hhcdave

Yes, we might lose without Parker,... but without Shields putting in 17 and 10, we DEFINITELY lose.

This post nails it. Amen. Gallegos MUST get going.

Unfortunately the original topic nailed this. Will it happen Wednesday night?

OFFENSE: D+ I give Nebraska a slightly harsh "D+" because they missed about seven layups in this contest that could have turned this into a laugher and led to a 16-20 point victory. The Huskers shot just 37% from the field (including an ice cold 23% from downtown) and needed every one of those 54 points to make this a somewhat comfortable win. NU has seen teams adjust to its offensive scheme of isolating Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields the last couple of games and will need Walter Pitchford, Ray Gallegos and even Tai Webster to start combining for 6-8 three pointers a game if its to pull out either game this week. Another cold night for Petteway (3-12 from the field, 10 points) but the good news is the third time is a charm, and I bet he comes out on fire Wednesday night in Bloomington. Shields is our Player of the Game thanks to a double-double (17 and 10) in 36 minutes. DEFENSE: A Nebraska held yet another B1G opponent under 40% from the field - I've yet to receive the game notes from Shamus, but I believe that's eight straight Big 10 teams under 40% from the Huskers, which is the first time that's happened since the 1990-1991 season. That could be slightly off, but it's close. Nebraska was just TOUGH defensively. I loved the way Ray Gallegos and Petteway played on defense - they didn't let their combined 5-21 from the field affect the way they got after it. Slightly concerning that Alex Olah scored a game high 20 points, but I'd rather have him go off than Drew Crawford (who finished with just 11). REBOUNDING: A Nebraska out boarded Northwestern by eleven (40 to 29)!!! That is AWESOME. What I liked even more is that the Huskers held the Wildcats to just five offensive boards. While I'm aware Northwestern doesn't attack the offensive glass much, that's still damn impressive. We mentioned Shields above with 10 boards - also a shout out to Pitchford, who grabbed 9. At the start of this year, Walt played soft and was often criticized on this very report card as such. He deserves big time credit for elevating his toughness and game. It's never talked about around here, but he should also be in consideration (along with Petteway, Shields and Parker) for Most Improved Player. BALL HANDLING: C Nebraska finished with a solid ten turnovers, with five coming in the first six or seven minutes. Mark me down as becoming slightly concerned with Tai Webster. Nearly every game this year, he's had more turnovers than assists, and that continued tonight (1:4). Some will say, "That's fine. He'll play the "2" next year or in the future and play as a combo guard." But the shot looks nowhere close enough for that, and if he's not playing point, he loses a good portion of his value. I'm by no means trying to bring the kid down; he's just a freshman. However, he's DEEP into his freshman year and playing much more than freshman minutes, and it doesn't seem as if he's improving as fast as anyone expected. Add in Benny Parker as clearly the better point guard at this juncture (not close - getting to the rim, not turning it over, defense, finishing) and I'm a bit nervous about the future. COACHING: B Coach Miles made a nice switch to "the zone" and his team got good shots for a large majority of the night - they just missed them around the rim. NU still won by seven in a "must win game" and had they made the shots they should have, they win by 16-20 points. How can you not give Miles a solid "B" for this one? OVERALL GRADE: B This is a good - not very good, not great, win. It isn't going to impress anyone, but neither was winning by 20. NU could only have its destiny changed by losing this one, and they didn't. Now... MUST win one this week (preferably Wisconsin if we have to choose) to keep NCAA hopes alive. Win both, you're a lock for the tournament. Win one, and you probably need two wins in the Big 10 tournament to be a lock. Lose both and you're staring the NIT in the face unless you get to the final game of the Big 10 tournament. My hunch? Petteway comes to life Wednesday night... Pitchford and Gallegos connect on 5 or 6 combined three's.. and NU sneaks one out in Bloomington. For now, let's just stick to looking at that game. A win would sure make next Sunday a fun day and one without near as much stress. I've got a feeling the last two games are going to be "heart attack central" for us as fans - and that's a GREAT feeling to be having this late in the year for the first time since March of 1999. PLAYER OF THE GAME: SHAVON SHIELDS 2013-2014 PLAYER OF THE GAME RESULTS: TERRAN PETTEWAY - 13 SHAVON SHIELDS - 7 WALTER PITCHFORD - 3 TAI WEBSTER - 2 LESLEE SMITH - 2 DEVERELL BIGGS - 1 This post has been promoted to an article

Welcome aboard!

