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As Coach Miles put it, we're in the big boy side of the bracket now - it's almost like being promoted to the grown-ups table at Thanksgiving dinner. Dayton can sit at the card table on the folding chair. And no ESPN3 games now! Thursday 11/24 Texas A&M 95, CS-Northridge 73 Virginia Tech 92, New Mexico 72 Nebraska 80, Dayton 78 UCLA 99, Portland 77 Friday 11/25 2 pm – CS-Northridge vs New Mexico – ESPNU 4:30 pm – Virginia Tech vs Texas A&M – ESPN2 8:30 pm – Dayton vs Portland – ESPN3 11 pm – Nebraska vs UCLA – ESPN2 Sunday 11/27 1 pm – 5th place game – ESPNU *3:30 pm – 3rd place game – ESPNU *7:30 pm – Championship game – ESPN 10 pm – 7th place game – ESPNU *potential Nebraska game times

UCLA 89 NU 78

In case you prefer hoops to NFL on your Turkey Day: Wooden Legacy Tournament Schedule Thursday 11/24 1 pm - Texas A&M vs CS-Northridge – ESPN3 3:30 pm – New Mexico vs Virginia Tech – ESPN *7:30 pm – Nebraska vs Dayton – ESPNU 10 pm – Portland vs UCLA – ESPN2 Friday 11/25 2 pm – Early games (1/3:30 pm) losers – ESPNU 4:30 pm – Early games (1/3:30 pm) winners – ESPN2 *8:30 pm – Late games (7:30/10 pm) losers – ESPN3 *11 pm – Late games (7:30/10 pm) winners – ESPN2 Sunday 11/27 *1 pm – 5th place game – ESPNU *3:30 pm – 3rd place game – ESPNU *7:30 pm – Championship game – ESPN *10 pm – 7th place game – ESPNU *potential Nebraska game times

Good point - it seemed like he spent almost as much time getting chewed out for his defense last season as he did playing. Big turnaround this season.

Dayton 67 NU 63

Results Monday 11/14 Villanova 79, at Purdue 76 Tuesday 11/15 Maryland 76, at G'town 75 at Creighton 79, Wisconsin 67 Wednesday 11/16 at Butler 70, Northwestern 68 (BE leads 3-1) Schedule Thursday 11/17 Providence at Ohio St, 6 pm - BTN Rutgers at DePaul, 7:30 - FS1 Seton Hall at Iowa, 8 pm - BTN Friday 11/18 St John's at Minnesota, 8 pm - BTN

NU 68 La La T 66

Results Monday 11/14 Villanova 79, at Purdue 76 Tuesday 11/15 Maryland 76, at G'town 75 at Creighton 79, Wisconsin 67 (BE leads 2-1) Schedule Wednesday 11/16 Northwestern at Butler, 6 pm - FS1 Thursday 11/17 Providence at Ohio St, 6 pm - BTN Rutgers at DePaul, 7:30 - FS1 Seton Hall at Iowa, 8 pm - BTN Friday 11/18 St John's at Minnesota, 8 pm - BTN

Results Monday 11/14 Villanova 79, at Purdue 76 (BE leads 1-0) Schedule Tuesday 11/15 Maryland at G'town, 5:30 pm - FS1 Wisconsin at Creighton, 8 pm - FS1 Wednesday 11/16 Northwestern at Butler, 6 pm - FS1 Thursday 11/17 Providence at Ohio St, 6 pm - BTN Rutgers at DePaul, 7:30 - FS1 Seton Hall at Iowa, 8 pm - BTN Friday 11/18 St John's at Minnesota, 8 pm - BTN

I know this "challenge" doesn't mean much without NU playing, but Purdue-Nova has been great so far tonight - Boilers just hit a 3 from half court to tie it at the break. 2016 SCHEDULE Monday 11/14 Villanova at Purdue, 6 pm - BTN Tuesday 11/15 Maryland at G'town, 5:30 pm - FS1 Wisconsin at Creighton, 8 pm - FS1 Wednesday 11/16 Northwestern at Butler, 6 pm - FS1 Thursday 11/17 Providence at Ohio St, 6 pm - BTN Rutgers at DePaul, 7:30 - FS1 Seton Hall at Iowa, 8 pm - BTN Friday 11/18 St John's at Minnesota, 8 pm - BTN NU History (0-1) 2015 -- at Villanova 87, Nebraska 63 Recent History (series tied 0-0-1) 2015 -- (tie) B1G 4, BE 4 Go Big Ten!!! ... especially Tuesday.

NU 83 Mary 47

Watching the replay (and happy that BTN decided not to pre-empt the 4 am replay for a replay of a devastating NU football loss) ... Watson's step-back floater in the lane where he lost the handle vs a double team, regained control, drew contact, and hit the shot in the first half was something else. The finish where Tai hit the shot high off the glass late first half when he got hammered by #44 and flew about 5 feet was also something else. (No foul called of course.) PIck and roll by Watson & Morrow early 2nd half was a great play, Morrow finished with the dunk. Jump shooting overall was pretty good. We really seemed to make an effort to get to the rim and not settle for jumpers, but when we did have chances to hit jumpers, we looked good. Webster/Watson/Morrow all looked very comfortable shooting from the perimeter much more so than last year, guys really worked over the summer there. And McVeigh was smooth from 3. Jacobson's interior passing was really nice to see - he and Morrow will make that combo work nicely this season. Taylor had several entry passes, he really wants to get the ball inside, kind of stood out as it seems like that entry pass is a lost art anymore. Geez, Watson was everywhere and did everything. I knew he played well watching it live (thank you Capt Obvious), but wow. What a season debut. Great ball handling, passing, shooting, driving. The back cut he had mid 2nd half and scored off the pass from Morrow was pretty. That kid put in work this summer and then some. I know Roby didn't do a lot stat wise, but that play mid 2nd half where he grabbed defensive board, dribbled to start break, pulled it back out when break wasn't there, but kept his dribble alive on the wing and then exploded toward the basket when the D relaxed made me smile. He ended up getting fouled and made both FTs. Smart play by him.

