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We've played 6 games (against mixed competition). This doesn't take into account feel, running the offense, decision-making, etc. I've watched every game, but my goal here is to try to look at it through a statistical lens first. The players are not listed in any particular order, by the way. Here's how I see the key components individually: 1. Terran Petteway, Jr. 2014-2015: 34.7 MPG, 21.0 PPG, 41.7 FG%, 34.9 3FG%, 2.5 APG, 5.5 RPG, 1.3 BPG, 1.3 SPG, 4.2 TOPG 2013-2014: 31.7 MPG, 18.1 PPG, 42.6 FG%, 32.7 3FG%, 1.6 APG, 4.8 RPG, 0.8 BPG, 0.9 SPG, 2.8 TOPG http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/nebraska/terran-petteway Notes: This year he's averaging more points, assists, rebounds, blocks, steals and turnovers than last year. His shooting percentage is essentially the same. He has his lapses like any player, but I feel like he is doing a better job defensively. He has been doing a better job of getting to the rim for strong finishes...It feels like he's got about a dozen dunks already in 6 games. The increase in turnovers is bad. He has had 4 or more turnovers in 4 of our 6 games. Hopefully with stronger PG play, he'll be able to handle the ball less and have fewer of these. For as frustrating as he can be to watch, he is a stat-stuffer and an all-conference player. 2. Shavon Shields, Jr. 2014-2015: 34.7 MPG, 20.0 PPG, 60.6 FG%, 43.8 3FG%, 1.8 APG, 7.3 RPG, 0.3 BPG, 0.8 SPG, 2.5 TOPG 2013-2014: 32.5 MPG, 12.8 PPG, 44.3 FG%, 31.6 3FG%, 1.6 APG, 5.8 RPG, 0.3 BPG, 0.9 SPG, 1.6 TOPG http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/nebraska/shavon-shields Notes: Shavon is massively-improved offensive player. He's shooting lights-out. His scoring average has improved from 8.6 to 12.8 to now 20.0. He's also 86.8% from the FT line this year. If he averages 20 & 7 for the season he will need to be an all-conference player. He is the smooth and controlled operator, in contrast to Petteway's spastic and explosive style. Both are tough matchups. His mastery of the mid-range jumper makes him a nightmare to defend. 3. Benny Parker, Jr. 2014-2015: 28.5 MPG, 6.7 PPG, 35.7 FG%, 28.6 3FG%, 2.3 APG, 1.8 RPG, 0.0 BPG, 2.0 SPG, 1.7 TOPG 2013-2014: 14.9 MPG, 2.4 PPG, 47.8 FG%, 0.0 3FG%, 0.9 APG, 1.0 RPG, 0.0 BPG, 0.9 SPG, 0.4 TOPG http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/nebraska/benny-parker Notes: Benny has earned the starting job this year and as a result his minutes have doubled. He's not really a scorer, but we don't ask him to be. We ask him to handle the ball with minimal turnovers, and thus far he's done that (under 2/game). His steals are top-100 nationally, and I would expect that number to actually go up. He is shooting 75.0% from the FT line, which is absolutely what you want in your PG who handles the ball the most. Benny has always been a guy whose strengths don't show up on the stats sheet and this is no exception, but I would say that he is improved over last year. 4. Walter Pitchford, Jr. 2014-2015: 22.2 MPG, 6.5 PPG, 33.3 FG%, 31.0 3FG%, 0.8 APG, 2.8 RPG, 0.8 BPG, 0.7 SPG, 1.7 TOPG 2013-2014: 23.2 MPG, 9.2 PPG, 47.3 FG%, 41.0 3FG%, 0.5 APG, 4.7 RPG, 0.6 BPG, 0.4 SPG, 0.5 TOPG http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/nebraska/walter-pitchford-v Notes: Walter obviously struggled to open the year. I think he is caught in an identity crisis. It is disappointing that our only regular player over 6-9 barely out-rebounds Benny Parker. The stats are worse across the board from a year ago, but be aware that in his last two games he is 8-13 from 3-point range, and has averaged 12.5 PPG. One common theme that you notice on his game log is the amount of fouls. He is averaging 3.5 fouls/game, up from 2.5 a year ago playing the same minutes. I don't know if that's a result of having to play defense as a 5 w/o Leslee Smith, or frustration, or just bad luck....but the net result isn't good. I do think as his shot continues to come back he'll regain his confidence and be back to the occasionally dynamic player he was a year ago. We need him to do better on the glass, however. 5. David Rivers, Sr. 2014-2015: 26.7 MPG, 6.2 PPG, 60.9 FG%, 0.0 3FG%, 0.7 APG, 4.7 RPG, 0.2 BPG, 0.3 SPG, 0.5 TOPG 2013-2014: 20.0 MPG, 3.0 PPG, 47.4 FG%, 33.3 3FG%, 0.4 APG, 2.9 RPG, 0.5 BPG, 1.0 SPG, 0.5 TOPG http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/nebraska/david-rivers Notes: David has stepped up nicely as a senior to fill a void in situational scoring. He plays good defense, doesn't get into foul trouble (hasn't had more than 3 fouls in a game yet) and has stepped up his rebounding as well. He's a great role player, and one of the glue pieces that hold the team together. He is improved from a year ago in all facets. 