uneblinstu's Post Game Chatter: Vol 9, Ed 9 - Creighton

Unfortunately it's not quite as disappointing as it feels like we've been watching the same Nebraska-Creighton game for the last 6 years.

Our offense is so hard to watch. Literally all it is, is ball screen and try and drive. I see Tim MIles call sets every once in awhile but those plays have no execution. There is not much movement off the ball. When Anton has the ball, he literally does not even look towards the basket. Instead, he just looks to pass it and run to the corner. Im tired of seeing Evan Taylor play. He does nothing for us. Our defense is very good without him, and with him bringing absolutely nothing to game offensively, im not sure why he's playing. 

Got to give the men credit for the first half comeback.  It was a tremendous effort not to just chuck it in and panic. Bottom line though is when are we ever going to recruit some shooters???  It seems like it has been decades (some of the Nee era teams maybe) since we have had a team that has more than one or two offensive threats on a consistent basis.  Defense is okay but you gotta score to win and we seem to lack that capacity right now.  

Jordy played great in the 1st half.  I even thought to myself, that Patton was a little overrated.  Then, Patton showed in the 2nd half, that Jordy is very much a true freshmen. He just pump faked and drove right by on back-to-back possessions. 

Defense kept us in the game the 1st half.  The 2nd half was a terrible all around display.  Our offense was horrible, and our defense was horrible.  Why are we guarding Mo Watson so tight.  He is 7-13 from 3, but he's only attempted 2 a game.  We let him blow right by us like we were in quicksand the whole time.  I know Creighton is an excellent 3 point shooting team, I still would have liked to see some zone.  Just to switch it up, and maybe get Horne in the game for some minutes.  To see if he could spark us offensively. 

We did a decent job on the boards.  For as many shots as we missed, we were only outrebounded by 1. 

This team can be frustrating, we have guys that can shoot.  McVeigh shot 34 % from 3 last year.  Webster shot 35 % from 3.  Those guys shouldn't be 2-10 from 3. 

This team does a lot of good things though.  They play hard.  They rebound pretty well.  They play pretty good defense.  We just have to learn to put the ball in the basket.  If we figure out how to do that, the rest of the things are in place for this team to be pretty good. 

Tai has to be on the floor, and not in foul trouble.  The score went from 41-37 to 48-37 in the blink of an eye with him on the bench.  Miles brought him back with 12:30 left, but he couldn't be his aggressive self, getting to the basket.

Two areas we have to work on.  We have to get the ball inside to the post players. The post players have to figure out how to pass out of the post. 

That's about all I have.  We have played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in school history.  Just let it all hang out against Kansas, and see where the chips fall.  I have seen crazier things happen before. 

Game was effectively over when Tai got his 4th foul.   CU got the momentum when he was out and even when we brought him back before it got away he could not play defense and CU exposed that on the offensive end.  Tough to play defense when your best defensive player can't be used on the guy you want him to guard and has to play carefully on the guy that is easier to guard.   Plus we really can't afford to have McVeigh and Taylor both in the game at the same time against teams that are even decently athletic. That gives you two perimeter players who can't handle the ball at all against pressure - and our offense just stagnates as a result.

I don't think we really get anything from Taylor at all.  The worst part though is that he at least tries to do the things that Gill could do - but Gill doesn't seem to want to do.  Gill has the mentality of a shooting guard.  Problem is that he can't shoot.  If he would focus on using his athleticism to break down a defense and create shots for others - and then focus on being a lock down defender on the other end I think those are ways he could help us. But he doesn't seem to be interested in being a creator on offense or a stopper on defense.  He needs to realize that he is not a jump shooter and find other ways to help the team. 

Disappointed in the loss obviously and I really hate losing again to Creighton.  That said this is the best CU team I have seen in a long time.  For a few years Doug McDermott made teams with very average supporting players good.  This team really is good at all 5 spots - and has some depth also.  Worst part is two of those players are Omaha kids.  Who hear would not like to have Khyri Thomas right now.  A small forward who can shoot 3's, guard the perimeter and get rebounds.  He is not Andrew White - but better than anyone we have left at that role.

29 minutes ago, hhcdimes said:

Unfortunately it's not quite as disappointing as it feels like we've been watching the same Nebraska-Creighton game for the last 6 years.

I thought the same thing as the game went on, makes the loss a lot easier when we've had to deal with this exact scenario for 6 straight years. Actually think my CU buddies are starting to feel bad for me. 

