First off, my apologies for the lack of Gameday Preview articles for both the Oral Roberts and Arkansas Little Rock games. The truth is, the Friday before Thanksgiving I was laid off my job as a graphic designer after nine years with the company. I spent last weekend at the bar, and this week making use of the extensive industry contacts I've made over the years.
But that's not why I didn't post previews, although it would certainly be a legitimate excuse. No, like a moron I lost my administrative password for Movable Type (the software that runs this blog), and it took me a few days to convince my web host to log in to my blog database and reset things. Incidentally, that's why the postgame articles for those two games were so late in being published. Anyway, Its back, and so am I, for better or worse! Don't worry about me, I'm actually excited for the search for my next job. Sometimes you don't find the next challenge until you're forced to look for it. To everyone who has offered me leads on jobs, purchased me beers or offered kind words, you have my sincere thanks. Now, enough sappy stuff, there's a game to talk about! You bet.
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Saturday night's showdown in Lincoln could well be an early turning point in the Jays' season. Coming off of a disappointing game in Little Rock in which the Jays squandered a 16-point lead and were outrebounded by an absurd 20 rebounds, the Jays travel to Lincoln for the annual in-state rivalry game with the Huskers. Win the game and the team sets themselves up nicely for a run through the rest of the non-conference. Lose the game and the season could go south in a hurry.
Its not losing to Arkansas Little Rock that's the issue; anyone who watches hoops knows they're a good team. No, its the trends we're seeing develop over the course of the first four games, trends which manifested themselves again in Little Rock.
As they did a year ago, the Jays can't seem to put together 40 solid minutes of play. They frequently play 20 great minutes and 20 horrible minutes -- sometimes they start fast, sometimes they end fast. Going back to last year, think of how many times this team followed that exact script. At home, they tended to start slow and mount furious comebacks late. On the road, they tended to start fast and end slow...although just as frequently, they never got started at all. Also disturbing is their lack of toughness and inability to rebound. At home, you can overcome that stuff. On the road, not so much.
Word out of practice this week was that Coach Altman met individually with each player to discuss his disappointment in their performance thus far. Further, rumor has it the players showed up for practice Wednesday to find football helmets and pads for each of them. While the pads were not used, the message is unmistakable: Get Tougher.
I've been saying for a while now to give this team a little while before judging them. I'm taking that back. I honestly believe after tonight's game that we'll know where this team is headed. And they don't necessarily have to win to show us that direction. If they show intensity, energy on defense, selflessness on offense and improvement on the boards, we'll know this team is capable of being better and can be encouraged -- win or lose. If they don't do those things, we can officially be concerned -- win or lose.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O'Dots (TM): Nebraska is 4-0 with wins over Arkansas Pine-Bluff, TCU, San Jose State and St. Louis...They play swarming defense, holding teams to 51 points on 38% shooting...The Huskers are bringing the baseball term "small ball" to college hoops by starting four guards, due to an extreme lack of size...Sek Henry leads the team in scoring, and is second in assists...Doc Sadler is 1-1 against Creighton, and 1-0 in Lincoln.
The Last Time They Played: Creighton stormed out to a 47-20 halftime lead, helped largely by a 24-3 run that featured six three pointers. Nebraska played much more competitively in the second half, slicing the lead back into single digits at multiple points before falling 74-62.
The Series: Nebraska leads 23-18, as Husker fans are proud to point out. However, Creighton has won 8 of the last 9 and 3 of the last 4 in Lincoln. Oddly enough, the Jays were 2-13 in Lincoln prior to that.
Prediction: Jays 62, Nebraska 61
