Hi all, sorry I'm late. Got stuck at the DMV picking up my new license plates. But I'm here now and ready to talk Nebrasketball.
Only one game for the Huskers this week, which is probably good. They could use some rest after last week. NU is at Michigan Saturday for a 1 p.m. tip.
@NickC20: I think 19 gets NU in for sure, and 18 puts them on the bubble. Obviously comes down to how the selection committee sees things, but I think it would be hard to leave out a 19-win team with NU's resume.
@NickC20: I think so, but it won't be easy. The Big Ten is so even this year. I see Nebraska being in a ton of close games. Comes down to how many of those they can win. Other than Purdue, which is just a bad matchup for Nebraska, I don't think there's a team left on the schedule the Huskers can't beat.
I think these next two games, at Michigan and home against Ohio State, are really key. Michigan's lost a couple of games at home, and they're a little lost defensively right now. That's a road win that would look good down the stretch. And Ohio State is 0-3 right now in the conference and plays Wisconsin and Michigan State this week. They're staring at 0-5 in the league when they come to Lincoln. That's a game NU needs to win.
After those two, Nebraska plays at Rutgers Jan. 21. and at Northwestern Jan. 26. If NU can have another 3-1 stretch, that puts them at 6-2 in the league with Purdue and Michigan State in back-to-back games at PBA.
The second half of the league schedule is shaping up to be a bear: Home for Purdue and Michigan State, at Iowa, home against Wisconsin and Penn State, at Ohio State, at Michigan State, home against Illinois, at Minnesota and home against Michigan.
And like I said, NU can beat any of those teams. The problem is, any of those teams can beat NU. Going to be an interesting couple of months.
Y'all are pretty quiet today! Are we happy with where things are sitting right now?
I mean, obviously we are. I don't think anyone saw 3-1 to start conference play coming.
Not sure what happened to Chris.
@Trashman: No, I wasn't surprised by the Northwestern game either. That's a really good team. It was going to be tough for Nebraska before the Wildcats hit 11 threes. I really have no clue how the rest of the season will go. My expectations have been raised by this start, but you're right. With such an even league it's almost impossible to predict what will happen.
@Trashman: And I think Groce's seat is a little warm. He got a pass last season because his team was so ravaged with injuries, but that's not the case this year. Thing is, they have a big-time recruiting class coming in next year, so I would be he gets more time.
@KenyaHunter: I think him getting here and getting surgery done right away will be huge. Gives him plenty of time to heal and get ready for offseason workouts. I don't think there's any doubt he makes an impact. It wasn't like he was some dude just sitting on the end of a bench. This was a guy who was a starter, and a pretty solid player, as a sophomore before his injury this year. He'll certainly help.
@NickC20: I thought it was weird. Crowd was very flat, which is strange considering their team was the hottest one in the league coming in.
Guys, I apologize. I must have clicked on the wrong button here and hid all your comments. Trying to catch up now.
@Jeff: I think we'll see both. Roby, Horne and Jordy will no doubt pick up some of those minutes, but it becomes a matter of how Miles will want to match up with other teams on a game-to-game basis.
@JC79: Yep, they shut him down. I thought Northwestern's defensive game plan was really good, as far as taking away driving lanes for Watson and Webster. Tai still got to 17 points, but needed 14 shots to do it. That's when you need to find other guys to hit some shots and loosen things up.
@Bruce: It's a herniated disc in his back. Suffered the injury before the season and played in 7 games before shutting it down. Sounds like it's a six-week recovery, which, if he has surgery this week, puts him at the end of February for being recovered.
@NickC20: Brutal news for the Huskers. Ed's a man in the paint. I don't know if "in trouble" is the right phrase, but it's going to take a heck of a coaching job by Miles and his staff to work around Morrow's absence.
@Redrealist: I think at first I might have said NU over-achieved, but the more I watch them the more I think this is a pretty solid team. It's amazing what one or two wins will do for your confidence, and this team is very confident right now. Northwestern is really good. They're going to the tournament this year, and I bet they finish in the top 5 in the league.
@scott: It will probably depend on matchups, but we have media availability with Miles tomorrow, so we may find out then. Could be a number of guys, but I would say Jack McVeigh, Jordy Tshimanga and Isaiah Roby are the best bets right now.
@MK: I think Jack starts getting more minutes, now, especially with the Morrow news. He was ok against Northwestern, which is still better than where he had been. I think he and Horne might go back and forth with playing time the rest of the year.
@scott: I would have to think he gets his medical hardship approved, but you just never know with the NCAA. I'm thinking Nebraska probably expects it to go through so they can have him for two full seasons. And you're right: on paper, that roster is shaping up to be a pretty darn good one.
@JC79: The foul trouble really hurt Nebraska on the defensive end. I think it got them out of their rotations, which led to a lot of the open looks Northwestern got from three-point range.
@Jeff: 6-9 guy that can step out and hit a jumper. He's shot some threes in his career, but not at a high percentage (around 28 percent for his career, I believe). You would hope Watson can step more into that shot creator role next season, and maybe James Palmer is a guy that can do that as well.
@Huskers50: I hope the fans take it seriously. I saw people (not many, but some) heading for the exits before the end of the Iowa game, for Pete's sake. NU needs its crowds to be good. They have a chance to make a run this season. It doesn't need to be No Sit Sunday every week, but the crowd has to be more involved. Getting the students back from break will also help.