uneblinstu's Post Game Chatter: Vol 8, Issue 25 - Detroit Mercy

[Norm Peterson]

Uneblinstu was too busy during the game glad-handing it with the mucketymucks to get here in time to start this thread, apparently.  So, without further ado ...

 

 

The game was not as close as the final score might lead anyone to believe.  The second half was a blowout.  We got up by nearly 30.  They made a run against guys like Johnny Youngblood, Tanner Orchard, Malcolm X Law, Evelyn Bacardi and Oooey Wallawallabingbang.  Miles asked Mo if he wanted to suit up and get in a little exercise before eating all that chocolate on Valentines' Day, but Mo figured he better save himself.  Just in case.

 

Yeah, that was fun to see a blowout. 

 

In the first home game in the post-Shavon era.  Which is hopefully coming to an end soon.

 

Jacob Hammond showed up for the first time in awhile.  Ed Morrow's foot problems must be legit because he wasn't dunking every time during warmups.

 

Nick Fuller made his minutes count.

 

I'm a bit worried if we ever have to rely on these walk-ons, though.  Ten more minutes with them in there and the game might have ended differently. 

 

 

P.S.  Detroit Mercy had a really tall guy but he was only worth about 5 minutes per half.

[hhcmatt]

[hhcmatt]

Post game notes

 

Nebraska Postgame Notes
*-Andrew White III finished with a career-high 35 points in today’s game. It was his second career 30-point game and topped his previous best of 30 against Abilene Christian on Dec. 5. His 35-point effort ties for 10th in school history.

*-Andrew White III tied the Pinnacle Bank Arena record for points, which was held by Shavon Shields (vs. Omaha in 2014-15) and Terran Petteway (vs. Minnesota in 2013-14). It also equals the most points by a Husker under Tim Miles.

*-White’s six 3-pointers were a career-high (previous high was 5 on two occasions, most recently at Rutgers on Jan. 10) and the most by Husker since Walter Pitchford had six against Tennessee-Martin on Nov. 28, 2014

*-Michael Jacobson posted his third double-figure effort in the last four games, finishing with 10 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes

*-Nebraska held Penn State to 54 points, which was NU’s best defensive effort in Big Ten play. The previous low was 56 at Rutgers on Jan. 10.

*-Nebraska finished with 11 steals today, marking the fourth time this year the Huskers had at least 10 steals.

*-Jake Hammond gave NU the best performance in conference play in his career with nine points, five rebounds and two assists. Hammond had just five points in his first eight conference appearances this year.

*-The win was NU’s 14th of the season, marking the 19th time in 21 years of coaching that a Miles-coached team tied or exceeded the previous season’s win total.

Nebraska Coach Tim Miles
On game overall
“Andrew White III had a phenomenal night. We really needed that, and he was a real shot in the arm. Second of all, I thought that we had key contributions by Nick Fuller and Jacob Hammond. You could really see a difference in the game with those two guys. Lastly, the separation in the second half. That was an important win. We needed that. We needed a shot in the arm, and we got one.”

 

On Michael Jacobson growth
“I think as he has gotten more confident and comfortable. I know his game, I feel strongly about what he can do. He is more aware of the energy and the force he has to play with. He has learned some hard lessons like at Purdue and he has also done some really good things for us. He was really good tonight.”

 

On Brandon Taylor’s (Penn State) and back-to-back fouls
“That was important because that is when we went on the run. Brandon Taylor is really a tough match up of us right now with out Shavon (Shields). Even with Shavon he is a tough match up. He is a big, physical player, and if he gets space he can really hurt you. Obviously we want him to play in a crowd and I thought the guys did a good job, but the foul trouble helped us.

 

On Jacob Hammond
“I believe with Ed (Morrow Jr.) being out there was no worry about the quick hook. That maybe gave him more security or confidence knowing that we are going to live with him out there. Go play hard and do your job and that’s important. Then he had success and he did things right, made some plays, that helps too.

 

Nebraska Forward Michael Jacobson:
On how it felt to see Shavon (Shields) on the bench for support
“It was good to see him back out there. He’s been progressing, so that is good. He is definitely the heart and soul of our team, emotional leader, physical leader and vocal leader, so it was good to see him out there and making progress. Hopefully he will be back soon for us.”

 

On if the team collectively picked it up a notch knowing Shields is out

 

“We kind of talked about it. Shavon is out, and we can’t do anything about it. He’s got to take his time and get better, and we’ve got to come together and find new ways to win without a big part of our team like he is.”

 

On how his game has improved:

 

“I would just say my confidence has built a little bit. I’ve been working hard with the coaches and watching film and doing individual workouts and trying to get better. I would just say overall my confidence has grown and I feel like I am playing more aggressive and just making the plays when I see them when they’re there.”

