Leaderboard

With my theory that you want your single-play home games to be against teams you *could* beat at home but probably *won't* beat on the road, and your single-play road games to be against *either* teams you are unlikely to beat either way or teams you most likely *would* beat either way, I'd say this schedule sets up pretty well for us. In other words, I'd rather get a home dub against UCLA if the odds are we lose to them at Pauley. And it's OK to lose to MSU on the road since chances are they'd also beat us at home. Better to have those home games against teams you might not beat if you played at their house but can probably win if they play us here. In the single-play road category, we have winnable games at Washington, Penn State and Northwestern. We also have a single-play road game against an Oregon team that probably would beat us here. Single-play home games include Rutgers, USC and Minnesota. And, notably, our closing stretch includes 3 winnable home games and a winnable road game at PSU. So ...

Portal recruit: you get the kid typically 1-3 years; recruitment is typically active on a high-intensity basis for roughly a month from the time the kid enters until he probably commits; you find out pretty quickly if you're in the running or not; you'll be able to evaluate his body of work both from HS (for freshmen transfers) and college; time investment in recruitment from a coaching perspective is minimal; player comes in older and more advanced from a skills/physical ability perspective; established transfers command much more NIL$$$ but you can probably find some bargains. HS recruit: you get the kid typically 1-3 years (more is rare); recruitment is active on a low- to medium-intensity basis for a year-and-a-half; it might be awhile before you find out if you're really in the running or not and even if they commit, there's still a chance the kid will decommit; you'll have a lot of hudl highlights to digest but it's still some guesswork as to whether his skills will translate; time investment in recruitment from a coaching perspective is substantial; player comes in younger and less mature from a skills/physical ability perspective; not as high of an NIL price tag unless they're blue chip recruits. I was thinking about this recently when I was perusing the Rivals 150 and not seeing our school name listed among the commit choices of the top 150 HS basketball players in the country for 2025. And it hit me like, yeah, so? How long will most of these kids stick with the program they start with? How soon before Cameron Boozer either jumps to the NBA or falls to the portal? It's nice to have some stability and have a 4-year player like Sam Hoiberg out there hustling and making plays. On the other hand, we seem to be OK primarily focusing our recruiting attention on roughly the last week of March, all of April, and the first couple of weeks of May every year.

Has a 4 seed from the B1G ever not made it to….. actually NVM.

I agree. All great points. I'd add, a schedule looks more favorable when you have a good team

Whew, that's good. I didn't want to resort to snitches get stitches. That seemed a tad aggressive to go to right out of the gates

well I guess we just have to win the next two games...

Am I the only one that likes that we're not ranked? I'd like to fly under the radar as long as possible so the guys get a nice boulder-sized chip on their shoulder.

Lunardi's not good at this:

I would only worry about what came out if his mouth if he was telling Santa that I had been naughty and might end up with coal. He is just a angry little elf that has trouble being a nice person. In the words of Buddy the Elf "He must be a South Pole Elf."

Ken isn't predicting the number of bench scorers! POPPYCOCK!

The somewhat talked about presser from Mick Cronin. Made for good talk radio this week because you can see that Cronin isn't crediting Nebraska's home court because it takes away from the game itself.

I love Amy but as I have said for a few years now. We will not grow in Womens Basketball with her. We will always be a middle of the road team. Lose games we shouldnt lose. But win a game here and there that we should lose. Her style of play is not meant for a power conference unless you are ok with getting mediocre players that do like to play her style. No good transfer or top freshman wants to play the sub in and out situation constantly. I honestly will be curious what Prince does after this year. She is too good for this team right now. But we would also be a complete different team with Potts on the floor as well.

DJ is the Hallmark Christmas movie actor of the B1G. It’s a different movie each time, sure. But it’s the same actor and basically the same plot line every dang movie.

DJ Carstensen is officiating the Ohio State at Minnesota game. He worked Big Ten games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The guy is on my TV more than an HGTV show. That would be funny if you know my wife.

I genuinely feel bad for them in that they think “Debbie” or the more recent “Little Debby” is a clever and insulting nickname for Nebraska. Iowa fans are pretty special people.

With all the NIL and transfer portal players, Amy never seems to bring in any proven talented players like it seems all the other teams are doing. Her transfers to my recollection for the most part (Shelly was an exception) are not impact players. Course really good transfer players are looking to play a lot and not be substituted out half the game by lesser talented players. How many times do we have a player that has a hot hand and Amy subs her out because it's time for the subs to get in.

