Nebraska postgame chatter: vol 16; ed 2 - Florida A & M

I guess I will start this...

This was a bit harder to judge as I catch myself comparing how bad we could beat up a team that our northern rival beat up Tuesday evening.  Anywho...

* Mast was a dude tonight.  He will have to be guarded all over the court, which will really open the lane for everyone.  He also is a very good teammate.

* Josiah with another thunder dunk.  He had a more pedestrian game, but he does the little crap that everyone else benefits from.  Missed some bunnies; but I trust that will not happen as much moving forward.

*  Eli played better, as did Brice.

*  I thought our backcourt, in general, struggled a bit tonight.  Shot selection, some sloppy passes, below average ballhandling/turnovers resulted in a game that could have had a much larger margin.

Free-throw shooting looked good, and then it didn't which was sort of a microcosm of the entire night.  Tough to complain about a blow out win; but we need to continue to improve if we want to get to the elite 8. 

By the way, once again a shout out to the student section who once again is showing a lot of progress.  Now if We could just fill the other seats...perhaps  doing a much, much better job distributing free t-shirts to other areas of fans would help.  I swear the same people get shirts each game 

5 minutes ago, basketballjones said:

Lots of “get mine” ball. My biggest criticism of Hoiberg has always been role identification and role acceptance. It seems to be getting better, as a program, but this team isn’t sure about it yet. Which makes sense, lots of new pieces and toys, gotta figure out who is what. 

Amen!

I will not necessarily chip at the refereeing group tonight, just the one ref who forgot how to breathe out of his nose and as a result blew his freaking whistle non-stop.  Hard to get game flow when play is constantly stopped on picky ticky-tac calls.

Also was sort of strange seeing Sam totally blow out a shoe.  It happens, but I am still shocked when it happens.  I actually thought he blew out an ankle when it occurred.  Sort of cool that he tossed the shoe remnants into the student section. 

I think I’m having a tougher time judging this team because it’s different than most of the past Nebraska teams I’m used to watching.

We seem to usually pull away in games like this mid- to late second half but this team is up by twenty at half time both games so far. I wonder if that contributes to some of the “issues” that come up.

Are we trying some different things to see what works? We obviously have some major pieces out right now so I’m hoping that things are in a sort of sandbox mode right now and the best is still yet to come.

Overall I think we’re doing what we should be doing so I’m happy.

Not the prettiest game but I’m seeing progress from this year to previous. We have upgraded size and talent at some key positions. Dare I say, I think JL is still trying to figure out his new role this season. He seems to be pressing at times out there. Coleman is interesting. Good length, could alter shots and be a good rebounder. But he also can be lazy with the ball, or I guess careless.

Mast and Allick > Walker and Wilhelm

Cant fully assess until 2 starters are back - assuming Gary starts.

Speaking of Juwan Gary:

As fun as the first game was to watch, this one was frustrating.

Sloppy, sloppy passes; too many guys failing to communicate, getting lost on defense, and leaving shooters wide open; certain guys getting caught up in trying to create their own shots off the dribble rather than running the offense.

I've started calling it "running our sh!t." We're better when we do it; we're a lot worse when we don't. And even an unsophisticated consumer can see when it breaks down and a guy starts to freelance. Problem is the "getting mine" attitude rubs off. After watching one guy do it last night, then another more veteran player started doing it. Run the damn offense, guys. There's plenty of season left for you to get yours. You don't have to get all your touches in one night.

It's not as bad, yet, as the Alonzo Verge-Bryce McGowens show. But, then again, I trust the assistant coaches this year a lot more than the staff two years ago to get this corrected.

It'd also be nice if we stopped jacking around during warmups and started approaching things with a little more businesslike attitude the moment they hit the floor. And that might be a symptom of a lack of discipline that carries over into their approach to the game itself that we kind of saw a bit of last night.

Have a couple of games to get this right before we face a P5 foe in Sioux Falls.

Good news is I do believe we're 2-0 against the spread, but hopefully someone else more knowledgeable in that area can confirm.

7 hours ago, AuroranHusker said:

Speaking of Juwan Gary:

 

 

The kicker here is that we have 3 games next week

It was nice to see Williams start to get into a rhythm even if he was inefficient.  We are going to need him, he just needs to figure out how to get his shots within the flow of the offense rather than forcing them.  He did have 3 wide-open corner 3s to start the game.  Hit the first one and missed the next 2, but those are good quality shots.  After that he began forcing things a bit. 

