Pre-Game: Nebraska vs. BYU
December 23, 2009 by Bret Nellor, under Husker Basketball Pre-game, News.
BYU Cougars 11-1 vs.
Nebraska Cornhuskers 9-2
December 23 – 9:30 p.m. tipoff
TV: none
The championship of the Las Vegas Classic will feature Nebraska and BYU. The Huskers held on for a close win over Tulsa in the first round of the tournament while BYU came from behind to edge Nevada 110-104. NU carries a 4-game win streak into the game and BYU has a 6-game win streak.
BYU, like Tulsa, is sitting just outside the Top 25 with their strong start to the season. Coach Dave Rose has seen his team score over 100 points twice this season. They are an experienced Mountain West Conference squad with 4 returning starters from a team that earned a bid to the NCAA tournament last season. Their most notable win this season was against Arizona State and their lone loss was at the hands of Utah State.
BYU leading scorers
Jimmer Fredette 17.9 ppg
Jackson Emery 11.5 ppg
Tyler Haws 10.8 ppg
NU leading scorers
Ryan Anderson 11.0 ppg
Lance Jeter 9.1 ppg
Brian Diaz 8.6 ppg
This game will be a battle of contrasting styles. BYU likes to push the tempo while Nebraska wants to control the tempo. Doc Sadler will again try to dictate the pace of the game and keep the score down. The Huskers will have a good chance to earn the win if they keep the score in the lower 70’s or lower. NU doesn’t have enough offensive firepower to hang with BYU if the score get in the 80’s.
The advantage for Nebraska is that BYU has yet to face a defense as tough as Nebraska’s. The Huskers matchup well with the Cougars as each team likes to operate with 3 and 4 guard lineups.
This will be another challenge for this young Husker team. They’ll again be facing a quality, experienced opponent. Nebraska will need a repeat performance of their effort against Tulsa. Strong defense, win the rebounding battle, hit free throws, and take care of the ball. If they can do those things, and it’s very possible, the Huskers could take home the Las Vegas Classic Championship trophy.
In the end though, I think BYU’s experience carries them through in a close game.
My pick: BYU
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2008-2009 Husker Basketball Season Recap
March 26, 2009 by Bret Nellor, under News, Season Recap.
It’s been a little over a week since the Husker’s season ended with a loss to New Mexico in the first round of the NIT tournament. Now that I’ve had some time to sit back and reflect back on this season, I felt that a recap was in order.
Off-season struggles
The story of Nebraska’s 2008-2009 basketball season began well before any games were played. The offseason was not kind to the NU program as they learned in late May that prized recruit Roburt Sallie was denied entrance by the Big 12 Conference. Unfortunately the fact that Sallie was enrolled briefly back in 2006 led to him being denied entry by the Big 12. The loss of a key recruit was a major blow to the momentum that Sadler and the Huskers had picked up through the 2007-08 season.
NOTE: Sallie ended up playing for John Calipari and the Memphis Tigers. Sallie, who had a quiet season, suddenly became the darling of the Tigers as he led them to a first round NCAA tourney win by hitting 10 three pointers and scoring 35 points against Cal State Northridge. That kind of explosive scoring ability would have been quite helpful for NU this past year.
This lost recruit ended up summing up the tale of the off-season for Coach Sadler as Nebraska appeared to be cursed. The team was desparate to replace Sallie’s scholarship with another player to address their lack of size. They were unable to secure a big man until Brian Diaz comitted in August, little did they know at the time that he would not be admitted to Nebraska until January 2009 and after a few short weeks decided to redshirt. Shortly before the season began, 6-11 Christopher Niemann was ruled ineligible by the NCAA. Which then led us to 6-9 Alex Chapman, a redshirt sophomore who waited until a few weeks into the season to leave the team and decide to transfer. Needless to say the Huskers were left with what would be the shortest team in Division I basketball.
Despite the team’s “short”comings, NU pressed on. Coach Sadler knew this team would have a difficult time but if he could get them to give maximum effort and play tough defense they had a chance. Behind the example of 4 seniors Ade Dagunduro, Steve Harley, Paul Velander and Nick Krenk, that’s just what this team did.