Kent and Greg are the best basketball/football 1-2 punch in the nation and it isn’t even close.

I'm seeing where the Huskers are top 25

Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-2) at Iowa (10-4) Date: Tuesday Jan. 7th, 2025 Time: 7:00 pm CST Arena: Carver Hawkeye Broadcast: Peacock Iowa Info Head Coach: Fran McCaffery (15th year) Location: Iowa City, IA Conference: B1G Nickname: Hawks Coach's Nickname: White Magic Mascot: Herky the Hawk Line: Iowa by 4 Typical Rotation Depth: 9+ KenPom rank: 55 Nota bene: Iowa has not been held under 80 on their own court this season This is the first time one of Fran's sons won't be playing against Nebraska since 2017. Fran McCaffery has taken heat in recent years at Iowa which certainly played into Patrick McCaffery transferring to Butler for his senior season and youngest son Jack McCaffery has committed to play for Butler in 2025-26 Fred Hoiberg has as many wins at Iowa City as Nebraska does in school history, which is 4. Fred won 1 as a player, 2 as the coach of Iowa St, and 1 as the coach of Nebraska. Fred's win at Nebraska came on March 5, 2023. This will mark Ahron Ulis' return to Iowa City as an active player. He travelled with Nebraska last season but was ineligible to play. Player to watch: Owen Freeman The reigning B1G Freshman of the year is a force in the paint, leading the Hawkeyes in points, rebounds, and blocks. For a team that doesn't get to the line a ton, Freeman is the most likely to appear there but only has made 57.8% of his FTs on the year. Will pop a 3pt shot or 2 but isn't a threat to take more. Player to watch: Payton Sandfort Sandfort is having an off-year by his standards from the 3pt line, shooting just 32% from 3 on the season. He's the guy who isn't Freeman who is taking the shots though, with over 100 3pt attempts already. Remains a good rebounder as Iowa's stretch 4 Iowa Roster Player # Class Pos Height Weight Summary Payton Sandfort 20 SR G 6-7 215 15.5 Pts 5.8 Reb 3.3 Ast Owen Freeman 32 SO F 6-10 230 16.8 Pts 6.2 Reb 1.4 Ast Josh Dix 4 JR G 6-5 192 13.5 Pts 3.5 Reb 2.7 Ast Drew Thelwell 3 SR G 6-0 185 10.1 Pts 2.5 Reb 3.2 Ast Brock Harding 2 SO G 6-6 162 9.9 Pts 1.7 Reb 5.8 Ast Pryce Sandfort 24 SO F 6-6 205 9.2 Pts 2.3 Reb 0.9 Ast Ladji Dembele 13 SO F 6-8 250 4.6 Pts 3.6 Reb 0.6 Ast Seydou Traore 7 SO G 6-7 215 7.3 Pts 3.1 Reb 1.5 Ast Cooper Koch 8 FR F 6-8 215 4.6 Pts 2.1 Reb 0.8 Ast Riley Mulvey 44 JR C 6-11 245 3.4 Pts 2.6 Reb 0.1 Ast Even Brauns 0 SR C 6-9 250 1.5 Pts 0.6 Reb 0.4 Ast Carter Kingsbury 14 JR G 6-4 225 1.6 Pts 0.9 Reb 0.2 Ast Chris Tadjo 34 FR F 6-8 240 2.3 Pts 1.5 Reb 0.0 Ast Jacob Koch 10 FR G 6-2 180 1.8 Pts 0.5 Reb 0.5 Ast Other players Josh Dix and Pryce Sandfort mainly man the 3 for the Hawkeyes. Dix is more likely to shoot from within the arc but both players are hitting over 40% from 3 this season. With Tony Perkins transferring, Brock Harding now man's the position and he's been a solid shooter and a ballhawk. Morehead St transfer combo guard Drew Thelwell slots in at the 1 and 2 for the Hawks and brings size and ball handing to the position. Yet another Hawkeye hitting over 40% from 3 and another ball-hawk. Manhattan transfer forward Seydou Traore has been battling an ankle injury last month but appears to be healthy now, adding some size and rebounding depth. Ladji Dembele bring some Tyler Cook type juice to the table in terms of size fouls too much to stay on the court. Speaking of old Hawkeyes, freshman 4 Cooper Koch has some Jarrod Uthoff vibes in terms of length and 3 level scoring. UNL Game Notes Roster/infirmary report Possible starters for Nebraska 3 Guard Brice Williams 6-7 214 lbs Senior 4 Forward Juwan Gary 6-6 226 lbs Senior 24 Guard Rollie Worster 6-5 210 lbs Senior 34 Center Braxton Meah 7-1 264 lbs Senior 9 Forward Berke Büyüktuncel 6-10 244 lbs Bench 0 Guard Connor Essegian 6-4 190 lbs Junior 1 Guard Sam Hoiberg 6-0 185 lbs Junior 2 Guard Ahron Ulis 6-3 190 lbs Senior 23 Forward Andrew Morgan 6-10 242 lbs Senior 31 Guard Cale Jacobsen 6-4 195 lbs Sophomore 12 Guard Gavin Griffiths 6-7 193 lbs Sophomore 5 Forward Braden Frager 6-7 220 lbs Freshman 8 Guard Jeffrey Grace III 6-3 200 lbs Junior 20 Forward Justin Bolis 6-8 225 lbs Sophomore 25 Guard Nick Janowski 6-4 208 lbs Freshman 35 Forward Henry Burt 6-7 222 lbs Sophomore Out for year 51 Forward Rienk Mast 6-10 260 lbs Senior Hoiberg Presser The Skinny: Nebraska gets a big win at home over a ranked UCLA team and hits the road to Iowa City in January which takes you back to last season when the Huskers headed to Iowa after knocking off #1 Purdue. Iowa proceeded to steamroll the Huskers on the way to a 94-76 victory. This Nebraska team will try to flip the script of the sequel. For the most part this is the same type of Fran McCaffery squad you see ever year with one of the conference's best offense and worst defense. One wrinkle is that Iowa's backcourt has been generating turnovers so once against ball-handling may be an issue for Nebraska. There is opportunity for offensive rebounds against this fast-breaking Iowa team but Hoiberg likely will try and sell out against fast break points at all cost. Both teams are not likely to shoot many FTs as Iowa tends to play without giving them and the Hawkeyes in general aren't getting to the line. The FT line itself has been a problem for Iowa as despite Dix and Payton Sandfort being elite FT shooters, the team in general ranks 295th in the nation at 67.2. In a close game all of Iowa's post players are liabilities at the line. Nebraska's defense has it's work cut out for them as the Hawkeyes have 7 players who currently sport 40% or better shooting averages from 3. Regardless the Huskers are still likely to look to shutdown Freeman who looked unstoppable last year against Nebraska, going off for 22 and 10. Dictating pace will be key to who might win this game. It's hard to imagine Nebraska winning this game if Iowa scores over 80 points. Iowa might have just lost by 31 at Wisconsin but it was just a month ago that Nebraska lost by 37 at Michigan St. The point is that playing on the road in the B1G is tough. Prediction: Iowa 81 - Nebraska 76 View full article