Thought so.

I'd rather lose tonight than at Indiana. A. We can "get right" with a banged up and not particularly good NW team at home. B. That will give us more confidence as we head into the last week than losing at Indiana then having to come home versus #8 or #9 at home. C. For the "bubble," I feel like it's better to lose earlier and finish on another winning streak.

OVERALL GRADE: D OFFENSE: D It was a bad night for Terran Petteway to pull a "Houdini" and disappear into thin air. The Big 10's leading scorer was a dismal 5-18 from the field with three giant turnovers and as such, Nebraska's season low of 49 points arrived at a terrible time. NU saw its other key players follow suit in offensive "off nights", with Shavon Shields going 2-7, Walter Pitchford 1-6 and Ray Gallegos 0-1. Surprisingly, it was the "supporting cast" that got it done, with David Rivers going 4-4, Benny Parker 3-3 and Leslee Smith 4-4. That's 11-11 from the field for NU's 5th-7th scoring options. Nebraska goes as Petteway goes and this was just a bad night. Time to move on and forget it. DEFENSE: B Since we consider "defense" and "rebounding" two separate facets, the defense wasn't too bad, with NU holding Illinois to just 37% from the field (that's six straight opponents under 40% from the field). The true problem was the next two areas of the game... REBOUNDING: F Nebraska was out rebounded 34-28, including ELEVEN offensive rebounds allowed. Also, Coach Miles noted on the post game that "50-50" balls were 12-2 in Illinois' favor. That just can't happen. Illinois scored 16 second chance points (compared to 5 for NU). Shields is our token Player of the Game for at least putting forth effort on the boards, finishing with a team high 9. BALL HANDLING: F Nebraska turned the ball over TWELVE times in the second half (15 for the night) and allowed an astonishing 24 points off turnovers. The most bothersome part of this debacle was that even down 8, then 11, then 9, then 10, then 8, in the last 6 minutes, NU still had PLENTY of chances to come back, but key turnovers by Petteway, Shields and Webster ended those chances in a hurry. COACHING: C I don't honestly have any opinion on the coaching tonight. The game plan seemed okay on both ends of the floor; it just wasn't executed because of off nights from key players offensively, ball handling flubs and horrible rebounding efforts. Not sure how much the coach has to do with any of these things. OVERALL GRADE: D Nebraska laid an egg on the road in a near must win game. That means we must now go 3-0 +1, or 2-1 +2, to get "in the dance." Also, let's give Illinois some credit tonight - they hit shots they haven't been (from downtown; 11th in league coming in) and were the aggressors on both ends of the floor, while being "hungrier" for it. Sure, Nebraska pissed a game down their leg, but Illinois is part of that. Not much else to say. This game doesn't require much analysis. PLAYER OF THE GAME: SHAVON SHIELDS 2013-2014 PLAYER OF THE GAME RESULTS: TERRAN PETTEWAY - 13 SHAVON SHIELDS - 6 WALTER PITCHFORD - 3 TAI WEBSTER - 2 LESLEE SMITH - 2 DEVERELL BIGGS - 1 Click here to view the article

I think this thread is a little harsh. He is going to be fine. Roasting the kid isn't going to achieve anything. He's a senior - he knows all of this. We need to support him and hope for the best - because we have no other choice. Talking down to him isn't the answer.

Another question is why do they break down number of teams from each league? I will go to my grave believing it matters 10%. And I have an impossible time imagining BOTH Nebraska and Minnesota getting in for the Big 10 getting 7, even if they both deserve it.

And I still disagree on it not mattering how many come out of each conference. But we'll agree to disagree.

If they lose at TN, I can't possibly see how they make the Tourney.

This team was BAD defensively in the non-con and the early portion of the B1G slate. To go from BAD (we're talking worst defensive Nebraska team in many, many years) to GOOD in just a few weeks is nothing short of remarkable. Props to the coaching staff and the guys - I have never seen anything like this.