Let’s get the season started
The Huskers started the season 6-0 which included a nice win over Creighton before enduring their first 2 losses to Arizona State and Oregon State. After a rebound win over IPFW, the Big Red had their first devastating home loss of the season to UMBC. This was the game that showed how thin the margin for error was for Nebraska. Without an inside presence or a true go-to scorer they would continue to have a tough time scoring points all season. These weaknesses combined with the loss to UMBC foreshadowed a return trip to the NIT.
Big 12 Conference
NU reached Big 12 play with a 10-3 record and came out of the gates with a surprising upset of the Missouri Tigers. This was followed up with a rough stretch that saw the team lose 4 of their next 5 games – a tough road loss to Iowa State, a 2 point overtime loss at home to Oklahoma State, and a close loss at home to Kansas. Although they sat at 2-5 in the conference at this point, Sadler’s team was encouraged by the fact that they had played Blake Griffin and a very good Oklahoma team close on the road and were so close against OSU and KU.
Nebraska then rattled off 2 straight road wins and an impressive upset of Texas to get back to .500 in the conference. As soon as hope had returned that the Huskers could somehow manage their way to an NCAA tournament bid, they dropped 4 of the next 5 games. The most damaging loss of that stretch came when Texas A&M won with a last second shot in Lincoln. NU finished strong winning 2 of their final 3 games to reach 8-8 in the conference for the first time since the 1998-99 season.
Post-season blues
The Big Red clung to a very slim chance that they could still get an at-large NCAA bid if they could get to the championship of the Big 12 tourney. But they faced a difficult challenge having to play Baylor in the first round after having beat them in Waco only 4 days earlier. Baylor, who had underachieved the entire Big 12 season finally started to play up to their potential and sent the Huskers home after a short stay in the tournament and sealing their NIT fate.
Second-straight NIT berth
Nebraska soon learned they would play on in the NIT, earning a #6 seed and traveled to #3 seed New Mexico for a first round game. Hopes were high that NU could string together a run and possibly reach the NIT final four in New York. It wasn’t meant to be however as the Lobos used their home court advantage to eliminate the Big Red from the tournament. The loss ended the Huskers season at 18-13 overall.
The big picture
Before the season started I predicted that Nebraska would finish at 19-9 and an NIT appearance. I also figured that Coach Sadler would get them to 20 wins for the second consecutive season with at least one post-season victory. I was a little off on that, but considering that the team reached .500 in the Big 12 for the first time this decade, I feel like that was a major step forward for the program. Especially when you consider the obstacles this team had to overcome to get there. One could argue that this may have been Doc Sadler’s most impressive coaching job.
It’s hard not to look back at the season and say what could have been had the ball bounced differently for the Huskers – turn the Oregon State, UMBC, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M games into wins and Nebraska could have held a 22-7 record going into the Big 12 tourney and quite possibly a lock for an at-large NCAA berth.
Of course, college basketball doesn’t live in the imaginary “what could have been” world, but I am hopeful that what this undersized team was able to accomplish has helped to set the foundation for the future. While the Nebraska basketball future may not be so bright that we need to wear shades just yet, I believe we’re taking the necessary steps to get there.
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Cold shooting dooms Huskers in loss to the Bears
March 11, 2009 by Bret Nellor, under Big 12 Tournament Game Recap, News.
Nebraska came to the Big 12 tournament but left their shooting touch in Lincoln and lost to Baylor 65-49. The Huskers shot a miserable 31.5% from the floor and 20.8% from behind the arc thanks to a 2-3 zone employed by the Bears. The poor shooting also contributed to Baylor dominating the glass 43-18. NU’s NCAA tourney hopes are over as their record falls to 18-12 overall.
Ade Dagunduro led the team with 21 points and 6 rebounds. Steve Harley added 10 points. Harley and Dagunduro combined to hit 54% of their shots and score 31 of the Big Red’s 49 points.
