hhcdave

Tim Doyle is a dbag. That's all I know. He constantly takes backhanded slaps toward NU and mocks them. Guy needs to spend less time on his hair and ego and more on becoming knowledgeable and likeable.

Could we consider bobblehead dolls for a giveaway once or twice next year? I ask because I notice teams around NCAA basketball doing that all the time - especially Iowa. As a guy who has over 60 bobbleheads, I LOVE this idea. To my knowledge, there is ZERO Nebraska bobbleheads issued by NU for basketball. Nee had one with Duquesne, but I don't believe any have ever been made by the "U" and certainly none as giveaways. Why not a Tim Miles next year, and start the Hall of Fame series, with one giveaway per year? Give away all the Hall of Famers one per year over the next several. I think it would be big. Anyone else with me that it would be cool?

OFFENSE: A- Since turnovers are part of the offense (though we typically grade them under "Ball Handling,") we'll give NU just below an "A" in this one, as the Big Red gave away 13 possessions off of TO's that led to 21 points. There's your ball game. Still, NU was good overall on the offensive end, scoring 70 points on 53% shooting from the field and knocking down 11-12 (92%) at the line. Of course, that one miss really hurt in this game. After starting off sizzling hot from downtown, the Huskers finished a modest and somewhat disappointing 7-20 (35%) from three land, connecting on just two trey's after the half. The worst possession of the game came at a critical timem in a 67-67 tie with under 2:00 left, when Terran Petteway jacked up an ill-advised three with :23 on the shot clock. NU got the offensive board, but Leslee Smith had his pocket picked for a quick basket at the other end, and NU never really recovered. DEFENSE: D Not good - at all. This has been a trend most of the year. Michigan shot 62% from the field. That's right, for the GAME, 62%!!! That includes 67% in the second half. Luckily for NU, the Wolverines left six points at the line, missing 6 of 9 from the stripe. I will say, had NU taken better care of the ball, perhaps Michigan's numbers are 6 points less scored and 4-5% less from the field. Still, that only boosts this to a "D+" effort, tops. Nebraska did a nice job taking away the three (6-17) but gave away 40 points in the paint, most of which were completely uncontested. One thing I've noticed over and over and over is that NU's bigs consistently try to draw charges. They'll stand for the charge, almost closing their eyes and waiting for contact, and other teams slashers go right around them for uncontested shot after uncontested shot. Quit trying to draw charges!!! Teams know by now that's what you do from all the film and also know that there is no shot blocker behind you. Also, even when there IS contact, the defensive team is only getting the benefit of the doubt around 33% of the time this year. So, can we stop that now? REBOUNDING: B Nebraska was +6 on the boards, which is actually somewhat impressive considering Michigan missed about two shots the entire night. To be serious, NU did out board Michigan offensively (8-4) which is pretty impressive, led by six rebounds from Smith and five from our Player of the Game, Deverell Biggs (who had 14 points as well). BALL HANDLING: D 13 turnovers is what lost NU the game. That's why the "D" is a little on the harsh side. NU averages 10.7 TO's a game, so 13 isn't awful, but Michigan ran almost NO pressure and no press. Most of NU's turnovers were unforced and came at very inopportune times (see the one tonight in the 67-67 tie, for example). Completely awful game for Terran Petteway, who finished with SIX turnovers. COACHING: A Coach Miles had NU ready in this game. He cut down his rotation (no Nathan Hawkins tonight), utilized his timeouts beautifully and did some nice things out of them (such as the switch to the zone to slow down Michigan for a couple of possessions) and called a nice play at the end to get Petteway a clean look at the rim, or a dish off to Smith. It turned out that unfortunately, it was a miss by Terran, and two tip misses by Smith, but it put NU in a position to win. Tonight was one of the best games Miles has coached as a Husker, even though I'll admit this team is awful at defense and that needs to be improved, and quickly. I'm going to chalk that up as more of a personnel issue and lack of bigs and give him a pass for one more year on the defense. Next year the grades toughen up a bit. OVERALL GRADE: B+ There's no shame in losing to last year's runner up, even without McGarry. The Huskers showed us more progress tonight - two steps forward (at Iowa and this game), one step back (Ohio State). That's how you make progress. Let's see it get us our first win on Sunday. PLAYER OF THE GAME: DEVERELL BIGGS 2013-2014 PLAYER OF THE GAME RESULTS: TERRAN PETTEWAY - 7 TAI WEBSTER - 2 WALTER PITCHFORD - 2 LESLEE SMITH - 2 SHAVON SHIELDS - 1 DEVERELL BIGGS - 1 This post has been promoted to an article

