uneblinstu's postgame chatter : vol 17; ed 14-UCLA

I realize the difficulty to sustain championship level intensity throughout the full season.  Typically there will be bad games.  We had a bad first half against St. Mary's and the Michigan State debacle.  But man, if we can lock in like we did today, AND shoot the ball like we are capable, we are going to be viable team come March. 

If you told me Conner would not hit a three and we would win I would have told you that you were nuts.

UCLA is as advertised defensively.  We had to work for every hoop.  They were so solid, reminded me of the Virginia team from a few years ago.

Coach did a nice job of getting Brice to the ft line in the second half with some different looks.  

Hope Brice keeps getting the Michael Jordan treatment by the refs by never getting called for pushing off with the off hand to clear space.

Outstanding free throw shooting.

Berke at times tried to do a little too much against his old team but sent a message to both teams that NU was a physical team.

Sam made Sam plays, Rollie made Rollie plays and Juwan made a huge Juwan play down the stretch.

I thought we got some calls today and I'm not going to complain!

Way to hold service at home, now let's get that conference road win.

Hoiberg has some Marcus Smart in him, just making huge plays during winning time. 

7 minutes ago, AuroranHusker said:

 

Small man with small man syndrome. I would play the tiniest violin but I think it'd fit him better. 

We are 16-1 in our last 17 conference home games -- in the 42 games before that, we were 10-32 at home in B1G games.

We won our 12th straight B1G home game at PBA Saturday, which is a new arena record. Won 11 B1G games in a row in 2017-18 and 2018-19 and won 8 in a row in 2013-14.

4 minutes ago, rwhiston said:

Small man with small man syndrome. I would play the tiniest violin but I think it'd fit him better. 

Other quotes provided by huskers.com:

UCLA Head Coach Mick Cronin

Opening Statement
“We didn’t play well enough to win against a good team on the road. That’s really all I have to say.”

On playing without Eric Dailey Jr.
“We still fought. I don’t like that stuff, it’s five on five. It’s not the power play. You don’t have to play a man down. We’re missing two guys but it’s not the power play. We’ve got to deal. We got guys on scholarship that are good enough players. You can’t go 4-28 (from 3) and have any chance to win against a team that stands people in the paint and dares you to shoot. That’s pretty much the game in a nutshell.”

On the ball movement being an issue
“No, we got to make some shots. Dylan Andrews has got to play way better. Dominick Harris and Trent Perry got opportunities today. They played a combined 17 minutes, neither one of them scored. I told them they were going to get an opportunity with Eric (Dailey Jr.) out. They played 17 minutes and didn’t get a basket.”

5 hours ago, NUtball said:

I'm just gobsmacked that a game officiated by that stretched dick-with-ears, D.J. Carstenson, didn't end up with the foul tally strongly in favor of NU's opponent.  Miracles do happen.

I swear the guy works every college basketball game in existence.  

Keisei !!!!!!!

30 minutes ago, AuroranHusker said:

 

Probably sad to leave the Nebraska weather.

5 hours ago, hhcmatt said:

Nebraska held UCLA to 58 points, the Bruins’ second-lowest total of the season. NU has now held seven of 14 opponents under 50 points. NU held UCLA to .841 PPP, and is now 10-0 when holding foes to under 1.00 PPPP

That is a really eye opening stat.. 7 of 14 have scored less than 50 points against us, in this age of high scoring 3 point launching basketball

This team is dangerous. 
 

1. Point guard play matters. We have that this year. 
 

2. As much as I love(d) Tominaga, Wilcher, and Mast….our team defense is significantly better without them. We close out faster and rebound better. 
 

Defense and point guard play both travel and matter in March. Make the NCAA Tournament this year and I think our history of bad fortune comes to an end. 

We’re a real PITA to play.  This particular roster is exotic.  Very long, deceptively athletic, and smart.  It’s likely the best FT shooting team we’ve ever had. 
 

Just wanted to shout out Morgan who was a friggin dude this game.  He and Sam were awesome.  Brice didn’t shoot well against UCLA’s elite defense but he got to the line 12 times and made 11.  That’s what pros do.  Also, I’m not sure anyone could watch Connor’s play and not see an enormous improvement defensively.  Being able to hold his own makes us almost unbeatable if he’s shooting well. 
 

