throwback

I would think they'll try to reschedule as many as possible & be creative, if needed. For example, Purdue is in Lincoln Feb 20 and has a full week off after that - maybe NU & PU play again Feb 21 or Feb 22 in Lincoln. (NU plays Illinois Feb 24.) Maryland has no games between Jan 23 and Jan 30, and NU has no games Jan 24 thru Jan 30, so somewhere in there would be the most likely makeup date. Illinois and Nebraska both have gaps in their schedules the final week of the season (between Feb 28 and Mar 6), so that'd be an ideal time for a makeup. If we end up missing the Minny game, that one might be a little tougher, but we go to Minneapolis Feb 8, so maybe we play them twice on that trip (Feb 6 or 7). Will be tricky to make up the games, but certainly not impossible, as long as they employ a bit of creativity.

MD 87 NU 68

Ill 90 NU 74

Right - I should've said it was a highly, highly, highly educated assumption.

Sounds like Walker is eligible just in time.

World Herald says today that NU practiced Thursday after taking Tue/Wed off. Sounds like we may have had a bit of an issue, but they now believe we can play Sunday. Of course, as always, it's all day to day. EDIT: Should add all of this was attributed to the infamous "source within the program". Additionally, the article made sure to mention that if any player tests positive, he has to sit out 17 days now, unlike the 21 Andre had to sit out previously. So that extra mention could mean someone in the program tested positive, so the "source" wanted to make sure the new rule regarding sit out time is in the minds of readers. As mentioned earlier, with HIPAA laws, I don't think NU will announce any cases; it would have to come from the player. With Andre, NU never said it was covid; everyone else just assumed it was. So if one or more players are positive, I doubt NU would say ahead of Sunday, "Players A & B will miss the game." We'd find out from Kent when he asks Coach on the pregame show about the starters, I'd imagine, or when players aren't at the game.

In lieu of the game being played, I ran a simulation last night - It came out: NU 75 PU 71 I'd be in favor of using this sim for the contest this week. LMK

NU 80 IU 76

Back to the game... I know we had a bad stretch late 1st half/early 2nd half, but I thought we lost the game in the first 10 minutes by not countering MSU's transition/secondary break. They had to have gotten 6-8 great looks off transition in those first 10 minutes, probably scored on all but one of them. That's an MSU staple, and it was disappointing we weren't ready for it, although I'm sure trying to simulate it in practice and trying to defend it in the early part of a game are two different animals, so it took a bit to get used to it. I'm always amazed at how hard Izzo gets his team to play. That's not easy with as many highly rated recruits as they always get. (Although that slapping the floor on defense trick felt a little jr high-ish.) Having said that, I'm not sure how good MSU is. If Henry isn't going, I think they could look like a Wednesday player in the B1G tourney. Unfortunately, he was going last night. We tried almost everyone on him it felt like, but it just didn't matter. I hope we found something last night with McGowens more at the point, moving Banton off the ball more, and playing Webster more. Not sure if that led to more shots going in or if it was just the law of averages that we hit some shots, but hopefully it was the former. If we're going to make this change permanently, can we cut down on the turnovers, though? Here's hoping Walker gives the team a big lift in confidence and emotionally Tuesday. Hope he's ready to face the 7 or 8 7-footers PU seems to collect on its roster every year. Going to be weird not seeing hair flip boy on the Boilers side, though. Have to find someone new to root against. I'm guessing it won't be that hard.

NU 75 PU 71

Hoping Illinois-Purdue doesn't go into OT It sure was nice of Illinois to brick multiple 3s in the first 5 minutes to give Purdue a good scout for the Boilers game Tuesday with NU.

Wisconsin - Penn St game tomorrow postponed Now you'll have to find something else to do with your Sunday late morning.

6) We swatted not one, but two, alley-oops away.

MSU 76 NU 63

Our 3 pt shooters hesitated to shoot. When they did shoot they missed. Our drivers didn't finish well at the rim. We fell apart defensively. We're a running team that doesn't seem to want to push pace. We were in horrible foul trouble. We were minus-10 on the boards. We turned it over a lot. Other than that, it was a good performance. I feel sorry for anyone who had to / chose to watch that entire game, myself included.

Will the NCAA use the proceeds to finally prosecute cray-don, kansas, et al? If so, sign me up for 100K in masks.

bucknuts 72 NU 62 7

Well said - you have to give him a chance to show that he's a willing passer, but when your top 3-pt shooters go 1-for-14, with quite a few really good looks in those 13 misses, your better scoring option is him on a drive. He's played a lot of basketball in a lot of places, and he knows forcing it up in traffic is not the best shot. But until we can force a defense to respect our 3 pt shooters, there aren't going to be many other options. To be fair, he's also learning on the fly, like Lat. With his previous D-1 experience, his learning curve should be shorter than a typical juco, but he hasn't played competitive D-1 basketball in 2 seasons. You have to give him some time. I see a player who just wants to win above all else. Yes, he has some issues with shot selection and emotion on the court. But when you have that high level drive to win, that's a great place to start. The rest can be worked on. Bottom line - If/when we have some additional/better scoring options, then it's fair to critique Teddy's shot selection, etc. Right now, our other scoring options are almost non-existent. I believe when/if we see a couple of guys get it going from 3, Teddy's perceived decision making and his overall game will be seen with a far different eye.

NU 76 Fighting Harbaughs 68

Welp, when Thor/Lat/Webster/Lakes go 1-14 from 3, we're done. Throw in minus-6 at the FT line -- by our own doing -- and we really wasted a beautiful defensive effort. Only 9 turnovers, which is nice after our recent struggles there, but steals are not really Wiscy's game. Took Reuvers out of the game mostly, nice job there. Teddy DQ-ing against this batch of floppers was the surest bet on the planet.

Surprised Davison didn't flop backward after delivering the nut punch; if it was Big Ten refs, he'd have gotten the call. Can't wait till he's done playing in the B1G so I don't have to watch any more of his cheap shots and flopping, and the sooner the better. We're 17.5 pt dogs tomorrow, by the way. Yay.

I don't know if the ACC is ready to concede yet, but I'm calling it B1G wins, 7-5 Dec. 19 Wisconsin 85, Louisville 48 Dec. 9 Clemson 67, Maryland 51 Ga Tech 75, NU 64 Florida St 69, Indiana 67 (ot) Pitt 71, Northwestern 70 Dec. 8 Miami 58, Purdue 54 Illinois 83, Duke 68 Iowa 93, North Carolina 80 Minnesota 85, Boston College 80 (ot) Ohio St 90, Notre Dame 85 Penn St 75, Virginia Tech 55 Rutgers 79, Syracuse 69 Postponed games Michigan St at Virginia NC State at Michigan

That limited crowd is going to need to participate in a heroic intake of alcohol in the end zone with their backs to the floor to compensate for the typical crowd.

Just our luck. We always seem to get an opponent that's pissed off and motivated coming off a loss.

NU 97 D 51