Mast was a stud last night.  Of course we have to see how that will translate to B1G play, but I am all for him shooting 3-5 threes at the top of key to open up the paint. 

Rice is quite impressive when he is hitting his shots as he was last night.  Still gets lost and struggles on the defensive end, which is why he will be in the back of the rotation, but man he showed what he can develop into.  He could develop into a bigger, more powerful and explosive version of Williams IMO, which is a very solid player that any team would love to have.

CJ seems to have more confidence this year, he just needs to see the ball go through the hoop a few times and he could be on his way to a good season.

With that said, the lack of PG problem is already rearing its ugly head.  The backcourt of JL, SH and Boogie combined for:

63 minutes

12 points (4-12 FG)

8 Assists

9 TOs

This is not going to cut it.  Obviously Keisei will improve those numbers, but he is a SG, not a PG. 

JL has not come close to finding his shot or his rhythm so far this year.  There are a lot of games left, but the transition to PG is rough so far (4 turnovers in 24 minutes).  SH came back to earth this game, and Boogie does some nice things, but also does a lot of head-scratching things (3 turnovers in 17 minutes).

It was frustrating to see some sloppy play yesterday, especially the big letdown in the second half. There should have been a much bigger margin at the end!

However, I need to temper my frustration with knowing we are missing our best offensive and best defensive players, guys which represent half of our returning production from last year. Them being out certainly hurts our production on the floor, but probably is a bigger hit to the culture/cohesiveness that was established last year. Hopefully, getting them back will allow this team to show what it can really be.

Watched the game on the wonderful BTN+ and I’ve got to tell you, I was less than impressed with how we played.  Especially in the 2nd half.  So to look up and see us up by as many as 29, I was almost impressed we did that.  Someone previously mentioned in a thread that we’ve been getting up so big early that maybe we let off the gas or lose focus.  Either way, here are some thoughts.

The Good:

- Did what we were supposed to in terms of MOV.  As of this morning, we’re up to a 10 seed in T-Ranks projections with an expected record of 19-12 (10-10)

- Freethrows early allowed us to separate.

-The boards!  55-35 advantage to us along with 16 offensive boards.  When’s the last time we’ve dominated the glass like this?

- Mast had himself quite a game and almost a 1st half double-double.

- Eli Rice had 16-6 and was pretty efficient in doing so.  He’s only going to get better too.  Thems tough numbers to put up as a freshman… even against lesser competition.

The Bad:

- Turnovers… woof.  18 total and it was by committee.  Some were just downright ugly/dumb passes and plays.

- Missing bunnies has been an Achilles heel of ours many years in the past.  It reared its ugly head again last night.  I honestly think that we started chucking threes once we missed quite a few bunnies.  It’s like they went hand in hand.

- at one point we were like 6-11 from three or right around there.  I even posted that we might have a good shooting team this year in the game thread.  Boy did we clank some in the 2nd half though.

- Diop came in and gave us 4 fouls in 5 minutes.  If he wants to see some action, he can’t be at a Wilhelm crazy foul level.

- We could have won by 40+.  That’s the reality and that’s the difference between a higher or lower NET.  Blowouts count in MOV.  As we saw late last year… winning close has no real effect.  So while 27 was nice 40+ would have been better for us.

How does this team look with KT and JG back?  Whose minutes drop off?  Do we have the legs to play 3 next week?

It’s a big chance to get to 5-0 with a win over a P5 opponent.  

Brice might have been forcing things but his 15 points on 9 shots wouldn't qualify as inefficient. 

47 minutes ago, hhcmatt said:

Brice might have been forcing things but his 15 points on 9 shots wouldn't qualify as inefficient. 

Having 13 of those from 3 or FT certainly helps. 

Not sure who moves to the bench when Keisei and Gary return. I'm not so sure Gary beats out Allick to start.

But whoever sits -- probably between Brice or CJ -- it means, along with Eli, we have some offensive firepower coming off the bench. So, we shouldn't stall when the starters are getting a blow.

Also, the 4 fouls on Matar? Three of those were 8th grade moving screens. Matar, you can't do that. "Oh, OK, my bad." Problem solved.

11 minutes ago, basketballjones said:

Having 13 of those from 3 or FT certainly helps. 

