried. I really tried to jump as high as I could."

 

On hitting 1,000 points tonight 

"Nothing. It is just 1,000 points. I'll be happy when we get some wins, like a Big Ten Championship or in a tournament." 

 

Nebraska Guard Tarin Smith 

On the defensive performance

"I thought we did a good job on the screens and helping on the screens. I thought that was pretty big. They were throwing a lot of ball screens. They ran a lot of off-ball screens for their shooters. I think that was big."

 

On dealing with the full court pressure

"I thought we dealt with it pretty well. At the beginning, it was a little shaky, but I thought as the game went on we got better. We started attacking a lot better."

 

 

 

Minnesota Head Coach Richard Pitino

 

Opening Statement

"Another tough one. I thought overall out of all the games we played--we have certainly have lost our fare share of close ones, I thought it was the best we executed. I thought we defended. I thought we rebounded and I thought we got open looks when we needed too. The reality of the situation is when you miss 10 free throws on the road like we did, in these one or two possession games, you are not going to win. I am proud of our effort, I am proud of our guys -- Miles has those guys playing really hard. They were well-prepared and give them credit. These guys will be ready to go on Saturday-- I can tell you that. I was really happy with the way they played to be honest with you." 

 

On the run in the second half, holding NU without a FG; what was the reason(s)

"I thought we got open looks. I am not sure though, I was standing by our bench and I thought we got some open looks. I don't know to be honest with you. I thought with this game, more than anything, I thought we were executing really well and getting some open looks. Mo' (Walker) was playing for the foul a little too much, he needed to be a quicker and more aggressive with his moves. Overall, we don't feel good about losing, but I am happy with the way they played tonight. I think we have to sure up our free throws. Really can't miss 10 free throws like that. Andre (Hollins) was put in some really tough situations  on the line by himself-- the place was going nuts, those are tough to make those free throws as well." 

 

On the offense, coldest  he has seen? 

"Again, I really think we got open looks. Now they are a very good defensive team--very-very good. One of the best in the country. Miles got those guys really defending, but I really believe we got open looks. I really do. Just didn't go in, I am not sure--I thought we executed what we wanted to do well." 

 

On playing zone, does he wish he played it more tonight

"We were going to read it, and start a 2-2-1, a 2-3 on makes and "5" (man-to-man)  on misses. I think we only played maybe four or five possessions I think. I also thought they were making some tough shots. But--you lose by three, so maybe so." 

 

On this season----unlucky ? 

"Yeah, but we are not going to get any sympathy. Miles is a good friend of mine, he don't feel sorry for me. So that is the way it works. I liked our locker room today. I liked how engaged we were in timeouts, I thought we were really talking tonight. We will break through. but we still have a ways to go. We are not going to sit here and say we are unlucky. We are going to create our own luck." 

 

On if it was strange to see three good shooters miss final shot

"Yes it is, it was tough  because I thought we executed it. Andre's shot was tough, the first initial shot-- I thought he was open. We really fought hard to get the rebounds. It is just---we did not make shots. But you have to give them credit, he did a great job of getting their defense ready to play hard." 

[Norm Peterson]

After seeing Miles and Pitino embrace in the post-game, I suddenly don't feel as much contempt for him as I had previously, assuming he got his job just because of his name and so forth.  I still despise Tom Crean, though.  Miles would have to hug him a whole bunch before I'd stop despising that steaming pile of pond scum.

[hhcmatt]

"Highlights"

 

http://www.snappytv.com/snaps/452239

 

If you want the last 3 point attempt you can see how lucky we were to not go to OT after our defense broke down and left Mathieu with a wide open shot. I know he was having a bad night but the guy shoots over 40% from 3

[hhcmatt]

Not sure if it was mentioned anywhere but the halftime show the "Olate Dogs" was pretty good...one of the best of the year.

 

[FredsSlacks]

we're not that far off from being on the bubble, and our next 5 games are very winnable.

[AuroranHusker]

funny quote from gopher forum:

 

"A good team rolls into Lincoln this year and wins by 10-15 without much question"

 

huh? our 3 home losses were by an average of 5 points, and we were a preseason top 25 team.

 

If Nebraska had hit their free throws in the middle part of the game, the Huskers would have won by 10-15. Guess we'll get to see Minny in the Twin Cities to find out who the "good team" is. Seems that the Gophers are 1-6 & Nebraska is 3-3. Ball don't lie.

