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Hey guys. Sorry for my vent. Lifelong diehard here. My family purchased season tickets when I was in 8th grade- back in 1990. (I know, I’m old) Experienced the highs of Nee’s teams to being a proud member of the “6500” barflencht coined us during the Collier years, to attending Doc’s basketball 101 events, to befriending players on Coach Miles teams. Thought Fred was an absolute home run “I can’t believe we got him” hire. I work with about 50% bluejay alums. I bet them donuts for the office every year. I’ll be waking up early tomorrow to buy 7 dozen and get crap thrown- and deservedly so. I drive from Omaha to each home game. Leave work early to make the 6pm games. Even took a half day of PTO today to “prepare” for the CU game. I just told my son I have no motivation to leave work Friday and go watch the team against Idaho State. I’ll go to the Sunday game, but this is just painful to watch. It’s like they’re not even being coached. I drive thousands of miles (I calculated and it’s kind of sobering) every season to pay my $5 to park so I can make the trek over the bridge while I can’t feel my face in January and hope it doesn’t start to be white out conditions for the drive home so I can see my daughter and wife again and don’t slide into the ditch so I could see Verge go 4-23. And do it again and again. I buy into the hype as much as anyone. Tominaga is close to Curry. Lat made 88 out of 100 threes. Keon would start at most schools- so would Wilcher, Wilhelm has grown to 6-10, up from 6-9, Bryce is already a lottery pick….I must love punishment. Actually, most of us longtime season ticket holders and diehards must. I have balls of steel from them being kicked so many times. When I think about all of the money I throw out the window on tickets, gas, mileage, my time, etc, etc…it’s probably not a great investment. But I’ll keep coming back. I’ll keep clinging on hope that we get it figured out. That Verge will settle in and become a distributor. The Tominaga hones in his bombs. That Walker remembers he had to sit out games and to play like he did when he first was eligible. That K-Web will lead us now to some wins. That is all. I’m down. I’m spending 80+ bucks on donuts to feed my overweight bluejay coworkers tomorrow morning. This is my 7th year I’ve lost the bet, out of 8 years there. No worries, I now budget for it….

I get where @hhcdave is coming from on this. I get why he's so beside himself with astonished disappointment. That was perhaps the worst performance by a Husker men's basketball team I've ever seen. And that goes back a long ways. And, sure, there have been more embarrassing losses. Games where we got beaten worse by lesser opponents. What was truly, glaringly bad about that loss last night was the off-the-charts refusal by certain players to run any sort of team offense. I don't want to watch your shake-n-bake bullshit all season long. Quit trying your behind-the-back dribbling in traffic in the lane. PASS THE FRICKING BALL (except I didn't say "fricking.") Involve your teammates in the offense. I'm going to grow real damn tired of watching 1-on-5 hero ball this year. "I just want to do whatever I can to help my team win." Sure you do. Talk is cheap. Prove it on the court.

A bit surprised with all the negativity. The team that walked out against Western Illinois would have got rolled badly in this game. We should have won this game. Far and away the best game we have played this year. Not perfect by any means, but there were times the ball movement was excellent. Problem was guys like Wilcher were cold and missing their open looks. I thought the decision making on when to attack vs pass, especially by Verge, was much better. Not a lot of hero ball; Fred wanted to see players make the easy play and I thought this was the best all season we have done that. Finally looked a bit like Hoiberg ball out there. I had no hope going into Big Ten play before this game. If we play like this, or heaven forbid keep improving, we are going to be proud of this team. We were a dumpster fire our first 5 games. We are making big progress. It was a great effort tonight and I was proud of the fight, even if we came up a hair short.

That is all.

As much as it is a joke on this web site, Creighton gets kids who fit their system right out of the gate. I have officially never looking at who is coming in, I am tired of reading all the hype about a kid and then making it impossible for them to be that good. Will keep going and cheering, fuck this is year 54 so can’t stop now! actually am scared that if they ever do win an NCAA game I will die soon after because I then would have seen everything.