Be nice to get that 6th seed in Denver rather than the 8th seed in Milwaukee, though I'd gladly take either. Milwaukee has the added advantage of the availability of Spotted Cow beer.

Just got to find another Brice and Juwan.

At our best we're a team with a solid core of 4-5 players returning every year + additions from the portal with 0-2 HS recruits. Next year hopefully we have Mast, Berke, Sam, and Essegian back, that'd be a core of 4. Hopefully between Cale, Gavin, Janowski, and Frager we have at least 1 rotation player if not better. At that point you're looking at 3-5 portal guys and 1-2 HS recruits in addition to Rhymes. It's proving to be a good formula for us.

https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/bracketology/ncaa-bracketology-2025-march-madness-men-field-predictions 8 seed

I was thinking the same thing. Milwaukee wouldn't be too bad either.

Yeah, well, that's shaping up to be the plan. I've already scouted the opening round sites. Wichita and Denver would both be great, makeable drives.

It'd be worth it though.

Seems the formula is to find a few guys who are willing to put PT aside early out of HS in order to maximize PT later on. Hopefully Jan and Frager will be that guy. Sam and Cale are both that guy currently. Then you build around that with portal additions. A 2+ year portal player is the best possibility.

People like to talk about how much of an impact Meah makes but look at that layup/dunk defense ranked #1

I agree. Perception is still a big part of it. Maybe being unranked helps you in a game or two if your opponent isn’t taking you as seriously as they should, but overall it helps the program more to be considered among the best. Do people trust that your record is real, or do they think you’re a fluke? Right now we have one tourney appearance in ten years, and have still never won a game there. If we were Duke with this exact schedule and results, we would have started the season ranked and we likely wouldn’t have ever dropped out of the top 20. Now if we make the tourney again this year, fare better there, and start next year 12-2, we’re pry safely ranked at that point.

