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Still the best Husker basketball board anywhere, by far. This is especially evident on days like today. When other boards are in meltdown, with mainly snark posts and trolling, this one has civil basketball discussions. Disagreements are mainly respectful. I learn from the knowledgeable hoops fans on here virtually every time I log on. The hoops knowledge on here is high level. That's not remotely the case on other boards.

Named to both the coaches and media 1st team View full article

Nebrasketball Transfer Wishlist: PG, SG, SF, PF, C Maybe 2x in each position for some depth.

This was a bad roster. Unathletic and can't shoot. Anything else is over analysis. Not about heart or effort. It's about talent. 17th best roster in the league. Had a chance to overachieve, by winning a few of the close games. Ultimately settled about where we should. Good floor coaching and effort had us in the running to get a bid, but we digressed to about how many bullets we had in the gun. A first team all Big 10 guy and total dude, and a guy who was a dude most of the time despite playing hurt, and then problems. Not enough to survive in this league. The portal needs to be much better this year than last, or we're gonna be at the bottom again. Hopeful we do better there this time around.

That is the most proud of the team I’ve been all year. (Maybe Oregon or Indiana or UCLA) Those guys fought so hard, played with some much mojo, did everything they had gotten crap for through so much of the year. Certainly we can talk about the roster and the deficiencies we have, but given the guys that we have, they stepped up and played awesome tonight. Brutal the way everything ended.

"A letter of the law is a flagrant foul." Okay, fine call it. But, if it is a letter of the law. Slamming the ball where it goes over your head is an automatic technical is also a letter of the law. Standing over a player barking at him is a "letter of the law." Running the sideline is a travel.

Folks, enough of the nonsense fire Hoiberg stuff. The fact that we were in NCAA tournament discussions the last week of the season is a miracle with how flawed this roster was. Outside of Brice and Juwan, the rest of the guys would make up an average A10 conference team. We lost 9 games that came down to the final minute/ OT, so we were right there we just didn’t have enough talent to close out games. Berke got hurt at the worst possible time and we got screwed in a few games. Yes, you can blame Fred for the lack of talent on the roster, but overall the transfers simply didn’t play up to expectations. Is that a coaching issue or the players just not holding up the end of their bargain ? I’m not sure. Fred just needs to get some talent and athleticism from portal with Rienk and we might be alright.

Because of all the other things that happen in the game with OSU. We kind of let this achievement slide. I know if he hits a free throw earlier we win and everything is better. But for a guy to just take over games offensively like he has! I will miss watching him play for us.

He moved an egregious amount. This isn't 'Nam, this is basketball. There are rules.

Barring a last second setback, expect Berke to play tonight. Guessing he’ll still be listed as questionable when the availability report drops.

Partly - but I think the bigger problem was the inability to pass. Juwan broke open on cuts several times this game and we only threw it to him twice. Once he stood under the basket all alone jumping up and down while Sam just dribbled the ball on the perimeter. The thing this team missed as much as anything was the ability to pass. Wooster is average at best and pretty much everyone on the team would be a below-average passer. (Morgan and Meah would both be WAY WAY WAY below average.)

I got a kick out of this last week. Mike Grimm (Radio Voice of the Gophers) was on KFAN discussing the future of Williams Arena. He & the host went around the Conference highlighting the Pros & Cons of each Venue. When they got around to UNL Mike said this, “Nebraska’s had a historically awful Basketball Program & their New Arena has done absolutely NOTHING to change that narrative.” Let’s set aside our Attendance Marks & Top 4 finishes & focus on a couple things Mike’s overlooked. Kevin McHale & Dave Winfield played a LONG time ago, Goldy has exactly 1 winning Conference record in the last twenty years & has NEVER Won at the PBA. Let’s hope the Crowd reminds Mr. Grimm of that fact on Saturday afternoon…!

This conversation with the wife hit me like a bus. Me: Blabbering on about the bubble and how weak it is, but also Nebraska needing to win and everything in between. Her: So what has to happen if Nebraska wins all three to play in March Madness. Me: Oh nothing— if we win two, we’re likely in. 3 would be icing on the cake. Her: So they control their own destiny. Why are you so worried about other teams. Me:………………………….. touché. WE control our own destiny. Go out Saturday and take it. It’s ours if we want it bad enough. Screw bubble talk! *whispers* next bubble update will be tomorrow everyone!