Teams get bids, not conferences. C'mon Dave I know you know that. I know this is no official rule, obviously. I have serious doubts the Big 10 gets seven teams, though. It DOES matter how many come out of each conference. Maybe not the #1 or #2 factor, but its definitely factored in. I just don't see how Minnesota winning does us much good. If we get to 10-8 or 11-7, with 1-2 wins in the Big 10 Tournament, it doesn't matter if we have one less "impressive" win if they dip a few spots. That game isn't super impressive either way. I'd rather have them as a ZERO THREAT to make the tournament and take our chances with one less Big 10 and one less bubble foe.

Georgia winning would sure help us out A TON. Killing two birds with one stone. St John's and Dayton lost - GOOD. Minnesota won - NOT good, because I think the B1G gets 6, not 7.

Lunardi just tweeted out that Nebraska is now on "the next four out." Only about 6 teams ahead of us for being in the dance. My guess? We need to win out at home, split the two road games and win one in the Big 10 Tournament and we're in.

I just returned from Vegas - happy to say I laid $250 on the Big Red against PSU and $420 today. Came home with a free trip to Las Vegas PLUS $600 more on top (I won over $1,000 betting on sports). A good part of that was Nebraska. I POUNDED them. So fun to watch the games at the sports books (the LVH is by far the best - best in the world, too) and have people looking at me crazy. Repped Nebraska big time and watched both games there. Can't wait to do it again next year. Also met an incredibly cute girl from Colorado State at the black jack table. Brought up Tim Miles and her face lit up. She said they loved him and missed him. She was quite impressed I knew who he was (but little did she know, I was MUCH MORE impressed that she knew him).

Tony, I can't wait to read it!!! Quick question - if we go 10-8 AND get one win the Big 10 Tournament... finishing with 19 wins and an RPI around 48... are we in and out? Also assuming Minnesota goes 9-9.

I figured we'd get 3-5 votes today. Not quite as many as I thought but at least we got one. I think 2-0 this week puts us pretty close - 16-10 and 8-6 in the Big 10 winning 5 in a row and 7 of 10 is damn impressive.

We are ALL talking about dancing, which we should. But what I haven't seen mentioned is Top 25 votes. Teams 1-5 in the B1G are currently ranked, and us being #6, after a hot streak and a win at #9 MSU, how many Top 25 votes will we receive tomorrow? Also, if we go 2-0 this week, heading to 8-6 in the B1G, on a 5 game winning streak... Could we be ranked in a week? Discuss.

