jayschool

Damn. Was hoping the Thor-ow-down/Thlam would count at the end.

Not sure if you've picked up on this subtlety, but James Palmer Jr. is pretty good at basketball.

That, and we're playing without four of our best players: Watson Roby Gill Trueblood

KU now up 27 on Fort Hays. Billy Preston with 10 for KU.

Fun fact: Fort Hays State is black and gold, and named the Tigers because an early president was a Missouri alumnus. So, boo, FHSU?

Duby Duby Nana Nana

The banked-in 3-point tradition at PBA for opponents continues. Three in a half is a record, though.

No Watson. No Gill. No Roby. No Trueblood.

Lots of strange lineups early. Thor, Borchardt, Nana, McVeigh and Copeland at one point. No chance to get a feel for the game, and we've had a true point guard out there for about six minutes total. Now they look like they just don't care. Plus, this is one of those games where Jordy looks as if he's never played basketball before.

(Hyperventilating) Watson? (Hyperventilating) BTN Plus student broadcasters haven't mentioned it.

Northwood coached by former Husker Jeff Rekeweg: http://www.gonorthwood.com/sports/mbkb/coaches/rekeweg?view=bio Defeated Bob Devaney's alma mater, Alma, by 29 in first exhibition, but lost by 9 points to Central Michigan in second exhibition: http://www.gonorthwood.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/schedule Picked to finish 5th of 6 teams in South Division of Great Lakes Conference: http://www.gonorthwood.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/releases/20171025gtw4du

Receiving votes, I'm guessing.

I just spoke with Scott Winter about this very topic. His answer? Tim's the greatest guy in the world. The Big Ten is just too tough for Nebraska to do much better than the world expects it to do. Oh, well. In case you're curious, Scott's now at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

They talk of a top 8 and a bottom 6, but of that bottom six, they clearly see Rutgers and then Nebraska as the bottom of the bottom. Let's just take them at their word and see what happens, especially on Jan. 27, 2018 at PBA and on BTN.

Jordy: 11 points, 6 boards, 1 block, 1 assist in 16 minutes. Project that out to 24 minutes per game, and that's 16.5 points, 9 boards, 1.5 blocks, 1.5 assists. I'll take it.

How about "Jim Palmer"? JP? Or a little Shakespeare? "Have not saints lips, and Holy Palmers too?" Kent Pavelka-tron this: "JP for 3 . . . GOT IT!!! HOLY PALMER." Or if he's closer to the hoop: "Holy Palmer for two!"

Des Moines Register writers pick the Big Ten (and break down Iowa): First, the ballots. Mark Emmert: 1. Michigan State, 2. Purdue, 3. Minnesota, 4. Iowa, 5. Northwestern, 6. Wisconsin, 7. Michigan, 8. Maryland, 9. Ohio State, 10. Indiana, 11. Penn State, 12. Illinois, 13. Rutgers, 14. Nebraska. Chad Leistikow: 1. Michigan State, 2. Purdue, 3. Minnesota, 4. Iowa, 5. Maryland, 6. Northwestern, 7. Michigan, 8. Wisconsin, 9. Illinois, 10. Indiana, 11. Penn State, 12. Ohio State, 13. Rutgers, 14. Nebraska. How the media specifically sees Iowa: On the 28 ballots, here's the breakdown — Third place (1 vote), fourth (2), fifth (2), sixth (3), seventh (4), eighth (9), ninth (5), 10th (2). On Iowa. Leistikow: Let me start by saying I think Michigan State is the clear No. 1, then you can almost draw teams 2 through 8 out of a hat. And I'll add that Iowa players reading this would tell you that fourth place is too low. They’re a very optimistic bunch. And they should be. Despite having just one senior (in likely reserve Dom Uhl), this is probably the deepest and most talented roster of the Fran McCaffery era. Emmert: It’s the depth and the experience gained last year that make me think the Hawkeyes can make a leap this year. Nicholas Baer, Jordan Bohannon and Tyler Cook are a terrific nucleus, but throw in Isaiah Moss, Cordell Pemsl and Ahmad Wagner, plus a potential impact freshman in Luka Garza, and you’ve got the beginnings of a Big Ten title contender. Maybe not this year, but certainly next. Then factor in a favorable schedule — Michigan State, Purdue, Northwestern and Wisconsin in home-only matchups — and a top-four finish becomes a real possibility. Also remember the road-game journey that Iowa took last year, from embarrassing flops early in conference season at Purdue and Northwestern, to gutty victories late at Maryland and Wisconsin. Those were hard-earned lessons, but it tells me the young players have a quick learning curve that should only accelerate this season. Leistikow: Great point on the schedule. That is one of the main reasons I’ve got Iowa in the top four. When I filled out my ballot, I separated the clear top eight from the bottom six, then looked at who had the most favorable batch of five “mirror” plays. Two teams in my top eight got the benefit of three bottom-six mirror plays: Michigan State and, yes, Iowa. I think the Hawkeyes go either 5-1 or 6-0 against Indiana, Penn State and Ohio State (Nos. 10-12 on my ballot). Michigan and Northwestern got the toughest draws, with only one bottom-six mirror opponent each. That discrepancy, to me, was a key tiebreaker in sorting out positions 2 through 8. Emmert: The schedule is such a big factor in the Big Ten race. The Hawkeyes went 10-8 in the league last year, and I think if Moss can flourish as Peter Jok’s replacement at the ‘2,’ they can get to 12-6 this year. That would likely give them a crucial double-bye in the conference tournament at Madison Square Garden. Considering how much recent Iowa teams have struggled in that event, a free path to quarterfinals would be a huge lift. Leistikow: Before we get carried away, I don’t recommend betting the mortgage that Iowa finishes in the top four. Significant injuries to either Bohannon (with no proven point-guard backup) or Cook (who I think will be one of the Big Ten’s top forwards) could easily drop this team back to eighth ... or worse. But history is on our side, Mark. Since the league expanded to 14 teams, Iowa’s conference finishes are two ties for third place and last year’s tie for fifth. I think by season’s end, we’re writing about Iowa making a fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament in five years. Emmert: Anything short of an NCAA Tournament berth would mean the team underachieved this winter. That’s certainly the vibe I got from the players Monday as well. There’s too much talent to stomach back-to-back NIT experiences. I think Hawkeye fans are in for an entertaining ride.

Yeah. They're all here: https://nebraska.rivals.com/

13

j. f. c.

0-13 this half from deep.

Sir, permission to worry, sir.

FTs: NU 7-9, MSU 12-19.

18 fouls on NU, 13 on MSU.

Watson has played 22 of 30 minutes. Others: Taylor and Copeland 18, Palmer 17, McVeigh 15, Gill, Jordy and Roby 12.