3 minutes ago, HuskerBB said:

I don't think we really get anything from Taylor at all.  The worst part though is that he at least tries to do the things that Gill could do - but Gill doesn't seem to want to do.  Gill has the mentality of a shooting guard.  Problem is that he can't shoot.  If he would focus on using his athleticism to break down a defense and create shots for others - and then focus on being a lock down defender on the other end I think those are ways he could help us. But he doesn't seem to be interested in being a creator on offense or a stopper on defense.  He needs to realize that he is not a jump shooter and find other ways to help the team. 

He has the makings of being a good shooter.  He has nice form, and all.  His 3 pointer tonight was halfway down.  I think he does need to drive though, and that will make him a better shooter.  Get the ball in the basket, and make the defender sag off of you.  I think he could be just like Tai.  Maybe Tai needs to take him under his wing, and teach him that fine art.  Tai didn't learn it until his junior year, and he shot 34 % from 3 last year, and is at 38 % from 3 this year. 

We started the game and if we had swallowed a hunk of coal we would have crapped out a diamond we were soo very tight.

Got into the flow and looked good till half.

Come out okay things are shaky but still in it, was that a Phatom call on Tai for his 4th? and the wheels fall off.

We did not play our best game of the year and still hung around for awhile.

I am going to say that Creighton will have trouble with strong teams, they are very soft, and not very physical at all.  Wish we would have driven more and went at them instead of some of the twisty turny drives.

Also the two just Grads of Creighton that sat behind me make me know the world is in great hands.  because dudes knew everything about everything and were will to tell each other and anybody else who would listen.  Did you know Husker fans yell at every whistle even when it is for them.  God it got old.  But then I know that they probably have the rest of their lives needed to pay off the student loans to go there.  Sooo....

At least I had cold beer this year watching the game. Something needs to change. 

We can't shoot. That is going to bite us all year long.

Jordy looks so much better than the first couple games, but needs some serious work on pick & roll d. 

Gill & McVeigh need less minutes unless they hit shots. Roby has some nice moments tonight, still raw, but if McVeigh & Gill are playing the way they have been  might as well roll the dice with the talented freshman

8 minutes ago, Section m said:

At least I had cold beer this year watching the game. Something needs to change. 

Yeah.  We need to start scoring more points than the other team.

15 minutes ago, Silverbacked1 said:

We started the game and if we had swallowed a hunk of coal we would have crapped out a diamond we were soo very tight.

 

Got into the flow and looked good till half.

 

Come out okay things are shaky but still in it, was that a Phatom call on Tai for his 4th? and the wheels fall off.

 

We did not play our best game of the year and still hung around for awhile.

 

I am going to say that Creighton will have trouble with strong teams, they are very soft, and not very physical at all.  Wish we would have driven more and went at them instead of some of the twisty turny drives.

 

Also the two just Grads of Creighton that sat behind me make me know the world is in great hands.  because dudes knew everything about everything and were will to tell each other and anybody else who would listen.  Did you know Husker fans yell at every whistle even when it is for them.  God it got old.  But then I know that they probably have the rest of their lives needed to pay off the student loans to go there.  Sooo....

The sweater vest next to me clapped along to the fight song, had to stop himself @ the Go Huskers part

I actually felt the game plan was great tonight.  The bottom line is, we have to make shots.  Kent said after the game NU shot the ball 12 more times than CU, but made 7 less.  No doubt we forced some shots, but we had a LOT of very good looks.  Gotta make them.  I think that's the part that is tough to swallow.  We got CU to play our style tonight for the most part, but couldn't throw the ball in the ocean unfortunately.  Gotta also give CU credit too as they played well defensively.  Just too bad we couldn't hit a few of the open 3's we had to keep us in it.  

I still like this team.  I really do.   I know KU will be VERY tough and could get ugly.  I just hope that we continue to grow as the year goes on.  The B10 has some winnable games this year for us to take.  We need to do our best to take care of the home court and steal a few on the road.  

I know Zay Roby didn't shoot it particularly well vs CU, but he does a lot of things well so that kid needs to be on the court more.

And find a way for Horne to provide some corner three's. The offense needs an infusion of shotmakers.

Other than that (on future games), as we all know Tai is a baller. And the effort was there, the shots just didn't drop.

13 minutes ago, Crush78 said:

The sweater vest next to me clapped along to the fight song, had to stop himself @ the Go Huskers part

So that on the opening Camara pan, jayskerz couldn't help themselves 

How big was that ticky-tack foul on Webster to start the game?

Morrow had 3 shot attempts. We couldn't get the ball down low to him and that's our guy who can score when no one else can buy a bucket.

Watson seemed sick during the presser. Was he?  Their Watson basically took over with 10+ points on uncontested layups

I think Horne is in the doghouse. I hope he's coming out soon as he's a shooter and not lacking for confidence

Man Jordy looked pretty good in the first half and then there was a minute in there were we couldn't get him out fast enough. Encouraging though.

