02/23/2013 - Iowa Report Card

Dave, we beat Minnesota.  Geesh, how many times do I have to say it? 

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us."

Apparently Dickens had a vision similar to the wild differences between our two halves today.

Fun to hear the Bob rocking loud like the days of old. How we got away with the terrible effort to bring the ball up court, while often taking up to 20 seconds to cross the hash mark is still surprising.

FUN win.

P.S.  So which one of you was the fan carrying the "Real fans stay to the end of the game." sign?

P.S.  So which one of you was the fan carrying the "Real fans stay to the end of the game." sign?

He's a pretty cool guy. He even made a facebook group calling the cockroaches out.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/431547306921725/

OFFENSE: B

 

64 points and 46% from the field on a consistent basis will allow Nebraska to creep into the middle tier of Big 10 teams - so it was nice to see the Huskers get that production today.

 

What wasn't nice was 50% (7-14) from the foul line, including 0-5 to start the contest, but if you look for problems, you're bound to find 'em, as my old man always says.

 

Nebraska's starting five did a remarkably good job in this game of shooting the basketball and running fluid sets, especially considering the wear and tear they all say from minutes (Gallegos, 40; Talley, 39; Ubel and Shields, 37; Rivers, 35).

 

Our Player of the Game is the same guy who ran two God awful fast breaks and took some very questionable shots, yet delivered in the clutch, as he has started to do a lot lately. That is Dylan Talley - who finished with 18 points and one huge, huge, HUGE three point shot.

 

Shavon Shields also continues to impress me game by game. I now think he's the best freshman we've had since Aleks Maric.

 

DEFENSE: A

 

How can you give Nebraska anything but an "A" for it's defense in this contest when you consider that it was down 16 points at the break, and somehow ended up winning the game while only scoring 64.

 

That tells you NU's defense was AMAZING in the second half (holding the Hawkeyes to 28%) and for the game, only 37%.

 

Nebraska was also able to as mentioned above, do this with virtually five players and somehow, nobody was ever in foul trouble. In fact, Talley was the only Husker with three muggings and Iowa shot only ONE more free throw than Nebraska.

 

The 'Skers were dynamite today on the defensive end.

 

REBOUNDING: B+

 

The Huskers were only out boarded by four (38 to 34) and held Iowa to virtually no second half second chances.

 

I thought Brandon Ubel was especially effective today on the glass (and also hit some key shots). He finished with a team leading eight rebounds, including a huge one down the stretch.

 

Aaron White was a one man wrecking crew for the Hawkeyes, grabbing THIRTEEN boards!

 

BALL HANDLING: B

 

The Huskers were at an "F" level in the first half, including some mind blowingly bad turnovers by Jordan Tyrance and Benny Parker, which ended both of those players' days.

 

In the second half, NU was near flawless, outside of the aforementioned poor fast breaks run by Talley.

 

For the game, 10 turnovers (you can definitely take that) and 7 assists (would like to see that higher).

 

For as much as I've harped on Talley's bad fast breaks in this report card, it should also be fairly noted that he IS NOT a point guard. Not really even a two, either. More of a three. So he is playing out of position to help the team. That should be remembered.

 

COACHING: B

 

GREAT win for Nebraska, and I think four Big 10 wins has met or exceeded every single realistic person on this websites expectations for this season.

 

Still, at home, with a week off, against a team that is not that much more talented than you, how do you get down 19 points in the first half? How do you have horrible defense on out of bounds plays and turn the ball over left and right?

 

Is that Tim Miles' fault? Maybe a little. Probably not really.

 

But if I'm going to anoit him the savior most games and mention my man crush and give him all the props in the world, I have to also point out some shortcomings. And coming out and laying an egg at home this year, on MANY occasions, is not a good look.

 

Nice in game adjustments by Miles - letting the starting five play the last 26 minutes by using timeouts at appropriate points. Sacrificing the Wisconsin game (essentially by playing all these minutes on the starters) to get the win at home in one of your last winnable games of the year - smart. (*** NOTE *** I know the starters playing an extra 8-9 minutes more than you'd like doesn't automatically mean we'll lose to Wisconsin. But it was clear how much Coach wanted this game).

 

OVERALL GRADE: B+

 

Nebraska played well, overall, but as we've so often seen this year, were a true "tale of both halves" basketball team.

 

Luckily today, things worked out in NU's favor, in most likely the last win of the 2012-2013 season.

 

 

PLAYER OF THE GAME: DYLAN TALLEY

2012-2013 PLAYER OF THE GAME RESULTS:

RAY GALLEGOS - 9

DYLAN TALLEY - 8

BRANDON UBEL - 5

SHAVON SHIELDS - 4

DAVID RIVERS - 3

JORDAN TYRANCE - 1

I've gotta disagree with you on one major thing: Iowa is much more talented than Nebraska. The problem with the Hawkeyes is that they're really young and they just can't win close games. They've lost five Big Ten games when they've led or been tied in the last minute. Next year I would expect them to be a solid NCAA Tournament team with essentially the same players.

But what a great, gut-check win by this group. It's not easy to win with only five players. Miles obviously is an outstanding coach, and I can't wait to see what he does once he gets "his guys" on the court.

P.S. So which one of you was the fan carrying the "Real fans stay to the end of the game." sign?

I applauded that guy when he walked by. I sit in section A and never leave early. It pisses me off when some of those fans around me leave early just to beat traffic.

The first half sucked.  The second half rocked.  But we got the sequence right. 

I will say that my biggest issue after the game was that we had zero help from the bench.  However, we have five pretty decent horses with only a short distance remaining.  We might as well show those five the whip and ride them to the finish line.

