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

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.

Worster was outstanding today - wasn't sure what would happen against that UCLA pressure, but he was great with 0 turnovers. Plus he gave us a bit of offense early & hit big free throws late. Probably his best game with NU. Ulis gave us nice minutes too.

I don't think we gave up a 'pick-six' live ball turnover - that was huge in a game where points were going to be tough to come by and after we've been giving up a few of them per game lately. UCLA could've had a couple, but Brice's foul stopped one (and UCLA only got 1 point on the possession) and Worster stopped a 2-on-1 by himself in the 2nd half.

When Berke picked up that 4th foul with 10+ min to go, I thought we were in trouble. But the bench guys extended the lead nicely after that and really put it out of reach. 

Our early defensive communication was poor, but we dialed in far better after the first media timeout. Between the first media timeout and last media timeout (~32-ish min) we gave up only 38 points. In a conference game. Against the #15 team in the country. Insanely good defense.

Ultimately our ability to get to the FT line - and make them - was the difference. That ability to draw fouls and score from the stripe when the other shots aren't falling is what makes Brice elite.

Big opportunity to steal one on the road Tuesday against an Iowa team that is down from normal. Win that one and the sky's the limit for this group.

24 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

I started to get some Husker Hoops PTSD with about 4 min left. Where'd that 13 point lead disappear to? And it's like, not this shit again.

 

 

Football season ended last week 

First the negative; Connor's shot was flat all night.  Easy correction. 

Hey, I knew it was going to be a rock fight, and oh goodness, it was.  Zero complaints about the officials...well maybe two.  But you had two defensive, tough assed teams out there.  Refs let them play.

For not having students in the house, the crowd was fantastic.  One exception, the dude eating the hot dogs was pathetic!

What a great win!

There's a few games I have circled as games that will shift the season one way or another based on how close the metrics have it. This was a passed test. 

-uclas defense is real. Very real. They pressure the shit out of the ball and scramble. Does not shock me that Brice and Berke shot poorly from the field. Connor was wide open all night, so that was more a him missing shots thing. 

-sam needed to have a good offensive game soon, and boy did he have one. That 3 was such a timely 3 and he forced their guards to have bad nights 

-morgan is going to be a good big ten player. He can score in flurries and just plays so goddam hard. He's a perfect compliment for Berke and meah. Meah is just a tall body to catch lobs and shut off the water at the rim. 

Good win. Iowa's defense is going to be like playing a hs team compared to UCLA. Really poor defensive team. 

3 minutes ago, thrasher31 said:

Iowa's defense is going to be like playing a hs team compared to UCLA. Really poor defensive team. 

It's a good thing we got some practice reps against Creighton then. Should be well prepared for this game now.

We tied the school record for consecutive home wins 

Last 12 games of 2023-24 season

First 8 games of 2024-25 season

Notes from UNL

• Nebraska won its 20^th straight home game today, matching the program record. It is the third time NU has won 20 consecutive home game, most recently from Dec. 20, 2017, to Jan. 10, 2019. Nebraska is now 8-0 at home this season.
• The win over UCLA was NU’s first since Dec. 16, 1955, a 71-65 win at the NU Coliseum. That Husker team was coached by Jerry Bush, the grandfather of Fred Hoiberg. The win also snapped a four-game losing streak to UCLA.
• The Huskers are 2-0 against ranked teams this year, and NU is 4-2 in its last six games dating back to the win over No. 1 Purdue on Jan. 9, 2024.
• 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
• Nebraska went 25-of-29 from the foul line, including 21-of-25 in the second half. The 25 free throws tied a season high (also Saint Mary’s and UTRGV). 
• Rollie Worster surpassed 1,000 career points today with his 3-pointer with 1:50 left in the first half. 
• Nebraska’s 15-0 run in the first half tied for the largest run of the season, 12/1/24 vs. North Florida
• The win over UCLA was the 30^th career ranked win for Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg.  
• UCLA entered the game seventh nationally in turnover margin (+6.7) but finished -2 today against Nebraska. Nebraska also outscored UCLA 17-13 on points on turnovers.
• Four Huskers scored in double digits, led by Brice Williams with 16. Today marked his 13th game this season with over 10 points and his fourth straight. 
• Sam Hoiberg tallied three steals, which ties for his second-most this season, as the Huskers forced 13 turnovers. 
• Andrew Morgan finished with 12 points, the 15^th double figure game from a Husker reserve this season. It is the eighth time Morgan has been in double figures.
• Berke Büyüktuncel tied his career high with nine rebounds, the fifth time this season he grabbed nine rebounds. As a team, NU out-rebounded UCLA 39-34 and has been out-rebounded once in 14 games.