Nebraska 71 Michigan 70

The Vooch situation is unfortunately eerily similar to Shang Ping. Sure, Ping played a bit more, but both had impressive offer lists and some hype coming in, and both have... well... let's just say "fallen short" of expectations.

OFFENSE: D+ Nebraska scored just 53 points on 38% shooting from the field and only got to the foul line 12 times, missing five. It was nice to see Ray Gallegos get it going early with two connections from downtown and briefly, you had to think "this might be Nebraska's day," especially when they were up four points and had two chances to extend further with ZERO atmosphere from the OSU home front. However, Gallegos would soon disappear and so would NU's offense, mainly because of turnovers (which will discuss in "Ball Handling"). Nebraska finished with only seven assists and continues to play as a "one on one" team, as we discuss all of the time, from Terran Petteway to Deverell Biggs to Shavon Shields. Nearly all of their converted shots are off of individual drives - that's good in one regard, to have guys that can do that, but you ain't going anywhere in the Big 10 without team offense and well designed plays. The Huskers don't have either, sans small stretches, throughout the majority of the first 40% of this season. DEFENSE: D Not good at all. Fouling central, again, with NU sending OSU to the line 29 times. The Huskers, because of that foul trouble, played more zone than they would prefer, and that led to open jump shot after open jump shot. Shooters often weren't identified (see Della Valle, Amedeo). After the first 15 minutes of this game, it was almost guaranteed that OSU would either: A. Score each possession, either from the field or at the foul line. B. Miss a very makeable open shot or C. Create an unforced turnover on itself (though only seven for the game). Translation: the only chance NU had of stopping OSU was if they turned it over or missed an open shot or free throws. Nebraska forced very few legitimate stops in this game - probably less than ten. And the few times it played :30 seconds of good defense, OSU STILL scored (like that difficult shot from 9th year senior Aaron Craft in the second half with :03 on the shot clock). REBOUNDING: A- Nebraska lost the rebounding battle by only one (32 to 33) but dominated the offensive glass (10 to 5), though OSU obviously missed WAY LESS shots from the field. Our Player of the Game is a no brainer - Leslee Smith, who had a game high 10 rebounds (to go along with 11 points). No other Husker had more than four rebounds. BALL HANDLING: D A "D" might be harsh for only committing 13 turnovers on the road against a VERY GOOD "on the ball" defensive team. But the turnovers KILLED this game. Absolutely SLAUGHTERED IT. TWICE we couldn't get the ball in bounds? Yet we went to the locker room at 2:50 PM with three timeouts that we couldn't take home to Lincoln. A 5th year senior (Gallegos) almost got a third "5 second" call but instead, opted to heave the ball toward Aaron Craft on an out of bounds play, which of course turned into points at the other end. With about 2:00 left (maybe less) in the first half, NU was down 3. Due to turnovers, it became 10 by the half. Same thing in the second half - another couple 8-0 runs after key turnovers. Also, randomly, just thought I'd throw this in the report card (nowhere to really put it that fits). But how in the hell did Leslee Smith go from an "and one" on a drive in the latter stages of the first half to taking the ball out of bounds (which led to the above mentioned Gallegos turnover)? If he's not getting the shot to count, he doesn't at least get continuation and two free throws? How can your original call be THAT BAD? That was a three point swing (assuming Smith makes one of two and you take away the turnover and other two at the other end). You go in down 7 instead of 10. Just a random thought. COACHING: C Nebraska looked good in the first half. Prepared. Came out again with good energy. I'm not in love with the lack of timeouts taken today, nor how NU showed almost zero passion out of the locker room after halftime. They looked lethargic and brain dead, especially on defense. The second half was EXTREMELY disappointing - this has to fall at least a little on coaching. Only one timeout used to motivate the team in the second half or light a fire under their tails. No passion or great effort. No answers for OSU on defense. I think the Buckeyes scored on 8 of their first 9 possessions out of the half (correct me if I'm wrong). I'm okay with Miles taking out a couple key players in the final 1:30 of the first half to avoid three fouls. But was a bit curious having BOTH Nathan Hawkins and David Rivers on the court at the same time along with two other first year players. Game got away at that point. Not really criticizing this move; just pointing it out as potentially debatable. OVERALL GRADE: C- What looked to be a "B+" game had Nebraska battled in the second half and kept this within 13-15 points turned into a frustrating game that left you wondering what the hell happened in the second half. Still, turn the page and go win three of your next five, which I think is doable (Michigan, Purdue, Penn State). PLAYER OF THE GAME: LESLEE SMITH 2013-2014 PLAYER OF THE GAME RESULTS: TERRAN PETTEWAY - 7 TAI WEBSTER - 2 WALTER PITCHFORD - 2 LESLEE SMITH - 2 SHAVON SHIELDS - 1 This post has been promoted to an article