 

 

I will add that on offense played out of sync much of the night but the thing that bothered me most was there for the taking: Nebraska couldn't seem to figure out that when Minny went with the zone that someone down low (Pitch or Shields) needed to pop to the free-throw line. I seem to recall that Shavon did it ONE TIME & promptly had a wide open 15' shot (don't think he made it, but still...). I have no idea why NU didn't ever want to go back to popping a post from low to high (catty-corner across lane). It was literally there much of the game. And, to top that, if Leslee had been able to go for major minutes, Shavon could dish it quickly to Leslee for a layup nearly at will. Maybe Nebrasketball will pull that out of the offensive arsenal soon.

[AuroranHusker]

- I don't think I've ever gone after a player as much as I did Mathieu. That was a blast. He was horrible.

- Walker was brutal too. Great defense by Walt on that guy.

- The BTN Journey crew didn't get much material on Eliason tonight.

 

- Fun game in the student section, but it wasn't a great game for everyone else I'm sure.

 

It was still a fun game. Defensive effort was outstanding. Nebrasketball victory can never be "not celebrated."

[AuroranHusker]

Here's a crazy stat, only 1 player who played in this game did NOT have a foul: Charles Buggs for Minny. And, Benny Parker didn't have a foul until VERY late, which is equally as stunning since Benny is typically a defensive stopper who gets tagged at least a couple times in a game. So, to recap, a total of 43 fouls & only 1 player out of the 19 players in this ballgame did NOT have a foul. Oh, and Buggs was only in the game for a grand total of 5 minutes; 4 other players tonight played 3, 4, 5 & 8 minutes with each of those players having 1 foul each. But, Buggs was the only one who went unscathed. Dramatic, ridiculous, #B1G basketball.

[huskerbaseball13]

-Didn't mind the tech on Shields, if I was the ref I probably would have T'd him up also.  But I would have done it when he was running down the court.  Not as he slowly walked back...but I'm not sure what was said.  Pitch's tech was turrruble.  He did absolutely nothing wrong

-Great work by Tai on the defensive end.  I think Miles can find him some minutes down the stretch if he continues to D up like that.

-Tarin...going to be a good one.  Excited about his future.  He's fearless out there which can't be said for a lot of freshman

-Benny had a rough game...but was HUGE at the FT line for us.

 

On to MSU...big game for this team.   

[HB]

Yep Benny was huge once again.  We need him to continue to make an impact even though our defensive scheme makes him a bit less usefull this year IMO. 

 

Huge the last couple of minutes.   Really struggled prior to that.  Was a big liability on offense, and frankly his defense struggled also.  But he deserves credit for pulling out of it and coming up big when we needed him.

[HB]

Good call on the dogs, Dimes.  I meant to alert folks to that show after seeing it the night before, and forgot.    One of the better halftime shows from any year. 

[throwback]

 

- Walter's a rabble rouser.

 

Perfect description  He's not shy about mixing it up a bit after the whistle, and I'm sure that has made the rounds among B1G officials, so they watch for it. Regardless of whether he deserved the T or not, it was a big moment in the game, as it really got the crowd going and allowed NU to push the lead out a bit.

 

Had to listen to most of it on the radio - which, by the way, is a lot of fun every once in a while because Kent & Matt are great - and I thought they said Shavon earned his T with the "magic" word within earshot of the scorer's table/at least one official. For what it's worth.

 

Ugh. So many 3s. This team cannot live on the 3-pt line. On the post game, Coach MIles took the bullet on the first half offense taking so many 3s, felt like he didn't call enough plays/actions. I'm guessing we'll spend most of our Sparty prep time working against zone, getting the ball inside. We're so much better - as are most teams - when shooting 3s off a pass from inside the lane. Inside-outside is key for this team's offensive flow.

 

Amazing defensive effort carries the day again. Our ultimate success this season probably is going to end up depending on whether we can duplicate that defensive effort - without fouling - when we go on the road. It's pretty obvious teams are going to have a tough time scoring at PBA, but can we do that same thing on the road? 

[huskerbaseball13]

 

 

- Walter's a rabble rouser.

 

Perfect description  He's not shy about mixing it up a bit after the whistle, and I'm sure that has made the rounds among B1G officials, so they watch for it. Regardless of whether he deserved the T or not, it was a big moment in the game, as it really got the crowd going and allowed NU to push the lead out a bit.