Dave, we beat Minnesota.  Geesh, how many times do I have to say it? 

It would be a fitting send-off for hoops in BDSC. And, t'would be glorious to beat a Tubby, to boot. 

Dave, we beat Minnesota.  Geesh, how many times do I have to say it? 

 

It would be a fitting send-off for hoops in BDSC. And, t'would be glorious to beat a Tubby, to boot. 

If we finish the season beating poor Tubby, he might be out of a job. Of course, he might be anyway, given the spiral of doom Minny's doing, but that would probably be the icing on the Tubby-cake.

If we win five games in the Big 10 this year, Miles is some sort of rainmaker. Four is already one or two more than I thought we'd win, depending on the day you asked me.

OFFENSE: B

 

64 points and 46% from the field on a consistent basis will allow Nebraska to creep into the middle tier of Big 10 teams - so it was nice to see the Huskers get that production today.

 

What wasn't nice was 50% (7-14) from the foul line, including 0-5 to start the contest, but if you look for problems, you're bound to find 'em, as my old man always says.

 

Nebraska's starting five did a remarkably good job in this game of shooting the basketball and running fluid sets, especially considering the wear and tear they all say from minutes (Gallegos, 40; Talley, 39; Ubel and Shields, 37; Rivers, 35).

 

Our Player of the Game is the same guy who ran two God awful fast breaks and took some very questionable shots, yet delivered in the clutch, as he has started to do a lot lately. That is Dylan Talley - who finished with 18 points and one huge, huge, HUGE three point shot.

 

Shavon Shields also continues to impress me game by game. I now think he's the best freshman we've had since Aleks Maric.

 

DEFENSE: A

 

How can you give Nebraska anything but an "A" for it's defense in this contest when you consider that it was down 16 points at the break, and somehow ended up winning the game while only scoring 64.

 

That tells you NU's defense was AMAZING in the second half (holding the Hawkeyes to 28%) and for the game, only 37%.

 

Nebraska was also able to as mentioned above, do this with virtually five players and somehow, nobody was ever in foul trouble. In fact, Talley was the only Husker with three muggings and Iowa shot only ONE more free throw than Nebraska.

 

The 'Skers were dynamite today on the defensive end.

 

REBOUNDING: B+

 

The Huskers were only out boarded by four (38 to 34) and held Iowa to virtually no second half second chances.

 

I thought Brandon Ubel was especially effective today on the glass (and also hit some key shots). He finished with a team leading eight rebounds, including a huge one down the stretch.

 

Aaron White was a one man wrecking crew for the Hawkeyes, grabbing THIRTEEN boards!

 

BALL HANDLING: B

 

The Huskers were at an "F" level in the first half, including some mind blowingly bad turnovers by Jordan Tyrance and Benny Parker, which ended both of those players' days.

 

In the second half, NU was near flawless, outside of the aforementioned poor fast breaks run by Talley.

 

For the game, 10 turnovers (you can definitely take that) and 7 assists (would like to see that higher).

 

For as much as I've harped on Talley's bad fast breaks in this report card, it should also be fairly noted that he IS NOT a point guard. Not really even a two, either. More of a three. So he is playing out of position to help the team. That should be remembered.

 

COACHING: B

 

GREAT win for Nebraska, and I think four Big 10 wins has met or exceeded every single realistic person on this websites expectations for this season.

 

Still, at home, with a week off, against a team that is not that much more talented than you, how do you get down 19 points in the first half? How do you have horrible defense on out of bounds plays and turn the ball over left and right?

 

Is that Tim Miles' fault? Maybe a little. Probably not really.

 

But if I'm going to anoit him the savior most games and mention my man crush and give him all the props in the world, I have to also point out some shortcomings. And coming out and laying an egg at home this year, on MANY occasions, is not a good look.

 

Nice in game adjustments by Miles - letting the starting five play the last 26 minutes by using timeouts at appropriate points. Sacrificing the Wisconsin game (essentially by playing all these minutes on the starters) to get the win at home in one of your last winnable games of the year - smart. (*** NOTE *** I know the starters playing an extra 8-9 minutes more than you'd like doesn't automatically mean we'll lose to Wisconsin. But it was clear how much Coach wanted this game).

 

OVERALL GRADE: B+

 

Nebraska played well, overall, but as we've so often seen this year, were a true "tale of both halves" basketball team.

 

Luckily today, things worked out in NU's favor, in most likely the last win of the 2012-2013 season.

 

 

PLAYER OF THE GAME: DYLAN TALLEY

2012-2013 PLAYER OF THE GAME RESULTS:

RAY GALLEGOS - 9

DYLAN TALLEY - 8

BRANDON UBEL - 5

SHAVON SHIELDS - 4

DAVID RIVERS - 3

JORDAN TYRANCE - 1

 

I've gotta disagree with you on one major thing: Iowa is much more talented than Nebraska. The problem with the Hawkeyes is that they're really young and they just can't win close games. They've lost five Big Ten games when they've led or been tied in the last minute. Next year I would expect them to be a solid NCAA Tournament team with essentially the same players.

 

But what a great, gut-check win by this group. It's not easy to win with only five players. Miles obviously is an outstanding coach, and I can't wait to see what he does once he gets "his guys" on the court.

Agree with GATA on this one.  Iowa has a lot of good, young talent, plus good length, which bothered us throughout the game.  They have struggled to win the close game, but I expect them to be good next year.  I also wouldn't rule them out form the dance this year.  I expect them to pound us in Iowa City; motivation will not be an issue for them in that game.  The talent and depth differential I witnessed yesterday makes the Husker win very impressive.

Minnesota has the look of a team tha't's "packed it in". The ghost of one Robert Devaney will help us bury them on the way out.