DEFENSE: B
Purdue missed a lot of foul shots (7 of 14) or they'd easily have scored 60, which is not enough for NU to win this game.
Therefor, I give Huskers a solid "B" even despite holding the Boilermakers to 55 points and 40% shooting from the field. I feel as though a lot of Purdue's scoring in the mid 50's was more their doing than ours, is what I'm trying to say.
HOWEVER, NU's defense in the first half (again, when they were fresh) was TREMENDOUS. And for the night, even if you hold Purdue to 60-65, as the Huskers probably should have, its still a "solid" defensive effort.
Let's please give both Ray Gallegos and Benny Parker some defensive credit in this one. Especially Parker, who I thought was perhaps the best of the year on the defensive end. For as much flack as he gets, let's give him some love.
REBOUNDING: B
Purdue out rebounded the 'Skers by five (36 to 31) but manhandled the Huskers on the offensive glass (12 to 5).
However, how about that HUGE box out by a couple of Huskers that allowed Shavon Shields to grab that KEY KEY KEY late second half offensive board off of the Ray Gallegos missed foul shot. That could have been a game changing swing of things.
Along with Ubel's eight boards, it was good to see Shields and David Rivers pull down six.
BALL HANDLING: A+
2.5 to 1.0, Assist to Turnover ratio.
AKA, 15 assists, 6 turnovers. PHENOMENOL JOB BY NU!!!!
3 assists, 1 turnover by Dylan Talley (though it was a costly one that cost NU 3 points and a 2nd foul on Rivers).
Ubel had 5 assists and 3 turnovers as well.
Great, great night.
COACHING: A+
Tim Miles' team looked like a legitimate "middle of the pack" Big 10 team in the first half. They were crisp and efficient offensively, with a clear plan and on defense, they moved Purdue 3-5 feet further away from the basket than they'd like as the Boilermakers got into the offense.
Miles was AGAIN able to get his team to the end of the game without multiple guys fouling out (by the skin of his teeth). He used Jordan Tyrance nicely to get us to the second half without much foul trouble.
Good use of the timeouts and I liked not using them at the end, so that Purdue didn't have extra time to plan and think.
OVERALL GRADE: A-
Nebraska played just a step below "great" and got a HUGE win.
I don't think the importance of this win can be understated.
Maybe I'm the only one, but watching this game on television in my living room, I could almost feel this program rising tonight. It's hard to explain - its almost like this win proved a lot tonight.
This is a momentum win for the program heading into next season and as Tim Miles hits the recruiting trail early next week.
VERY PROUD OF THIS TEAM and VERY PROUD to be a Husker Hoops Fan.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: BRANDON UBEL
2012-2013 PLAYER OF THE GAME RESULTS:
RAY GALLEGOS - 11
DYLAN TALLEY - 10
BRANDON UBEL - 6
SHAVON SHIELDS - 4
DAVID RIVERS - 3
ANDRE ALMEIDA - 1
JORDAN TYRANCE - 1
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