Nebraska vs. Penn State Post Game

Nebraska Head Coach Tim Miles

On free throws
“I think everyone was going to the line tonight. When 70% of their shots are misses and 68% of ours, then everything is a loose ball. That’s hard to officiate and that’s hard to play. Players started to drive it harder and rebounds are more contested, so it’s just an ugly game. Those are hard to officiate and we’ve been in a few of those this year.”

On the win
“I thought our game plan was solid. I liked how we were defending them. Once we get a lineup on the floor, I played guys with two fouls throughout the first half which is a risk, but I feel that if we get a good lineup out there, then we can build a lead and we did. Then the fouling got worse but early in the second half I thought we were able to build on that.”

On what was going right
“Well they didn’t make a lot of threes, so you can do a lot of things. If you can win the paint defensively then you can make it hard on them. We didn’t over extend and we played a pack defensive style. Against teams that aren’t going to make a lot of threes then that can be highly effective and I think it was tonight. Some of it was just the contrast of styles, also they didn’t have (Tim) Frazier and Pat is in a tough spot. I think they are doing great. I think he’s doing all the right things energy wise. They play no surrender and those are important steps. To the common fan they don’t always think that’s necessary but it is to that locker room and to that program, no doubt about it. I’ve been in his shoes.”

On how satisfying this win was
“Well they’re all satisfying but like I told the team, we’re catching something. We’re either catching Penn State by losing and move backwards or we have a chance to catch Northwestern or Iowa. Two of those won in the last couple of days so if we truly want to catch them, we have two games against Iowa and one against Illinois and we have to win. We have to go out and find a way to win and we did. That was important.”

On how much the week off helped
“I thought it helped some. We got to work on some things and just clean up some things, but you lose a little bit of your timing too. It’s nice to have that mental break.”

On if he expected a seven point lead at half with Ubel and Shields only playing nine minutes
“No I wouldn’t, we need those guys on the floor. They are very bright guys and they know what the game plan looks like. Shavon is a freshman so he’s going to have good days and bad days. Brandon was in a little bit of a funk early, but I thought he did some really good things too. He got inside and got some rebounds.”

Penn State Head Coach Pat Chambers

On Penn State’s offensive struggles

“No I definitely think it’s a little bit of both. They had a week off, and had they had fresh legs and it looked like it. We played hard. We played hard definitely at the start of the second half, but we have to make shots. We had some really good looks and at some point you have to be able to make shots. Their game plan was great. They packed it in. There were four or five guys at a time, so D.J. (Newbill) couldn’t get downhill and get to the rim. It was smart. It was really like a disguise almost with five guys in the middle. We just got to keep getting better that is what I keep telling them.”

On if Penn State’s players are still giving their all

“Yeah, they are trying, there is effort. They want to be good, they don’t want to be 0-11… nobody does. We have had great practices; phenomenal, great energy there is a willingness to get better. No one is pointing fingers, nobody has a bad attitude, for that I give them credit. But certainly we need to get over the hump sooner or later because you have to see some success.

Nebraska Forward Brandon Ubel

On how hard it was to find a rhythm in a game like tonight’s game

“It was definitely a different type of game, and that was something that we have struggled with, getting to the free throw line. The fact that we got there so many times is a good sign. I think that just means we were attacking more at the rim, instead of being hesitant. That is a good sign for us going forward, but there was definitely a different pace to it.”

On if Penn State was getting sloppy at the end of the game

“I think we did a good job recognizing how the game was being called and attacked the rim. We didn’t settle for jump shots. There were a lot of times in the first and second half that we could have taken a three, but instead we pump faked and drove to the rim. That is a really good thing because not only does it make it five on four which then you can get to the rim, but it also opens up guys for shots.”

On the defensive play tonight

“I think we did really well on defense, obviously when you foul that much it kind of negates it. I thought we were in tune with what was going on. We had a really good scout. We just recognized their sets and used our hands a little too much and fouled.”

On if the team felt fresh

“I think so, any time you get a week off in the middle of the Big Ten season, which is long, is nice. It was well timed for us, we came out and got the win and now hopefully we can get on a roll here.”

On winning a game being favored

“Well want to win every game. Realistically that is not going to happen even to the best teams. It is big for us, coach has been saying all week that we are either going to catch the teams below us, or in front of us. We got to get on a roll here and make sure we are heading in the right direction.”

Notes
*-Penn State was held to 29.2 percent shooting tonight, the lowest by a Husker opponent this year. The previous low was 32.1 percent by Northwestern on Jan. 26.
*-Nebraska picked up its ninth home win of the season, the 37^th consecutive season finishing at or above .500 in the Devaney Center.
*-The Huskers picked up their 12^th win of the season, matching the entire season total from 2011-12
*-Nebraska swept both regular-season meetings with Penn State, the first time the Huskers had swept a season series from a conference opponent since the 2008-09 season against Colorado (55-53, 46-41)
*-Nebraska’s 67 points is its second-highest total in Big Ten play this season, trailing only the 68 scored at Penn State on Jan. 19.
*-Nebraska out-rebounded PSU, 40-39, the second straight game where the Huskers had out-rebounded an opponent.
*-Brandon Ubel tied his career high with three blocks, which was previously set against Wisconsin on Jan. 6. He now has 16 blocked shots this season, which is a career best.
*-David Rivers dished out a career-best five assists, after having just 11 assists in the Huskers’ first 22 games. His previous season and career best was three in the season opener against Southern on Nov. 11.