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NU 65 PSU 63

I was doing the same thing - was really nervous when both Palmer & Cope were sitting there. But Taylor's play bought us a few extra minutes, which was huge. That stretch won the game for us, I felt, because it could've gotten sideways on us in a hurry. And I loved what Jordy brought last night - not scoring, but when IU was getting putback after putback early in the 2nd half, he came in and reset the balance on the glass. Big night for him on the boards. Thought the roof was coming off the building when Glynn had that putback - nice to see him hit a couple of shots elsewhere as well. Hopefully he builds on it. We need him. I know Morgan & Johnson still had relatively good scoring nights - more than half (29) total IU points - but I thought our defense on those two was really good. They had to work hard for their points, and either of those two guys could go for 30 in a game really easily. 3-pt defense was tremendous overall against a team that can really fill it up if you're Iowa have a passive defensive effort. #21 was a lot of fun - #22 Sunday will be even better

NU is locked into the 1:30 pm CT game on either Thursday and/or Friday, so start practicing your "I'm not feeling - cough, cough - well, boss" phone calls now.

Possible Seed Range for B1G Tournament Illinois - clinched play-in round Worst Case: #14 Best Case: #11 Indiana Worst Case: #7 Best Case: #6 Iowa- clinched play-in round Worst Case: #14 Best Case: #11 Maryland #8 seed Michigan Worst Case: #6 Best Case: #4 Mich St - Clinched double-bye Worst Case: #2 Best Case: #1 Minnesota- clinched play-in round Worst Case: #14 Best Case: #11 Nebraska Worst Case: #5 Best Case: #4 Northwestern Worst Case: #10 Best Case: #9 Ohio St - Clinched double-bye Worst Case: #3 Best Case: #1 Penn St Worst Case: #7 Best Case: #5 Purdue - Clinched double-bye Worst Case: #3 Best Case: #2 Rutgers- clinched play-in round Worst Case: #14 Best Case: #11 Wisconsin Worst Case: #10 Best Case: #9 3 Double Bye spots clinched: Mich St Ohio St Purdue Nebraska or Michigan gets the last one All 4 play-in round spots are clinched: Illinois Iowa Minnesota Rutgers

Thought I'd look at our possessions after we go ahead 52-47 with about 13 1/2 minutes to go - obviously it had to be pretty bad as we scored only 14 points in the final 13 1/2 (Number in parentheses is time left on shot clock) (E = empty possession) E – Gill stripped during layup in transition, OFF REB, Palmer miss 15-ft fadeaway (19) E – Palmer miss jab step 3 (17), OFF REB, Gill travel (5) E – Watson miss 15-ft jumper in transition, OFF REB, Palmer miss layup (24) Ill 3-pt play, 52-50, 10:27 to go E – Allen miss 3-pt, inside/out (13), OFF REB, Palmer miss tip try Ill 3-pt shot, wide open, 52-53, 9:54 to go E – Palmer miss NBA 3-pt (4) 2 – Jordy jump hook in lane (5), assist Copeland, NU 54-53 Ill 3-pt shot, wide open, 54-56, 8:07 to go 3 – Jordy layup in lane (8), assist Taylor, made FT, NU 57-56 Ill driving layup, contested, 57-58, 7:15 to go 1 – Taylor fouled on drive (8), 1/2 FTs, tie 58-58 3 – Watson 3-pt (1), assist Palmer, NU 61-58 Ill driving layup, made FT, 61-61 tie, 5:37 to go 1 – Copeland fouled on drive (18), 1/2 FTs, NU 62-61 E – Watson miss driving layup (12) Ill 2 FTs, 62-63, 4:36 to play E – Palmer miss driving layup (14) 1 – Copeland miss 5-ft jumper (4), OFF REB, Roby 1/2 FTs, tie 63-63 Ill layup off OFF REB, 63-65, 2:38 to play 1 – Copeland fouled at rim (20), 1/2 FT, 64-65 Ill fade away 10-ft jumper, 64-67, 1:55 to play E – Palmer turnover, pass hits rim goes out of bounds E – Watson miss 3-pt in transition E – Palmer miss runner in lane in transition, OFF REB, Cope miss layup That was basically it, as we then had to foul. Thoughts: We actually scored on 7 of our the 17 possessions, which isn't great, but not a killer Only 2 turnovers on 17 possessions, again not awful, especially against Illinois Most of the shots weren't that bad, until the final 3 possessions on the list - all 3 of those were awful possessions, almost felt like we were pressing/panicking a bit there Most frustrating is that we had SIX offensive rebounds in the final 13:30 and scored 1 pt off of them - that will kill you And after Jordy's 3-pt play, we went 4/8 on FTs - those 1-pt possessions were costly Perhaps most telling in this stretch, Palmer didn't score till he had the driving layup with 19 seconds left - during this key stretch, he was 0-7 with a turnover with no FT attempts - not typical for him at all, as he's been so good in this part of the game during the win streak The 5 possessions after we took the 52-47 lead - missed 8 straight shots and didn't score off of 4 offensive rebounds. That stretch probably cost us the game. We had a lot of shots in the lane that we've been hitting during this win streak that just popped out. Couple that with the missed FTs, and maybe it just boils down to that it wasn't our night. But we still could've overcome that with more focus early/a better start defensively. Everything's still on the table, need to take care of business this week at home vs 2 hot teams