I know we keep saying Bryce should have taken that to the hole, and he probably should have. But I can remember multiple times earlier this year with the game on the line him dribbling off his leg or turning it over. Essegian was WIDE open. His look was a good shot. High percentage (or should be) look.

I hate that not all teams make the B1G tournament. It takes a lot of juice out of me personally in gearing up for March Madness. Even in years where we absolutely sucked, likely weren’t going to win a game… there was still that “what if” hope. That “we’re back to 0-0 record” type of thinking. I don’t even want to watch conference tournament week now.

The poor defensive games this year have all started with not being able to keep ball handlers out of the lane. Iowa made a lot of their initial points in the paint. From there, everything opens up and you're not going to keep up with them unless you can score with them. Mix in Brice not being aggressive at all and Connor being ice cold and you have a recipe for disaster. This season really comes down to being atrocious AT HOME against the bottom tier of the league. Against the top 5 teams, we were 0-6. Just not enough talent to match them and most of those were on the road. Against the middle tier teams (6 through 10), we were 5-1. All of these teams are likely in the tournament. Oregon will be a 5ish seed. UCLA and Illinois 6-7 seeds. Indiana and Ohio St probably 10-11 seeds. Also Creighton an 8ish seed. Beat em all. Against the bottom tier, we were 2-6. And 0-4 at home against these teams. None of these teams are even close to the bubble. If you just win a couple of these home games, you're in for the second year in a row and the program seems like it's rolling. This comes down to a couple things. One, just not enough shot makers. Countless times per game, one of Rollie, Morgan, Uhlis, Meah, Berke would catch the ball on the perimeter within the flow of the offense and there was not even a thought of a shot attempt. Last year, in all these spots you had 35-40% three point shooters who would let if fly with confidence. Everything about a basketball team - and especially a Hoiberg team - flows better when shots are falling. This might not be popular, but I think the struggles can also be attributed to player leadership. Really not meant to be a shot at Brice and Juwan, it's just not in their nature. They've even said it in multiple press conferences. As a coach, I'm not sure how you could further motivate your players against those bottom tier teams with a tourney bid on the line. Motivation and consistent fight wasn't an issue last year for the coaching staff. Mast and Allick have the leadership gene. Wasn't an issue two years ago either. Walker and Griesel have the leadership gene. I have no doubt we'll be a better shot making team next year. Having Mast back will help with leadership. Need to find a few portal players who fit both the culture and the scheme.

In a vacuum, I get that missing the call on the out of bounds with 3 seconds left where we're down three or missing a FT in regulation are reasons we didn't deserve to win. I get that we've blown a bunch of games this season to put us in this position. I'm still mad about having to eat the bowl of dogshit with the catturd on top on a game that was so poorly officiated that anyone who watched it and wasn't a Nebraska fan could see it.

FUCK YOU

http://www.bracketmatrix.com/ You can read above how devastating that loss was yesterday by me. But….Nebraska is in 72/85 brackets and under an 11 seed still…..it can still be done. I don’t care if we deserve it or not. I want to make it and have a chance to knock off my #1 life bucket list item.

I have to say this every time I hear it, because it drives me nuts. Has our program been elite? No. Is it a great program? No. But to say it's just been this historically miserable thing is so wrong. We just haven't won a tourney game, that's what makes it seem so bad. But we have a very rich history, and I'm tired of hearing that we don't.

Someone in the committee room pointed out that Indiana had lost to Nebrasketball 4 times in a row by an average margin of defeat of almost 20 points/game and that ended their at large hopes for this year and next year.

May be in the minority, but this seems like a really good opportunity for a team like Nebraska. You don’t really need to worry about players opting out and going to the portal because most of our team is seniors. So it isn’t like we’re going to be fielding a 2nd tier team. We should have all of our top guys. Combine that with the chance to earn some more $$ and the chance for Brice and Co. to showcase in Vegas. I don’t think this is as bad as some think on the outside.

I can see it now. Troy Dannen becomes tournament chair next year. Nebraska is on the bubble. Nebraska gets left out because they don't want to show favortism.

Sorry to the fans on here. That was a tough one. I am the last guy to get on refs but these non live ball variety ones where bs upgrading to flagrant and then a guy standing over our guy taunting him and then a guy bouncing a ball twenty feet in the air in protest are too much to take. All three were shitty calls that involved free throws and possession. All three went against us. All non live action calls.