It's the crux of the difference between efficiency and shooting percentage

Part of the reason we're playing the schedule we're playing to start the season is so that it can be ugly and we're still likely to win.

1 hour ago, hhcmatt said:

Brice might have been forcing things but his 15 points on 9 shots wouldn't qualify as inefficient. 

Fair enough.  I was looking at his shooting percentage of 3-9, but you are right, must factor in free throws and 3s.

With that said, I have always felt it is a bit misleading to not count free throws as some form of a "shot attempt".   To me, saying he had 15 points on 9 shot attempts is technically correct, but does not factor in that when he shot those free throws, it was the same as shooting a FG attempt (especially if he was fouled shooting a shot).  Thus, his "true" shooting percentage was more like 6-12, meaning he had 15 points on 12 shots, which yes, is still quite efficient, but not quite the same as 15 points on 9 shots.

Post game presser

Notes from UNL

Nebraska Notes

*-Rienk Mast collected his 19th career double-double with 20 points and 16 rebounds. Mast nearly had a double-double in the first half alone with 12 points and eight rebounds. Prior to tonight, the last Husker to have at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in a game was Aleks Maric, who had 32 points and 16 rebounds against Missouri on Feb. 13, 2008.  Mast had Nebraska’s first double-double since Sam Griesel (16/12) against Minnesota (3/8/23),

*-Mast’s 16 rebounds was the most by a Husker since Yvan Ouedraogo had 19 rebounds against Northwestern on March 1, 2020, and the second-highest rebound total in Hoiberg’s four-plus seasons at Nebraska.

*-Nebraska’s 55 rebounds was the most since also collecting 55 against Doane on Dec. 17, 2020. It was the most against a Division I team since having 55 vs. Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 6, 2018.

*-Nebraska has had double-figure scoring runs in each of its first two games (10-0 vs. Lindenwood; 12-0 vs. FAMU)

*-Nebraska had double-digit 3-pointers for the second straight game, the first time it happened since March 4-7, 2001 (at Iowa, at Northwestern)

*-In all, 64 of Nebraska’s 81 points were scored by first-year Huskers, as well as 30 points scored by players coming off the bench

*-Freshman Eli Rice reached double figures for the first time in his career with 16 points, including 11 in the first half

*-Jamarques Lawrence set a career high with three steals, topping his previous best of two set a pair of times in 2022-23. He also tied a career high with four assists (at Iowa, 3/5/23)

*-Sam Hoiberg had a career high four steals, as his previous best was two set on four occasions.

*-Nebraska’s 25 free throws were the most since also making 25 against Maryland on Feb. 18, 2022.

31 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

Not sure who moves to the bench when Keisei and Gary return. I'm not so sure Gary beats out Allick to start.

 

But whoever sits -- probably between Brice or CJ -- it means, along with Eli, we have some offensive firepower coming off the bench. So, we shouldn't stall when the starters are getting a blow.

 

Also, the 4 fouls on Matar? Three of those were 8th grade moving screens. Matar, you can't do that. "Oh, OK, my bad." Problem solved.

I was always taught that a moving screen, more often than not, was the fault of the player coming off the screen.  Last night, we had the moving screen called multiple times.  Yes, Matar likely contributed; but my guess is that it will be emphasized in film study and practice over the next couple days.  Sheesh, screens are heavily relied upon in our offense, so we better get it down.  [Last year we made it look artistic with Keisei and DW].

6 minutes ago, Huskerpapa said:

I was always taught that a moving screen, more often than not, was the fault of the player coming off the screen.  Last night, we had the moving screen called multiple times.  Yes, Matar likely contributed; but my guess is that it will be emphasized in film study and practice over the next couple days.  Sheesh, screens are heavily relied upon in our offense, so we better get it down.  [Last year we made it look artistic with Keisei and DW].

I get that, but last night, Matar was screening like the guy at the bar trying to hold his mouthy friend back from getting his ass kicked.

No, Matar, this isn't football and you're not an offensive lineman. You can't just push a defender out of the way when you're setting a screen.

1 minute ago, Norm Peterson said:

You can't just push a defender out of the way when you're setting a screen.

I mean, it probably depends on what name you have on your chest though.  More likely to get away with something like that if you have a jersey that says "Wisconsin" or "Ohio State" on it.