jayschool

Except for all the clock stoppages in the last 53 seconds. FFS.

Apparently we aren't allowed to have nice things.

God Daumit we could use Mike.

I'd rather spend the $5 million on an Adidas bag man. What's the worst that can happen? We have to "vacate" a Sweet 16 run or better five years after it happens? I'll have already celebrated it.

Ok. Nana's not on the nono list. Thor, too. I meant the projected starters.

We could have played in St. Louis. Met 'em halfway. Seriously, home teams went 12-15 in the NIT last year. This year, they're 16-0. Weird.

I like quarters, but the only official timeouts should be under 5 in each quarter. There are enough natural breaks at the end of each half to squeeze in more ads, if needed. I like international rules, in general, which means the funky lanes wider near the baseline and narrower at the FT line. And Iike the international distance from 3. It's a step between high school and NBA. Off Rebound 20-second re-set. I agree. That's cool.

Maybe we can arrange for Chambers' barber and tailor to come to Lincoln. And Mike Watkins, though I'm pretty sure Watkins is 35 years old.

We need a better rhythm section (big man), but yeah, let's keep the rest of the band intact.

OK. Time for some steely-eyed realism. We were what they said we were. OK. Not great. A middling NIT seed. I think we beat that team at PBA, and that's a good thing regarding the progress made by this team. We are a tough out at home. We have enough talent to threaten top teams and maybe even beat them occasionally. At home. On the road, this roster had enough talent to bet 100+ teams. That's about it. On offense, we were inconsistent. Gill and Taylor didn't provide enough of a consistent threat to make up for others having off nights. Watson is still a mystery from game to game regarding his offense. And when we go to a player in the low post... well, we don't have an offensive presence in the low post. On defense, we were generally pretty salty on the perimeter, but we couldn't guard down low. So ... This program can take a step forward again (NCAA berth, mid-level seed, first-round victory) next year, but it's going to need at least these things to happen between now and Nov. 1 at each of these positions: Glynn Watson improves more than he's ever improved in an off-season, or Xavier Johnson comes in ready to play high-level B1G basketball. James Palmer steps up his game to the point where he's strong handling the ball and he's more active off the ball. From the bench, Nana/Thor/Karrington/Thomas emerges as a consistent deep threat. Isaac Copeland becomes a stronger defender and a more consistent offensive threat. Jack/Nana/Karrington can provide some solid backup minutes. Isaiah Roby moves to a position more suited to his skillset and body-type so that he's not picking up bad fouls against players bigger and stronger than he is. Jack re-emerges as a 10-minute a game bench threat. WE FIND A MATURE, STRONG POST who has at least one good post move and maybe can stretch the D occasionally as well as stand his ground on D. Jordy becomes a solid backup center, with Tanner as a spot player. If we have to rely on Jordy as a starter, then we shouldn't rely on Jordy as a starter and take our chances with this year's starting lineup, substituting Nana/Karrington/Thomas/Thor into the Gill/Taylor spot. Unfortunately, I think that scenario might not yield the results we think it will. Of course, I hope I'm pleasantly surprised. If roster movement goes the other way — meaning we lose any of the above players — f*ck it.

Home teams go 16-0.

So we're on the verge of seeing all 16 home teams win the first-round NIT games. Were they all seeded correctly, then? Or does Washington's home victory as a No. 5 seed indicate the most important factor was the site? Discuss.

Only one improvement from that finish — Aaron Craft wasn't involved this year.

That's the next hump, isn't it? At least I hope it is for next season.

I'm done with steely-eyed rationalism until later. For now, Imma watch this:

Fair assessment. But being a doe-eyed optimist, I'm interpreting it to say that if we'd been in those other conferences, we'd be 19-15 and Dancin'. Thanks, Cookie!

Not arguing, but with Nebraska's basketball history, every game is a game that matters, and every victory is one to be celebrated. Here's to 22 victories!!! (We may not see it again for a long time.)

Says the Missourian. (I kid, I kid.)

Me.

My ray of sunshine? 'Cuse down by 7.

Agreed, but ... really. It's so predictable. #Nebrasketball seasons always end like this. Always.

We at least gotta cover. That's our thang.

Just to be crystal clear: If we win, this is an important measure of how far the Nebraska program has come, how important this tournament is, and an indication of just how awesome next year is going to be. If we lose, it's a meaningless game played with funky rules and dominated by crooked officiating on someone else's home court. Right?

Penn State with the win. Home teams now 12-0 in the NIT.