I am processing the five stages of grief very well right now. 1) Anger (Fuck the refs) 2) Anger (Fuck the guys in stripes) 3) Anger (Fuck the three blind mice) 4) Anger (Fuck the Zebras) 5) Anger (Fuck you Kelly Pfeiffer and the Big 10 office)

I feel like this will be the year we win our first tourney game simply because at this point in the season almost nobody thinks it will happen. It would be the most nebrasketball thing ever.

Oh well. Years and years of following Husker basketball has prepared me for moments like this.

As another data point, Fan Duel has the odds of Nebraska making the tournament at -490. Meaning, you have to wager $490 to win a measly $100. This is an implied probability of 83% of Nebraska making the tournament according to one book in Vegas. Conversely, if you would like an emotional hedge, you can also wager on Nebraska not making the NCAA tournament at +325 odds. We're in good shape. Beat Michigan on Monday and this becomes close to a moot point. Lose to Michigan and then beat the teams you should. I think most of us would have signed up for this scenario at the beginning of the year!

Reading through other message boards.. it's a weird time in history when Husker fans are ecstatic to go 6-6 and make a bowl game against a pretty soft schedule, pumping up the football program as much as ever, but want to fire the basketball coach after the best three year run since '97-'99.

Thank you. Always an emotional day; but again, thank you for being a Husker.

If anything, Brice Williams deserves to be in March Madness.

We do miss him. But, the real blow is Mast. He is a more skilled Berke on the offensive end. It sucks we didn't get him in Brice's last year.

I can’t remember who, but there were a few “we might not miss Keisei as much this year as some think” posts before the season. Man we miss him MORE than I even thought we would.

If rocks had feelings, they would be offended.

TBH after looking back after reading "Bottom 1/4th of the league" and seeing that we won 9 conference games 3 years ago and knowing how close we were in games this season I'm actually more encouraged.

We're out of the B1G tourney because we lost to almost all the other 7-13 teams in conference. Not imagining that Iowa, Minnesota, or Northwestern have more NIL than us. You look at the guys USC recruited and can't say they're operating on some big budget. Blew close games against the type of schools where they aren't outspending you. Bad roster build. If we learned from it, we have enough of a blank canvas where we can do a better job this off-season.

Can tell you we have significantly less NIL than Indiana who we beat and significantly more NIL than Minnesota and we lost. Dick-measuring the amount of money we can burn on this program isn't going to be the answer here because we're going to be out-$$'ed by at least 7 programs in this conference at all times. It's important to know what sort of identity/type of team we want to build because that allows us to focus $$$ on the important position(s) of that scheme. After that, get creative. Having more money, missing out on guys, and then blowing that money on Braxton Meah is mismanagement. Finding a guy like Justin Bolis because we were looking, that's good management.

If Fred gets the sufficient NIL dollars, he will be fine and we will rue the days that this discussion took place.

When you asked the Genie for the Huskers to be playing basketball late into March so you could watch them… you should have been more specific my guy.

In the last 14 seasons only 6 players on teams with losing records have been named to the B1G 1st team. Brice is the only one to be named to both the coaches and media 1st teams.

Several points on this. Missing the BTT should definitely be cause for concern and dialogue not just amongst the fanbase but hopefully within the AD's office. Results have to matter. However, the results this year are definitely being viewed in a vacuum. The Big 10 has an unbalanced schedule. Fred, or someone on the radio (Kent or Jake) mentioned the other day that our league schedule was 2nd hardest in the Big 10. I will trust this at face value and perhaps someone has a resource to support or debunk this. Anyways, practically speaking, we did not finish 16th in the league. We finished tied for 12th with 5 other teams. Because we lost too much to teams at the bottom of the standings, we lost on the round robin tiebreaker. If our league schedule was amongst the hardest, some grace has to be given while also recognizing that we did a crappy job of not beating the teams we should have or at least not winning nearly enough against those teams at the bottom of the standings. Hoiberg should be reflecting and addressing on why we couldn't beat the teams we should have at a higher rate or close out/win more of the one possession games. Calling the season an abject failure is very extreme. Is it disappointing to miss the BTT? Yes. Were we a missed shot against Michigan, or a made shot from Minnesota, or a double OT ref-screw job against OSU, a non-Berke rolled ankle, or a 15 point lead not pissed away against Iowa from having a good season? Yes, very likely. The margins between a very frustrating/disappointing end to the season and having a good and perhaps a special season, were exceptionally thin. The breaks did not go our way this year, some self-inflicted (Essegian missing a wide open three against Michigan, Brice missing the FT against OSU) and others were just a calamity of bad luck or shitty circumstances. We've made progress as a program the past two years. Next year is a big year for Fred. I have faith and I'll be ready to be hurt all over again in November.

