throwback

2+ pages and no mention of one of the greatest plays in NU history? .... Thor passing to himself off the side of the backboard for a layup - Michigan never saw it coming.

So is our new motto, just wait til next next year? Sorry, too easy.

Mich 86 NU 68

Basketball God #1 - Hey, fellas, I'm all out of ideas of how to screw with Nebraska basketball. I think it's time to let them go ahead and win. Basketball God #2 - Me too. Torturing them over the years has been fun, but this season has drained me. I just cannot think of a new creative way for them to lose, especially at home to a team as bad as Northwestern. Basketball God in charge of free throws - Hold my beer.

NU 76 Chicago 66

NU 77 OSU 73

Very good article - Allen has had a hard road without question, and some of his demons are a result of that. Some, too, are definitely of his own doing. Like a lot of people with problems like this, it's the downtime that gets them. When they're busy with practice/film/structured activity, it's fine. But how do they fill that downtime? Marijuana and alcohol are not the answer. Hopefully NU's support staff can help here, but he's going to have times where he's on his own. What choices does he make? It seems like he's been doing better with these choices the last few months at WNCC, especially since committing to NU. I was encouraged by the way the meeting with NU was portrayed - sounded like Coach Hoiberg laid out very clearly what he needs to do to take advantage of this chance. They also asked him to show them he could be a better rebounder and passer over the last couple of months of JuCo, which it appears he has done. It sounds like he's excited to get here, which is also encouraging. Hopefully being closer to his support in Omaha/Boys Town will help. He's an amazing talent and competitor. He certainly wants to play in the NBA. And I think what his brother is doing is also fueling & motivating him to take advantage of this opportunity. I don't know if it will work out. He's going to be under tight scrutiny with a very short leash. But I was more encouraged about his chances after reading the article.

Illlllllll 68 NU 65

MSU 88 NU 58

Looks good. Can he reclassify to 2020?

NU 77 Wisky 61 4

MD 88 NU 66

I didn't know you worked at the Foxy Lady. Cool!

Iowa 96 NU 90

This mid-week bye is long overdue - guys have looked worn out, disinterested, or both for good chunks of these last 2 games. Hopefully they can get refreshed after a couple of days off. First half went about as well as it could - PSU played hero ball and took tons of 3s and let us stay in it; played right into what we were trying to make them do. But once they decided to actually go inside in the first part of the 2nd half, we were done. Watkins would be a lottery pick if he played against us 10 times a year. That dude always kills us. Liked how Yvan started the game - very active. Good to see him bounce back after the rough outing vs UM. And Cheatham and Burke both had really good offensive stretches for a few minutes where they kind of took over. Easley had a few really good defensive stretches. That's about all for positives. Not a pretty week, which is really unfortunate after they had been playing pretty well for a few games.

NU 77 PSU 70 **Unless PSU suspends it's entire starting lineup before the game - then I will want to flip my pick around.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Howard at UM, but at least for one night, their game plan was impressive. They did a great job of finding the defensive mismatch late in the shot clock, isolating it, and scoring. And I know their bench was short, so they had to use Johns more than usual, but they consistently found ways to get him isolated against defenders who couldn't handle his athleticism. Good plan. They also really made it tough for us to get clean looks at 3s. And they seemed to make Mack uncomfortable for large chunks of the game. Good defensive game plan against us too. Ultimately, it looked a lot like past UM-NU games have looked when Beilein was there, save for a couple. We were completely out of sorts most of the game, which is what UM has done to us regularly since we joined the B1G. Hopefully it looks different the next time, because last night was pretty bad. Very disappointing because we had been playing so much better lately, but last night was a step back. We didn't seem to be too ready to play, and I'm sure a large chunk of that was Michigan's game plan.

NU 75 UM 74

Yup - love the effort today. Honestly, it's been pretty good effort the last few games - minus a brief stretch vs IU. These guys are finally figuring out what kind of effort it takes in D-1 basketball on both ends of the floor. Another baby step forward. To keep doing it when you're undersized and a 15-point underdog every time you step on the floor is pretty impressive. Night and day from what we were seeing in the first month of the season. Hope we can keep it going in the final 20 minutes.

Drinking before 9 am is fun. So... NU 62 RU 60 13 assists

If you would've told me before the game that Wisky would make 8 3s, I figured we'd be in trouble. When they throw in 18 of them and we're still within 5 with 5 to go on the road, that's pretty good, considering how we have to play defense right now. If the opponent is making 3s, we're just not going to win. We need more Iowa-like performances from the opponent. There's probably more games left where we'll be a double-digit underdog than a single-digit 'dog or - ha - favored, so hopefully we can keep taking baby steps forward, because we're not going to win much. I think last night was a step forward.

N 66 W 63

MASTER PLAN FOR IU ICE COLD 3-POINT SHOOTING Step 1: Create winter storm Step 2: Strand Indiana in Bloomington so no pre-game shoot around Step 3: Turn off the heaters in PBA Step 4: Block open all the doors at PBA Step 5: Leave IU wide open at 3-point line

When we shoot better than 33.3% in the first half from 3, we're 3-0 in Power Conference games. 0-6 when shooting 33.3% or worse. When the opponent shoots better than 33.3% from 3 in the first half, they're 4-0 vs NU. The only game we lost where we outshot the power conference opponent from 3 in the first half was at Indiana, and that was a game we easily could have won, going to OT. This stat is probably primarily coincidence, but I do think our confidence is so fragile, if our 3s aren't falling early, we start to break down on the defensive end, taking chances for steals, or just being lazy on defense because we're hanging our heads, and it all leads to open 3s for other teams. Seems like if we can start well from the outside, our confidence stays high and we can hang in the contest, even though we're undermanned in most games. Start poorly from the outside, and it snowballs. NU WINS - 1st half 3-pt shooting Iowa 2-19 10.5% At NU 7-16 43.8% PU 3-18 16.7% At NU 6-17 35.3% Wazzu 4-15 26.7% NU 4-11 36.4% NU LOSSES - 1st half 3-pt shooting NU 1-9 11.1% At OSU 5-10 50% NU 5-15 33.3% At NW 8-14 57.1% RU 3-7 42.9% At NU 3-15 20% NU 4-13 30.8% At IU 3-13 23.1% NU 2-13 15.4% At Ga Tech 2-10 20% NU 3-14 21.4% Craydon 8-16 50%

N 80 I 72