Rivers had three possessions of meaningful minutes in this game. If we're going to judge him off of that sample size and verify why he's not playing, that seems a little ridiculous, when Hawkins can be judged by double digit minutes and fifteen times the possessions each game in the last few.

OSU 76 Nebraska 65

Could be correct and good point in the Hawkins return coming after Rivers saw his minutes decline. However, with Smith unavailable for large stretches of last night, who else do you have to play the 3/4 with length and athleticism? If Smith is out for OSU and we STILL don't see Rivers, then something really weird is going on.

HB, I do think Rivers and Hawkins minutes correspond with one another. Miles has said he sees and wants Hawkins to become more of a 3/4 than a 2/3. I would argue Rivers is exactly that - a 3/4. Last night, Hawkins was being schooled by guys slightly bigger off the dribble, over and over. I definitely think David could have at bare minimum held his own out on the floor in those situations or who knows, maybe done better on help side "D". With that said, I'm fine with what Miles did, as I mentioned in my report card. But I definitely feel like the two are taking minutes from each other.

Wow... Some really, really, really good posts in this thread. Keep 'em coming. Norm, that might be the best post you've ever made. Really makes me think. Do you agree with my initial premise on why Hawkins over Rivers and Rivers being better at this point?

OFFENSE: C I should go lower for Nebraska on offense, considering they shot a season low 30% from the field and only reached the pedestrian mark of 57 due to extra possessions at the end. However, I thought Nebraska looked okay offensively, sans about five minutes of this game, and there's no doubt the Huskers left around 12-16 points on the floor by either missing bunnies or getting blocked. Sure, Iowa DEFINITELY gets credit for eight blocked shots and altering many others, but NU still could have gone up stronger or finished better at least a few field goals. That probably gets the Huskers to the line a few more times, too. Still, at the end of the day, Nebraska did a lot of things better on offense, most notably: 1. Adding in pump fakes and pivots around the basket (though I do admit I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth on this one, as the above paragraph proves. Still, this was something I harped on last game and NU was much better in its effort in this regard, though not entirely successful). 2. Getting Shavon Shields going (at least a little) in the offense, as the Olathe, KS. sophomore looked more like last year when he would take mid-range shots, not just three's or to the rim's (Shields was 4-12 for 10 points). 3. The Huskers looked very fluid and like a legitimate Big 10 team on offense for the majority of the first half, and around eight minutes of the second half. They came out strong, confident and prepared to play. Player of the Game was tough in this one, but Petteway had his first career double-double (20 and 12) and thus, earns it. I also strongly considered Walter Pitchford, who had a double-double of his own (13 and 12!!!!), Deverell Biggs (12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals) and in the first half, Tai Webster (who was MUCH MUCH MUCH better tonight; 4 assists and 2 turnovers in 31 minutes). I'm okay tonight with the offense, based on the points being left out there, and I love the idea of Biggs, Petteway and Webster all on the floor at the same time - BIG TIME perimeter offense. One other note; Ray Gallegos got ZERO shot attempts (0 points) in 23 minutes. Very weird. I'm sure it's the only time in his career he's played even close to that much without at least attempting a shot. Not sure what to think. DEFENSE: B+ Nebraska held Iowa to a season low 67 points and 46% from the field. HOWEVER, a lot of the lack of points was due to Iowa and NOT Nebraska, meaning NU fouled the Hawkeyes and allowed 39 free throw attempts. Luckily for NU, Iowa missed SEVENTEEN of them (for 56%). If Iowa shoots even 70%, Nebraska gets rolled in this game, allows 80 and we aren't near as happy with our defense. WITH THAT SAID, they didn't make them, and the Huskers deserve some credit in this one for their defensive moxxy. I was most excited about Biggs, who had a couple of key steals down the stretch and just played damn hard. Also, while he didn't have the best night, Walter Pitchford was better, too. After a strong start, Leslee Smith has been a disappointment the last few games. We'll touch on this more later under "Coaching" but Nate Hawkins was God awful tonight on the defensive end. He (and many other teammates) couldn't stop the dribble drive, which is why the Hawkeyes had the aforementioned 