Nebraska Basketball: View from the Cheap Seats – Illinois Edition

It’s what becoming a trend for the Nebraska basketball team, it was an ugly game. Better news is that it was an ugly win and it all counts the same on the standings chart.

The Huskers grinded out a 53-43 victory to push their record to 10-4, riding a two game conference winning streak. They’ll face Wisconsin next who may be without All-American Frank Kaminsky and who are also coming off of a loss to a team Nebraska just beat (Rutgers).

But before we look forward, let’s look at the game that was. How’d it look from the cheap seats?

Photo via Andrew Bienka

– Illinois never had a look from three point they didn’t like. Thankfully for Nebraska basketball, they only hit on 20.7% of them. Even worse, they only shot 27.3% from the floor. I thought the Huskers struggled offensively, but the Illini made it look pretty decent in comparison.

-Tarin Smith is going to be really, really good. The young man from New Jersey has really found his place as the sixth man. What a shot that young man hit just under the five minute mark that pushed Nebraska’s lead back to eight points. Prior to his shot falling it seemed as though it had been ages since either team scored (in reality it was around three minutes). In the post game press conference, coach Miles called Smith ‘critical’ for the Huskers. That shows you how much Miles thinks of him and I’m looking forward to the kid continuing to grow.

Jan 11, 2015; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Tarin Smith (11) calls timeout against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska defeated Illinois 53-43. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

– While one guard flourishes another flounders…New Zealand international Tai Webster saw zero minutes against Illinois. It’s his first game as a Husker were he did not play. Is this a sign of things to come? I have a hunch it probably is.

– So two big men in Leslee Smith and Moses Abraham returned last week to participate in their first games in weeks and this this week they combine for 11 minutes. Of those 11 minutes, four of them went to Smith and those all came in the first half. It’s interesting to see the shift in how coach Miles is using his ‘depth’. I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say that Abraham and Smith will be needed down the stretch. This was likely a matchup decision as well as a way to keep their legs underneath them and fresh.

– This was more of the Terran Petteway I expected to see. 18 points, three rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. All of this while racking up two fouls early in the first half and then a quick third to start the second half. He’s not perfect, but the Nebraska basketball program is lucky to have him. If he can cut back on his turnovers the sky is the limit for how good he’ll be to end this year.

– Well done, Shavon Shields and the rest of the team for how they have embraced Avery Harriman.

They brought him up on the podium to answer post game questions. The youngster has beaten cancer and continues to be an inspiration to everyone, both in and out of the program.

“My favorite play was the players doing great,” Avery said in the post game press conference. “They did super awesome on the game tonight. I was so proud of them.”

Shavon Shields continued on, “I’m ecstatic that he’s cancer-free and that we can go play golf this summer again. It’s going to be awesome.”
How great is that?