No. I've been highly critical of Hoiberg et al this year. But no. You absolutely have to take these things into consideration: 1. No one was returning from Miles's last team. And the recruiting class he was bringing in was hot trash. Hoiberg had to literally round up whoever he could find to have a team. 2. Last year wasn't just a "covid year" for us. It was a disaster. I really think last year's team was significantly better than what we saw. Also, he kept dudes fighting and playing all year, regardless of the record. 3. To me, this truly is year 1. Year 1.5 at best. I also think we're pivoting. Zigging while others are zagging. Hoiberg and crew were on the cutting edge with transfers. But now that everyone is doing it and it's way weirder, I like the traditional guys they're bringing in. Lawrence, Dawson, and Lloyd are all supposedly just super solid players that fit well with Wilhelm, McPherson, Oleg, and Tominaga (Bryce and Trey are gone don't even try to think about them here next year. Won't happen). And, supposedly, Blaise Keita is maybe the best big available out there. Let's give this time.

I read this thread before watching the game for the first time via replay…I saw us up by 23 over a nice opponent with about 4 minutes to go and was wondering which game you all watched. Isn’t this - considering the opponent - our best win of the year? Can’t count exhibitions. You recruit 5 stars to be 5 stars, and you recruit enough depth that somebody can spark you off the bench. It just won’t always be the same guy. Today it was Keisei. Bryce is just a flat out stud - he is coming into his own and we are all witnesses. The situation at PG will sort itself out and it already is. Webster is such a luxury. And also a great example why you don’t just transfer when they recruit over you. He’s been team-first since last year and that never wavered after they brought it Verge late. He’s your glue guy. Coach has to find some pieces to get us by until Trey returns. He was the heart of the team and set the tone with his intensity on both ends of the court. Some of our folks have really stepped up. Others - no reason to name them - have not. Look at the minute distribution tonight…trending. GBR

Logging onto the interwebs to see how the people felt about a game I didn’t watch any of last night.

This close to winning

Wasn't able to watch the game last night, so watching it now. 1st half: -First 4 minutes were the best we've played all year. If Keon's minute allotment in the rotation is 8-12 minutes, I'm good with him getting those minutes at the start of each half. In the first 3 minutes, he forced two turnovers, had a rebound on a good block out and had a nice contest on a shot (I actually thought he tipped it but wasn't credited with a block). I felt like he set the tone defensively from the tip, the bench players just didn't keep it up. He's going to be a great 3 and D player eventually. - Bryce had a George Gervin finger roll. That was sweet. - Agree with what someone said earlier. Derrick needs to give the same effort on the boards and defensively as he did last year. He's not doing that right now. But playing well offensively. - The offense itself seems fine. We've gotten wide open threes within the offense from Keisei (2), Bryce (2-3), Keon (2), Wilhelm (1), CJ (2), Lat (several). Just missed almost all of them. - CJ's defense is poor, but I appreciate his effort blocking out. We need his shooting and he's the best on the team at moving without the ball right now. - There are only two ball stoppers on the team at this point. Verge (it's just going to happen with him, but he's playing pretty darn good now) and Lat, who of all people should not be a ball stopper. The turnovers and missed wide open threes are bad enough. But when he catches and just holds the ball and jab steps for 8 seconds, it's frustrating and a possession killer. My old high school coach would not allow that from anyone, let alone a guy who's not a threat to create. 2nd half: -Another solid first 4 minutes defensively. Only gave up 3 points before the first sub came in. I like Keon. You don't have to worry about effort or dumb mistakes with him. He's shooting the ball with confidence and they'll start falling. - Bryce and Verge playing very well. And EFFICIENT. - Wilhelm and Ed both really bad in this one. Is Wilhelm not being coached? It's kinda embarrassing how confused he is after laying someone out and getting called for a foul. - A positive: Our guards are doing a much better job of finishing at the rim. Overall the team was 22/28 on 2FG's. - Bryce, CJ, Verge and Walker played as well as you could ask them to, offensively. Tenn St. stayed in the game because almost everyone else played just poorly enough, and about 5-6 of their made threes were prayers they just threw up there that went in. - People might not remember, but our three point shooting improved dramatically over the course of each of the past two seasons. Everything will look different if/when that happens. Free throws and 2P% have been substantially better this year. We're 71% on "close 2's" this year, compared to 55% and 54% in the previous two years. 73% from FT's compared to 64% and 61%. I feel like I'm the only one who still has hope for a fun year. To the people who think we're not running an offense or sharing the ball, we really are. Turn on a college basketball game any given night and you'll see stagnant offense. We're getting shots at the rim, free throw line and wide open threes. It's going to turn around. Maybe lower your W/L expectations. My preseason hope was that we'd go around .500 this year. I had no tourney expectations. We won 7 freaking games each of the last two years.

