hhcdave

Thank you NULed. Petteway, in the last few days, has gone from 100%, to slightly strained back, to serious back injury, to back surgery. All from him stretching extra for two minutes during halftime.

Sad to hear this. He was a pretty good basketball player, too. I hope he can get this under control and live a nice long life. Sorry, Jay.

Love it. Welcome to the site!

Lose to Indiana, but beat Wisconsin and win two in the big 10 tournament and we are in. But I'd much rather just win both this week plus one

I really think petteway is fine. Just because the guy stretched 2 extra minutes at halftime one time doesn't mean he all of a sudden is worn down and injured with a bad back. I wish people would quit saying this before the self fulfilling prophecy comes into play. He's fine. It's no different than anyone else banged up this time of year. Nobody is 100%

I don't see how moving up from the 5th team out to the 2nd team out ISN'T good news, as some have alluded to in this thread. It means there's one time in front of us instead of four, after a less than impressive win against NW with two big games ahead. very good news.

I don't see this as bad news at all. +450 isn't THAT big of a long shot. Plus, who cares what Vegas thinks. They go mainly by computer data. Of course we're going to be 'dogs because we're dogs in both games this week and there are other teams we are going up against. I'm very positive right now and am convinced we win one game this week. If we do that, its 2 games max in the B1G and we're dancing.

I like that we have a nice long time between games this week. Saturday-Wednesday-Sunday. Three full days off between games. That's only happened maybe two other times during the conference so its a nice time. Terran is going to be fine. They have world class doctors/trainers/equipment at UNL and let's remember these kids are 20 and 21, not old and decripid like us.

Where are people hearing that Petteway's back is all of a sudden so bad that he couldn't play back to back games on it? I haven't heard anything credible about back issues - did I miss it?

Its my Mom's birthday and I'm hoping to get in the 100's. Her season tickets are in the 300's. I wish I could find a pair in the 100's for $200 but don't see it happening.

I love it! There I am from the :31-:33 mark in the background in my days as a student as we rushed Nate Johnson!

I think the guy is a schmuck, but let's be honest - he gets it right almost every year, mainly because I'm convinced he's fed info from the committee in many years. I think he nailed all the teams last year. As of right now, his twitter says we are "the second team out" in the "First 4 Out." Somehow Minnesota is team #42, though. I just don't understand it. How are they that far above us? Their resume is about 5% better. Anyway, we jumped from the 5th team out to the 2nd team out. Here's my thoughts: Other bubble teams are winning at an alarming rate. So, here's my thoughts on all of the scenarios for us to be a LOCK. I realize there's a CHANCE we could get in with not quite being this good, but let's look at this as a LOCK since A. All other bubble teams seem to be winning and B. We are Nebraska and will get no benefits. Scenarios for us to be a LOCK: We win both this week, we are in no matter what happens in the Big 10 Tournament. We win at Indiana, but lose to Wisconsin, we need two wins in the Big 10 Tournament to be a LOCK. We lose at Indiana, but win against Wisconsin, we need one win in the Big 10 Tournament to be a LOCK. We lose both this week... we probably need to win the entire Big 10 Tournament to be a LOCK. Three would PROBABLY get us in.

Let's just win both games this week so its a lock.

100% agree. He's our best point guard right now. With the Biggs dismissal, if we didn't have Parker, we wouldn't be on the NCAA Bubble.

Iowa will go 2-1. So if we win out, we jump them.

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