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The Big ten is tough on the road. Every team we play is good at home, yet we haven't done well at home this season. Penn State is 10-3 at home on the year. The only teams to beat Penn State this month are Nebraska and Iowa, but Penn State also handed a loss to each of those teams. They also beat league-leading Indiana. Most saw this game as a great opportunity to grab a win, which it was, we just couldn't finish. My point is though that most saw this as an "easier" game because it was a lower tier team in the current standings. This league ain't easy and this team is young. Gotta learn how to finish these close games. Gotta have the experience to grind when things aren't going well and master damage control to not get down by 18 in the first place. Have to win. Message boards lean to each extreme on a result. Message boards lean to each extreme based on one basket. As much as it sucks to not be able to finish, the progress of the team and its youth is pretty much the same at this point of the season whether it's a 1 point win or a 1 point loss. Us fans but especially the team need to bury these shitty games in the books, tally a chalk mark in the experience column, and have the will to rid these clunkers from the schedule. Guys need to grow mentally. Gain an edge and win some damn games. This league isn't getting any easier. Everyone else is bringing in ball players. A team like Penn State has a ridiculously good class coming in next year. Let's go. Tired of these threads.

I think it's spelled Qatar, and personally, I wouldn't move there.

I got a good chuckle when it was stated this is rock bottom. Well I guess if this is then I'll take it, because being like Rutgers or Minnesota this year would be rather down the rock bottom scale for me.

There is nothing about anything you've said that I agree with. 1. Miles isn't close to any make believe line. Bo Pelini wasn't even as bad as the BS legend about his "behavior". It's all crap where a hyper-sensitive fan base that has large inferiority complex and like a child needs to be told how great they are by some bogus idea of the "Greatest Fans" which is complete and utter fiction which has been completely exposed since 1999. Honestly, I'm sick of it. "Our coach made an angry face and yelled and now I'm sad". If you don't like it then quit watching sports. 2. Jean Peck would be proud of you. Who gives a crap how our fans react to refs. i don't. At least they are showing and are involved. 3. I've been very happy with recruiting and it is significantly better under Miles than our previous 2 coaches. I don't want him taking a flyer on a 7 footer who sucks. Big 10 quality centers don't grow on trees and as for me I'm happy Miles isn't taking any reaches. Despite our lack of size and youth(there have been several games this year where we have started 3 true freshman) we have stayed in ever game in this conference this season. We are one of the fastest and most athletic teams in the conference. We are going to be at full strength come Big 10 tournament time. Even if we lose in the 1st or 2nd round I feel great about our future with Miles at the helm. I did not feel this confident about the future of Husker Basketball going into our previous 2 coaches 5th years.

Anyone that thought this team was going to be anything but a work in progress all year wasn't really paying much attention. Way too many new faces on the team, only one experienced scorer returning and no experienced post presence. In the preseason we were picked in the bottom 3 by EVERYONE. I frankly expected more games where we got blown out simply because relying on freshmen when you're anyone except Kentucky, Duke, etc. is a crap shoot and likely to look like the stock market lately. I think if you look at the entire body of work for the season and stop picking points in time we are nowhere near bottom. I'm not saying we are where we want to be and we certainly shouldn't allow the program to gravitate toward mediocrity, however, when you look at this team, the talent and the level of play this year it is LIGHT YEARS ahead of where we were anytime in the last decade except for the team two years ago. We are a program that isn't rebuilding, it is BUILDING. Building anything right takes time and a solid foundation. I believe what we seeing this year is that foundation being built. We can either sit here and be consistent and negative about the program and measure everything in absolute wins and losses or we can try to look at the big picture and see if the program as a whole is trending in the right direction. Myself, I see a positive trend and am excited about seeing how we finish this year, how we finish recruiting and seeing a higher level product on the floor next year. Of course for some, next year is NCAA's or bust so I guess we should just set a timer on the hitting bottom thread for this time next year and see where we are.

Too deep a hole to dig ourselves out of. Proud of the guys for making it close.

Careful there. At least until our coach finally beats him.

Instead of the White girl a few years ago, we pick up a Whitish girl now.