Nebraska deserved to lose. A winner's mentality is not celebrating like you won a championship after every flashy play. Honestly seems like our guys care more about looking good than making simple, winning plays.

There is no hope. F everything. Go Big Red

No I don't see Fred on the hot seat. Should get 2 more seasons.

Remarkable to consider that the refs didn't want to insert themselves into the last play of regulation when then had no qualms about it at any other time. Yeah we had chances to win this game that we didn't capitalize on but there is no denying that Verge was fouled and he likely makes one of 2 to win it.

A couple of Verge observations from sitting pretty close to the Nebraska bench. Early in the second half, Verge had the ball at the top of the key and was just dribbling aimlessly. Kobe was yelling from the bench "MOVE IT". Verge eventually passed and yelled back at Kobe to "chill man". Kobe came in shortly thereafter. On one possession Kobe was standing open on the wing with his hands ready to shoot. Verge drove in and threw up a wild shot. Kobe throws his arms in the air in exasperation and visibly frustrated. Hoiberg pulled Verge out barked something into his ear and I don't believe returned again. It might mean nothing but it was still interesting to see those interactions.

Jimmy's basketball history lesson for the day: Tennessee State used to be called Tennessee A&I and was a powerhouse when some of the best collegiate basketball teams came from the NAIA ranks. The yearly NAIA tournament was played at the old municipal auditorium in Kansas City in those days and my dad and I attended almost every year. A&I won three consecutive years beginning in 1955 with their coach John McLendon who finished with a record of 149-20, and later became the first black professional head coach for the Cleveland Pipers and first black head coach at a mostly white university (Cleveland State). He was born in Hiawatha, Kansas-home of the oldest Halloween parade west of the Mississippi. He was a phys. ed. major at KU under James Naismith. His best player at A&I was the finest left -handed shooter I ever witnessed, Dick Barnett, who won two NBA titles while playing for the Knicks and is in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. * I got many of these facts from one of my favorite basketball books, "Big Game, Small World", by Alexander Wolff. And that's your lesson for today, kids. You may put up your notebooks and be happy we aren't playing one of McLendon's teams tonight.

Hoiberg’s offense absolutely requires ball movement to create open shots for the shooters on the floor for Nebraska. When you have a PG that is a high volume dribbler, that kills ball movement, and since the rest of the players on the court aren’t touching the ball frequently, that lulls them to sleep, so they don’t move without the ball, which means that they don’t get open shots in rhythm and they aren’t attempting many back door cuts to the basket, because they don’t expect to get the ball anyway. It turns into a bunch of standing around and watching the dribbler. And when they aren’t getting touches on offense, which lulls them to sleep, that carries over to a lack of intensity on defense. So it kills them on offense and defense. Verge’s stats don’t tell the whole story in regards to how much his play and decision making really hurts this team. When a team rebounds as poorly as Nebraska, the ridiculous drives to the basket resulting in poor, low percentage, contested shots at the rim are effectively turnovers in the way that they hurt the team. And when the primary ball handler consistently chooses to take those shots, rather than distributing the ball to all of the shooters that Hoiberg has assembled on this team, it sabotages the ability of the rest of Nebraska’s players on the court to play to their potential. Nebraska’s margin for error is so thin that they can’t afford to have all of their players failing to play to their potential. Until Hoiberg gets a distributor at PG, it doesn't matter how much he upgrades the rest of the talent on this roster. And all of those things kill the crowd energy in Pinnacle Bank Arena, which negates what should be a pretty substantial home court advantage for the Huskers.