Please provide the data Upon further review, I couldn't help but notice this post you made 14 months ago... "Brice Williams is the biggest waste of a scholarship I have ever seen" GBR

shouldn't have changed the court, obviously

Anyone can transfer anytime and we're just buying guys out of the portal along with an occasional high school transfer. The thing where you extend a coach 5 years to 'show commitment' is an out of date concept.

An uninspired 15 point drubbing at home in a must win game to a rival. Lost 12 of 17 down the stretch. What an epic collapse of a season.

Watching Nebraska high school girls basketball championship weekend just underscores to me what a disadvantage NU WBB is at in terms of in-state recruiting vs. other Big Ten schools. I can’t think of another state in Big Ten country that produces less Big Ten-level girls basketball recruits than Nebraska does. And yes, I get that we have a smaller population base than all those other states in our conference but we produce a lot of Division 1 high school volleyball recruits. I guess at the end of the day, girls volleyball is more deeply woven into the fabric of our state than girls basketball is or ever will be. Feels like any athletic girl in our state with any kind of height gravitates to VB over BB.

I love Brice, he showed tonight why he's FIRST TEAM all-Big Ten. I'm wrecked that somehow 8-on-5 beat us tonight, and I hate this conference as we'll always be Jr. Members of this League. They couldn't allow lowly NU to win in CBus. It would've been a riot if they'd have officiated this game properly. I'm gutted, I can't imagine how Brice & Juwan feel right now. I bet the whole team is pretty pissed off. I hope they take out all their frustrations on Iowa & whoever's next in Indy. GBR

Really disappointing outcome today. The run in the 2nd half was fun - but should not have been necessary. Obviously we lost this game in the first half by not coming out ready to play hard from the beginning. Morgan was obviously in the group that made the run in the 2nd half - but his first 5 minutes of play in the 1st half were about as bad of a 5 minutes as we have gotten from anyone all year. We definitely lack movement on offense but wonder how much that is due to cutters not being rewarded. There were multiple times today where cutters broke free but we never made the pass. We perhaps got spoiled by how good of post passers Walker and Mast were - but now it is completely the opposite - our post players cannot pass at all. Really frustrating to watch. I think Brice needs to be more selfish - but like most opponents Minnesota was really making him the focus of their defense. We really just don't have anyone else that is a significant offense threat - maybe Connor at times but clearly no one else. Juwan was REALLY upset after this game. Just stayed on the court and looked very emotional - at least for him. He did give great effort in the last 15 minutes and I think he really felt we needed this one (as did I). I feel bad for him because he has been a great player for us. I get why Fred left in the 5 guys were on the floor making the run - but I do think they got gassed a little bit and it may have been a good idea to at least use Berke and Rollie a little. But again I understand his decision to basically just go with 5 guys when we finally had something working. Just sick to my stomach that we lost this one. I really like Brice and Juwan in particular and want them to have another tourney trip this year at least.

Just happened to notice that I reached the precipice of 20,000 posts on the current format of HHC, it's likely more than 25k all told in the various iterations of this fine group. Years & years ago I used to post in a couple of other Husker forums that focused almost entirely on football, but I decided to focus my energy on just one great forum after becoming a father (I have 2 teenagers, so it's been a minute...), and this forum is definitely great. I enjoy it, this place provides a lot of insight, joy, commonality, commiseration. the whole gamut of emotion!! As a tribute, in the past I've dedicated them to Shavon Shields since he's one of my all-time favorite dudes, for 20k on NU women's basketball Senior Day, I am dedicating my post to Alexis Markowski, she's had 50 double doubles for criminy's sake. As a side note, way, way back when I competed against her father, Andy, in H.S. even though I was undersized at center compared to Ord's finest. I have followed both of their careers in college at Dear Old Nebraska U. It's been a pleasure to watch Alexis do her thing like only a few who have ever done it at NU. Salut.