3. I've been very happy with recruiting and it is significantly better under Miles than our previous 2 coaches. I don't want him taking a flyer on a 7 footer who sucks. Big 10 quality centers don't grow on trees and as for me I'm happy Miles isn't taking any reaches. Despite our lack of size and youth(there have been several games this year where we have started 3 true freshman) we have stayed in ever game in this conference this season. We are one of the fastest and most athletic teams in the conference. We are going to be at full strength come Big 10 tournament time. Even if we lose in the 1st or 2nd round I feel great about our future with Miles at the helm. I did not feel this confident about the future of Husker Basketball going into our previous 2 coaches 5th years. You could really say the last 3 coaches. Nee was coming off a 10 - 18 season and picked by a wide margin to finish last in the Big 8.

With not much going on in the NU basketball world, it is probably time to get off my rock bottom and enjoy the weather today. The only game in which I have a remote interest will be Purdue/Maryland. I think psychologically it will be better for us if Purdue wins that one.

Nebraska has not had a single 20-point conference loss this season. First time in a generation, in fact. Did you really just jinx us? [emoji14] No. no such thing. Cub fans would agree.

Nebraska has not had a single 20-point conference loss this season. First time in a generation, in fact. Did you really just jinx us? [emoji14]

He's better now. We're good.

I'm not really disagreeing with anything you stated....but at what point is it okay again to expect this team/program to take the next step? If not next year when White is a senior, addition of Gill, and another year with the you guys...then when? It will become harder and harder for Miles to recruit to this program when we are stuck at the bottom of the league and not competing for the big dance. I don't think any really envisioned this particular team to be in the hunt for an at large...but we need to get to that point sooner rather than later. Next year would be a good start.

I was really hoping for a winning season. In order for that to happen we have to win the next two. Or split and make a run in the big ten tourney. Either way this was never gonna be a "special" year. Just hoping we can send Shavon and Benny out the right way.

I agree with a lot of the previous post. I just don't know why we have to go through cycles and not just have 3 to 4 good recruits per year with an occasional redshirt given out here and there. It's pretty obvious that our recruiting for the 2012 and 2013 seasons wasn't very good outside of Theriot and Havers. People will say we would have had better classes if some of the players wouldn't have left but that's one of the keys to recruiting. You have to get players who will fit our culture and want to work hard for playing time.

Dead meat attracts maggots

Or show up when things start to go south during a game. It's like clock work.

I like this incoming class (they're ranked #14 for reason ). Grace Mitchell is ranked #51 as HS wings. Not that it needs to be clarified, but Grace Mitchell's. father, Jud Mitchell, played football for KU in the mid-70s. Grace's grandfather, Jack Mitchell, was head football coach for KU, 1958-66 (and that's just the tip their ties to athletics) “Grace Mitchell wasn’t really a highly recruited player until this summer because she didn’t play much AAU basketball. We were lucky to get her because she has a lot of potential,” Yori said. “Grace will add great size and athleticism on the wing at 6-2, but she also has great shooting range....." Mitchell picked Nebraska over 12 other Division I scholarship offers. "I loved the support in Nebraska," Mitchell said. "It just felt right talking to the players and coaches." Kansas' Loss is Nebraska's Gain

It's not though.Unless we lose to Northwestern it's not. Unless we lose in the B1G tournament it's not. And even then? It's still not. How is the current state of the program not the current state of the program?When you can see the forest from the trees.Please enlighten me. Help unblur my perspective.The state of the program is bigger than a 2 close game skid to Ohio State and Penn State.Is the state of the program bigger than 2-6 or 6-10 or 14-15 or 27-33 or 61-63?This year has gone from having the potential to be a building year to a losing season the last 8 games. Sometimes building gets delayed a bit. I still see this as a good building year even if we end up under .500. Because we lost closer in games. Never got really blown out and pushed some good teams to the end. To me those are signs of growth and building in a positive way and direction.I generally agree. But feeling good about close games sounds like the little engine that could.I don't think miles is happy with the state of the program so I don't think the fans should. So we are the little engine that could. I think coaches tend to talk with out thinking some. We as fans also hold these guys to what they say. Tim can say we aren't the little engine that could but what is the other two engines called? The little engine that couldn't at all and the big engine that does it all. We are building towards the big engine that does it all. I guess I have too much going in my life to really worry about if this program is at rock bottom or not. I know it is a message board and all, but we tend to go away to far when we lose or win. What would everybody being say if Shavon hits that shot? Are we then at rock bottom? If we go on a mini run here and win the B1G are we at rock bottom? If we don't win another game this year are we at rock bottom? Rock bottom to me is next step is death or rehab. We as a program are not that far down. And if doesn't like me being okay with how the team looks and thinks I am settling for too little that is on him not me.