Turning point in the game:
- Nebraska was down by 3 at half, but Baylor came out and outscored NU 16-6 over the first 11 minutes of the second half. The Huskers’ inability to knock down shots against the BU zone allowed Baylor to cruise the rest of the way for the first round win.
Encouraging points:
- Fortunately for the Huskers, this is not the final game of the season. The Big Red figure to land a berth in the NIT and will know on Sunday who they’ll face.
- Ade Dagunduro had another good game and may be working his way into an opportunity to play professionally after the season is over.
This was obviously a tough matchup for Nebraska as they had just beaten Baylor 66-62 only 4 days ago. Kudos to BU coach Scott Drew who made the necessary adjustments from that game to guide his team to the win.
The loss puts the 20 win marker in jeopardy for Doc Sadler’s troops. He’ll need to rally the team and get them prepared to play in the NIT. One area he may want to focus on is repairing his players’ confidence in their shooting (especially Paul Velander). Another performance like today’s will lead to a season-ending loss in the NIT.
Up next: the Huskers will wait to hear the seeds for the NIT to see if they’ll be home or on the road.
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Can Nebraska make the NCAA tournament?
March 8, 2009 by Bret Nellor, under News.
With the regular season now over for the Huskers and the Big 12 tournament just around the corner, does Nebraska have any chance of getting into the NCAA tourney without winning the Big 12 tourney? It’s a longshot, but there is still a possibility although it will require the stars to align perfectly.
Before I detail what the Big Red will need to do and have happen, here is Nebraska’s NCAA tournament resume:
- 18-11 overall record, 8-8 in the conference, finished 8th in the Big 12
- Projected RPI sits at 61 on kenpom.com, 69 on RealTimeRPI.com, and 74 on CollegeRPI.com as of today.
- Key wins include Creighton, Missouri, and Texas
- Key losses include Oregon State, UMBC, and Iowa State
- Record against current Top 25 teams: 1-4
- Record against likely NCAA tournament teams: 3-7
- Last 10 games: Huskers are 6-4
Here’s how it needs to happen:
- Nebraska’s regular season resume is not good enough to get them into the tournament. Doc Sadler’s team will have to put together a strong run in the Big 12 tournament in order to pick up some marquee wins and bolster their resume. Obviously winning the Big 12 tourney would be ideal, but short of that the Huskers will need to get to the championship game to have a chance. This would give the Big Red potentially marquee wins over Kansas and Kansas St./Texas.
- Nearly all of the NCAA tournament projections have 6 Big 12 teams getting into the dance (Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State). In addition to winning 3 games in the Big 12 tourney, Nebraska needs poor performances from Oklahoma State and Kansas State in order to jump those teams for that 6th spot. Husker fans need to cheer for Iowa State to upset Oklahoma St. on Wednesday and for Kansas St. to lose against Texas/Colorado on Thursday.
- The last piece of the puzzle includes other mid-major conference front runners to win their conference tournaments. Gonzaga needs to win the WCC, Butler needs to win the Horizon, Memphis needs to win Conference USA, and Northern Iowa needs to win the Missouri Valley. Any upsets in these conference tournaments hurts the Huskers chances.
If all these things fall in place for Nebraska, it would produce one of the most unlikely yet memorable runs to an at-large bid. I doubt that the Huskers will get into the NCAA tourney and are more likely headed for a 2nd straight NIT appearance.
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Huskers pick up tough road win over Baylor
March 7, 2009 by Bret Nellor, under Husker Basketball Game Recaps, News.
Nebraska overcame Senior Day in Waco and notched their 3rd conference road win with a 66-62 victory over Baylor. The Big Red improves to 18-11 overall and 8-8 in the Big 12. The Huskers finish at .500 in the conference for the first time since the 1998-99 season.
In a game that went back and forth from start to finish, Toney McCray came off the bench to lead NU with 18 points. Baylor did a good job limiting Ade Dagunduro but was still able to join McCray in double figures with 11 points.
