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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
March 27, 2010, at 1:05 p.m.
Congrats All Around
Now that we're in the offseason, there will probably be a handful of blogs that I'll dedicate to the athletic department and other teams as a way to fill some space and still keep people informed. Today will be the first of those.
- Congrats to the women's basketball team on a special season. I'm sure everyone was disappointed it ended too soon, but a great run like they made does not come along often and it deserves every bit of praise those women have received. Well done.
- Along with the women, it seems the athletic department as a whole has been on an upswing this season. At least according to the Sears Director's Cup standings, that is. As of last week, Nebraska ranked 17th nationally in the all-sport competition after the solid showing by the wrestling team's 12th-place finish at nationals behind the strong showings of Craig Brester (2nd) and Stephen Dwyer (4th). Nebraska is second among league teams, trailing only Texas A&M, and making its best showing in a number of years. Congrats to all the Huskers and the hard work they're putting in in all sports.
- A little pat on the back also can be handed out to a few Husker basketball players. While the season didn't go as well as hoped, there were some great performances to take note of. First, congrats to Ryan Anderson who finished his senior season ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 in 3-point percentage and fourth in steals. That is among the final statistics as the last of the Big 12 teams bowed out of the NCAA Tournament yesterday and made the league stats complete. Along with Ryan, Nebraska was represented well by: Jorge Brian Diaz who was ninth in blocked shots (NU freshman record 43 blocks) and was the only freshman in the top 15 in the Big 12; Brandon Richardson who finished fifth in free throw percentage; Lance Jeter who was eighth in assists and seven in assist-to-turnover ratio; and Sek Henry who was 15th in assists. Jeter and Henry ranking in the top 15 made the Huskers just one of three teams (also KU and KSU) with two assist men in the top 15.
Thanks again for checking in again at NU Hoops Blog. Don't forget that you can email us at NUhoopsblog@hotmail.com or tweet us at www.twitter.com/nuhoopsblog with your questions and comments.
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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
March 23, 2010, at 4:26 p.m.
Playing a Numbers Game
It's been a while since I've posted on here, mainly so that I could use the time to catch up on some other things around the office. But for today, I just wanted to let every one know that we're still going to be here doing the blog on occasion during the off-season, hopefully giving some insight here and there and maybe some useful tidbits.
That second part is today's lesson as we have some notes to pass on courtesy of the Big 12 office.
While it's some times tough to look at things like these types of numbers when you're not in the postseason, I take a look at it from a different angle: this is just another way to quantify how difficult this league is.
So if you're out this weekend at a local restaurant or bar and having a good time your friends watching the remaining basketball games, see if they can answer some questions like: what conference has the best winning percentage in the postseason in the past eight years? Answer, the Big 12 of course.
Big 12 Has The Most Sweet Success
In the last 10 years (2001-10), no conference in the nation has had a greater percentage of its teams make at least one regional semifinal appearance than the Big 12.
Teams With Regional Semifinal Appearances - By Conference (Since 2001)
BIG 12 9 of 12 75.0 %
Pac-10 7 of 10 70.0 %
SEC 8 of 12 66.7 %
Big Ten 7 of 11 63.6 %
Big East 10 of 16 62.5 %
ACC 7 of 12 58.3 %
Regional Regulars
In the last nine years (2002-10), the Big 12 has had 22 teams reach the Sweet 16. The total is more than all but one conference.
Regional Semifinalists - By Conference (Since 2002)
Big East 27
BIG 12 22
ACC 17
Big Ten 16
Pac-10 16
SEC 14
In Last Three Seasons, Big 12 Is The Best
Over the past three years, the Big 12 has posted a 30-16 (.652) record in NCAA play. The winning percentage is first nationally during that time.
Top NCAA Records - Last Three Years (2008-10)
Conference 2008 2009 2010 Total Pct.
BIG 12 12-5 11-6 7-5 30-16 .652
Big East 11-8 17-7 6-6 34-21 .618
Big Ten 5-4 9-7 7-2 21-13 .618
ACC 6-4 9-6 5-5 20-15 .571
Pac-10 8-6 6-6 3-1 17-13 .567
SEC 4-6 1-3 4-2 9-11 .450
Going Back, Big 12 Still Boasts Strong Postseason Record
Big 12 success in the NCAAs is not just a recent trend. The league is among the nation's leaders in victories and winning percentage in the past eight years too. The Big 12 leads the nation in win percentage and only one conference - the Big East with four more teams overall - has more victories.