When Tai missed that early layup, I was thinking, uh-oh, he's going to let that get in his head as he has in the past and struggle all night. But he bounced back nicely, had a very strong game. Good to see him not punishing himself as much. McVeigh was really good - led team in rebounding, 3 pt shot was very smooth, played much improved defense vs last year, took the charge in the 2nd half Newcomers - whew. Those guys were tight. It'll get better. I liked the quote from MIles afterward that those bench guys had 40 at ISU but only 9 last night. So they'll get there. Somehow we just have to convince them that the arena is empty like it was in Ames.

Sigh. At this point, I just hope BTN doesn't decide to pre-empt Sunday night's season-opening hoops broadcast for a replay of the 1984 Purdue-Illinois football game.

Cruel trick by BTN today - I set the DVR to record Chadron game replay that was supposed to be broadcast this afternoon, and tried to watch it tonight. Instead, they substituted a replay of NU-OSU football in that time slot. Bastards. Didn't need to see any portion of that game again. Looks like they've rescheduled the NU-Chadron replay for Friday at 1 a.m. If they end up replaying NU-Wisconsin football from 2014 in that time slot instead, I may be smashing my DVR.

NU 91 Sac St 62 9 wins

I've heard/read 3 open ships reported incorrectly a few different times the past couple of weeks, not sure where that number got started in the media, but it has been circulating. They just need this page: http://huskerhoopscentral.com/scholarships

Coach Miles must've turned in a couple of book reports late.

I'm guessing the coaches changed the PIN for the lock on the Hendricks Center after he left ... and he won't be getting a copy of the new number.

I'd like to think Benny broke into the equipment room and stole back #3 sometime in the past month.

Good to have this young man on board! Considering how late all of this with White occurred, seems like a pretty good pick up at a guard spot where we need some depth. Some notable games from his frosh year at Samford (2014-15) --2 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 1 tnovr, and 4 steals in a loss to Purdue (21 min) (season opener) --0 pts, 3 reb, 1 ast, 3 tnovr, and 1 steal in a loss to Pitt (27 min) --8 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast, 2 tnovr, and 1 steal in a loss to Wake F (18 min) --13 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast, 0 tnovr, and 1 steal in a loss to UNCG in final game of season (conf tourney) (32 min) From his Samford bio page: Pass-first point guard with excellent size and length . . . boasts good command of the ball, excellent passing ability and court vision . . . his size allows him to see and deliver the ball over smaller defenders . . . he pushes, advances and moves the ball with good pace, which should make him a valuable cog in Samford’s energetic up-tempo offense . . . versatile . . . could play as many as four different positions . . . great on-ball defender . . . takes pride in shutting people down. High School: Chose to attend Samford over interest from West Virginia, South Carolina, Wake Forest and George Washington among a number of additional suitors . . . attended Paul VI High School where he finished his senior season as the top-rated point guard in Virginia and as the seventh-best player in the state according to ESPN . . . three-star rated player by VerbalCommits.com . . . led Paul VI HS to its second WCAC title in three years by leading the Panthers to a demonstrative 56-37 victory over DeMatha High School in the championship game . . . the lone senior on his prep squad, he scored 12 points and served as the team’s spark during their key second-quarter run . . . his leadership qualities quickly helped him emerge as a starter at Paul VI, which was highly-regarded as one of the best teams in the nation boasting a stellar 31-6 overall record . . . finished his senior season averaging 8.5 points per game, while the Panthers won the WCAC championship, the VISAA D1 State championship, and the ACIT championship and was nationally ranked at the end of the year. Personal: Born April 11, 1996 . . . parents are Kyle Taylor and Linda Jones . . . father played basketball at Xavier University . . . undeclared major. http://www.samfordsports.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=4435 Game by game at Samford also at that link: Looks like he played more and more as the season progressed; had 4 30+ minute games in Samford's final 9 games with none prior to that Had 6 double-figure scoring games in final 14 at Samford

That's a fun stretch of games. Downside is we have no room in there to squeeze in Truman State. That's unfortunate. High quality opponent like that would've bumped our RPI quite a bit and would've looked great on an NCAA resume.

I guess 2 years ago now qualifies as a classic. Just a heads-up on broadcasts: BTN will show 2014 Wisconsin at NU: *Thur 6/23 at 8 am *Fri 6/24 at 3:30 am And 2014 NU at Michigan St *Sat 6/25 at 7 am I hope we win (again).

Maybe some in the pre-WWII era? Some of those guys played 3 sports I'm sure. Can't really think of an NU baseball player in the last few decades who would've been able to contribute in hoops, but Strickland could've gone from basketball to baseball at the D-1 level successfully.

Great news! Great to have all the key performers back for the 2016-17 NU/Coach Miles sideshow!