NU 83 Ind 79

Of course they have a shot - they're favored. We're just poor ol' underdog Nebraska.

Possible Seed Range for B1G Tournament Illinois Worst Case: #14 Best Case: #10 Indiana Worst Case: #8 Best Case: #4 Iowa Worst Case: #14 Best Case: #9 Maryland Worst Case: #12 Best Case: #7 Michigan Worst Case: #7 Best Case: #2 Mich St Worst Case: #5 Best Case: #1 Minnesota Worst Case: #14 Best Case: #10 Nebraska Worst Case: #7 Best Case: #1 Northwestern Worst Case: #11 Best Case: #7 Ohio St Worst Case: #4 Best Case: #1 Penn St Worst Case: #8 Best Case: #3 Purdue Worst Case: #5 Best Case: #1 Rutgers Worst Case: #14 Best Case: #9 Wisconsin Worst Case: #14 Best Case: #7 Only Ohio St has clinched at least a Top 4 finish - no one has clinched a Bottom 4 finish yet In Contention for Double Bye: Indiana Michigan Mich St Nebraska Ohio St (clinched double bye) Penn St Purdue In Contention for No Bye: Illinois Iowa Maryland Minnesota Northwestern Rutgers Wisconsin

NEW PICKS: 1. Michigan State (16 - 2) 2. Purdue (15 - 3) 3. Ohio State (14 - 4) Defeated Nebraska based on head-to-head record. 4. Nebraska (14 - 4) Lost to Ohio State based on head-to-head record. 5. Michigan (11 - 7) 6. Indiana (10 - 8) Defeated Penn State based on head-to-head record. 7. Penn State (10 - 8) Lost to Indiana based on head-to-head record. 8. Maryland (8 - 10) Defeated Northwestern based on record against #11 teams. 9. Northwestern (8 - 10) Lost to Maryland based on record against #11 teams. 10. Wisconsin (6 - 12) 11. Iowa (5 - 13) 12. Rutgers (4 - 14) 13. Minnesota (3 - 15) 14. Illinois (2 - 16) OSU & Purdue looked baaaaaaad last night ANARCHY: 1. Ohio State (14 - 4) Defeated Michigan State, Purdue, and Nebraska based on round-robin record. 2. Michigan State (14 - 4) Defeated Purdue and Nebraska and lost to Ohio State based on round-robin record. 3. Purdue (14 - 4) Defeated Nebraska and lost to Ohio State and Michigan State based on round-robin record. 4. Nebraska (14 - 4) Lost to Ohio State, Michigan State, and Purdue based on round-robin record. 5. Michigan (12 - 6) 6. Penn State (11 - 7) 7. Indiana (9 - 9) Defeated Northwestern based on head-to-head record. 8. Northwestern (9 - 9) Lost to Indiana based on head-to-head record. 9. Maryland (7 - 11) Defeated Wisconsin based on head-to-head record. 10. Wisconsin (7 - 11) Lost to Maryland based on head-to-head record. 11. Iowa (6 - 12) 12. Rutgers (4 - 14) 13. Minnesota (3 - 15) 14. Illinois (2 - 16) We only need 8 games to go our way to have a 4-way tie for the title! Those are good odds, right? NUCLEAR OPTION: 1. Nebraska (14 - 4) 2. Ohio State (13 - 5) Defeated Michigan State and Purdue based on round-robin record. 3. Michigan State (13 - 5) Defeated Purdue and lost to Ohio State based on round-robin record. 