HuskerBB

Horrible start was a killer with all the turnovers. We were not prepared for them continuing to trap the ball after we crossed half court. Very few teams do that - but we needed to handle it better and it really created momentum for them which was a killer. We played poorly in multiple phases and did not deserve to win the game. That said the officiating was ridiculously uneven They were by far the more aggressive team defensively and for most of the first half we could not get a call no matter what they did - while we had key players in foul trouble. It wasn't that the fouls on us should not have been called but PSU was constantly reaching and grabbling and nothing was called on that end. Even if we had played well we would not have been able to win with that discrepancy in the way the game was called. If I was Fred I would have just played the walkons at the end of the bench the entire second half. But he has more composure than I do - and unfortunately under the current systems margin of victory is a factor in tourney selection so we had to play hard until the end. Just glad no one got hurt. Bottom line - forget this one. If you would have told me we would get 1 of these 2 road wins a week ago I would have been happy. So just forget how that happened and show up and play hard Monday.

Really gutsy comeback performance after everything went wrong in the second half. Brice and Juwan were struggling and frustrated - but they kept their heads in the game and found the determination to lead the comeback. Connor also really looked lost but found a way to contribute positively in the 2nd half. Meah was also a big positive at a key time given it may have been Morgan's worst Husker game. We needed this win. If we can get another one on the road Wednesday people will again start talking about seeding and not about bubbles. That said - one game at a time needs to be the mantra for the team. P.S. Maybe just a pet peeve of mine - but would be "nice" if board members could try to remember he spells his name Brice - not Bryce :)

Martinelli gets away with a clear shove and a walk. How does he get every call his way !!!!!

This is a total act - he never touched the back of his head. Same guy who did the complete flop in the 1st half !!

Can't believe that last NW shot went in. Boy they make a bunch of slop.

Can't believe Brice missed the front end of a 1-1 :(

Juwan tried but could not get the call. At least got it the next time - now make the FTs

Connor must be really sick yet - he has just looked awful both in his short first half appearance and again now.

Not that he would have made the next one - but the NW player was in the lane way early on that last FT

What a frickin flop !!! Griffiths could not know that guy over if he tried his hardest - and he barely touched him.

Martinelli gets every call. I thought Barnhizer was easy to hate - but Martinelli might be ever more unlikable.

Assume this is a reference to Meah - I have seen no evidence that he can do anything close to "jump out of the gym" - but that is probably beside your point. I do get what you are saying about how we use him and you point is well taken. But, at the same time if you are going to have a team defensive system can it be completely different with Morgan or Berke at that spot than it is with Meah? If you do play defense differently with different players on the floor does that inhibit your ability to defend as a "unit" over time? On a somewhat related note what I was wondering last night is whether our frequent switching and hard hedging for screens is failing to take advantage of what defenses are apparently now allowed to do. When Brice or Connor are trying to run around screens most defenders just grab and hold them so they can't get away - Maryland was doing that very much last night - one guy just grabbed Connor around the waist with both hands when he was trying to go around a screen. As long as the Big 10 refs let you grab off ball cutters you are trying to follow in pure man to man - why bother with all the switching?

I have just seen him play live in the red white scrimmage - but from that I certainly did not see a player I would expect to see at point guard. Not quick at all - and did not see much in the way of ball handling or court vision. He is a shooter not a ball handler from what little I have seen and heard anyway.

Maryland is a very talented team - and played very well tonight. Particularly given we were playing without Berke we needed several things to happen to win the game: 1. We needed Maryland to shoot poorly - obviously the opposite happened. Nearly 60% from the field and not sure what they ended up at from 3 but they were 6 out of 10 at halftime. 2. We needed a quick whistle because Maryland is much more athletic and physical than we are - and played that way tonight. Again - kind of the opposite as for most the game the refs really let pretty much everything go - which almost led to brawls a couple times and at least contributed to the rebounding discrepancy. If Maryland faulters early in the NCAA tournament it will likely be due to them running into refs that will not let them play the way Big 10 refs allow in conference games. 3. We needed to shoot well from 3. We did make some unexpected 3's - but Brice was not quite his usual self - and the 0-4 from Connor really hurt (apparently he was one of the flu victims which might explain his off game). Despite all that we were in the game until the end. Our effort was good under the circumstances and we did some things (i.e FT shooting) very well to stay in the game. (FWIW hard to believe we did not win a game where Meah and Morgan were a combined 6-6 from the line - never thought I would see that :)

Actually I don't think he is even the most immature player on his team. Queen behaves like a toddler on the court. Not sure I have ever seen a player whine as much. Then at the end he taunts the crowd like an arrogant little brat. Extremely talented player but needs to grow up a lot. If I was his father he would definitely get an earful about behaving that way on the court. Willard really should step in and coach him to act more mature. I get that he is a freshman - but again he acts like he is a middle schooler at best. Reese is not quite as naturally gifted - but is really physical. I get that he taunts and uses his strength in ways that should not really be allowed. But that is where his advantage lies on the court and he tries to use that to his benefit. As long as the officials allow him to play that way - why would he stop. Again the two are very talented and effective players. But their behavior is like a Baby and a Bully. Maybe they each have a little bit of both - but to me Queen in the more obvious Baby with his on court behavior.