I went from thinking we had the pieces to be a bubble team to I’m not sure we’ll win a conference game.

I think a lot on this board are being far too hard on Verge (fairly critical, yes for sure, but too hard as far as "consequences"). We're jaded by the Biggs/Teddy situations - and now we think this is some sort of systematic problem and anyone who isn't playing well is some sort of team chemistry cancer. Verge is not one of those guys imo. From all accounts he seems like a good dude, on time, lunch pail guy. A firey competitor, and cares about his teammates. He just likes to tote the rock and score and we'd like him to create and distribute a bit more. Fixable things, imo.

I asked my wife if it’s appropriate to teach my four year old curse words as long as they are followed by the word “Creighton.” She said no. Now I am rethinking this whole marriage thing.

Almost a completely brand new team for McDermott, and look how well he has them moving, cutting, and passing. Every. Single. Year. It’s what I thought maybe our offense would look like this year, but it’s just more of the same for us.

WTF is wrong with you people? It's 9:30 on a game day -- not just any game day but the FIRST game day of the season -- and there's no game thread. I think that job was last assigned to @Bugeaters1 but I could be wrong. And then, @hhcmatt, what's the deal? No pre-game breakdown? I mean (checks watch) it's 9:31. Put the coffee down and get typing. The apathy is palpable, which is truly sad because this is the year the monkey gets yanked off our backs. C'mon, light a fire. The season is upon us, people! It starts TODAY!!!!

To be fair, you have limited number of wisdom teeth, but the Husker ability to disappoint is forever.

Hardest I've been hit by a Husker loss in several years. Not exaggerating. Just a tough, tough loss. Looked disjointed on offense. Lots of me me me. Defensive effort was mediocre outside of Trey and Derrick. Can't get a rebound to save our lives against a middle of the pack Summit League team? Missed 5 free throws in the last minute (if I'm not mistaken). This is the kind of game that puts you into the NIT instead of the NCAA. Absolutely HAVE to beat Creighton and KSU now. Can't lose again at home in the non con and HAVE to pick up one of the two road/neutral site games. I'm not going to let one game ruin my goal and expectation of being in the tournament. But it sure put me in a bad, bad mood. And being Nebraska, our margin of error was already thin............ Plenty of chances and places to pick up big wins, though. Season just getting started. GBR

I continue to be impressed by Quaran McPherson who I've only seen play in a couple of minutes in an exhibition game. He's sitting by the coaching staff during regulation and then is the only guy on the sideline not losing his shit when they don't get the call. He spots Verge and immediately goes over to help him up.

F#ck him til the cows come home. All of the cows. Even the one with the infected leg. And if the coyotes get her, f#ck him for all eternity.

Ted Valentine is a criminal...... ......ly bad official.

This is fairly common knowledge, but if I can save some people from an unwanted auto renewal, then it's worth the post. If you only plan to use BTN+ for these remaining two Nebraska basketball games this nonconference season, you can go to your account right now (like, right now) and click "discontinue subscription" (or whatever the verbiage is) and you will continue to have access to watch games through the remainder of the month you signed up for. No auto renewal headaches. Personally, I signed up and within 10 minutes I clicked that "cancel" button and have been able to watch the two games just fine.