4. Purdue (13 - 5) Lost to Ohio State and Michigan State based on round-robin record. 5. Michigan (12 - 6) 6. Penn State (11 - 7) 7. Indiana (9 - 9) Defeated Northwestern based on head-to-head record. 8. Northwestern (9 - 9) Lost to Indiana based on head-to-head record. 9. Maryland (7 - 11) Defeated Wisconsin based on head-to-head record. 10. Wisconsin (7 - 11) Lost to Maryland based on head-to-head record. 11. Iowa (6 - 12) 12. Rutgers (5 - 13) 13. Minnesota (4 - 14) 14. Illinois (3 - 15) Lunardi gives 0 bids to Big Ten

Penn State is good when they're motivated. Big Ten championship race being handed to MSU. Lunardi moves Wisconsin & Penn St into last 4 in.

NU 66 Ill 55

NU was -1.5 tonight at tip, so we've covered 8 straight games and 16 out of the last 17. That is insane. We're the opposite of point-shaving.

He's off his meds. If we get to 23 wins and have an RPI in the 40s, we're in, no question.

20 freakin' wins - in the regular season and before Valentine's Day no less - guessing there's quite a few around here who weren't alive the last time we did that. I'm old, so I was.

So many great plays/performances per usual, but I want to single out a couple things that may get lost in the shuffle. Palmer's offense saved the game, obviously, but his defense on Huerter was tremendous - he really competed on that end and shut down one of the league's best offensive players. Along those same lines, I know Watson didn't have a great offensive game, but his defense on Cowan also was tremendous. Cowan has been so good of late, but Glynn kept him in check ... and came up with the huge blocked shot when it was a 1 pt game with 1 minute to go. Big win to collect when we definitely didn't play our best - let's get 3 more + several in the postseason!

Early line I see is NU -1.5 to -2.5

Just noticed Copeland is closing in on 1000 points for his career - he stands at 978 between G'Town & NU. He sits at 350 pts for this season. Palmer has 732 between Miami & NU. if When he stays for his senior season, he'll surely pass 1000 for his career & have a shot to score 1000 at Nebraska alone, as he's at 474 for this season.

As in 1,000 point scorers in NU history. I believe he's at 993 career points, so he's poised to become the 29th member of NU's 1000 point scoring club, hopefully Tuesday. We're getting kind of spoiled here with this lately - Petteway, Shields & Webster all have joined the 1000-point club in the last few years. And by doing it in 3 years, he joins Hoppen, PIke, Fort, A.Smith, Maric, Shields, Boone, Strickland, Lue, Baack, Lantz, Jura, Petteway, Stewart, Hayes, & Turner. Pretty impressive list. (Hopefully didn't miss anyone.) An awesome accomplishment for him upcoming!

