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Nebraska Postgame Notes vs. Illinois
*-Sam Griesel’s 12 points tonight marked his fifth consecutive game scoring in double figures and his ninth time in double figures this season.
*-Wilhelm Breidenbach scored all of his 11 points in the second half, including eight straight at one point. It was his third game in double figures this season. Breidenbach tied his career high with two 3-pointers.
*-Behind Breidenbach’s 11 points, Nebraska’s bench scored 20 points, its highest output in five games.
*-Before being injured late in the first half, Juwan Gary tied his season-high with two blocks (also at Michigan State on Jan 3).
*-Jamarques Lawrence knocked down a 3-pointer in the first half. It marked his fourth 3-pointer of the season but his first made three at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
*-Derrick Walker was held to just five points – all in the second half – as he was held to single digits for just the second time this season. Walker did lead Nebraska with three assists, the third straight game he has led the Huskers in assists.
*-Nebraska outscored Illinois 32-30 in the paint, marking the Huskers’ third straight game with more than 30 points in the paint.
*-Nebraska fell to 6-2 at home with tonight’s loss.
Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg
Opening statement and on Juwan Gary’s shoulder
“With Juwan (Gary), we don’t know a lot right now. We will get a scan in the morning and do some more testing on him. Obviously, he was in a lot of pain and after being evaluated by the doctors, and we thought the right move was to keep him out for the rest of the game. We will have an update on Juwan hopefully in the next 24 hours.”
On the most disappointing part of the game and the game overall
“They are so fast and athletic when they turn you over. That was a big difference in the game and also with second-chance points. They had their way with that as well. We just have to have more focus on the basic part of our plan and go out and execute those things to give ourselves a chance. We had probably our best offensive game against Minnesota, but we didn’t carry that over. We had stretches in the second half. Listen, when Derrick (Walker) goes out, he’s a big part of our system and playmaker. Getting those two fouls and not ever getting into a rhythm tonight, that hurt us on that end. Give them credit. They took us out of it. They took our shooters away and played Derrick. We just couldn’t get anything going. He had a career game the other day in Minnesota. Second half, we had stretches that I thought we cut very well to get it going. We talked in the locker room. We couldn’t have played much worse and had guys out of the lineup with fouls, but we were still in striking distance. We came out of the gate and made a run and cut it to five, but then they pushed it right back up. Wilhelm (Breidenbach) was a bright spot. It was good to see him get it going offensively. We just have to hopefully keep him in the game better in the first half with eliminating some of the fouls that are costing him. I think it was 10 with six and a half left, and then they went on a monumental run to finish it. We just have to stick together. For whatever reason, after losses we are bouncing back, but after wins we are just not handling it the right way. We have to find a way to bounce back whether it’s a win or loss and prepare. I thought our preparation was actually pretty good the last few days, but we certainly didn’t carry that over into the game.”
On fouls making an impact on the game
“It does but it shouldn’t be that big of a factor. We certainly practice with all our guys, and they all need to be ready to step in there and make an impact. We missed a lot of layups, I thought, and we aren’t converting on our free throws. We did the other day, we didn’t tonight. When you give up those types of opportunity, you just don’t get those back. We’ll learn from it, and hopefully we’ll grow from it and get better from it, but we’re going into the best team in the league’s gym which is the hardest place to play in our league. Hopefully, we respond well.”
On not being able to string wins together
“It’s frustrating. Again, if we want to have a chance to play in the postseason, you have to string them together and you have to start with that. We’ve had a brutal schedule. It’s been hard. There’s no doubt about that. But, you go on the road, you get a big win to pull even, as far as wins and losses on the road and at home, and then you come and drop one. We have to find a way to steal at least one more on the road, hopefully a couple of them, and start stringing good efforts together for the remaining 14 left.”
Forward Willhelm Breidenbach
On the struggles throughout the game
“I think it just takes us too long to get going. Just not being able to jump on it from the start I think really hurts us and then obviously me coming in and picking up dumb fouls kind of gives the other team momentum. Just have to play smarter I think and play more poised and follow the game plan.”
On fouls called during the first half
“We have a pretty next-man-up mentality. I mean Jamarques (Lawrence) came in. Denim (Dawson) came in and gave us really good minutes, so I think it is just kind of everybody is prepared. Obviously it sucks when there is that many whistles. Like I said when I am picking up dumb fouls that definitely hurts the team.”
On getting in a rhythm while fouls are being called
“It is hard but a lot of them are avoidable, box-outs, moving screens, things like that so we just have to play smarter.”
On Breidenbach’s scoring run
“Just take what the defense gives me. Whatever I can do to help the team and give the team a better chance at winning is what I will do. It does not necessarily have to be scoring but if I am scoring then that is fine. If it is rebounding or anything in between then that is what I will do.”
Illinois Coach Brad Underwood
On Ty Rodgers
“His impact on this game won't show in any of the stat lines maybe other than his rebounding. But he's establishing in a lot of ways what we've been fighting for, what I've been fighting for, as our culture. His versatility, his impact on the game, was tremendous. We had a lot of foul trouble throughout the first half. Most of you guys know I don't like to play guys with two. We had to do that a little bit. But Ty (Rodgers) gives us that guy who can guard any position, and then he had half of our offensive rebounds. So, I thought he was tremendous.”
On the team’s “us” mentality
“It is us and it's always been about us. It's never about the individual. It's about us. That's our everyday guy’s mantra. It's about the fight for us. We have a saying “toughness together”. And I thought tonight, we were the benefactor of loose balls and blocked shots. We got on the floor. And that's who we are. That's who Illinois has been. And “us” is a pretty good thing.”