Not saying I was pleased with the game tonight - but certainly not as depressed as the rest of you seem to be. I don't think this team is quite as bad as their Kenpom rating indicated - sounds like they really got homered at South Dakota (had a double digit lead before 2 technical fouls before half and SD shot something like 40 free throws). In any event they shot really well - some of that was bad defense to be sure - but even at that they shot very well at least in the first half so I thought they also played over their head a little bit. I also thought we came out really pretty well. Had good possessions early. Problem was really when we brought the first subs in and got really lazy on defense. My main comments - Alonzo Verge took a lot of criticism on this board early this year - but he was very good tonight - by far our best player and we likely don't win the game without him playing at a high level. Second - Derek Walker is far and away our best post player contrary to what lots of people were saying on this board a week or two ago. He is a bit undersized but he battles hard and is really skilled both as a passer and at finishing. We are just now figuring out how to use him in the offense to play to his strengths - and that bodes well for the future to some extent. I do think most everyone probably had too high of expectations for the team - but frankly that is human nature. We do have holes and are still a very poor rebounding team. Bryce has great flashes but has not figured out yet how to play hard off the ball and on defense. I like what Keon brings but he is not comfortable on offense yet. CJ is good in flashes also but falls asleep on defense at times and also has really poor rebounding fundamentals. This was a game where we shot poorly both from 3's and at the line - when the opponent shot over their heads at least a little - yet we still found a way to win - not comfortably but really should have been by 10 had we made FTs at the end.

Doc never lost to Creighton in Lincoln.

On the radio this morning, the talk was about how this was a culture game, more than anything. Creighton is young and talented. I don't think they're less talented than NU. They're probably more talented, but they're less experienced in some ways, too. But CU replaced nearly every top contributor from last year's team and they were the ones that handled that atmosphere better last night. That goes back to the culture that has been established there. I think that's what Coach Fred *wants* to develop here, too. He touted that as why he ran his system instead of trying to win games in year one and praised the players on the roster for laying that foundation. But Derrick Walker it he only one that was in the program at the time. And he hasn't been all that great so far this season. Hard to hold together a culture if you're turning over the roster so much. Hopefully some continuity over the next couple of years will get it there, but it's not there yet. Coach Mac has a decade of track laid. - I liked most of what I saw from Wilcher last night. - I liked what Webster brought to the floor. I thought he brought a calming affect when things were spiraling out of control in the first half. - Not sure I agree with Ed being ready to start. He's got some talent, but he's also still very raw. Not sure what you do in the paint. The smaller lineup was the one that brought the team back, so maybe somewhat diminished roles for the front court is something we see more of. - I wonder where McPherson is in his development. I wonder if he gets a look with Trey going down. - And man, you just have to feel for Trey. I was liking how the offense looked when he was running the show, too. - Thought Bryce got a big lesson in high major basketball last night. Excited to see how he adjusts, because I think he will. - I did like that the team fought back after being down big. I hope that serves as a marker for them that they're capable. As someone else said in the thread, I do think there's a good team somewhere on this roster. But the start of this season and night has sure been a gut punch.

We literally look like we aren’t coached. There’s zero way FH forgot how to coach (or never could). What is happening? We look like a team that the coach is afraid to hold them accountable. I don’t see, when I watch, what we drill. Offensively or defensively. What do we practice? We look like we’re playing pick up ball. I can tell you exactly what Creighton practices and what they drill, btw.

That was Walker's worst game as a Husker. Zero points on offense and Kalkbrenner made him look like a mediocre defender and rebounder. Lat made some threes, but was very poor defensively and is still a liability if he puts the ball on the floor. We were better with Eduardo and/or Breidenbach on the court. We were obviously better with Kobe and CJ on the court. The ball actually moved around and we played with a purpose. Trey has a broken foot. I say throw Kobe out there with 4 freshmen - CJ, Bryce, Wilhelm and Eduardo - and let them go. Kobe's presence on the court is great for the young guys. He's constantly encouraging and giving constructive criticism. I loved how he wouldn't let Eduardo complain to the ref after a foul. Those 4 freshman play hard, have talent and just need some time and repetition to learn how to play at this level. Keon and Keisei, as well. Play the young guys and don't process ANY of the underclassmen after the season. Stick with them and let's build an actual team. As Husker fans, we don't even need to win. We're used to losing. We just want a team that's enjoyable to watch and easy to root for.