6. Tai Webster, So. 2014-2015: 22.5 MPG, 6.8 PPG, 41.7 FG%, 15.8 3FG%, 2.0 APG, 2.0 RPG, 0.3 BPG, 1.2 SPG, 2.3 TOPG 2013-2014: 22.8 MPG, 3.9 PPG, 30.4 FG%, 17.1 3FG%, 2.0 APG, 2.1 RPG, 0.1 BPG, 0.8 SPG, 1.8 TOPG http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/nebraska/tai-webster Notes: You might have to squint to see them, but taken as a whole there are signs of improvement from Webster. His secondary stats have essentially held steady, as have his minutes...yet scoring is up, as is his overall FG%. This is despite him shooting slightly worse from 3-pt range this year. That tells me he's taking better shots more often. His FT rate is holding steady from last year at around 62%...which is obviously not ideal if you are a PG. I think the transition to a bench 2-guard is going to be a good thing for him, as he is at his best when driving to the basket and creating on offense. He is not a PG. He needs to significantly improve his outside shooting...the mechanics look better this year as does the confidence...he just needs more shots to drop and he can be fine. He'll never be a Gallegos though...so he will need to focus on getting to the rim, and playing good perimeter defense. 7. Moses Abraham, Sr. 2014-2015: 15.2 MPG, 2.7 PPG, 58.3 FG%, 0.0 3FG%, 0.2 APG, 5.5 RPG, 1.0 BPG, 0.0 SPG, 1.2 TOPG 2013-2014: 13.1 MPG, 1.9 PPG, 56.4 FG%, 0.0 3FG%, 0.3 APG, 2.8 RPG, 0.7 BPG, 0.2 SPG, 0.5 TOPG http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/nebraska/moses-abraham http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/georgetown/moses-ayegba Notes: Moses is essentially the same guy he was at Georgetown, with the exception of a dramatically improved rebounding. Given his minutes, those rebounding numbers are good. I would like to see his blocked shots increase, but I think that's the best he's done in his career so that might be all we'll get. I think he is getting more and more comfortable playing with the team. He is not an offensive player by any means, but I don't think that's what we are asking from him. To this point, this is not a Tim Miles reclamation project on the level of Petteway or Pitchford...but if he could sneak up to 5 & 7 a night (with increased minutes), that would be enough. We do miss Leslee Smith however. Thus far I am underwhelmed by his athleticism. He is not an explosive athlete. 8. Tarin Smith, Fr. 2014-2015: 13.5 MPG, 3.8 PPG, 43.8 FG%, 66.7 3FG%, 1.3 APG, 1.2 RPG, 0.0 BPG, 0.5 SPG, 0.3 TOPG http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/nebraska/tarin-smith Notes: The stat line does not at all capture the potential here. He takes great care of the ball, seems to have a good basketball IQ. I believe he has the ability to eventually be a scoring option for us. He hasn't been asked to do that much, but he has the appropriate skill set. Six games into his college career, I like his potential. He averaged 16 minutes/game in our first 4 games, but only 9 minutes/game in our last two. I don't know why that is. Regardless, he is a guy right now that I trust more than Webster, and I would like to see him get even more minutes per game. 9. Leslee Smith, Sr. 2014-2015: DNP (INJ) 2013-2014: 16.8 MPG, 5.4 PPG, 51.9 FG%, 0.0 3FG%, 0.4 APG, 4.8 RPG, 0.6 BPG, 0.9 SPG, 1.4 TOPG http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/nebraska/leslee-smith Notes: It might be surprising to some, but if you compare Abraham's stat line to Smith's a year ago, they are pretty comparable. Smith is the slightly better offensive player, while Abraham is the better rebounder and defensive player. The point is, don't have a false sense that Leslee is this double-double machine that will arrive in January and set the world on fire. Likewise, don't be too critical of Abraham...thus far he's doing his job. That said, we need Leslee for depth, badly. Overall: If you look at the individual pieces, statistically you can make the argument that 5 of our 6 returning (active) players are improved from a year ago. Abraham is improved since his time at Georgetown as well. Tarin Smith is a true freshman. The question of course is if this has resulted in us being a better team. While we haven't played a great schedule to date, our offensive efficiency has gone from 94.6 (2012-13) to 102.2 (2013-14) to 103.7. We are shooting 46.3% from the field after shooting 42.7% a year ago. The most obvious problems are turnovers (15.0/game, up from 10.2 last year), and rebounding differential. That said, I believe that a lot of our success a year ago was smoke & mirrors. There wasn't a whole lot of overwhelmingly great stats associated with the team a year ago...they just won. Sometimes in spite of themselves. I think it is possible this year that we could have a much better team statistically and individually, yet have a worse W-L record. RDK

