Huskers determined to keep ship afloat amid ugly end to season
It was a game Nebraska desperately needed in order to keep its postseason hopes alive, and in front of more than 14,000 home fans and 70 former players in attendance for the annual Legends Weekend, the Huskers fell flat on their face.
Shooting just 37.5 percent with multiple extended scoring droughts and committing 18 turnovers, NU had no answer in a 73-57 loss to Illinois, which the latest team to put on one of its best offensive performances of the season inside Pinnacle Bank Arena.
The Fighting Illini, who came into the game shooting just 32.9 percent from 3-point range in Big Ten play, ended up hitting 13-of-26 from behind the arc for the most threes they’ve made against a Division I opponent this season.
As a result, Nebraska fell into a four-way tie for 10th place in the conference standings, and with a road game at red-hot Minnesota and then a home tilt with equally surging Michigan left on the schedule, the Huskers are staring at yet another first-round matchup in the upcoming conference tournament in Washington, D.C.
After its surprising 3-0 start to open league play, NU has now lost 10 of its past 12 games. Even worse, its past two defeats at Michigan State and then Sunday night vs. Illinois have come by an average of 16 points.
"To be honest, I don't know,” said sophomore forward Michael Jacobson when asked what his team needed to do to bounce back. “I don't know what else you can say. I feel like we've done yelling at each other, screaming at each other, and we've done the back off and be nice to each other and try to be positive.
“So it's kind of hard to figure out where to go next. I know we're really running out of time here. This game was huge, and our next two (opponents) are really hot... I think we've got to look at ourselves, look in the mirror, each guy, and figure out what's going on and what they want from the rest of the season, the little bit that's left, and try to make a run."
Sunday’s loss capped off an overall rough week for head coach Tim Miles, as despite winning two straight games over Penn State and Ohio State, the fifth-year coach spent most of the week having to defend his job.
The public debate over whether he should be back for a sixth season reached a new level following a column from the Omaha World-Herald that came to his defense and blasted NU’s athletic department in the process.
After the loss to Illinois, Miles used the terms “careless” and “lack of discipline” multiple times in trying to explain what went wrong. He also blamed himself for being “too conservative” with some of his game plan and in-game adjustments in trying to slow down the Illini.
“I think we collectively all kind of screwed it up,” Miles said.
That of course brings into question how, in a game of such importance for Nebraska’s season, could the team come out with an all-around letdown performance?
"How many times can you say a team just had a good night against you?" Jacobson said. "You've got to start looking at yourselves, I guess. Look in the mirror a little bit…
"I don't know if we're in a funk right now or what's going on, but obviously - 'disappointing' is not even the right word. You get beat like we just did on the road (at Michigan State) and have a big game ... and come out and do that is, like I said, disappointing is not the right word."
Barring a deep run in the Big Ten Tournament, Nebraska’s chances at earning a bid to the NIT seem to have all but vanished with Sunday’s loss.
Though the season is closing in on an end, the Huskers now must focus equally on making the most of the slim opportunity they have remaining while also not letting things further crumble.
“I think the most important part is just continuing to get everyone to buy in, because at this time, this is when people can start to go their separate ways or start to think about other things,” freshman guard Jeriah Horne said. “The season’s still not over. We’ve still got the Big Ten Tournament, so we make sure we stay focused on our main goal.”
Added Jacobson:
“I think it’s obviously really easy to jump ship or bail, but we’ve got to stay together. That’s that biggest thing, we’ve got to stay together.”
Miles was asked how he could go about keeping Nebraska’s ship afloat both on the court and in the locker room. He said that despite how ugly things have looked at times this season - especially over the past couple games - he believes his team has to resolve to keep fighting until the finish.
“It’s part of the journey,” Miles said. “Even though our season is coming to a conclusion, the journey’s a bigger deal. So I don’t worry about shutting down… These guys won’t quit, and they won’t fall apart. Now, we’ve played poorly, and it’s my job to get us playing better. Immediately.”