Andre came in and changed the game. His points were nice, but we all realize he won’t score that much most nights. But he altered so many shots in his limited minutes. I know he is raw and I am sure he does things that frustrate Fred, but he has to be a part of the rotation. I know people love Walker, and he is a good leader and plays hard. But he is a very below average center in the B1G. He is a 6’8” center who can’t shoot, can’t dribble and isn’t particularly skilled at anything. Has decent hands, but that’s not enough at this level. He definitely is not a rim protector. With that said, Ed has to do his part to help Fred have more confidence in him. Whatever he is or isn’t doing in practice needs to get sorted out so he can get more PT going forward. Disappointing thing is that if Andre played in the first game NU most likely wins. What was Fred thinking (or not thinking)?

I've seen Husker teams in a discombobulated funk before. But last night was unique. I don't ever recall two guys just out there doing their own thing all night long. I've seen pickup games at the rec that had more teamwork and less hero-ball than we saw last night. It was disgusting. If this happens all year long, I won't renew my tickets. I'm not gonna shell out my hard-earned money to watch shitty basketball for the rest of my life. It's one thing to lose. It's another thing to play like that. And that was an embarrassment. It was an embarrassment even if we had pulled out a win. A win would not have mollified me. Even if we'd won, I'd still be pissed. And Fred better get this situation under control, because there are a couple of players on the team who cannot co-exist with each other right now.

I hope I am wrong, but I am already sensing dissension in the ranks. I have been to the practice scrimmage, both exhibitions and the first game, but let's back up even farther. After last season, there was a lot of talk about Trey being the PG this year. In his initial podcasts, he talked about how hard he has been working at PG and how excited he is to take that next step. Then, enters Verge. And suddenly Verge is getting all the hype. And Trey is suddenly seen as more of "role" guy playing the SG. Then the practice scrimmage, where Verge played one-on-one hero ball almost the entire game (much like last night). Trey only shot 1 or 2 shots all night if i recall. Then the first 2 exhibitions. Verge played well and I thought distributed pretty well too. But there were "looks" and "body language" from (and between) Verge, Trey and Bryce that I started to notice. Instances where one of them would call for the ball, and the other would ignore or dismiss it. I distinctly remember late in Colorado game (after Verge had been playing well and getting a lot of attention) that Trey was bringing the ball up and Verge was clapping and yelling for him to pass the ball to him. Trey looked at him and just kept going. I've seen the similar things in reverse, where Verge had the ball and didn't pass to Trey. And let's remember, if Trey is a bit sour that Verge "stole" his PG spot, then that is surely going to rub off on Bryce. And Trey is close to Lat and the other returning players, so if Verge keeps up the "hero ball hog" role, I could see the dissension escalate dramatically. With all this said, I must be clear I don't have any inside or direct info on any of this. This could all be in my imagination. All of this is just reading "tea leaves" and "body language", but it is definitely something to keep an eye on. Clearly the guys did not play as a team last night, and maybe some of this dissension that had been brewing finally came out. Time will tell if they can get it corrected and back on track.

1 score loss. Frost says Nebrasketball is close.

Double digit wins needs to be the goal this year. You guys think I'm just being funny when I say it, but this team has no business thinking about the tournament, or top half of the league finishes or any of that crap. If we can get to 10-21 or 11-20 that may be considered a success. This team needs to worry about playing with a sense of urgency....and pride....and teamwork. Not podcasts. With a little luck we can maybe eek out a winning record (but at this point even that looks like a huge pipe dream). I also gotta say that Fred might be coaching for his job by the end of the season. This kind of performance is truly unacceptable for any Power 5 team, let alone a Big Ten team. This is embarrassing. The epitome of brutality. Once again.