NCAA Win Percentage ~ Last Eight Seasons (2003-10)
BIG 12 70-40 .636
Big East 83-49 .629
ACC 61-39 .610
SEC 51-35 .593
Big Ten 55-38 .591
Pac-10 47-35 .573
The Most Among The Elite
The Big 12 had two teams in the regional finals each of the past two seasons (2008, '09). Seven times in the last eight years at least one conference squad has advanced to the Elite Eight. Since 2002, the Big 12 has had the most teams in the regional finals and DOUBLE the amount of all but one conference.
Regional Finalists - By Conference (2002-09)
BIG 12 14
Big East 12
Big Ten 7
ACC 7
Pac-10 7
SEC 6
Elite This Decade Too
During the first 10 years of the 21st Century, Big 12 teams have had consistent success in reaching the Elite Eight of the NCAA Championship. Since 2000, there have been a total of 21 teams nationally that have advanced multiple times to a regional final. The Big 12 leads all conferences with five of those teams - nearly double that of the next closest league.
Multiple Elite Eight Appearances (2000-09) - By Conference
BIG 12 (KU, MU, OU, OSU, UT) 5
Big East (UConn, Louisville, Villanova) 3
ACC (Duke, Maryland, UNC) 3
Big Ten (Illinois, Michigan State, Wisconsin) 3
Pac-10 (Arizona, Oregon, UCLA) 3
SEC (Florida, Kentucky) 2
Atlantic-10 (Xavier) 1
Conference USA (Memphis) 1
Seven Heaven
The Big 12 set a conference record with seven teams earning bids to the NCAA Tournament in 2010. It marks the first time in league history that the Big 12 has had seven NCAA participants. The Big 12 has had six teams earn bids seven times, including each of the previous two years (2008, 2009).
Thanks again for checking in again at NU Hoops Blog. Don't forget that you can email us at NUhoopsblog@hotmail.com or tweet us at www.twitter.com/nuhoopsblog with your questions and comments.
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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
March 8, 2010, at 8:46 a.m.
Championship Week
Well, I know it's gone quick for everyone, but the regular season is in the books and now it's time to move on to the league's postseason tourney. I love the fact it's in Kansas City, where I personally wish it was every year. When I first got to Nebraska, KC is the only home the tourney had ever known and after 2-3 years, it felt like going home for the holidays from college... you get to see old friends and gather in the same places for a day or three and enjoy yourself while watching a ton of great hoops. Then when it moved to Dallas and Oklahoma City, well, it was nice but didn't have the same feeling.
Anyway, that's just my unofficial take. I'm just glad it's back there this year and next.
Hopefully you'll be joining us this week as we get started on Wednesday against Missouri at 2 p.m. If you are coming down or if you are in the KC area and want to come by on Tuesday to see the Huskers practice, all of the team practices are open to the public. For a complete rundown, here's the list:
Noon - 12:40 p.m. No. 9 Texas Tech
12:45 - 1:25 p.m. No. 8 Colorado
1:30 - 2:10 p.m. No. 12 Nebraska
2:15 - 2:55 p.m. No. 5 Missouri
3:00 - 3:40 p.m. No. 7 Oklahoma State
3:45 - 4:25 p.m. No. 10 Oklahoma
4:30 - 5:10 p.m. No. 6 Texas
5:15 - 5:55 p.m. No. 11 Iowa State
We hope to see you there this week at the Sprint Center. Make sure to check out the College Basketball Experience if it's your first time there. Pretty cool place.
Thanks again for checking in again at NU Hoops Blog. Don't forget that you can email us at NUhoopsblog@hotmail.com or tweet us at www.twitter.com/nuhoopsblog with your questions and comments.
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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
March 5, 2010, at 10:46 a.m.
Friday Tidbits
For those of you looking for a little reading today at work (you wouldn't read about sports and your Huskers at work, would you?), here are a couple links that might be interesting:
- Heading into this weekend, only four seeds are set for the Big 12 Championship next week in Kansas City. Kansas will be the No. 1 seed, OSU is No. 7, Iowa State is No. 11 and Nebraska is No. 12. The rest of the seeds are up for grabs. The Huskers still have a chance to play Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M or Baylor depending on how the games play out this weekend. For more on it, check out the Big 12's blog.
- If you didn't check it out on our front page, take a look at the video and information about the Lincoln Haymarket Arena project.
Thanks again for checking in again at NU Hoops Blog. Don't forget that you can email us at NUhoopsblog@hotmail.com or tweet us at www.twitter.com/nuhoopsblog with your questions and comments.
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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
March 3, 2010, at 11:26 a.m.
Senior Rewind
Obviously by looking at the score, last night did not go as planned. Senior Night is always tough to deal with emotionally when you have several guys -- this time four to be specific -- who have given everything they have to a program for several years. But when you don't come out on top, it's even harder.