OFFENSE: B- To be honest, Nebraska wasn't particularly effective in this game on the offensive end, scoring just 60 points on 36% shooting (and leaving eight points at the free-throw line: 13-21, or 62%). However, NU got big points when it needed them, namely because of men named Terran Petteway and Walter Pitchford. Petteway is our obvious "Player of the Game" due to his back breaking three point shots down the stretch, as the Galveston, TX. native finished with a game high 23 points on 7-17 shooting. Whenever NU needed a bucket, Petteway seemed to answer. Pitchford also hit some big time shots in his own right, including the big three to start the game and two giant baskets out of the halftime break to keep NU's train rollin'. For the night, Walt finished with 17 points on 6-12 from the field and even though Miles sat him awhile for "taunting" the Michigan State bench, I loved the enthusiasm and swagger. This is what NU has been missing for many years in tough environments (Well, good players, too, but you get the point). David Rivers also had some giant points in this game, including the lucky second three of the game that put NU up 6-0 after he was baited into a premature "end of shot clock" three by the Iz-Zone. Rivers was scrappy as hell and finished with 6 big first half points. Nebraska didn't get very good offensive possessions in the second half but luckily, it has Mr. Petteway on its team. DEFENSE: A+ Sticking with honesty as the best policy, a TON of Nebraska's effectiveness on defense was provided by NOT TURNING THE BALL OVER (only 5 times) and keeping MSU from running. In fact, chew on this - Michigan State had ZERO fast break points. That's ZERO. And for a team averaging 25 points more per game, Nebraska did an AMAZING JOB on the defensive end, playing tougher and more aggressive than its foe (and holding MSU to 51 points & 34% shooting). With that said, this game got over just in time, because NU was beginning to wear defensively down the stretch and getting into foul trouble. However, as the old 90's TV show used to sing, "It's alright, 'cuz I'm Saved By The Bell." Special mention to Rivers, Benny Parker and Ray Gallegos for their defensive tenacity. It would have been easy for Gallegos to sulk after I jinxed him pre-game and called for six three's (he finished 0-5 from downtown) but he "put an egg in the basket" and helped the team win by playing great "D." REBOUNDING: A Nebraska only lost on the boards by three (39 to 36) and the Huskers outrebounded Sparty on the offensive glass +1 (10-9). That is pretty impressive considering the physical specimens and frontline that MSU runs at you, including but not limited to Mr. Adreian Payne. Again, Rivers gets big time love for his "workman like effort" in grabbing seven boards (4 offensively) and Shavon Shields led the way with eight rebounds (1 offensive). Nebraska did allow 11 second chance points but since it didn't turn the ball over, this hardly seemed like a blip on the radar. BALL HANDLING: A+ 10 assists - 5 turnovers. You couldn't ask for a better job of taking care of the basketball. As we've already driven into the ground, the lack of turnovers allowed NU to control the pace and keep Michigan State from easy baskets and foul shots. What's even more impressive was that Nebraska had only TWO turnovers in the second half. Also, Petteway had zero, and for a guy that's been turning it over, A LOT, this was great to see. COACHING: A+ I loved Miles switching up the lineup even before the game started, because I think Gallegos is a pretty dangerous weapon to have as a "6th man." It didn't end up that way (at least offensively) but it was sound strategy. Miles had his team loose and ready to play. He made defensive switches at the correct times (liked the brief zone at the 4:00 mark of the first). He massaged his way through without getting anybody into foul trouble (except for Rivers). I thought the timeout he took at the 9:01 mark of the second half was big; it helped stop the bleeding and got NU back on the right track. It would have been easy to wait until the under 8:00 timeout and try to "swim" until then but he didn't. In a game like this, that could easily have made the difference. I also appreciated Miles teaching a lesson to Pitchford by sitting him after the above mentioned shenanigans. Miles didn't stop teaching, even in a game like this. Can we sign him to a new contract yet? OVERALL GRADE: A+ You just won at #9 Michigan State, holding them WAY under their scoring average and leading this game for approximately 80% of the clock. You win by NINE, not by one. You did it even with Keith Appling returning. This is hard to imagine, but Nebraska now controls its own destiny. Go 5-1, and you're dancing no matter what happens in the Big 10 Tournament. Go 4-2, and you're dancing with one win in the Big 10 Tournament. Go 3-3, and you're dancing with three wins in the Big 10 Tournament. Bottom line is, we were picked 12th in the Big 10, and we're now looking VERY LIKELY at a 5th or 6th place finish, which guarantees the NIT and gives us a 50-50 chance at the NCAA Tournament. Anyone in their right mind finds this a GIANT surprise in year two of a new era. Now, let's go 2-0 this week. We MUST take these games one at a time and not get ahead of ourselves. I'll be in Las Vegas, betting big on the Huskers both days on the money line, so HHCScott will have your next two report cards. BTW, how cool is it that MY DAD is house sitting for me while I'm in Vegas? Haha. Go Big Red!!! PLAYER OF THE GAME: TERRAN PETTEWAY 2013-2014 PLAYER OF THE GAME RESULTS: TERRAN PETTEWAY - 12 SHAVON SHIELDS - 4 WALTER PITCHFORD - 3 TAI WEBSTER - 2 LESLEE SMITH - 2 DEVERELL BIGGS - 1 This post has been promoted to an article

I have a hunch that Ray Gallegos is going to go off tomorrow. Like, lead us scoring, with 5-6 three pointers hit. If that happens, I think good things are in store for "The Big Red." Not saying we're going to win, but also not saying we're going to lose, especially if my Gallegos hunch comes true. Come on, drink the Kool Aid with me... it's so tasty this time of year!