 

Had to listed to the 1st half on the radio, and I thought Kent & Matt said Shavon earned his T with the "magic" word within earshot of the scorer's table/at least one official. For what it's worth.

 

Ugh. So many 3s. This team cannot live on the 3-pt line. On the post game, Coach MIles took the bullet on the first half offense taking so many 3s, felt like he didn't call enough plays/actions. I'm guessing we'll spend most of our Sparty prep time working against zone, getting the ball inside. We're so much better - as are most teams - when shooting 3s off a pass from inside the lane. Inside-outside is key for this team's offensive flow.

 

Amazing defensive effort carries the day again. Our ultimate success this season probably is going to end up depending on whether we can duplicate that defensive effort - without fouling - when we go on the road. It's pretty obvious teams are going to have a tough time scoring at PBA, but can we do that same thing on the road? 

 

 

Hmmm, something I said at halftime that Hal didn't like. 

 

With that said, our action was much better in the second half.  If a team is going to zone us Shields needs to literally live in the middle of the zone and have a field day.  The first half was mostly standing around with Pitchford setting a high ball screen. 

[hhcmatt]

Ugh. So many 3s. This team cannot live on the 3-pt line.

 

We're in danger of moving below 30% for the year and possibly becoming one of the worst 3pt shooting teams in Husker History. We shot 27.4% in the 2002-03 season as Andrew Drevo made the most treys that year.

 

Also

 

[Fullbacksympathy]

I really like the ball being brought up by Tarin.  He's a natural, an above average ball handler, and had an excellent high school coach.  A fresh Benny is a change of pace and a nightmare for a tired opposing team.  I'm guessing they switch roles for Saturday.

 

I was happy for Tai.  I think Molinari is really working on him defensively.  I think he has a lot more natural talent to be a defensive specialist than a scorer.  He played well, and was much more composed/balanced on defense.  He was keeping everything in front of him for the most part.  

 

It's hard to find a lot of individual bright spots in a game that was so poor offensively.  That said, the defense was, once again, a thing of beauty and continues to give us chances to win.  

 

I hope in the future that Shavon starts aggressively looking for that elbow jumper against zone.  He should be a zone buster every time from that spot.  

 

I love Terran, but I'm really sick of the "dagger" three he takes (and usually misses) every time we have a tiny bit of momentum.  I like the aggressiveness, but I'd much rather see him take it to the rack when we have 4-point-lead adrenaline.  

[Fullbacksympathy]

That was quite serendipitous.  

[Handy Johnson]

Thank God Mo Walker absolutely sucks.

[49r]

[hhcmatt]

I love Terran, but I'm really sick of the "dagger" three he takes (and usually misses) every time we have a tiny bit of momentum.  I like the aggressiveness, but I'd much rather see him take it to the rack when we have 4-point-lead adrenaline.  

 

[HuskerBB]

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is because we never pass the ball - whoever has the ball just takes it to the rack.   One time last night Pettaway dished to Smith for a layup.   4 or 5 time we could have had an uncontested layup just by making 1 or 2 passes.  We did also have the time where Shavon passed it to someone for a layup - but did it only after contact which fortunately was called a block and not a charge.

[kimaniismyffriend]

Did anybody notice that every time Benny would dribble over half court he got trapped. Caused a few turnovers. Sure that was scouted by Minn. That needs to be cleaned up or Benny can't be on the court. He has to stop picking up his dribble and being so right handed with the ball. 

[GATA]

I just want to say that Tarin Smith, if he isn't already, is going to be a baller. Love watching him play. He has easy athleticism and is hard-nosed defensively. My only issue with him, and it's probably because he's a freshman getting used to D-1 basketball, is he needs to be a little more aware of trailing defenders, particularly against the press. He nearly had the ball poked out a couple of times.

But that's just nitpicking.

It's hard to believe a player of this quality was available to us late in the recruiting process. Right place right time I guess.

[Swan88]

The Gopher Rivals site has a free article here on last night's game.  It's fairly upbeat, given all their tough-luck circumstances of late.

 

But here's how it starts out: 

"The Nebraska Cornhuskers have defeated the Minnesota Gophers three times in a row. Let that sink in." 

Pretty funny and kinda cool, all at the same time.