The 2016-17 Nebraska basketball season didn’t go as planned for head coach Tim Miles, but he’ll lead the Huskers for at least one more season.
Athletic director Shawn Eichorst made that clear only moments after an overtime loss to Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament officially ended the year. Despite the swift show of support, however, most believe Miles is down to his final strike.
Thus, 2017-18 shapes up to be a NCAA tourney-or-bust type of season for the sixth-year head man. Based on recent years, it’s valid to wonder whether that’s realistic. What are reasonable expectations for Miles and company in 2017-18?
In order to figure that out, we first need to look at what went wrong this season.
A Tough Season
The Cornhuskers finished second-to-last in the Big Ten conference and 12-19 overall. Their record doesn’t tell the whole story, though. The schedule was considered to be one of the toughest in the nation. Going into the season, Miles said it was built under the assumption that he’d be working with his best squad yet.
The unexpected departure of Andrew White III changed things. Whether or not AW3 would have been a locker room cancer is debatable. It was clear, however, that the young Huskers missed him on the court.
White took his 16 points per game to Syracuse and left a group largely composed of freshmen and sophomores to replace that production. His shooting ability could have really opened up Nebraska’s offense, and his presence would have reduced everyone’s workload.
Given how competitive the Huskers were for most of the season — and the manner in which they seemingly ran out of gas at the end of the year — it’s hard not to wonder how different that record might look had White stayed.
As it was, the Huskers were competitive most of the year but came up just short in multiple contests. Injuries to Anton Gill and Ed Morrow hurt Nebraska’s depth and sucked the life from their 3-0 start to Big Ten play. In spite of some impressive wins, the Huskers dropped off late.
Improved Experience and Depth
Many of the issues that plagued Nebraska in 2016-17 may be moot points next year. The coming season’s roster suggests as much — at least on paper.
Nebraska will suddenly have a veteran-laden roster, with four core sophomores becoming juniors and two others joining the party. Morrow, Glynn Watson, Michael Jacobson and Jack McVeigh have all played a ton of college basketball.
Transfer wings Isaac Copeland and James Palmer will immediately add significant high-major experience. The Huskers will also get Gill back, who will be a senior along with Evan Taylor.
That means the Big Red will have eight juniors and seniors who figure to be integral in the rotation.
Throw in the three sophomores-to-be (Jordy Tshimanga, Isaiah Roby and Jeriah Horne, who all played significant minutes as freshmen), and you have 11 legitimate options with extensive playing time. That lineup also figures to be much deeper and more capable of weathering the storms of injury and fatigue.
Update:
Freshman Jeriah Horne will transfer from #Nebrasketball, per @ebosshoops
— Robin Washut (@RobinWashut) March 15, 2017
If lack of experience and depth were two of the biggest problems, talk about killing two birds with one stone.
Granted, the roster makeup doesn’t automatically mean success is on the horizon. It does, however, appear that it will help in some areas that have plagued Nebrasketball for years.
The Schedule Can Only Get Easier
Additionally, Nebraska’s schedule should not be quite so daunting next season. The particularly difficult nonconference slate left Nebraska behind the eight ball despite mostly good play from the Huskers.
Admittedly, sleeping through the Gardner-Webb game obviously didn’t help matters. Though next season will be far from a cake walk, it probably won’t feature the country’s cream of the crop in such high quantities.
The schedule should also be easier to navigate down the stretch with improved depth. The Big Ten is always a tough conference, but for that reason it shouldn’t be quite so hard on the Huskers in 2017-18.
March Madness Not a Pipe Dream
All of this means that Tim Miles and the Big Red roundballers should be expected to make the NCAA Tournament in 2018.
That would likely also mean a finish well within the top half of the Big Ten. Another reasonable expectation might be a run in the Big Ten tournament, but the standard for success will be participating in March Madness.
Next: The Return of Tim Miles and What the Choice Means
That will be an especially important milestone for Miles next year. Eichorst didn’t bring Miles back because he thought he’d be firing him the next season. He expects the Huskers to make the Big Dance.
The loaded roster and projected schedule suggest that’s within reach at last.