39 free throw attempts. REBOUNDING: A+ Iowa entered the game leading the Big 10 in rebounding margin. And guess what? Nebraska out rebounded them!!! 44 to 42 was the final tally, but what was even more impressive were the SEVENTEEN offensive boards NU grabbed. The Huskers were paced by the 12 boards out of Petteway and Pitchford. FANTASTIC. I gotta give Walt a TON of credit. I ripped him pretty good last game (as he deserved) for lackluster effort on the defensive end and on the glass. However, he BROUGHT IT tonight. GREAT JOB WALT (if you're reading this). Play with the energy, passion and effort you did tonight, and you will be everything we hoped you would be (and then some) and NU will make some noise this year in moving up out of the basement of the Big 10. BALL HANDLING: B- 9 assists, 13 turnovers. Not bad - would like to see a few more assists, but again, NU missed a lot of easy shots AND their offense is, whether good or bad, based on a lot of "one on one" play with guys like Petteway and Biggs. Webster, as I mentioned above, really impressed me tonight. His box wasn't great but if you watch the game and understand basketball, you had to be VERY pleased with him tonight. COACHING: A Coach Miles "mucked" this game up good, forcing 14 turnovers and finding a way to play at Nebraska's pace, especially in the first half. His team was prepared, mentally and physically. The effort was there. Guys were helping each other up and high-fiving after free throws. They played hard to the end. Never stopped competing. These are some 180 characteristics and qualities than what we've seen in some games this year, so the team is obviously responding to its head man. He drew up some nice plays tonight out of "TO's", too, most notably the second half double post over the top lob to Pitchford that resulted in a (of course) block, but was still drawn up beautifully. One other thing; I want to give Miles credit for doing the right thing in building for next year and the year after. It became more abundantly clear tonight more than ever, with Hawkins playing 11 minutes and looking (honestly) pretty miserable. Especially defensively; I think just about EVERY TIME he was isolated on D, he gave up an easy penetration, leading to points and/or a foul. He finished with four fouls and did little well, outside of a couple rebounds. STILL, I've said it before and I'll say it again; Hawkins has BIG TIME potential. I like this kid, a lot. Something about him. Just a hunch. I think he'll be really, really good by the time he's done here. Here's the thing; had Miles gone to David Rivers, who is probably 10% better than Hawkins at this time, maybe even more, he MIGHT have won this game tonight, just because I don't think Rivers gets schooled out on the floor like Hawkins does. That might save NU 6-8 points defensively and could have changed the entire game. Same goes with previous games and some in the future. Still, its clear Miles is living in the future, building a program as he always has, and he's okay with some teaching lessons and sacrificing a bit of today to get to tomorrow faster. That was proven tonight more than ever - as if to say, "okay kid, you're going to go crash and burn now. You're not ready but you're going to play." Now, the other side is, this is very tough on Rivers. I feel bad for the kid. I love him. I think it's clear he is being forced out of the program, along with Serg. I feel bad for Rivers way more than Serg, because David was STARTING GAMES and playing 20+ minutes just a month ago, is an upperclassman and a good kid. He does have some ability as an 8th or 9th man on a decent Big 10 team. But, at the end of the day, the program is above a player and Miles is clearly showing that, from how he's disciplined Biggs to how he's relegated Rivers. That takes focus and grit; Miles isn't afraid to have his brains beat in for awhile to get better faster. OVERALL GRADE: B Nebraska played a GOOD, not great, basketball game tonight. They fouled way too much (is there an echo in here?) and couldn't stop dribble drives. Offensively, they missed way too many easy ones. But on the glass? OUTSTANDING. Effort? OUTSTANDING. Teamwork? Much better. There was A LOT of good to see tonight. I can deal with losses when they are played correctly, there are good things happening and growth is going on before our eyes. That's what we had tonight. P.S. Is there a goofier looking team in America than Iowa? P.S.S. I don't know why, but Aaron White really seems like a bad person. He just bugs me. Am I the only one? PLAYER OF THE GAME: TERRAN PETTEWAY 2013-2014 PLAYER OF THE GAME RESULTS: TERRAN PETTEWAY - 7 TAI WEBSTER - 2 WALTER PITCHFORD - 2 LESLEE SMITH - 1 SHAVON SHIELDS - 1 This post has been promoted to an article

