An interesting inter-conference matchup tips off this evening between a Pac-12 team looking to make a run at the top tier of its jumbled conference and a brand-new Big Ten team getting acclimated to its new environs. Join us for the conversation during Oregon vs. Nebraska tonight, after the jump.
Game #37. Dana Altman and Doc Sadler know each other well, especially when Dana Altman was the head coach of the Creighton Bluejays. However, this time this won’t be the Bluejays against the Huskers. Instead Dana Altman returns to Nebraska with his Oregon Ducks team to take on Nebraska in a game both men didn’t want to do. Both teams wanted to upgrade their non-conference schedules this season and they were both having troubles filling the schedule. against BCS League opponents. Altman is still trying to adjust to the recent loss of his first five-star recruit Jabari Brown who decided before Sunday’s game that he was leaving the Ducks program. Sadler on the other hand is sporting an undefeated Husker team in what could be a pivotal year for the coach and the program.
Join us Wednesday night from courtside at the Bob Devaney Sports Center as the Ducks take on the Huskers with RTC Live.
Recap
One thing that Nebraska head coach Doc Sadler prides his teams on is their defense. He knows that he could have a pretty good offense this season, but wins come with defense. Against Oregon on Wednesday night, the Nebraska defense didn’t rise to the occaision on defense until just under 11 minutes to go in the game. It wasn’t enough and the Ducks beat the Huskers in Lincoln, 83-76. Both teams battled it out in the first half with Nebraska getting as much as a seven-point lead midway through the first half behind 10 points by Branden Ubel. But Oregon struck back behind Tyrone Nared and Olu Ashaolu to lead the Ducks as the lead went back and forth and tied several times before Oregon went into the half with a four point lead.
In the second half, Oregon extended the lead to 15 with Garrett Sims hot shooting behind the arc. He finished with a team high 20 points. With 10:31 to go in the game, Nebraska’s defense picked up. The Huskers erased that 15 point lead starting with a three pointer by Ubel that got the crowd back into the game. “I can’t say enough about our crowd,” said Sadler. “They were a huge factor in the run we made and I can’t tell you how much this team appreciates that.” With Oregon suffering with foul trouble in their front line, Nebraska kept feeding the ball into Jorge Brian Diaz who eventually finished with a game high 21 points.
Nebraska tied the game at 75 on a shot from Bo Spencer, who was held to 3-of-11 from the field and 11 points in the game. But that was as close as the Huskers got. After EJ Singler hit two free throws to help Oregon regain the lead 77-75, Nebraska setup a play for Dylan Talley, who came off the bench to score 18 points. He missed the three pointer from the corner. Sim, Nared and Singler sealed the game going 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 23 seconds.
After the game, Doc Sadler talked about his team’s performance. “Oregon played hard. What I mean by that is you can’t score 76 points at home and get beat.” He continued. “I thought their cuts were harder. I think we were very fortunate to chip our way back into the game, very fortunate.” But he was very keyed in on the Husker defense. “Our defense is what we didn’t do. There has been so much talk and so much written on how much offense we got. You can have a lot of offense, but you can’t win any games. We’ve got to understand that you still had better protect the lane on the defensive end. We obviously did not do that.”
Nebraska falls to 3-1 on the season and host SOuth Dakota State on Sunday. Oregon heads back to Eugene with a 3-1 record and host UTEP next Tuesday.