If you think this is rock bottom, then you haven't been a Nebraska basketball fan for very long. Disappointing? Yes. High expectations? Yes. Rock bottom? No.

Brilliant. Especially since Mo coaches defense. I hate the defense we run. They have 2 shooters that are killing us and every time, we leave them open to go down and double in the low post. Here's a thought, how about playing them straight up and see if we can handling them down low without bring the double team each time and let them just shoot wide open 3's. They were the worst 3 point shooting team and we make them look like they are the best. Coach Mo loves to just double everywhere and it's not working.

Pretty much every team in the conference has hit rock bottom this year.

It's not though. Unless we lose to Northwestern it's not. Unless we lose in the B1G tournament it's not. And even then? It's still not.

Gill is a guard instead of a forward. One way to think of this is Watson-Gill-White-McVeigh-(Post Player). All of a sudden we have an offense with at least 4 guys who can shoot and/or score. The offense this year on average is the most efficient we've run here and while we're replacing a heavy usage guy like Shields at no point has he ever been a highly efficient scorer. They're getting a lot of experience. I'd like to look at the best games for each one and expect them to put together more of those on a consistent basis. Let's hope so and let's hope they're not the only guys coming.

My take is yes. Especially the question about improvement from the young players. I think you will see significant improvement from Jacobson, Morrow, McVeigh, and Watson. Possibly Hammond although tonight didn't give one much hope. Continued improvement from Tai although he doesn't fit the category. So yeah, I have a lot of hope for next year;

I think we probably don't boo enough. Iowa State fans have a reputation as being the hardest on refs, to the point that they get ridiculed pretty harshly by other fanbases for it. Heck, the Phog has game threads for games NOT involving the Jayhawks, and for any game involving ISU the thread title will always say something like "BOOOOOO! vs. Kansas State - game thread". And good for Iowa State. Make them notice you. Here's an article explaining why Iowa State fans should NEVER apologizing for booing (click the link or the image for the full article): How the Passion of Iowa State Fans Fuels Hilton Magic - Wide Right & Natty Lite http://www.widerightnattylite.com/2016/1/19/10791158/how-the-passion-of-iowa-state-cyclones-fans-fuels-hilton-magic CBS Sports college basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb tweeted last night that, "Hilton is awesome, pretty basic arena, no frills..people make the place." You might take a look at that tweet and second guess yourself for a moment, but it's actually a huge compliment to Iowa State fans. People make the place. Yes, all of that cheering, and booing, that ISU fans exude throughout the length of a game inside Hilton is what fuels Hilton Magic. It's part of what boosts greats like Hoiberg, Fizer, Ejim and Niang to make plays and lead the Cyclones to victory. It's funny, whenever I go on Twitter after a nationally televised Iowa State basketball game, I see people pointing out how much ISU fans boo. Some, notably Iowa and Kansas fans, seem to think that's some grand insult. They think it should offend us and cause us to be ashamed. But I'm not going to stop, and nor should you if you're a Cyclone fan. Here's why. In my opinion, 25% of the booing is because we legitimately believe that the refs got a call wrong. See a hand check called on a Cyclone player that didn't get called on the other end? Damn right I'm going to voice my displeasure about it. Bias and all, I'm going to let my opinion be known if I believe something's out of place. Another 25% of it is due to history. ISU has had calls like the Georges Niang block/charge at the end of regulation against Kansas in 2013 go against them and directly influence the outcome of big games. Speaking of big games, many fans are still bitter about the way Iowa State's Elite Eight game against Michigan State in 2000 was called in the Palace of Auburn Hills. There's tons of other more specific examples I could throw out there, but I'd prefer to keep this article from becoming a full-length novel. The final 50% belongs to one characteristic that most Cyclone basketball fans hold. Pure passion. You hear that word, passion, tossed around a lot in cases where it isn't warranted. The definition of passion is "strong and barely controllable emotion." Think about that for a second. If you're a Kansas fan and you're saying you're better than Iowa State fans because you don't boo, you're just saying that you're not as passionate about your team as Cyclone Nation. ISU fans are so incredibly invested in our team that our emotion comes bursting out at all times, whether it's cheering or booing. Oh, and that "barely controllable" part of the definition? The "controlled" part for us is our ability to stop ourselves from walking down to the court and giving the referees a knuckle sandwich. Sounds harsh, but it's true.