I don't see any possible way that Webster is going to leave to go pro in Europe. His goal has been very simple. play in the NBA. One bad semester or year aint gonna change that.

OFFENSE: D+ Nebraska scored a season low 59 points and shot just 36% from the field. The biggest issue for the Huskers was an inability to get to the rim and finish or for that matter, even getting to the rim and getting fouled. When the Huskers DID get to the line, they were excellent - going 10-11. However, the Bearcats attempted 30 free throws, or NINETEEN MORE than NU (scoring 15 more points than the Huskers at the line - or, the difference in the game). As touched on in the previous paragraph, and as noted by Tim Miles after the game, NU showed no ability to pump fake, go up strong with two hands or pivot. They tried to score "off of one foot" and it led to six blocked shots and probably another five that were disrupted. Shavon Shields has got to figure out a way to get going. I've put this on Miles a couple of times this year but certainly not today, as Shields did attempt 11 shots (making one) and it seemed as though there was a concentrated effort within the offense to get him the ball in situations to slash and score. Our Player of the Game is once again Terran Petteway, who put in a game high 22 points after being mainly nonexistent in the first half. DEFENSE: C I really didn't think Nebraska was that bad defensively, as the Huskers held the Bearcats to 42% shooting and a respectable 74 points (it would have been 70 had NU not fouled at the end). As mentioned above, Nebraska fouled WAY too much, but much of that was due to their deficiencies on the boards (noted later). I liked the variety of looks NU ran, including a little mini-press, some zone in the first half and tough, hard nosed man to man defense. Still, one other negative - NU really tried to pack the lane and make Cinci gun it from downtown, but the Bearcats found ways to get into the lane, get easy shots and get fouled. That certainly was disappointing. REBOUNDING: D+ We knew coming in that Cinci held a big edge on the boards and boy, did they ever, finishing +10 (40-30) including FIFTEEN offensive rebounds that led to numerous second chance points, both from the floor and the free throw line (officially TWENTY ONE second chance points). I feel like a broken record, but Walter Pitchford has GOT to figure out a way to grab 5-7 rebounds a game and not get completely dominated in the post on the defensive end. I'm fully aware he's a stretch 4 and likes to think of himself as more of a "3" on the offensive end, but somebody his size and with the way Nebraska is set up HAS to at least be mediocre defensively and on the boards. He is nowhere close to that (finishing this game with disappointment after disappointment on both - a line of 2 points, 3 rebounds and blown defensive assignment after blown defensive assignment in 21 minutes). BALL HANDLING: C+ 12 assists, 11 turnovers. Solid considering 59 points. Disappointing to not have Deverell Bigs for this one as he would have helped out, perhaps giving Tai Webster (4 turnovers, 2 assists) more of a rest, even if he had played the "2" much of the contest as Coach Miles has mentioned he will be doing. COACHING: B I thought Nebraska came out and (to use a Doc Sadler word) "competed" really well, both defensively and on the boards. The shots weren't falling, but they came out and looked ready to play, which is something we've been harping on NU for NOT doing throughout much of this season. In the end, NU wasn't good enough to win this game, if we're being honest with ourselves, but it didn't have anything to do with Coach Miles' in game coaching or motivation. OVERALL GRADE: C+ Nebraska lost by about what Las Vegas thought they would (the spread closed at 12.5) and competed for 30 of the 40 minutes. They are still 1-2 bigs short and 1 Biggs short but the effort was there today, as was the focus, and that's something to be hopeful for heading into Big 10 play. PLAYER OF THE GAME: TERRAN PETTEWAY 2013-2014 PLAYER OF THE GAME RESULTS: TERRAN PETTEWAY - 6 TAI WEBSTER - 2 WALTER PITCHFORD - 2 LESLEE SMITH - 1 SHAVON SHIELDS - 1 This post has been promoted to an article

