Nebraska Basketball: View from the Cheap Seats – Cincy Edition
Tim Miles and his Nebraska Basketball team got off the losing track and back in the WIN column Saturday night against the Cincinnati Bearcats with a 56-55 double overtime victory.
This was NU’s first overtime game at Pinnacle Bank Arena and their first double overtime game since a 64-61 win at USC on Nov. 14, 2011.
It wasn’t pretty. In fact, it was downright ugly. At the end of the day, however, it still counts as a win and a much needed win it was for Nebraska basketball after coming off of two straight home loses.
A good friend of mine sent me a message late in the game last night describing what he saw as “Doc-sketball”. Those who have followed NU hoops realize this isn’t a complement. He was pointing out the ugly offensive possessions as the night wore on, very similar to the Huskers under Doc Sadler. I tend to agree with him.
For this week, ‘View from the Cheap Seats’ is sort of a misnomer. A friend offered me a ticket in the 100 level, directly behind the Husker bench. Quite the upgrade from my normal 300 level seats. That said, how was the view from the good seats?
Photo via Andrew Bienka
– Never thought it would come to me saying this, but where would this team be without Benny Parker? The junior point guard from Kansas City has stepped into the starting lineup allowing for Tai Webster to move to more of a shooting guard role off of the bench. Parker has been a defensive stopper for NU and has been opportune in his scoring. This game he showed it up front and center. He said after the game regarding his game winning floater:
"“I just looked up and saw that the clock was running down. I saw an open lane, and we have been working on floaters all week because they were big and athletic. We worked on it in practice and I was able to knock it down.”"
– Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. When you hold a team to 31.7% shooting including just three for 17 from three how do you go to double overtime? Turning the ball over 22 times NU gave up possession a lot. It has to be driving coach Miles crazy that his two ‘go-to’ players in Shavon Shields and Terran Petteway were the biggest offenders. Shields had seven while Petteway committed five.
– We can now certainly see who Tim Miles trusts. NU went with just a seven man rotation against the Bearcats, with only Tarin Smith and Tai Webster coming off the bench. You can tell NU is desperately missing Leslee Smith (ACL) and Moses Abraham (hand) back. If reports are accurate, that could happen sometime in January. Getting one or both of them back would be huge as it won’t force Walter Pitchford to play so many minutes (48 against Cincinnati).
– Did Tim Miles draw up a 90 foot alley-oop just seconds before halftime that very nearly worked? Yes, yes he did. Shavon Shields baseball tossed the basketball the length of the court and Walter Pitchford very nearly give NU the bucket. That would have been on many highlight reels had it worked.
– Why were people leaving with overtime starting? Even more inexplicably, a few people left at the start of the second overtime? I know the volleyball team was just about to start, but geez, after all that time watching nearly unwatchable basketball you’d think you could stick it out for five or ten minutes more!
– Free throws were key. The Bearcats went 50% from the line while NU went 87%. Turnovers were bad, but NU kept their head above water by hitting clutch free throws.
– David Rivers continues to be a rock for this team. A senior who has weathered the storm and found a way to be a key contributor. His box outs were key in many NU rebounds and his stat line was solid: six points and eight boards with two blocks and an assist in 47 long grueling minutes.
– NU is off to Hawaii next to play in the Diamond Head Classic. When asked if his team had momentum going in coach Miles responded:
"“We are going to Hawaii so we have plenty of momentum. Don’t worry about it.”"
Two or three wins on ‘The Islands’ would be huge to cure the ills of the three non-conference losses come tournament selection time. GO BIG RED!