Norm Peterson

I think it’s noteworthy that one of our best defenders outside of Gary and Bandoumel hasn’t seen the floor more than a few minutes per game for the past several games. Tells you where the priorities are now.

I hate to ask, but it's a question someone at some level really needs to consider. When Bandoumel and Gary went down, we distributed minutes from guys who were shooting 22.4% and 26.3% from three, respectively, to guys who are shooting 40.3%, 36.2% and 40.9% (Tominaga, Lawrence and Hoiberg) from three. I am suspicious that our defensive effectiveness has not diminished significantly, but that our offensive firepower has increased by a lot. And, if that's true, then the lesson to be learned from this is maybe an emphatic "Recruit to shoot." So, the question: Do you think we would be over .500 right now if Gary and Bandoumel were still in the starting lineup?

We managed to not lose close games. I would think that would be a good thing. But the ppl who put this thing together would rather see teams lose close games and curbstomp their opponents in wins. Which tells me the objective is NOT to identify the best teams, but to find the teams most likely to cover.

If we finish with a winning record with our schedule and don't at least make the NIT, then the whole scheme is crooked.

Unless you play in the Mountain West Conference, or the Sunbelt, in which case winning against lower division teams actually counts as winning rather than losing by by crappy opponent factor.

He's gotta point.

Eight players played. Denim Dawson logged 2 minutes and did not score. Everyone else (7 players) scored between 9 and 16 points. I don't think I've ever seen that in a conference game before: Seven guys with at least 9 points and nobody more than 16.

Over .500 (at some point) in the month of March for the first time since when? Two conference regular-season sweeps for the first time since when?

Hey, that's our very own @cipsucks!

He just lost a 5-star center, though. I think within the last week, the kid asked for and was granted a release from his LOI. Five-star centers don't roll around all the time. Until there's ink on the paper, lots can change. Even after there's ink on the paper, lots can change. All I'm concerned about right now is hopefully doing enough to see the post-season and then winning big in the portal.

Of course it'd be nice to see, but at some point you figure he is what he appears to be.

Jamarques has shown he belongs at this level. Hope we keep him for his career. I've heard Ramel Lloyd was the best of the freshmen in November. He's obviously going to be a little behind in development for having sat out compared to Jamarques. There were concerns that he was sitting out in order to save a year of eligibility to transfer, but I've heard Ramel plans to return. Which is nice. The general consensus on Gary is that surgery should take care of the problem with his shoulder and that he'll be back better than ever. And I've heard the names of one or two guards to keep an eye out for in the transfer portal. If all of that comes to fruition and we can find a suitable replacement for Derrick Walker, we could actually be OK next year. I certainly think we have some pieces to build around.

Keisei, it's been an honor to watch you play. If you come back, you'll make a lot of Husker hoops fans jump out of their chairs and cheer. If you choose to go turn pro back home, we'll all understand. Either way, you've made this year exciting beyond belief. We are not having a discussion about possible post-season appearances without you. And, for that, I bow in gratitude. Arigatou

Sam, thank you from the bottom of my heart for not only allowing us to have an answer to this question but also for the resounding "Yes!" of an answer. You CLEARLY would not simply PLAY on a decent Big Ten team, you would START for a decent Big Ten team. It's been a pleasure watching you lead this program this season. Happy Senior Night. You will be missed.

Derrick, you put on a special show for us fans this year. I predict it'll be awhile before we see the likes of someone like you again. A big man who can bring the ball up the floor, initiate the offense, hit cutters with regularity, occasionally lead the team in assists, and yet do all the usual big man stuff like rebound, defend the paint, and score inside. It's been a real treat watching you develop. And this was a special year for you. Congratulations on your senior night, though I know you've already graduated (I watched you walk across the stage.) You'll be missed.

Problem for Fran is he's running out of sons with eligibility. I mean, I suppose he and his wife could get busy, but he'd be older than Boeheim before the next one could enter the transfer portal.

Minnesota also had a 5-star center committed for next year. Signed even. But he asked for and was given a release from his NLI about 3 days ago. Now it looks like TCU. Any chance we could jump in on that one? Dennis Evans, 2023 Center - Rivals.com

HCFH: "Hello, this is Fred Hoiberg." P5: "Yeah, hi, coach, it's Parker Friedrichson. Crazy turn of events with Coach Forbes leaving Wake to take over for Fran McCaffrey at Iowa, so looks like I'm on the market again, and ..." HCFH: "I'm unable to get to my phone right now, so please leave me a message and I'll get back to you when I can. Beeeeep." P5: "Coach, I know you're there; I can hear you breathing on the line." HCFH: "No, you can't! I mean, leave a message." [click]

Oh, gawd, you mean right after Parker Friedrichson commits to Wake Forest? Would he have to decommit AGAIN?

Not to try to hijack the Kenpom thread with too much discussion about NET, but do you all remember when the NCAA introduced the whole notion of Quad wins/losses? The idea was to encourage teams to schedule tough games. Not to pad their resumes with a bunch of wins over cupcakes and patsies. Schedule tough. Get wins over good teams; don't lose to bad ones. So, right now, Nebraska sits at #92 in the NET. We have seven Quad 1 and 2 wins. We have zero Quad 3 and 4 losses. Right ahead of us at #91 is James Madison. They have zero Quad 1 wins; two Quad 2 wins; two Quad 3 losses; and FOUR Quad 4 losses. So, they have NO really good wins and FOUR really bad losses. And they're ahead of us. Don't try to explain to me how the NET algorithm works. I don't care. Their algorithm is clearly broken.

Four more wins only gives us a 40% chance. To get to 4 more wins, we would have to either ... Lose our next two games to the NET #33 team at home and #43 team on the road, finish as an 11 or 12 seed, and then reach the Big Ten Championship game; Win one of our next two games to the NET #33 team at home or #43 team on the road, finish as a 10 seed, and then reach the Big Ten Championship game; or Win our next two games to the NET #33 team at home and #43 team on the road, finish as a 10 seed, and then reach the conference semifinals. To get to five more wins, we'd almost have to win the Big Ten tournament title. And they're saying that only gets us a 91% chance of getting in? Sounds about Nebrasketball.

Sincere question: Has anyone found any highlight video of this kid doing something more than just being 7'2? If so, please post.

Win a game, drop 4 spots in Kenpom. Sounds about right.

That little kid in the background looks a smidge taller. Are we sure he's 7'2"?