This is very disappointing. Biggs is now through 25% of his eligible time at Nebraska and has contributed virtually nothing on the court. What's worse is he's not allowing himself and the team to grow together, because he's not out there consistently due to actions off the court and when he is, he has been iffy, at best, from forcing things and turnovers to the stupid technical foul when he went toe to toe with a ref. He needs to understand the clock is ticking... 25% done with your career and you're going backwards, just barely hanging on. Agree that he is definitely at strike two, between the DUI, technical, being suspended for missing film... I would guess he's in the doghouse. Which reminds me of my favorite Danny Nee quote, in regards to Jose Ramos. "He's so far in the doghouse you can't even hear him barking."

Cincy 72 Nebraska 60

Some very, very good discussion in this thread. I've agreed with parts of every single post, even those disagreeing with me. That's what I love about this group of posters and this site - best by far I've ever seen. With that said, one comment I'd like to make in regards to some people talking about the big picture of the program and building. Again, I agree individual games are only small steps in the direction of a program. I'm not talking about the program as a whole (unless specifically stated) the majority of the time when writing these. They are report cards only focusing on one particular game - being nitpicky as all heck! Just remember that as season goes on, either way, that just because I say something about a certain game, doesn't mean I'm saying that about the future of the program. I definitely think The Citadel is completely awful and still won't concede much in my grades or concern; however, as I stated in original post and in this one, I can totally understand other side of things, too, and even agree on some of the points. GBR!

5 wins 1) Michigan State 2) Ohio State 3) Michigan 4) Wisconsin 5) Indiana 6) Iowa 7) Illinois 8) Minnesota 9) Penn State 10) Nebraska 11) Purdue 12) Northwestern