 

Junior Guard Andrew White III:
On if it was one of those nights where everything went in
“Yeah, my teammates did a good job of getting me open. My coaches did a really good job of putting me in a position to score points. I had an efficient night from the floor, but that is kind of what I expect to do just from an efficiency standpoint. It was good to get going, but more importantly my coaches just challenged me to have a really big game just because we were in desperation to win, so that is more important. I feel good about the 35 [points] but I feel even better that I could help put my team in a position to win this game, especially since lately a lot of people have made a lot of us being without Shavon, so that is more special to me than the 35 [points].”

 

On how the coaches challenged him to step up
“Well the past day or two at practice I had just been slow. I hadn’t practiced well and had just been fatigued all week. I have been fighting a little cold and a minor ear infection, so I just have not had the energy that I usually have. That was coming off a bad performance against Wisconsin, so in this situation the coaches tell me that I’m the guy and I have to lead the team now. The coaches were on me just this morning about having to do better based on the performance I had done in practice and going back to the Wisconsin game. They just challenged me to come out and have a big game on both ends of the floor because they knew they were going to need a lot out of me for us to win this game.”

Penn State Coach Patrick Chambers
"You just knew (Andrew) White was going to come out like that—he played terrific. Watching the Wisconsin game, you knew he wasn’t going to be held down another game like that. It’s just not his makeup. Coach Miles did a great job of getting him shots, and they played really well. They play hard, they play tough, they play with a lot of juice, and a lot of energy. Watson’s three at the end of the half hurt us. They stole the momentum away from us, and then Taylor picks up his third early in the second, and it was downhill from there. I felt like our team lost their leader or lost their dog. I was trying to rally them in the huddle—we did everything we could in the huddles to inspire. Sometimes it just goes like that, and it seems like that is a pretty common theme for us on the road. We aren’t shooting the ball very well on the road. So, credit to Coach Miles and credit to White for stepping up in the absence of Shields.”

You did hold White to 15 in the first half. What did you do different defensively?
“We just tried to take him out. We played a little bit of zone so he’s not cutting through as much or coming off of double screens. Watson and Benny (Parker) do a nice job of finding him and making us make mistakes, so we did a pretty good job there, but we need Payton Banks out on the floor. He got two early ones and got in some foul trouble. I had Josh Reaves on him [White] for a little while there, and he [Reaves]’s still young, but we did a nice job for that stretch of time there. The zone was taking him out to let somebody else beat us, but in the second half, nothing worked.”

Did Nebraska counter in any way second half?
“They just played harder. If you think about it, we had 17 turnovers. That means we didn’t have 17 attempts at shooting the basketball or getting to the free throw line or getting somebody in foul trouble. Seventeen opportunities. So when you have that many turnovers—and I knew the key to the game would be to take care of the ball. We didn’t take care of the ball, so I knew it was going to be this. And that’s exactly what it is because they are in transition, and they are really good when they are downhill.”

[hhcmatt]

[hhcmatt]

White Post Game

http://www.huskers.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=5030605

 

Jacobson Post Game

http://www.huskers.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=5030606

[Huskerpapa]

Fun game, especially after the pogo experts made their appearance. 

- Drew was flippin unreal...even when the shots didn't count, they went in.  (He had 50% of our points)

- I love, love, love watching Glynn when the ball is in his hands.

- Nice to see Jake and Nick step up their games tonight.  Jake seemed to really have a ball.

- Loved the referee's.  Just thought that we should comment. 

- We won that game without Shavon, without Ed and with Jack, Tai and Benny having average or below average games.

[HuskerCager]

- We won that game without Shavon, without Ed and with Jack, Tai and Benny having average or below average games.

Yes - after the game,  I thought, if you told me that Shavon and Ed weren't playing and Tai wasn't going to score, I would have written this game off as a certain loss.

[uneblinstu]

Thanks, Normy. 

 

As a side note, I've been working my way through Cheers on Netflix. Big fan of yours.

 

Also, I'll be out for Wednesday, too. Possibly OSU, too. TBD on that one.

[hhcmatt]

Uh...Wisconsin might be good

[Cazzie22]

Hard to believe NU wins that impressively with only 6 players scoring.  Nice win and needs to lead to some late season momentum.  Great to see Hammond, Fuller and Bakari getting some meaningful time and contributions.

[uneblinstu]

Watch Chambers on Watson's 3 to end the first half. Half frustration, half fury, half helplessness, half disappointment. Almost felt bad for him. He's got a real tough job there in Happy Valley. Wonder how long his rope is?

[hhcmatt]

White talked a lot about scoring in Miles' dribble drive system in his presser on Thursday, essentially saying he needed to figure out how to score despite an offense not geared on passing around for an open look. He put on a show tonight, taking and making shots when not wide open. Can he continue to be aggressive? Can he put up 20 vs Indiana?

 

Watson is one of the lead for steals on this team with 3 more tonight. He also hit yet another buzzer beating 3.