Turning point in the game:
- This game was not decided until the final minute when Nebraska clinched the win with strong free throw shooting. Cookie Miller hit 4-4, Paul Velander hit 2-2, Ade Dagunduro hit 3-4, and Brandon Richardson made 2-2. That’s some clutch free throws down the stretch.
Encouraging points:
- Toney McCray picked a good day to have a big game. In addition to his 18 points, he also grabbed 4 rebounds, blocked 2 shots and had 2 big steals. Nebraska could really use strong play from him in the Big 12 tourney next week.
- The Huskers had one of their better games from the free throw line hitting 19-22 for 86.4%. No doubt this was the difference today.
- How about Alonzo Edwards off the bench? The little used big guy came in and hit 2 big 3 point shots and gave the team some huge minutes with Ryan Anderson and Dagunduro in foul trouble. Not sure I like him gaining confidence in his outside shot, but we’ll take it today.
With the win over the Bears, the Big Red looks to have locked up a home game in the first round of the NIT. But, if the Huskers can put together a strong run in the Big 12 tournament they still have an outside chance at making the NCAA tournament. They’d likely need to win 2 games and more likely 3 to get a shot at an at-large bid.
Praise must be given to Doc Sadler and the job he’s done this season. He took the smallest team in college basketball and made them competitive in the Big 12. They were just a whisker away from finishing at 10-6 rather than 8-8 this year. His teams have improved their conference record every year he’s been at Nebraska. There’s no doubt the NU basketball program is on the rise under his leadership.
Up next: It’s Big 12 tourney time. Nebraska will play Baylor again in the 8 vs. 9 game on Wednesday at 11:30 p.m.
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Pre-game: Iowa State vs. Nebraska
March 3, 2009 by Bret Nellor, under Husker Basketball Pre-game, News.
Iowa State Cyclones 14-15 (3-11) vs.
Nebraska Cornhuskers 16-10 (6-7)
March 4 – 6:30 p.m. tipoff
TV: Fox Sports Midwest
It’s Senior Night in Lincoln. The final home game of the season will give the Nebraska program the opportunity to honor its 4 seniors, Ade Dagunduro, Steve Harley, Paul Velander and Nick Krenk.
The Huskers enter the game having lost 4 of their last 5 games, falling off the bubble for the NCAA tournament and into the hunt for an NIT berth. Iowa State reaches Lincoln also having lost 4 of their last 5, but are 0-7 in conference road games this season and 0-15 going back to last season. It’s been a tough season for Coach Greg McDermott’s Cyclones, but despite this they have continued to play hard behind their All-Big 12 caliber player Craig Brackins.
ISU leading scorers
Craig Brackins 19.9 ppg
Diante Garrett 9.7 ppg
Lucca Staiger 8.0 ppg
NU leading scorers
Ade Dagunduro 12.4 ppg
Steve Harley 10.3 ppg
Sek Henry 8.1 ppg
Nebraska lost the first matchup 53-65 between these teams back in January. They appear to have the upper hand for this game, but Coach Sadler must figure out a way to control Brackins in the paint and also disrupt Iowa State’s outside shooters. If Brackins gets close to his average and Staiger is allowed to get hot from the outside, the Huskers will have a tough time getting the win.
The Huskers must also figure out where the offense is going to come from. Besides Ade Dagunduro who has been Mr. Consistency for NU during league play, the rest of the team have been disappointing. Several players have shown the ability to score points, but they’ve been far too inconsistent. This game should be a low scoring affair, likely in the 60’s. If Nebraska can limit their turnovers and get 3 players in double figures, they’ll have an excellent chance to get the win on Senior Night.
My pick: Nebraska
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Husker losing skid hits 3 after loss to Kansas State
March 1, 2009 by Bret Nellor, under Husker Basketball Game Recaps, News.
Kansas State continued their march toward an NCAA bid by defeating Nebraska 77-72 last night. The Big Red finally broke the 60 point barrier, but turnovers doomed their good shooting effort. The Huskers record drops to 16-11 overall and 6-8 in the Big 12. NU sits alone at 8th in the league with 2 games remaining.