OFFENSE: D+ I really wasn't happy with most anything from tonight, so I apologize in advance if my feathers are a little ruffled! Offensively, Nebraska came out taking stupid, quick shots and when it wasn't doing that, it was turning the ball over. The Huskers clanked more free throws than me at the gym (22-34) and continue to leave Shavon Shields' face on milk cartons with how they forget about him halves (and sometimes games) at a time. In this particular contest, you almost forgot Shields was there until the first two possession of the second half. For awhile, I chalked this up to a young team and a young man (Shields) who needs to do a better job of asserting himself. But I'm starting to wonder if some of this comes back to my hero (Coach Miles), too. This is one of the biggest problems with this team right now - the lack of consistent Shields in the NU offense. Thanks to a fairly nice second half (when NU shot a sizzling 63%), the Big Red were able to finish 52% from the field for the night while scoring a respectable 77 against their Southern Conference opponent. Still, don't be fooled - this was not pretty. DEFENSE: C- I will start by saying that The Citadel got 18 points off of turnovers (though Nebraska, shockingly, got 22). That keeps this grade from being lower. With that said, it's still a sad state of affairs that NU let The Citadel connect on 50% of its shots in the first half and for the night, score 62. The Huskers had no answer for Ashton Moore, who put in a team high 21 points. REBOUNDING: F Nebraska got out rebounded by The Citadel (34 to 30). Repeating, Nebraska got out rebounded by The Citadel. While Leslee Smith needed to put some stick 'um on his hands to cut down the turnovers, he did finish with a quiet double double (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Shields grabbed 6 boards. Pitchford continued his Santa Claus down the chimney like quietness on the boards, pulling down just two in just 12 minutes. BALL HANDLING: F This was perhaps the most maddening facet of the game. First of all, the various zone defenses and looks gave Nebraska fits as it tried to set up its offense. Second of all, The Citadel put very little pressure on the Huskers, who turned the ball over NINE times in the first half (just four in the second; 13 total). Third, Tai Webster (3 turnovers) and Deverell Biggs (2 turnovers) continue to concern me, especially considering both seemingly had double that amount tonight. I think both have tremendous upside (most notably Webster) but we're getting to the meat of the schedule and its time to start seeing some progress. In the case of Webster, it's almost like he's gone downhill since the FCGU and Georgia games, where he looked the part. Mentally, I think he's really struggling, from turning his back on Coach Miles at halftime of Creighton, to not taking a wide open layup tonight (instead throwing it out to the corner) to getting overly frustrated with turnovers, to missing free throws. He will be fine; I hope Miles continues sticking with him in the lineup. But that still does concern me a bit, that we haven't seen hardly any progress from him since the Charleston Classic (correct me if I'm wrong on that; that's just my opinion). COACHING: F Tim, I love you to death. You're my boy, blue. But that was a completely garbage effort tonight. The first half was EMBARASSING. We're talking Barry Collier losing to Alaska Fairbanks embarrassing. We're talking Collier losing to UMKC embarrassing; we're talking Nee to Western Carolina embarrassing. Nebraska should have TRAILED at the half. It didn't even enjoy a 5 point lead until the game was 3/4 over!!! I listen to most every Miles press conference/post game, and his players adopted his outlook of this game, plain and simple. And that outlook was, NU would show up and win, because it was much better. It didn't even have to gameplan much. It could look ahead. Miles has even all but said as much, that he allows his players (in a way) to look ahead. As a player, that must be an awesome thing. As a fan it is, too. I don't want Coach to ever be less honest and not shoot straight, telling us how it is. Obviously if he did hide more, I wouldn't have been fairly certain this was his view, so I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth. But Coach, this team is nowhere near ready for that attitude. I get that it makes them like you more. I get that its relatable. Hell, I get that its common sense, because every single person is doing that (myself included). But this is too many times now that this team has come out flat, especially at home, to just "chalk up" to inexperience and laugh off. I was greatly, greatly concerned about this game and the effort. The first half was BRUTAL. That has been a common theme at home this year against several opponents. That comes back to coaching/motivation/focus. There's no excuses; this was NOT a true 15 point win. The team played like garbage against a garbage opponent and was lucky Eddie Hightower's crew blew the whistle as it did. OVERALL GRADE: D You can tell me you don't see this game as alarming and I will understand. I totally get that viewpoint. However, I don't share it. To me, this game was just as much of a debacle as Creighton (just in a different way). That marks about the fifth time we've come out with our fingers up our butts this year in the first half. We are NOWHERE NEAR good enough for that. Do you honestly think we're all of a sudden just going to turn it on come Big 10? That this will never repeat itself? Its just a few isolated incidents? No chance. Habits are learned and mentally, this team is in big, big trouble right now. If we want to ignore that and drink the Kool Aid, I'm fine with that. But if we're being real here, this is pretty damn disturbing. Not the kind of effort I would expect against the second worst team on our schedule in a "tune up" game. I hope these guys are as good as they think they are and will now just flip a switch, because it sure doesn't seem like they're working toward it on at least 20% of the 30 times a year they play. PLAYER OF THE GAME: TERRAN PETTEWAY 2013-2014 PLAYER OF THE GAME RESULTS: TERRAN PETTEWAY - 5 TAI WEBSTER - 2 WALTER PITCHFORD - 2 LESLEE SMITH - 1 SHAVON SHIELDS - 1 This post has been promoted to an article

Okay, cracked open my first beer and am taking a few deep breaths and "enjoying" a double digit win. Must. Calm. Down. Before. Report. Card.