Can Nebrasketball Go on a Run?

Jack Mitchell and Josh Peterson discussed Nebraska men's basketball's win over Illinois and tried to figure out if it could be the beginning of something or if it'll just be a one-off.

Saturday Morning Coffee Show / I-80 Club

On this week's Saturday Morning Coffee Show, Jack Mitchell and Josh Peterson discussed Nebraska's win over Illinois and tried to figure out if it could be the beginning of something or if it'll just be a one-off. Ultimately, the question is there: can Nebraska men's basketball go on a run?

Below is a lightly edited transcript of their conversation on the podcast.

Jack: I think they're going to go on a run and there's going to be a point in this season where you're like, “Dang that down stretch seems totally different than where we are now.” I just don't know if it's going to happen before or after they're completely buried, in terms of their NCAA chances.

Jan 30, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Juwan Gary (4) gets a rebound against Illinois Fighting Illini forward Will Riley (7) during overtime at Pinnacle Bank Arena. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Josh: Okay, interesting. So you don't know if it's going to happen now or if they're going to lose a few more games and then they're going to get going in their last three.

Jack: If they’re going to lose too many, if they’re going to lose two this weekend and then lose at home and then all of a sudden you're like, “Oh geez.” Or two in the northwest and two at home. There will be a point where we're like, “Where in the hell was this?” You know why I say that? Cause it happens every year!

Josh: It does.

Jan 30, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg watches during the first half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Pinnacle Bank Arena. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Jack: It legit happens every year. And they make some changes, they change up the personnel, which is kind of what they did with this one. And it seems to trigger something with them. It happens every freaking year. Sometimes fast enough. Sometimes it's super too little too late. Even three years ago when they went on the road and beat Ohio State and Wisconsin, Wisconsin, huge upsets to end the season. The season was shot to hell. But all of a sudden they have three, I think, consecutive games where they look like a completely different team at the end of the season in a better way.

So that's my read on it. Am I confident that they've turned things around? No, but you had to have that win. So, I mean, you can't complain. As we talked about on your show yesterday Josh, that is a game they always lose. And frankly, every team that I cheer for always loses.

Jan 30, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Brice Williams (3) dunks the ball against Illinois Fighting Illini forward Jake Davis (15) and guard Kasparas Jakucionis (32) during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Josh: That's the surprise for me, that they won on Thursday night. You look at some of the metrics, for example, Nebraska was out rebounded 38 to 29. They were out rebounded on the offensive glass 20 to 13. Most of the outrebounding numbers came because of offensive boards for the Fighting Illini. The end of the game was seemingly leading to just like an epic loss. You texted me towards the end of the game. You're like, “I can't do this,” because they had never trailed. They had never trailed!

And then suddenly it's tied. Illinois got the ball with what? Like 20 seconds remaining. And then Nebraska executes the fouls to give situation absolutely perfectly. Also, Illinois has a pass where it goes into the backcourt, which wastes four or five seconds. And so all that to say, this is a game where normally they lose. And so on one hand, you want to say, yeah, they shouldn't have blown it. On the other, I can't believe that they blew it and then still got the W, because in overtime, they pretty much dominated. And so the important thing is to actually use this for something good.

To see more, watch it on the video below! And for access to the entire conversation, consider becoming a member of the I-80 Club today! Do so at patreon.com/I80Club.

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