Nebraska had 3 players reach double figures led by Ryan Anderson’s 19 points off the bench. Joining Anderson was Ade Dagunduro with 16 points and Cookie Miller with 14 points and 7 assists. NU shot 49% from the floor and 81.8% from the free throw line.
Turning point in the game:
- The game see-sawed until the Wildcats took advantage of 5 consecutive turnovers by the Huskers to jump ahead for good with 10 minutes remaining in the second half. Nebraska could only get as close as 2 points the rest of the way.
Encouraging points:
- It’s becoming a broken record, but Ade Dagunduro continued his strong play and really looks like he is playing himself into a 2nd team All-Big 12 player.
- It was good to see the Husker offense show up for this road game. Again, I’m hopeful that this will help the team turn the corner on the offensive end.
With this latest loss, Nebraska has lost 3 straight by a total of 14 points. Being competitive in the Big 12 hasn’t been the problem this year, its making the winning plays down the stretch that has been trouble. The Huskers can still reach .500 and finish in the upper half of the conference. Only 2 games remain – at home against Iowa State and on the road against Baylor.
NU looks destined for the NIT, but 2 more conference losses and a “one and done” showing in the Big 12 tourney would put Doc Sadler’s team on the bubble for the NIT.
Up next: Nebraska hosts Iowa State on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. for Senior night and the final home game of the season. Seniors Ade Dagunduro, Steve Harley, Paul Velander and Nick Krenk will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.
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Pre-game: Nebraska vs. Kansas State
February 27, 2009 by Bret Nellor, under Husker Basketball Pre-game, News.
Nebraska Cornhuskers 16-10 (6-7) vs.
Kansas State Wildcats 19-9 (7-6)
Feb. 28 – 7 p.m. tipoff
TV: Big 12 Network
Doc Sadler’s Nebraska basketball team travels to Manhattan, KS for an evening game in Bramlage Coliseum against the Kansas State Wildcats. The Big Red won the first matchup between these Big 12 North Division teams 73-51 back in January. Since that game NU has gone 4-6, tied for 7th in the conference and KSU has gone 8-3 tied for 5th in the league. Both teams are jockeying for post-season attention, but with very little separating the middle of the pack Big 12 teams each win is crucial down the stretch.
Coming in to this game, the Huskers will look to bounce back from a tough loss to Texas A&M last Tuesday while the Wildcats will also try to rebound from their 74-94 loss to Missouri. KSU’s coach Frank Martin has done a very good job with his team guiding them into contention for an NCAA tourney bid after losing 2 starters to the NBA draft last season (Michael Beasley and Bill Walker). This game with the Huskers could shape up to be an elimination game for the Wildcats and their NCAA hopes. Win and it strengthens their position; lose and it could be devastating.
NU leading scorers
Ade Dagunduro 12.2 ppg
Steve Harley 10.5 ppg
Sek Henry 8.3 ppg
KSU leading scorers
Denis Clemente 15.3 ppg
Jacob Pullen 13.4 ppg
Darren Kent 8.9 ppg
Nebraska figures to be playing for little more than a top seed in the NIT tournament. Their hopes for an NCAA at-large bid seemingly evaporated after the loss to the Aggies this week, unless they can somehow win the Big 12 tournament. Of course, there are a few other things that the Huskers can still play for – a .500 or better record in the Big 12, a finish in the upper half of the conference, and a good seed in the Big 12 tournament to position themselves for a tourney run.
None of these things will be easy to come by against Kansas State. The Huskers have traditionally struggled in Bramlage Coliseum holding a 2-10 record there against the Wildcats during the Big 12 era. NU’s last win in Manhattan came in 2006. It will be a tough atmosphere as KSU is expecting a sell-out crowd to cheer them on. Nebraska will certainly bring their tough defense, but which offensive team will show up? The team that scored 37 first half points the other night against Texas A&M or the team that scored 7 points over the last 14 minutes against A&M? For a team that has struggled so much on offense over the last 6 games it’s hard to see them having a lot of success on the road.
My pick: Kansas State
