Nebraska Basketball: View from the Cheap Seats- Purdue Edition

Here comes the broken record again. Another road game, another road loss for Tim Miles’ Nebraska basketball team. This time, it was a 66-54 clunker in West Lafayette, Indiana to Purdue.

Here are my quick takeaways from the game. This is how it looked from the cheap seats:

Feb 15, 2015; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Tarin Smith (11) steals the ball from Purdue Boilermakers guard P.J. Thompson (3) during the first half of the game at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

– Sure, Purdue had a 16-1 free throw shooting differential, but that says more about Nebraska’s style of play than anything about the officiating. Purdue forced it inside while Nebraska didn’t play with aggressiveness on the offensive end. You’d think with athletes like Shields and Petteway they would, but it’s simply not the case. That said, the Huskers did a little better in the second half.

– From where I’m sitting, rebounding isn’t something that takes a particular skill set. See the ball and grab it. It’s pretty simple. If you watched NU attempt to do it you’d think it was rocket science. Purdue won the rebounding battle 44-29, including 18 offensive boards.

– Absolutely disgusting three point shooting (again). Nebraska was a perfect 2-for-2 to open the game and then they proceeded to miss their next 12 before finally hit their last attempt of the game with 5 seconds remaining. Nebraska went from 18:43 in the first half, to 0:05 in the second half with zero three pointers made. That’s no way to win a game.

– Shavon Shields, especially in the second half, played really well. He seemed to be the only guy, even more than Terran Petteway, who was creating any offense. No. 31 finished with 19 points.

Feb 15, 2015; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Purdue Boilermakers forward Vince Edwards (12) blocks a shot by Nebraska Cornhuskers guard/forward Shavon Shields (31) during the first half at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

– Early on I called for Benny Parker as a starter. I am here to tell you I was wrong. It’s time for Tarin Smith to take the starting point guard spot. The guy brings offense and that’s what this team needs.

– Petteway and Pitchford both scored in double digits. It’s something to build on, even if they shot combined 3/10 from three.

– I hate to say it, but this Husker team isn’t even in the NIT at this point and it’s no guarantee they’ll get there. How big of a disappointment would it be to miss the postseason after entering the season as a Top 25 team. Expectations are tough to deal with. I suppose we should all keep in my where things were even just as much as two years ago.

– If the postseason isn’t in the cards, maybe it’s time to start playing guys like Nick Fuller and Jake Hammond a little more. They’re going to be needed next year.

Next game is Thursday, at College Park, Maryland against the Terrpins. Game time is 6pm on BTN. GO BIG RED!!!