I am thankful for sooo many things in life. Worth mentioning in this setting; I am thankful for this site where I can share the joy's, the successes, the anxieties, the frustrations and the sorrows that come with being a Husker basketball junky HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Pretty depressing chatter to start the countdown for Thanksgiving so I'll be as upbeat as possible. Looking at our schedule to start the year I thought we might be 7-0 in November and 3-3 in December. Even though starting the New Year with 10 wins appears beyond our grasp at this point, we still have to play the games and stranger things have happened. So, let's all try to enjoy Thanksgiving weekend with full stomachs and hope that all of the vaccinated and unvaccinated, masked and unmasked, politically divided folks in our great country begin 2022 in a more optimistic state of mind.

I don’t think he’s our problem. He rebounds, passes well, and drives. He’s not perfect, but our most consistent player all year.

Listen... I am the first to say that I am a failed, losing-record coach. However, and not to toot my own horn here, but I have taken over some pretty bad, losing programs and it didn't take more than a month to see exactly what we were working on in practice come game time. Win or lose. We literally look like we are uncoached. Can anyone tell me what they think our defensive principles are? What our drive and help rules are? What our rebounding rules are on offense (let alone defense...)? We look like a team coached by a dad who watched YouTube clips of an offense he wants to run, and watched an NBA video on, "defensive rotations," (the only thing we do marginally well).

Great points here. Surprised one of you sharp people didn’t mention in particular how outwardly angry Fred was on the sideline with Verge in the last 90 seconds. He TWICE didn’t follow the directions of taking the air out of the ball and both times damn near turned it over (Bryce got a dunk on one). Fred threw his Hands up once and the next time threw his hands up and turned around. I’ve never seen him do that. Also worth pointing out on Verge that Fred kept him out almost 5 minutes in the second half when things were gelling with him on bench. That’s much longer than game one at any point and much longer last night than either Trey or Bryce sat at once. Verge will be in Fred’s doghouse soon if he doesn’t buy in. Finally, as I posted after game one, where’s Andre? I’d like to hear an actual explanation and details of what happened because we surely (as pointed out above) win game one wifh him.

Got the win. It was slightly better than game 1, but I still fear what will happen on Tuesday night against the team that shall not be named. I was very critical of Bryce after game 1 so I need to applaud him for game 2. Much better efficiency for the most part - wasn't "hunting shots" nearly as much and let the game present him with the opportunity. He took advantage when it did. Someone else said it - I think our shooting is off because we aren't getting open looks. Too much standing and watching, which is understandable when Verge has the ball. 2 games in, I am not a fan and he would have spent a considerable amount of time on the bench again if it were me. Yes, he has assists but when you handle the ball as much as he does, a squirrel will find a nut once in a while. His mentality is shoot first, shoot second, pass third. I really want to see someone else run the point (Trey, Kobe) and let Verge come off the bench. Andre was the reason we won - energy, defense, rebounding - he brought it all and led to the run to put that game away. Huge improvement from Wilhelm too - did a lot of things that won't show up on the stat sheet to help the team. However, stop whining to the officials when you get called for a foul. Officiating is awful, we all know it and you should too. Just stop complaining.

This didn't move past scoring 47 points vs UC Riverside on opening night in my list of worst and embarrassing performances.

I couldn't disagree more with the first two bullet points. Bryce looked like Teddy Allen and Verge forgot how to be a PG. Too much iso ball from both of those guys didn't allow any other shooters to get into a rhythm. Terrible ball movement.

Disclaimer: the above post was intended in good fun. Don't anyone get bent out of shape. I'm feeling like a kid on Christmas trying to get his parents to wake up and come downstairs to open presents.

I am against the playing of *any* National Anthem at *any* non-olympic or non-international sporting event. I guess at least we aren't forced to stand and recite the pledge of allegiance in the movie theater before the movie starts. Or in our homes before we watch the 6 o'clock news.