Hell of a win.  We should be ranked.  

That was a fun game all around.

We really messed up by putting Essegian in a bad position having to bring the ball up in the first half and getting it stolen from him. He didn’t seem comfortable shooting or dribbling after that point. That being said, that was a gutsy performance from him, even with his shooting struggles he did everything else we asked him to. Was the leader by far in +- (Thanks ghost of Toney McCray for the stat)

I didn’t realize Andrew Morgan had that bad of a first half, but he really was a difference maker in this one. He struggled finishing earlier this year, but him starting to get more comfortable around the rim is a game changer. Also his finish switching to the left hand on that fast break was a thing of beauty.

Bryce finding ways to score is crucial. In the first half he made a heady play throwing the ball over the back of the backboard in order to get himself to the line.

Sam is back.

Everyone else played great.

Go Big Red.

Team Berke.

2 hours ago, AuroranHusker said:

 

Jesus Brando, “I love coming here to Nebraska, here’s why UCLA makes it so special”. 
 

It’s frustrating not getting respect, but it’ll make it sweeter when it comes.

5 hours ago, AGHANSEN said:

In order to win this game Nebraska needed to win the turnover battle, get to the foul line, and win the rebounding battle.

The Huskers did all three.

Our game planning and execution have been phenomenal all year. 
Brice and Connor combined 2-18 from the field and we still won by 8.

 

It’s also good to win in front of all the alumni that we’re back. 
 

Go Big Red!

Throw Berke in there and its like 3-27

Great win today.   Very gutty performance against a solid team.   Very good crowd as well - especially for a game without students.

Agree with the comment made above about what I would have said about our chances without Connor making a shot.   Thought he actually had better shot selection today - but they just wouldn't fall.   But he played hard and impacted the game anyway.    Really everyone that played made a solid contribution today.   Special mention though to Brice and Juwan who are the leaders and difference makers that get us to this level.   Also one of Sam's best games as a Husker.  He just really has a knack for finding a way to impact the game.

Really fun to be a Husker fan when we are playing so well at home like we have been the last couple years - especially with the effort these teams put out on the defensive end.  

29 minutes ago, HuskerBB said:

 Also one of Sam's best games as a Husker.  He just really has a knack for finding a way to impact the game.

His game reminds me of Alex Caruso's. Just heady, solid guys who consistently make winning plays.

7 hours ago, HuskerBB said:

Great win today.   Very gutty performance against a solid team.   Very good crowd as well - especially for a game without students.

 

Agree with the comment made above about what I would have said about our chances without Connor making a shot.   Thought he actually had better shot selection today - but they just wouldn't fall.   But he played hard and impacted the game anyway.    Really everyone that played made a solid contribution today.   Special mention though to Brice and Juwan who are the leaders and difference makers that get us to this level.   Also one of Sam's best games as a Husker.  He just really has a knack for finding a way to impact the game.

 

Really fun to be a Husker fan when we are playing so well at home like we have been the last couple years - especially with the effort these teams put out on the defensive end.  

Arguably, Sam’s best two games as a Husker and ones where he’s made the biggest impact is an upset of UCLA and and upset of #1 Purdue.

Thats quite the role player resume right there.

9 hours ago, HuskerBB said:

Great win today.   Very gutty performance against a solid team.   Very good crowd as well - especially for a game without students.

 

Agree with the comment made above about what I would have said about our chances without Connor making a shot.   Thought he actually had better shot selection today - but they just wouldn't fall.   But he played hard and impacted the game anyway.    Really everyone that played made a solid contribution today.   Special mention though to Brice and Juwan who are the leaders and difference makers that get us to this level.   Also one of Sam's best games as a Husker.  He just really has a knack for finding a way to impact the game.

 

Really fun to be a Husker fan when we are playing so well at home like we have been the last couple years - especially with the effort these teams put out on the defensive end.  

Even though Essegian didn't make a shot, his presence opened up the driving lanes. We couldn't get anything going when Meah was in there - the lane was too clogged. Not his fault - this just wasn't a game where his skills fit well. Once Essegian was on the floor, though, it all opened up.

Quick back-of-the-napkin math, but I think we only scored 15 points in the 15 minutes Meah was on the floor. Again, not a criticism of his abilities, but just not a game that fit his skills well. Essegian being on the floor changed how we could attack them significantly.