In the running for play of the season. Came right after Juwan got juked and (I believe) the same guy drove baselines for a wide open layup.

1 hour ago, millerhusker said:

I thought Connor would struggle today because I thought UCLA's quickness and physicality would bother him. I was wrong on that. He handled that part very well and was still impactful with 3 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. His defense is coming along. Offensively, he was patient and didn't really force anything. He got 6 good looks, they just didn't fall today. But he didn't let that negatively impact the rest of his game. 

Yes, I was pleasantly surprised that Essegian was a +24 in the aftermath of that game and he didn't even make a shot from the field. He and Sam both played well together on the defensive end of the court, I would have been shocked to have said that very thing before the ballgame. Connor has expanded his game to the defense, and NU is better off long-term with Sam's influence on Connor.

That had to be a fun win for Berke and the boys over the Bruins. GBR

In order to win 3 of our first 5 league games we need to pick up a road win at either Iowa or Purdue. I'll say Iowa is most likely. Be nice to get one of them.

To win 3 of the next 5, we have winnable home games against Rutgers and USC. We also face a ranked Illinois team at home. And then two road tilts at Maryland and Wisconsin. Be nice hold serve at home and to win in Madison.

Our third 5 features road contests at Oregon, Washington and Northwestern sandwiched around two home games against Ohio State and Maryland. That'll be tough to find three wins, but @Washington and the two at home seem the most likely opportunities.

Final five is our chance to really finish strong: Three at home with Michigan, Minnesota and Iowa all coming to town. The two road games are both tough at Penn State and Ohio State. If we absolutely had to find 4 wins to finish out the regular season, there are opportunities to do so in those final 5 games. If we don't win at least 3 of them, it'll be very disappointing.

If we can manage 3 wins out of each group of 5 league games, well, obviously, that's 12-8 in conference to go with a non-con record of 10-1. I'd have to think we'd be better than an 8-seed if we did that.

Let's go & beat Iowa in Iowa City, that's what is on my mind at the moment. GBR

20 minutes ago, imnothipp said:

Since I gave up my season tickets, Nebraska is 28-1 at home.

 

You're welcome. 

I think we've got ol' Enzo right where we want him.

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 were back. 
 

Go Big Red!

29 minutes ago, imnothipp said:

Since I gave up my season tickets, Nebraska is 28-1 at home.

 

You're welcome. 

I last had season tickets Bryce McGowens year.  Since then we’re 51-29, danced once, and appear to be dancing again.

I didn’t give em up because I was upset (more so ability to go) but it stinks not to have em right now.

2 hours ago, Jeff Browne said:

I was poking fun at See You — "mid-major."

I r slow.

time to go get a big 10 road win.

3 minutes ago, cozrulz said:

time to go get a big 10 road win.

The eternal optimist inside me says we have 3 B1G road wins in 2025. Might as well start Tuesday. 

A great game. At times the crowd was loud. Students definitely make it a bit louder. 
Bruins defense was physical and we answered the bell quite well. That was a fight and we had tougher guys.

i agree with the assessment about the hot dog eater. I could’ve eaten as many in a minute and still had a conversation with someone. 
Roads back to Omaha weren’t great until the Platte River - then cleared up.

On to Iowa!