I could not agree with you more about never tweeting at them. Any grown man tweeting at student athletes should have there man card revoked. It's just wrong!

Bug, You know that basketball season doesn't start until after they award the college football playoff trophy! ICE COLD DR PEPPER HERE!!!!!!!

I love that we can reach out to the guy and work it out. Seriously, that's awesome.

And the cops

Maybe I overshoot a little bit with the "HHC" twitter account. I've seen numerous tweets about "hey, lay off the football players....they're going through a rough time" Why not always lay off them?

Last year's team wouldn't have beaten FSU this early in the season on the road. I think they would've also lost to this year's Creighton and Cincy teams. At this point last year, we had horrible defense. This year, our defense has been pretty outstanding in every game. I don't really see us getting blown out by anyone this year because of that. This will hopefully translate into more road wins. Offense has been steadily improving every game. I think we'll be firing on all cylinders way earlier than last season. Our home court advantage isn't going anywhere. Because of those things, I think our W-L improves, mostly because I think we'll pick up more tough wins in the non-con. I think our conference record will be similar, but with more consistency and less crazy win/loss streaks.

#10: Trevor Menke. 2013: walk-on badass 2014: senior walk-on badass

I agree, which is why I qualified it at the very beginning. It was also labeled as an early season assessment. It will gain value as we revisit it the deeper we get into the season. So you are comparing oranges to orange blossoms? yes, I guess I am!

I would also suggest that the students start the chant BEFORE the team introductions begin. There usually is a lull between the end of the anthem and the beginning of team intros, and that is when the chant should begin. It takes a few times for the chant to catch on, and if the students wait until intros have started, the intros are almost done by the time it catches on and takes off, plus they are fighting over the PA announcer as well.

Anyone who puts this much work into doing analysis deserves a thumbs-up. Nice work, OurDecay!

Came out of a blackout and saw 38 - 8 on my TV last season, we need to make this one sting. I like the "No Shit" Sunday idea. As in we're gonna whupp their Ass, no shit!

I brought this up with a friend of mine who knows someone that works that table. He said he'd ask for me as I have wondered the same thing. Maybe Jean has taken over the music for the intro of the visiting team.

I just want to see the @CreighJAysker fathead.

Is it just me or does it seem like every game Karl Hess refs one of the teams gets out to huge lead and then they come storming back in the 2nd half, most of the time falling short in their comeback efforts.

Enjoy your retirement jimmy...Are you doing any traveling, besides back and forth to the fridge?

KNTK - Gaskins and Stephens: Beau Reid, Nebrasketball alumnus & analyst http://www.theticketfm.com/podpress_trac/web/12011/0/2014_12_02_8_Reid.mp3 (15:58) G&S come up for air from speculating for a head coach to talk about the FSU game with the always great Beau Reid

So, AuroranHusker, are you saying you have faith in Haith?

Hammond has a motor. We shouldn't take that for granted. He's also pretty skilled and coordinated. He's had some good coaching. His only flaw is strength, but he seems pretty tough. I'd like to see him log more minutes. He could be another hustle/spark guy of the Benny/Rivers mold if he settles in. I think he'll be a pain for post defenders because of his ability to run. Down the road, I think he's going to be the best post player we've had in a while. If he has Ubel's work ethic, he'll end up a lot better than Ubel. Ubel willed his way to being serviceably athletic (an awesome accomplishment). Hammond has that gift already.

I don't know...I think he might be trying to sugar coat something there...

Okay, well I guess we all know what coughunter's thoughts on Mike Welch are.

Oh and to answer the OP's question, "In May of 2011, the NCAA approved rule changes to the way that flagrant fouls were handled. They are now split into two types (like the NBA categories), and there is no longer a suspension given for the next game." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagrant_foul#NCAA_and_NFHS

That show is garbage. Mike Welch is a high school DJ that has no idea what he is talking about. All he does is read the station call letters and read tweets. Bad radio.

Don't know where to put this and I didn't want to start a new thread but I heard on KC radio about an hour ago that Tim Beck had interviewed for the Kansas head coaching job today. FWIW.

Reminiscent of the baffling call of the 1994 Missouri game.

I like it a lot as they talked basketball the whole time. Welch is normally a huge koolaid drinker, but he knows what he's talking about and bock is his counterpart that chimes in with great information. I'm glad there is finally a show longer than just Matt and Kent's 10-15 mins.

The problem last night wasn't so much Hess as it was Mike Roberts. He was the catalyst for the insane block/charge call and he made the horrible call for Terran's fifth.

I think last night was the first one they've done. I plan to listen to it on Sunday night on my drive back to KC, I can get 93.7 up until about the time I hit I-29.

NOBODY WINS IN A SHIT STORM CALLED GAME LIKE THIS. but we might get a little w.

Good luck boys, from a Badger fan. A road win would start off the Challenge nicely. Looks like a few early defensive lapses, but your guys are shooting well early.

KNTK - Gaskins and Stephens: Beau Reid, Nebrasketball alumnus & analyst http://www.theticketfm.com/podcasts/gaskinsstephens/2014_11_26_8_Reid.mp3 (14:34) Huskers come back from miserable start to beat Omaha