 

Miles mentioned in his postgame that Hammond had to take care of some stuff off the court (classes?) and with Ed being out is finally getting an opportunity. Penn St. doesn't have a ton of super-skilled big guys but they do have guys with size. Nice to see Hammer holding his own and making some great plays out there tonight. His 3 FT makes were a career high.

 

Jacobson had 10 points in 18 minutes. Didn't play as much in the second half with Hammond having such a solid second half.

 

Tai only played 5 minutes in the 2nd half. Just didn't have it tonight. A little disappointing for a guy who should be our 3rd or 4th scorer and should play more minutes vs a taller team like this.

 

Fuller might start eating into McVeigh's minutes. The length on defense is nice from McTrey but when Fuller isn't overcommitting on defnse he does most of the little things right.

 

Overall an unexpected lack of fouls called in this game.

Once again Nebraska had fast break opportunities they just blew. The 4 on 1 where we were called for a charge seemed the most egregious.

[hal9000]

Watch Chambers on Watson's 3 to end the first half. Half frustration, half fury, half helplessness, half disappointment. Almost felt bad for him. He's got a real tough job there in Happy Valley. Wonder how long his rope is?

Sounds like he has some good recruits coming next year.  We'll see.  Seems like a good guy. 

[hhcmatt]

Watch Chambers on Watson's 3 to end the first half. Half frustration, half fury, half helplessness, half disappointment. Almost felt bad for him. He's got a real tough job there in Happy Valley. Wonder how long his rope is?

 

He has the best two players in Philly coming there next year out of the 4 guys he has signed so far (3 high school teammates that are a PG/SG/SF + a 6'7 265 PF from Oak Hill) He beat out a lot of schools for those two 4 star guys. Given this plus the amount of financial support Penn St. doesn't put into their program means we'll probably be seeing Chambers for a while.

[uneblinstu]

Yeah, he's had some success in Philly. Will be interesting to see what he can do with some talent there. Next year will be year six for him. Gotta think the next two years are big for Pat.

[doc1394]

Fuller could add even more to the offense if he would wait 1 more second before crashing the offensive glass. He always crashes when tai or Glynn are going in for the layup, and if he were to stay in the corner while his defender helps off he could be wide open for that 3. He drains those in warmups.

[TourneyBound]

- Loved the referee's. Just thought that we should comment.

They must of all had hot Valentine's Day dates they had to get home for. It was almost comical a few times that nothing was called. I liked it though. Wish we could of had these refs for a few of our other games..

[TourneyBound]

Anyone else who watched the game think it was annoying that ESPN didn't have anyone at the actual game... No sound from crowd, whistles or anything...

[49r]

I'll be the first to mention it.  The throwbacks looked real sharp!  Drew seemed comfortable in 'em.  

 

IIRC, we're supposed to be seeing these throwbacks again this year...perhaps this week @Indiana?

[khoock]

Good win. AW3 went off. Hammond, Jacobson, and Fuller were all solid as well as Watson. Nice to see them take care of business. In the press conference Miles said Shields has started light cardio. He also said he is thinking about a line up with Jacobson at the four and Morrow/Hammond at the five. I've been interested in that lineup for awhile.

How about Wisconsin knocking off Maryland. Guess we played them a lot tougher than I thought.

Up next is Indiana, even with Shields I think that would be tough to win. But maybe we catch them slipping and sneak out a win. Ohio state at home is when we will really need Shields back. So I'm hoping his recovery is going well.

[jimmykc]

A few morning after thoughts: 1. That was the first time I have ever been closer to the action than the ESPN announcers. Did anyone get to use those good courtside chairs they left empty? 2. I am much more confident that Shavon will return this season after watching his demeanor yesterday. When he will resume the same aggressiveness he had before the injury is another matter. 3. We will not see AWIII score 35 again this year but we will also not see both Bennie and Tai shut out in another game.

[Bugeaters1]

If ESPN can't send announcers to the game why broadcast it? Let some local talent give it a go.

[khoock]

I really like Fuller and I think successful programs need guys like him. Ones that are okay with not playing every game but when their number is called they play their heart out. Fuller seems like a guy that really loves playing for Nebraska. Also, I think he gets a lot crap for his play but let's not forget that over the summer he moved from the wing to the post because we are so small. I think that really hurt his confidence offsenively.

Hammond will be a solid center by his senior year. I think by that time we will really regret not have being able to redshirt him freshman year.

[HB]

If ESPN can't send announcers to the game why broadcast it? Let some local talent give it a go.

 

I am all for that!  

[NUtball]

Anyone else who watched the game think it was annoying that ESPN didn't have anyone at the actual game... No sound from crowd, whistles or anything...

 

It's kind of disrespectful, IMO.  Seems like they did that for another NU game this year as well.  Further evidence of the ESPiN conspiracy against Nebraska!