Considering how Minny's guards gave us fits last week, Cowen is going to be a handful - he is having a great season. Will be interesting to see if we start big against him with Gill/Taylor or small with Glynn/Allen - I'm guessing eventually they'll all get a chance. And Fernando is such a hot/cold player, hopefully we can find a way to keep him on the cold side. It'll help if we can keep him from getting a couple of blocks early, as those seem to get him revved up. Huerter is going to get his, just try to keep the other 2 in check somewhat, and we'll be fine.

Ha - I think you and I have it covered. I'll take Indiana & PSU and you can have Michigan. Now watch Rutgers beat them in Columbus.

I think either Indiana or Penn St beat OSU - I picked Indiana, as I think OSU will be looking for revenge vs PSU. Plus OSU has to go to Michigan. Not going to be an easy finish for the Bucknuts with 3 of the last 4 on the road against mid-pack teams. But if PSU beats OSU again, look out. The Nitts will be set up for a big finish ... too bad we'll have to break their hearts on No Sit Sunday II.

Just 2 weeks left till MSG & NYC. Using the cool B1G bracket generator (http://bball.notnothing.net/big10.php?sport=mbb) here's what I came up with, based on results so far and predicting the final 2 weeks of games. Be curious to see what everyone else comes up with. 1. Ohio State (16 - 2) Defeated Michigan State and Purdue based on round-robin record. 2. Michigan State (16 - 2) Defeated Purdue and lost to Ohio State based on round-robin record. 3. Purdue (16 - 2) Lost to Ohio State and Michigan State based on round-robin record. 4. Nebraska (14 - 4) 5. Michigan (10 - 8) Defeated Indiana based on head-to-head record. 6. Indiana (10 - 8) Lost to Michigan based on head-to-head record. 7. Penn State (9 - 9) 8. Maryland (8 - 10) Defeated Northwestern based on record against #11 teams. 9. Northwestern (8 - 10) Lost to Maryland based on record against #11 teams. 10. Wisconsin (5 - 13) 11. Minnesota (4 - 14) Defeated Rutgers and Iowa based on round-robin record. 12. Rutgers (4 - 14) Defeated Iowa and lost to Minnesota based on round-robin record. 13. Iowa (4 - 14) Lost to Minnesota and Rutgers based on round-robin record. 14. Illinois (2 - 16) As we already know, it's going to be really tough for NU not to be on the #4 line.

I'm with you - PSU is really talented and plays well when they're dialed in - Watkins and Carr are great players. They are really good - that's our toughest remaining game in my eyes. Fortunately, PBA will be ready for No Sit Sunday II by then. But they had some awful losses over the first half of the season, so they have to win out in the regular season I'd imagine, just to get to bubble talk. By the way, BTN has its Big Ten & Beyond show on after the PSU-Ill game and they just teased it, saying they were going to talk a ton about NU. PSU just about has put this game away, so that show should start in 5 minutes.

And KU is closer to a #1 seed than a #3, since they're 6th overall. Seems odd the way they've been playing. Realtime RPI rankings vs Top 16 seeds 1 Virginia (RPI 1) 2 Villanova (RPI 3) 3 Xavier (RPI 2) 4 Purdue (RPI 11) 5 Auburn (RPI 8) 6 Kansas (RPI 7) 7 Duke (RPI 9) 8 Cincy (RPI 10) 9 Clemson (RPI 4) 10 Tex Tech (RPI 12) 11 Mich St (RPI 14) 12 N Carolina (RPI 6) 13 Tennessee (RPI 13) 14 Ohio St (RPI 16) 15 Arizona (RPI 18) 16 Oklahoma (RPI 21) Not in Top 16 Rh Island RPI 5 Nevada RPI 15 Texas A&M RPI 17 Wich St RPI 19 Kentucky RPI 20 All 3 B1G teams received seeds above their RPI slot line, which is good news for NU. We're at 54 RPI today. But this probably means NCAA will treat it 3-6 spots better, based on the top of the league.