Roby does a lot of good things on the court though outside shooting isn't yet a strong point. We need to get him driving the ball more. Can we turn Webster and Watson into spot up 3 pt shooters as points? Can he run a secondary lineup where he's facilitating some of the offense?

I think Taylor makes a serviceable backup but at no point do i ever think his shot is going to fall.

We need Anton Gill to score because we need Anton Gill to score. I wish it was a little more complex than that.

We held Creighton to what should be one of their worst offensive games of the year (they still scored 77).  The defense is there...it's solid. What do we need to change to turn on the offense?

Man I know what offense mcveigh can provide but right now I'd rather see he and gills min go to a combo to Roby/Horne/Taylor, say what you will about Taylor at least he isn't a liability on defense and knows we he isn't, Gill isn't looking to score, makes James Harden look like Bruce Bowen, and scared they daylights out of me when he has a to be a decision maker on offense. I'd like to see them feed Jordy in the post more, mcveigh missed him a few times. Tai is a stud nuff said, wish we could've gotten this one for him 

Not to toot my own horn but in the CU Scout I did predict we'd be winning at half (down 1 close enough) but Creighton would pull away in the second half due to their depth at offense. I'm gonna chalk that up as a moral victory in the win column.

See guys you gotta find the positives in life, it's easy and fun

Notes and quotes

*-Ed Morrow Jr. finished with a career-high 13 rebounds, surpassing his previous high of 12 against Clemson. It was his third 10-rebound game of the season.
*-Tai Webster scored 20 points against Creighton, his fourth 20-point game this season and the sixth of his career. Webster also scored in double figures for the 10^th consecutive game dating back to last season’s Big Ten Tournament.
*-Nebraska’s 32.4 percent shooting was its second-lowest output of the season.
*-Isaiah Roby grabbed eight rebounds, a career-high for the freshman. His previous high was four against Mary on Nov. 15.
*-Nebraska held Creighton, which was averaging 90.8 points per game, to its season-low scoring output.
*-Creighton won for the sixth straight time in the series with tonight’s win.

Nebraska Head Coach Tim Miles

Opening Statement
“I give Creighton a lot of credit. They did an excellent job especially at the start of the game and in the second half about five minutes in when they made their run. They’re an extremely talented team, they’re well coached, and they beat us tonight. It makes me disappointed and sick to my stomach that we could not foster another fight. I thought we were in good shape until Tai [Webster] picked up his fourth (foul) and then we went on a long, long drought that we cannot allow to happen. I know we don’t have a lot of leadership, but at the same time we have guys who can make those plays. As I look at it, I just need to look at who didn’t get the right looks. We wanted to go inside some, we didn’t go inside enough. Three for 22 from the three-point line is pretty dreadful, and we had some guys with open looks that put shots up. If it hadn’t been for Tai, it could have been extremely ugly.”

On taking too many 3-pointers early
“I thought we took too many early when in that very first run when they hopped us 14-2. We were just amped as and you could see that. Glynn [Watson Jr.] threw up a floater and it hit the backboard, you could see how amped up he was. We had missed some open guys, Ed [Morrow] was open underneath, Michael [Jacobson] was open underneath, and they weren’t seeing anything. They’re excited to play; they’re wanting to beat Creighton.”

On Nebraska’s defense
“We forced them to a plan B at times and they went extremely small then. Then we had to go to our plan B, and we didn’t execute it very well. We missed switching on stuff we’re supposed to be switching. We usually play more solid defense and make it a tough shot (for them). We didn’t turn them over the second half either, we only turned them over three times and that was all late in the game.”

Nebraska Senior guard Tai Webster:

On overcoming a slow start to get back into the game
“Obviously, they are a fast team, and they like to get up and down the court. We kind of settled in and kind of found a groove where we were not letting them get as many opportunities in the fast break. I think just playing with poise on both ends was the main thing for us. Sitting down on defensive end and getting shots on the offensive end was the key for us.”

On Creighton’s performance:
“They did a good job. I think they made us shoot a lot of tough ones, and they had a length on their team. They probably tried to make us shoot those tough ones. We were taking too many of those tough ones to be honest. We are a team that does well when we are on the rim. Coach Miles anyway says ‘Love the two, like the three’ so that’s when we are at our best.”

Nebraska Sophomore Guard Glynn Watson Jr.

On Creighton’s second-half run
“They had a big shot, we tied it up and got a big three. Then we put our heads down right after that then they got on the run and we never came back from it.”