Despite the loss, hopefully for Sek, Ryan, Ben and Chris, it was still a special night while having their families with them as they were competing on their home court for the last time. I had a chance to meet all of their parents and it's no wonder these guys have turned out to be such good people. Great families. So, my hope is that they all had a wonderful time with the pregame celebration and can look back on their whole careers as a positive, not just this one night that didn't go as well as hoped.
For those of you who were unable to be there in person, here is a link to the Senior Night introduction video.
Again, another nice job and congratulations to Brad Colee and HuskerVision as well as the marketing office, the team managers, the coaches, and everyone involved for making the pregame ceremony go off without a hitch and in a first-class manner. Well done.
Thanks again for checking in again at NU Hoops Blog. Don't forget that you can email us at NUhoopsblog@hotmail.com or tweet us at www.twitter.com/nuhoopsblog with your questions and comments.
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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
March 1, 2010, at 11:06 p.m.
Looking Back and Foward
As we head into March, it's time to take a quick look back to the weekend and a small peak ahead to the upcoming week, the final week of the regular season.
First, we sent intern Brandon over to the Devaney Center today to talk with a player about Saturday's exciting win over Texas Tech. He decided to chat with senior Sek Henry, who had his best offensive game in a Husker uniform against the Red Raiders. We hope you enjoy what Brandon came up with.
Senior Night isn't until Tuesday, but Sek Henry delivered one of the best performances of his career in Nebraska's thrilling 83-79 double-overtime victory over Texas Tech on Saturday. Henry played 38 minutes, scoring a career-high 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. Even more crucial, the Los Angeles native was clutch down the stretch at the free throw line, nailing all six free throws as the Huskers put away the Red Raiders.
Mostly due to her fear of flying, Sek's mother, Juanita, will be visiting Lincoln for the first time ever Tuesday night. And the senior hopes to turn in another career-best game with her in the stands. I sat down with the senior for a few minutes before Monday's practice to talk about his most recent performance and here's what he had to say:
Is that the longest basketball game you have ever played in?
"I believe so. I was very tired, but the intensity of the crowd really pushed us through. I know it pushed me through. I was just very happy to get the victory. I had my knee scoped this past summer, so you get a little bit out of shape being out for a month and a half to two months. So for me to play 38 minutes...wow. Normally, I feel really good shape-wise, but I had to fight through."
You mentioned the fans as playing a big factor. Can you elaborate on that a little more?
"It really helps. During the end of the game, Texas Tech was at the free-throw line and it got so loud. (The opponent) really did get nervous. Then he missed both free throws. The reason why was because of the fans. I know it was. I could see it. I was really happy about that. Then the crowd was screaming 'Defense' and everything. It was great. I loved it."
Was that the most worn out you've been following a basketball game?
"When I got interviewed after the game, before I started, I was laying on the floor because I felt dehydrated. I needed some water. I was just very tired, but very happy that we pulled it out and got the victory."
Down the stretch, you were very strong from the field and at the free throw line. How were you able to do that despite being so physically drained?
"I wanted to win so bad. I just kept saying 'This is all we have. We have to get a victory. We need this very, very bad.' I just tried my hardest to stay ready to fire and I hit my shots."
Sek has been one of the hardest-working players in the program since he was the first recruit brought in by Doc. When he's done playing, Sek will rank third on the Nebraska career list for games played, and in the top 10 for games started and top 20 for assists. He'll also be among the top 40 scorers.
Sek will be one of four seniors honored on Tuesday night before the game, along with Ryan Anderson, Ben Nelson and Chris Balham. Fans should plan to get there by 6:40 p.m. to be in their seats for the senior tribute video Brad Colee and the HuskerVision crew has put together.
For a little preview of what you might hear during part of the video, check out Doc's comments on each of the seniors right here:
Coach Doc Sadler on Sek Henry
Coach Doc Sadler on Ryan Anderson
Coach Doc Sadler on Chris Balham
Coach Doc Sadler on Ben Nelson
We hope to see all of you there as Sek and Company try for their second straight win in preparation for the Big 12 Championship next week. The Huskers are still alive for the No. 9 seed in the tournament but the first step in that process will come on Tuesday. Join us and be loud. As you heard from Sek, it helps. A lot.
Thanks again for checking in again at NU Hoops Blog. Don't forget that you can email us at NUhoopsblog@hotmail.com or tweet us at www.twitter.com/nuhoopsblog with your questions and comments.
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get caught up on some other things around the office. In the meantime, I've been thinking about compiling some of my own awards for early in April around the basketball banquet. Make sure to check back for those.