throwback

Hearing from sources that he's a perfect fit for Creighton's system.

I'd agree - when he was at K-State, I always thought he was going to end his career a'la Woody Hayes at some point. Seemed completely unhinged. He definitely seems to have mellowed a bit at S Carolina. It's been interesting to hear him speak after a few of these NCAA games. It hasn't been the tone or subject matter of what I would expect having watched him up close at KSU. He did have an incident a couple of years in at S Carolina where he was suspended a few games. Maybe that gave him a bit of a different perspective. Either way, what he has done at that school is really amazing. For me, it's also a lot easier to respect him/listen to what he has to say when NU isn't playing his teams twice per year. How pissed are KSU fans going to be if two coaches they've essentially run off end up playing for it all Monday? Plus KSU-ers have to hate Roy Williams. They just may not tune in at all Saturday or Monday.

We have quite a few other schools listed as topics, so I thought I'd follow suit. These two making the Final Four shows that it can be done at places without tradition, so I think they have some relevance to NU. Both schools had the right AD hiring the right coach and giving him the time to make it work. Looks like 5-6 years at both places to really get it rolling. The other thing that seems to be the same for both programs is hiring a coach who had long-term success previously at programs with big fan expectations. Dana obviously turned cu from a dumpster fire into a program that was appealing to the Big East, had 11 straight 20-win seasons. And Oregon didn't let one subpar year at cu scare them off. Plus, his work was better than he's given credit for at K-State. Martin did a lot of great things at K-State. It's not easy to hire guys like that away from their current jobs, but both Oregon and S Carolina did it, so that's where having a great AD with some foresight enters the picture. Kind of interesting that both of them are on their 2nd Power Conference school. And neither Altman or Martin has Final Four experience at a previous school. Martin had one Sweet 16 appearance at K-State, Altman had never had one till getting to Oregon. So neither coach had slam-dunk credentials, but their new ADs saw something. Just lots of similarities, although Dana doesn't quite match Martin's crazy eyes. (Not sure who can for that matter.) This isn't meant to say anything one way or the other about NU & Coach Miles, I still like to think he can get it done here. Obviously a huge year coming up for him and the program. Certainly, South Carolina/Martin & Oregon/Altman both showed more progress by years 4 & 5 than NU has under Coach Miles. Hopefully 2017-18 is the year where things turn the corner. But I just thought it was interesting to see two schools with very little basketball tradition both make the Final Four in the same season, following a somewhat similar hiring process to find the right coach. Hopefully we have the right guy in house now, but if not, hopefully we have the right AD with the right foresight in place. I guess it's just encouraging to see some new blood get to the Final Four. There's always hope.

Yes, this is very good news

Well deserved!

Good for the B1G, always feels good to take out the best Big East team. Not been a great tourney for the Big East so far - B1G redeeming itself after a shaky Thursday.

Looks like he spent time as a ju co coach in Kansas and Florida and was on K-State's staff with Martin for a while and followed him to South Carolina for a year before taking SF Austin job. Was an assistant at Western Illinois for about 10 years early in his career, so maybe some Big Ten area recruiting ties from then. (He and Molinari were not there at the same time.)

Ugh. Wisky's backups are playing terrible, especially on D. That 4th foul on Koenig really changed the game. It was a dumb play by a senior though.

Wow - he's only been in Stillwater one year, right? I mean most people want to escape from there as quickly as possible, but still, pretty slimy. OSU must not have had much of a buyout in his contract.

Yeah, I think on The Journey segment for Watson, before we were going to NW, I thought I noticed us using UA balls in the clips of practice.

Ha - you may be right. But I'd say a 6 or 7 would've been appropriate for the Gophers. cu was more like a 9 or 10 if you just look at them after the injury. And that might be generous. 7-8 in their last 15 games before today. Minny also had a really tough match-up. MTSU can play, and would've given any of the 5s problems yesterday.

And cu probably the most over-seeded. Different team after the injury/arrest, definitely not a #6.

What a satisfying late afternoon of basketball.

Have to practice it to play it well. But I agree with you. Love zone as a change up, when done right it can really change the tone of a game.

USC makes it 7-for-7 years that a First Four winner also wins at least a first round game - trailed by double digits in both games I believe.

Holy crap - did anyone else just see what the SMU kid (#33) did on that put back? That was unreal. 17:45 mark of 2nd half vs USC Best play of the tourney so far - wow - nearly hit his head on the rim, literally

Anyone else find it weird that in the Pizza Hut / Grant Hill ordering pizza with his shoes commercial that the young gentleman delivering the pie is wearing a "proud CU grad" badge on his shirt? I mean, geez, you'd think Pizza Hut wouldn't want to just feature one school on its commercial. Weird. (It's tough to see clearly, but trust me. That's what it says. I believe you have to have been watching hoops for seven-plus hours straight and have seen the commercial 10 or more times to read it clearly. And if you stop blinking around the six-hour mark, it helps.)

Hopefully he automatically moves schools that fire their coaches to the bottom of his list.

SD St hit a jumper with 2 seconds left to take the lead. S Dakota played with fire throughout tournament, winning in OT Saturday vs #8 seed, but it caught up with them tonight. Looks like it'll be SD St (Daum) vs UNO (Hollins/Thurman/Hahn) in the finals tomorrow - lots of Nebraska kids in that game. Mavs blowing out IUPUI in other semi. Additionally, there's a few other Nebraska kids on those rosters who don't play much.

NU 63 PSU 60 4

If there is a coaching change, the only candidates Eichorst will consider are those who fit and coach by the Energy Bus principles. 1. You’re the Driver of the Bus. 2. Desire, Vision and Focus move your bus in the right direction. 3. Fuel your Ride with Positive Energy. 4. Invite People on Your Bus and Share your Vision for the Road Ahead. 5. Don’t Waste Your Energy on those who don’t get on your Bus. 6. Post a Sign that says “No Energy Vampires Allowed” on your Bus. 7. Enthusiasm attracts more Passengers and Energizes them during the Ride. 8. Love your Passengers. 9. Drive with Purpose. 10.Have Fun and Enjoy the Ride. Any coach that doesn't have a positive style that fits these principles will not be considered. Guys who are yellers or behave in a negative way toward players/officials/fans, etc, -- i.e., energy vampires -- will not be considered. Now that said, Calipari is one of the biggest Energy Bus proponents/spokespeople, so jayschool may have been on to something earlier....

NU 77 Mich 73 5

This doesn't excuse NU's woes/performance, but Minnesota is really good. Right now, I think they're the best team in the league when they're motivated to play. Skilled, athletic big men with a lightning quick point guard. Not sure they shoot the 3 well enough to make a deep NCAA run, but they're really good vs rest of Big Ten. And when Lynch stays out of foul trouble as he has been doing better of late, they get that much better. How the hell did that kid end up at Illinois State originally? When he and Murphy are going, there aren't too many teams that will guard both of them successfully and/or keep them both off the offensive glass. That was as good of a performance by an opponent against NU this season since maybe the 1st half in Lawrence. With Wisconsin's wheels falling off & with how heated that rivalry is, should be very interesting in Madison Sunday. If Minnesota gets a chance to run it up, I'm guessing they will. Seems to be some real chemistry problems in Wisconsin right now with a senior laden team. OK, sorry for the break from regularly scheduled programming. Back to NU's problems....

Huskers 77 Gophers 76

NU 65 Illini 63