This is a great site Edit: Details are great when you click the team http://www.inccstats.com/basketball/2024-25/tourney_seeding.html

Fred takes the if it ain't broke, don't fix it approach to his starting lineups. I wish we would adjust it for a game like this. Iowa is probably gonna come out with their hair on fire and we're going to have to match their scoring. Our defensive physicality inside the arc may not affect them as much, as they'd prefer to shoot threes. The refs likely won't allow us to play physical anyway in Carver Hawkeye - Juwan got in early foul trouble last year. Iowa got off to a 17-2 start and made 15 threes in that game. 7 of their rotation players shoot 40%+. I don't think we can afford to get off to a slow start offensively at their place.

Has a top 25 team ever not made the big dance? Like, ranked in the top 25 the week of selection Sunday? My guess is no…so I’d like to be ranked by then. Just sayin

In the Pepper Brooks bold strategy department Minnesota gives a foul with five seconds left so State can't hit a three. Problem was it was a two point game, Ohio State hits both free throws to tie and goes on to win in double OT. Gophers were also 12 of 27 from the free throw line.

They sell them at state fair. Guy says they are and have couple friends who have also bought them.

lol my point was not “I’m gonna tell on you” but instead, “holy sh*t I need to get one”

I won't tell if you don't tell

Nope, I’m with you. I don’t want to be ranked just yet.

Natalie Potts had as big of an improvement into her limited sophomore season as I have seen especially in her 3's.

Iowa! (If we don’t win tomorrow, can I guess again?)

I personally don't think it matters much one way or another but it's nice to see the recognition. Keep winning and we'll get in there.

I am overall an Amy Williams fan, but I have to admit ... I am getting weary of hearing her and Matt say something like "well it wasn't a pretty win (or actually an ugly win), but a win is a win and we will take it". They make it sound as tho each game is an exception whereas in reality it is getting to be the rule. Even some of the 20+ win games against lesser opponents didn't cross over the midpoint of the ugly to beautiful continuum until late in the third quarter. SoDak and Minny were the remarkable exceptions. A lot of that was that the 3s were falling but also there were many fewer incidents of good passes either getting into and then fumbled off of receivers' hands or actually grasped and then a layup was missed. There were cutters and penetrators instead of players just passing the ball around until somebody either threw up a three or got a turnover. One of the oddities (I thought) yesterday was that Nissley, with everyone else missing, took only two shots in 19 minutes. She was playing with a wrap around her left wrist and thumb but that's her non shooting hand. It's frustrating to see Prince making good to great passes to open teammates and then not getting credit for an assist bc the ball was fumbled or a layup was missed.

We have to get some consistency from our wings in scoring. Nissley is hit or miss. Clearly we are not getting consistent production from the 4 spot. We are asking much from Prince and Markowski misses the help that Potts provided.

Hake has shown very impressive improvement. Petrie some and maybe Bozan is coming along. After those, I can't think of any player development to brag on. The Kendalls give great efforts, but to my (admittedly untrained) eye they look as seniors a lot like they did as freshmen. Maybe the threes will start to fall for AM40 during conference play. I have to believe that if she weren't hitting them in practice she wouldn't have the green light to throw them up during the games. Double coverage is often cited for her decline in scoring, but that only happens down low in the lane. It's a mystery.

This is so important and most people wouldn’t realize it. His ability to spread the floor and keep a defender attached to him is crucial for Brice and Rollie. Keisei was able to do the same, but Connor has already shown he can improve as a defender! He continues to be a better get that I thought he would be.

I continue to stink week after week but yet remain in the Top 25. Must be a blue blood.

What's sad is she could hit them at a good percentage as a freshman (50% on 42 attempts). Shot 33% as a sophomore on 79 attempts, and 30% as a junior on 71 attempts. It's puzzling that she had a good outside shot early in her career. Are our players getting better while they're here? Issues on the player development side in addition to recruiting?

With Markowski missing three 3pointers yesterday she now has a 3-point percentage of 0.182 which is worst on the team!! Needs to pass the ball instead of shooting 3's!!

Connor needs to shoot the ball with more arc. Go back and watch it. That thing barely gets above the rim. It's simple science that you increase your odds by shooting the ball higher in the air.

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.