On Tai Webster’s leadership
“I just try to feed off of it. I have to bring leadership too at point guard and shooting guard, but I try to feed off of it. I try to bring energy and feed off of his leadership and his energy also in games like these. In any game period.”

On comparing his game to Maurice Watson Jr. 
“It’s not really like one on one. You’re playing a team game, it’s got to be a team thing. With switching and pick-and-roll and things like that is the game plan on what we are doing how we are supposed to stop everybody on the team.”

Creighton Head Coach Greg McDermott

On what he learned about team while playing tough game on the road:
“We had to win kind of an ugly game. They’re trying to make us play that way. This is probably the fewest fast-break points we’ve had on the season, but we still got 12 of them. And some of them, and some of them come at key times. I like to think that our pace wears on you over time. We had a hard time of it in the first half because we had to play guys extended minutes because of foul trouble. We were able to save Marcus (Foster) and Justin (Patton) and some of those guys the first half. It was a ‘grind it out’ game. It was an ugly game, and I anticipated that it would be. It’s never easy to come in here and play.”

On Creighton’s ability to pull away and Maurice Watson Jr.’s ability to control game:
“I knew this was going to be difficult, and it proved to be the first half. Tim’s (Miles) team didn’t quit when got them down early. I thought we really had a chance to maybe create some separation once we got it to 18-4 to maybe put them away. To their credit, they got us taking a lot of ‘first side’ shots and then continued to grind it offensively where there were some long possessions. The reality of it is, Maurice (Watson Jr.) is one of the best point guards in the country. He can control a game. He’s controlled games this year where he’s scored eight points, and he’s controlled games where he’s scored twenty-five like tonight. He impacts the game in so many ways. We had to survive some foul trouble. And in the second half we got into the teeth of their defense and shot a really good percentage against very good defensive team.”

On Nebraska’s defensive plan and how Creighton countered:
“I had a sense they tried to do something. We’ve gotten so many of those to Justin through eight games. Obviously that takes the life out of the building when you’re at home if guys are alley-oop dunking. We saw early that they committed to that and we told Maurice, ‘They’re not going to leave the shooter and they’re not going to leave the roll guy—that means you are open going to the rim, and you have to go attack and score until they do something different.’ That’s what makes us hard to guard when you have a guy like Maurice’s ability that can make those decisions and a guy like Justin’s length and athletic ability attacking the rim. Then you got good shooters surrounding them.”  

On where he sees Nebraska’s season going moving forward:
“I’ve said leading up to the game: I think that that freshman class from last year has made incredible strides. (Michael) Jacobson, (Ed) Morrow, (Glynn) Watson Jr. have really, really improved. (Jack) McVeigh’s had some games where he’s shot the basketball well. (Tai) Webster, I don’t know in my twenty-eight years of coaching if I’ve ever seen a guy who’s improved from his sophomore to his junior, he improved his scoring average by seven points, and then he did it again from his junior year to his senior year. That’s almost unheard of, so obviously he’s spent an incredible amount of time in the gym working on his game. I think with his leadership they’re going to have a chance to be in games. Then it’s just a matter of young guys figuring out how to win close games. Tim will keep them going the right direction. They’ll be competitive to the end.”

Miles Presser. As you can imagine he didn't particularly look like he wanted to be there. Looks like there was a message for someone at the 7 minute mark

Tai and Watson

Loved what I saw from Roby and Jordy early on, but they also had plenty of moments when they reminded us that they are true freshman. The end of the first half brought back memories of first year PBA, that crowd was amped. On the offensive end, we plain and simple didn't make shots, and nobody was consistent aside from Tai. and we aren't going to beat anyone playing like that, let alone a top 10 team. On the defensive end, the game plan wasn't as awful as some are portraying it. They contained Foster, Thomas,(who were both scoreless at the half) and Patton pretty well, and seemed like they didn't expect Mo Watson to pick up the slack. The loss just feels like groundhog day, again. SSDY. Same stuff, different year. 

If we're going to score more, it's going to have to be from close shots, offensive rebounding, and block shots/forced turnovers into transition.  

Roby has earned a starting spot over McVeigh, in my opinion.  Roby is too good of an athlete, ball handler, and passer to keep off the court.  We need to take our lumps with him.  

I feel exactly the same about Jordy.  He's a true 5 and is being completely underutilized.  He's a better player than Patton and plays about half the minutes.  I hated that we let Creighton dictate us into going small ball.  We could've left a big lineup in, slowed the game down, and beat them up inside.

We are really not taking advantage of the physicality of Morrow and Jordy potentially playing together.  We'd see a ton of activity around the basket if they were.  That's very disappointing to me.