On Terrence Shannon Jr.
“He’s playing like one of the best players in the country, not just in our league, but in the country. That’s the thing that Terrence (Shannon Jr.) is. Terrence wants to be coached. He wants to be coached hard. He wants to be pushed. He wants things demanded of him and expectations put on him. I mean, 25 (points) and 11 (rebounds)? That’s a pretty good night at any level and he's just rising to that challenge. And that's not just good for us, but it's fun to see guys maximize their talent level and he's starting to do that.”
Opening statement and on Juwan Gary’s shoulder
“With Juwan (Gary), we don’t know a lot right now. We will get a scan in the morning and do some more testing on him. Obviously, he was in a lot of pain and after being evaluated by the doctors, and we thought the right move was to keep him out for the rest of the game. We will have an update on Juwan hopefully in the next 24 hours.”
On the most disappointing part of the game and the game overall
“They are so fast and athletic when they turn you over. That was a big difference in the game and also with second-chance points. They had their way with that as well. We just have to have more focus on the basic part of our plan and go out and execute those things to give ourselves a chance. We had probably our best offensive game against Minnesota, but we didn’t carry that over. We had stretches in the second half. Listen, when Derrick (Walker) goes out, he’s a big part of our system and playmaker. Getting those two fouls and not ever getting into a rhythm tonight, that hurt us on that end. Give them credit. They took us out of it. They took our shooters away and played Derrick. We just couldn’t get anything going. He had a career game the other day in Minnesota. Second half, we had stretches that I thought we cut very well to get it going. We talked in the locker room. We couldn’t have played much worse and had guys out of the lineup with fouls, but we were still in striking distance. We came out of the gate and made a run and cut it to five, but then they pushed it right back up. Wilhelm (Breidenbach) was a bright spot. It was good to see him get it going offensively. We just have to hopefully keep him in the game better in the first half with eliminating some of the fouls that are costing him. I think it was 10 with six and a half left, and then they went on a monumental run to finish it. We just have to stick together. For whatever reason, after losses we are bouncing back, but after wins we are just not handling it the right way. We have to find a way to bounce back whether it’s a win or loss and prepare. I thought our preparation was actually pretty good the last few days, but we certainly didn’t carry that over into the game.”
On fouls making an impact on the game
“It does but it shouldn’t be that big of a factor. We certainly practice with all our guys, and they all need to be ready to step in there and make an impact. We missed a lot of layups, I thought, and we aren’t converting on our free throws. We did the other day, we didn’t tonight. When you give up those types of opportunity, you just don’t get those back. We’ll learn from it, and hopefully we’ll grow from it and get better from it, but we’re going into the best team in the league’s gym which is the hardest place to play in our league. Hopefully, we respond well.”
On not being able to string wins together
“It’s frustrating. Again, if we want to have a chance to play in the postseason, you have to string them together and you have to start with that. We’ve had a brutal schedule. It’s been hard. There’s no doubt about that. But, you go on the road, you get a big win to pull even, as far as wins and losses on the road and at home, and then you come and drop one. We have to find a way to steal at least one more on the road, hopefully a couple of them, and start stringing good efforts together for the remaining 14 left.”
Forward Willhelm Breidenbach
On the struggles throughout the game
“I think it just takes us too long to get going. Just not being able to jump on it from the start I think really hurts us and then obviously me coming in and picking up dumb fouls kind of gives the other team momentum. Just have to play smarter I think and play more poised and follow the game plan.”
On fouls called during the first half
“We have a pretty next-man-up mentality. I mean Jamarques (Lawrence) came in. Denim (Dawson) came in and gave us really good minutes, so I think it is just kind of everybody is prepared. Obviously it sucks when there is that many whistles. Like I said when I am picking up dumb fouls that definitely hurts the team.”
On getting in a rhythm while fouls are being called
“It is hard but a lot of them are avoidable, box-outs, moving screens, things like that so we just have to play smarter.”
On Breidenbach’s scoring run
“Just take what the defense gives me. Whatever I can do to help the team and give the team a better chance at winning is what I will do. It does not necessarily have to be scoring but if I am scoring then that is fine. If it is rebounding or anything in between then that is what I will do.”
Illinois Coach Brad Underwood
On Ty Rodgers
“His impact on this game won't show in any of the stat lines maybe other than his rebounding. But he's establishing in a lot of ways what we've been fighting for, what I've been fighting for, as our culture. His versatility, his impact on the game, was tremendous. We had a lot of foul trouble throughout the first half. Most of you guys know I don't like to play guys with two. We had to do that a little bit. But Ty (Rodgers) gives us that guy who can guard any position, and then he had half of our offensive rebounds. So, I thought he was tremendous.”
On the team’s “us” mentality
“It is us and it's always been about us. It's never about the individual. It's about us. That's our everyday guy’s mantra. It's about the fight for us. We have a saying “toughness together”. And I thought tonight, we were the benefactor of loose balls and blocked shots. We got on the floor. And that's who we are. That's who Illinois has been. And “us” is a pretty good thing.”
On Terrence Shannon Jr.
“He’s playing like one of the best players in the country, not just in our league, but in the country. That’s the thing that Terrence (Shannon Jr.) is. Terrence wants to be coached. He wants to be coached hard. He wants to be pushed. He wants things demanded of him and expectations put on him. I mean, 25 (points) and 11 (rebounds)? That’s a pretty good night at any level and he's just rising to that challenge. And that's not just good for us, but it's fun to see guys maximize their talent level and he's starting to do that.”
NU Athletic Communications