millerhusker

We're right where we were at this time last year: 12-2 (2-1). Not sure how to check this on KemPom but at this point last year we were Torvik #51 with a 29.4% to make the tourney. Currently we're #29 with a 79.2% chance.

Could have a rough patch here in these next 4 games but need to stay the course. Now I'm circling Jan. 30 vs. Illinois. They're #5 in the NET right now and should be right around there when they come to Lincoln.

Ideal scenario imo

UCLA didn't drop at all in Torvik's. Stayed at 16. Not sure what their KenPom was prior to the game. Hopefully their NET stays top 15 for the remainder of the year. Would be a quad 1A win.

Zero turnovers for Rollie, Ulis and Sam in their 58 combined minutes. In a game against the best team in the country at turning opponents over, that's probably the most important stat right there. I've been pretty hard on Rollie for how loose he gets with the ball sometimes. But you could tell from the very first possession that he was going to take ball security seriously. Not sure we win this game without his reliable ball handling.

I thought Connor would struggle today because I thought UCLA's quickness and physicality would bother him. I was wrong on that. He handled that part very well and was still impactful with 3 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. His defense is coming along. Offensively, he was patient and didn't really force anything. He got 6 good looks, they just didn't fall today. But he didn't let that negatively impact the rest of his game.

This sequence by Brice is killing us. Don’t stop the ball, led to an and 1. Turnover, clear path foul. Come on Brice.

Yep. He’s had good looks. They’re just not going in right now.

Meah was 30+ feet behind Bilodeau running the court. Gonna need a smaller, quicker lineup in this one.

I've heard that, like in football, it would be four full seasons of eligibility plus x amount of games in the 5th season. Maybe 8-10 games in basketball. So it won't be like Ulis and Morgan would have another year of eligibility if this goes through, as was speculated when this news originally broke last fall. It would've been nice to have an answer on this prior to the basketball season so our redshirts could've gotten some experience in the non-con.

I'd argue Jordan Pope, Oregon St's best player last year, is significantly better than any of UCLA's guards offensively. He's playing very well for Texas this year. They also had Rataj on last year's team, who is a really good and versatile frontcourt player. I'm sold on the Bruin's defense. Guess I'm just not sold on them overall. Hopefully they don't change my mind tomorrow.

Washut says UCLA is "loaded" this year. I'm not sure about that. Bilodeau is their best offensive player and they rely on him a lot on that end. We saw him last year in Sioux Falls. Pretty good player, but he didn't move the needle much for that Oregon State team. The interesting thing is all of their rotation players (minus Kyle, he won't be playing) were below average to decent players on pretty bad teams last year. Dailey (OK State), Johnson (USC), Clark (Louisville) and four UCLA returnees. Seems like the key to this Bruin team, rather than being loaded with talent, is they have total buy-in to Cronin's system and culture, which is very important for any Cronin team. They're a top 5 defense right now. They're going to try to keep us out of the lane and encourage us to shoot threes and long twos. Much like our defense. But they'll pressure our ball handlers so limiting turnovers is a must. I think it'll be a close game but I can see a version of this game being a 15 point win for either team, if the winning team happens to get hot and make 12+ threes. Bilodeau leads the team with 17 made threes. Nobody else has made more than 15. They've played 13 games. I'm glad we get them in Lincoln and don't have to go to Pauley Pavilion this year. Home court advantage will be big in this one. 68-62 Huskers.

Gavin's shot is 100% pure, that is for sure. Klay Thompson-esque. He's also 6'7" with fluid athleticism and his teammates love him. That's a guy that's worth being patient with if he's willing to stick with it. I'm guessing his postseason coaches evaluation meeting, where they imply a player should leave or stay, will go very different than Eli's did.

If William wanted to come home next year and take over the Meah role, I'd be fine with that.

Feel free to tell me if I'm wrong, but does Juwan seem a bit off at times this year? Connor got sent to the scorer's table 1:20 into the second half to check in for him because of a missed assignment on defense that led to a layup, missed blockouts and maybe ill-advised shots on offense. His body language has been poor at times. I don't remember that ever happening in the last three years. He had 1 rebound against Oregon State, so I decided to just watch him when shots went up in this game. I didn't see the dog mentality we're used to from him. Before the K-State game last year the coaches told him to channel Dennis Rodman, and he just decided to go out and grab 18 rebounds against a long, athletic frontcourt. Is there an explanation as to why he's not rebounding as well this year (3.8 rpg as opposed to 6.1 and 6.5 in the previous two years)? I don't think it's just because we have better rebounders on this roster. Walker and Mast were better rebounders than anyone we have now (Berke has an argument there). Griesel and Allick also gobbled up a good amount of boards. Offensively, the FG% is down and turnovers are up. Maybe he's trying to do too much. Maybe we're asking him to. Maybe I'm overthinking everything.

I think Connor is a top 10 shooter in the country. Not sure who that other fella is, but I would say the one we didn't get, and instead got Connor, was Brendan Hausen. FWIW, said it at the time and still say it now that I'd take Connor.

The metrics loved that one. NET: 38 (was 46) Torvik: 28 (#8 defense) KenPom: 37 (#9 defense) BPI: 36 (SOR 29) However, I was downright angry watching most of that game. We absolutely need to be more crisp and clean offensively in the Big Ten. Many of our errors and turnovers are unforced and self-inflicted, and it's been that way all year. UCLA's defense will travel to Lincoln and they will be more like Michigan State than any other team we've played this year. But we can win that game if we take care of the ball. We're a defensive team this year, but we're gonna need our offense to protect the ball and not cost us games in conference play. There won't be any more teams as soft as Indiana (even Iowa). Overall, the non-con season couldn't have went much better. I thought we could go 10-1 again this year (but wasn't overly confident that we would), but did not think our metrics would be this good going into January. With the Big Ten currently in 2nd in conference ratings, we are in darn good shape right now.

12 field goals 12 assists

8 field goals 8 assists

This Indiana team is unwatchable. I actually kind of feel bad for their fans.

Great win for the Bruins today. It's going to be a rock fight on 1/4.

Pulling for UCLA today. Last non-con chance for the Big Ten to boost its reputation.

It was said that Berke has graded out as our second best defender according to whatever algorithm our coaches use to grade players defensively.

Wow. Once upon a time this is what the tournament committee used.

It’s interesting. I actually think Rollie would’ve been better for last year’s team and JL better for this year’s team. Last season we had plenty of shooting/scoring, but could’ve used more length, strength and positional rebounding in the backcourt next to Keisei. This year we have plenty of those things, but could use another perimeter shooter/scorer. I’d still prefer to have both, but it is what it is.