If this past week of Nebraska basketball was a M. Night Shyamalan movie Monday was the slightly interesting, somewhat watchable first act, Thursday was the confusing, head-scratching plot twist thrown in to shake things up solely for the sake of shaking things up in the second act, Friday was the third act trying to deal with the consequences, but ultimately jumbling up the story even more, and last night was the climax where all the pieces frantically come together for an ending where you question what just happened and how we got there, but just roll with it because hey, it’s M Night Shamalayn.
*Clears throat* excuse me, Nebraska basketball.
Act One: The MisHapp. (Thanks, I’ll be here all week).
The Huskers tried something different on defense by doubling All-Big Ten forward Ethan Happ whenever he touched the ball. I like this move by Tim Miles. It forced other players–on a Wisconsin team that is probably their weakest since Nebraska’s joined the Big Ten–to beat them, and when the ball wasn’t in Happ’s hands, the Badgers couldn’t get much going on offense.
On the other hand, Nebraska couldn’t do much on the offensive end themselves. Say it ain’t so! James Palmer again led the way with 18 points and Isaac Copeland added 12. Glynn Watson and Evan Taylor were scoreless until the final minute of the game, going a combined 0-7 from the field.
It wasn’t the prettiest outing, but any win against a team from Wisconsin whose star player has to do 99% of the work with no talent surrounding him makes all feel right in the world.
Act Two: The Twist
On Thursday, Nebraska starting sophomore-center Jordy Tshimanga was nowhere to be found on the team plane headed for State College, PA to face Penn State. Rumors started circulating he asked for a scholarship release so he would be allowed to transfer.
I’m flustered. I’ll admit I’ve been critical of Jordy, but he still has the rest of this season in addition to two more years to improve, and just came off his best game of the year against Wisconsin with 9 points and 6 rebounds. The timing is just bizarre. What does he have to gain personally from transferring midseason? He would have to sit out an additional semester if he chose to transfer to another D-1 school since he played against Wisconsin and attended the first week of classes. I’ve heard rumors it’s because he’s not happy with his progression (hmmm) or play this year. That’s understandable. If you’re going to transfer though, why not play out the rest of the season and make your final decision then? Especially when this year’s team will probably be the most talented group he’ll be a part of at Nebraska.
Update. Jordy is returning to the team.
Act Three: The Scramble
Following the news that a teammate and starter was considering transferring, Nebraska took the floor against Penn State in front of a crowd of 6,821 per ESPN. I would’ve put the over/under at a generous 2,000.
Ummmm..
Not the best picture of the entire venue, but I don’t think an arena with a 15,000-person capacity would be near empty behind a basket when the “official” attendance is close to 7,000.
Duby Okeke started in place of Jordy Tshimanga, and the Huskers started off slow by falling to a 33-24 deficit at half. At one point the Penn State lead reached 16, but Nebraska battled back thanks to the switch to a 1-3-1 zone on defense. This caused Penn State to change the pace of their offense and forced tougher shots.
The lead was erased thanks to a bounce-back performance from Watson, along with a 21-point effort from Copeland, that gave Nebraska a chance to win at the end of regulation.
Glynn Watson dribbled at the top of the key for a few seconds, in what felt entirely too long, before Isaiah Roby came to set a screen. In a perfect world, Watson dribbles to the lane and either looks to create his own shot, draw a foul, or kick it out to a teammate for an open look. What happened was Roby got tangled with his defender while setting the screen, and Watson was forced to take a contested NBA-range three while falling away. The ball clanked off the rim in classic Nebraska fashion.
The miss wasn’t the worst thing in the world. That was, however, probably one of the worst shots you could take in that situation. The game went to overtime and Penn State’s Tony Carr crushed all hopes and dreams by drilling a jumper with 2.7 seconds left. The Huskers left State College an emotionally taxed team.
One question I have is why Jack McVeigh played so many minutes. Here’s a guy who hasn’t seen the floor since before Christmas playing valuable minutes in a high-pressure game over the guy who’s been your best player all year in James Palmer. Palmer was playing his worst game of the season going 1-9 from the field with 5 points, but his ceiling is exponentially higher than McVeigh’s. What is Miles’ reasoning for having faith in McVeigh over Palmer in that situation?
Miles said this about McVeigh after the game (per HuskerOnline):
“I was happy for Jack, to see him come in. He compliments that big lineup in a way because he’s such a good defensive helper. That was really good for us.”
That, folks, is one of the hottest takes you’ll ever have the chance to behold. Didn’t even have to whip out the Sriracha for that level of spice.
In Miles’ defense you can’t go out and bash your own player and you have to defend your decisions, but are we watching the same guy? This dude gets absolutely worked on the defense every time he steps on the floor and had the same amount of fouls as Palmer in this game. How is he in any way a good defensive helper?
Act Three: “OK I guess I can live with that”
Against Illinois, Miles switched up the starting lineup by replacing Duby Okeke with Isaiah Roby, and Evan Taylor with Anton Gill. I applaud this move. It’s the best lineup they can put out there. Wow does it really hurt rebounding though. Illinois out rebounded the Huskers 49-26, including an 18-6 advantage on the offensive end. Yikes.
In addition to being outmatched on the glass, Nebraska could never establish a rhythm, and cut it too close for comfort against the sole winless team in the Big Ten. The game was fairly even throughout, and seemed all but over as Illinois’ Michael Finke converted a 4-point play with 8.1 seconds left to put the Illini up 2.
Enter James Palmer
The transfer from Miami drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to save the Huskers from what would’ve been a bad home loss. He must have ice in his veins as cold as it is outside.
The results are something we can live with. I’m hoping the process arriving here is as forgettable as The Last Airbender, but at least it was an entertaining ending.
*Fades to black*
Key takeaways:
- I’m curious to see how this whole Jordy situation plays out and how Miles handles it. In my opinion, he shouldn’t start, or play for that matter, again unless he proves he is worthy on the court.
- James Palmer more or less saved Nebraska’s season. Following a tough loss at Penn State, who knows what would’ve happened had the Huskers fallen to Illinois last night at home. It could’ve been the start of a downward spiral given the direction they were heading. Instead, we now have one of the greatest shots in recent Nebraska-basketball memory. He’s been a reliable player all year.
- Rebounding, rebounding, rebounding. Nebraska allows 10 offensive rebounds/game. Bigger and tougher competition, such as upcoming opponent Michigan, will have a field day if Nebraska can’t figure out how to rebound. I do like the 1-3-1, but if they can’t rebound out of it, this weakness can become a bigger problem than it already is. I still don’t understand why Okeke plays so few minutes (19 combined this past week). He would help counter the problem with his size and strength.
Results:
- vs. Wisconsin: W, 63-59
- Points: Palmer, 18
- Rebounds: Roby, 8
- Assists: Watson, 3
- Blocks: Copeland, 3
- Steals: Copeland & Okeke (each), 1
- @ Penn State: L, 76-74
- Points: Copeland & Watson (each), 21
- Rebounds: Copeland, 8
- Assists: Palmer & Roby (each), 3
- Blocks: Roby, 2
- Steals: Copeland & Taylor (each), 2
- vs. Illinois: W, 64-63
- Points: Palmer, 24
- Rebounds: Roby 10
- Assists: Watson, 3
- Blocks: Roby & Copeland (each), 2
- Steals: Roby, 4
Up Next (13-7, 4-3 Big Ten):
- Thursday January 18th: vs. #23 Michigan. Tipoff at 8pm. Watch on BTN.
- Monday January 22nd: @ Ohio State. Tipoff at 7pm. Watch on BTN.
