Nebraska vs. Purdue Postgame

Nebraska Head Coach Tim Miles

On the key to transition
“(Purdue) blocked six of our first 12 shots. When you can’t even get them to the rim, you’re not going to make them. You have to credit Purdue on that, but we were just out of sync. Even our first possession. I told our guys, ‘let’s run motion a couple times. The first two plays will be this and that. Half of them line up like this and half of them line up like that.’ We were just a little disjointed early. But I think once we started to share the ball and taking better shots, you know. But early, it was awful to watch, especially the first eight minutes.”

On the assist to turnover ratio
“I think we’ve come a long way in that. When you look at these guys, first of all, this is a team that truly cares about each other. I don’t know that we were that earlier in the year. You have to have an identity. Your identity can be anything you want it to be. I remember an old mentor of mine, Butch Raymond, who coached Saint.College State used to have ‘The Run is Fun’ on the butt of their practice shorts. And they were going to fast break and run and have a good time. Clem Haskins had ‘Play Hard’ and Purdue has a clock and it says ‘it’s time to play hard.’ Everyone’s got their certain identities. Sometimes what you think you are going to be in October and November isn’t what you become. And I think this team has really been pleasant. It’s been fun for me and great to coach because of their togetherness. Our defense has vastly improved. There’s no doubt about it. That’s why we are winning games. Just dealing with them every day. There was a lot of frustration early in the year. Like (Terran Petteway) is a perfectionist. He’s really hard on himself. Shavon (Shields) is really hard on himself. (Walter Pitchford) gets upset. You guys were asking me all these body language questions a couple months back and you don’t ask them anymore. I think growing up and accepting each other and accepting themselves and understanding what it takes to win has really been key for these guys. That’s just part of the growing up process as a team.”

On the team’s identity
“I don’t think we can say it publicly. If it was on cable, we could. First of all, I think we are a good defensive team. We are a very good defensive team that makes it difficult for you to operate in the lane. We held Purdue is still in the 20th percentile shooting percentage until late in the second half. That’s really good defense for a long time. That’s not a high field goal percentage, but you are a playing a good Big Ten team in the mid-20s.”

On A.J. Hammonds
“I think when Benny Parker went in there, and just took the ball, that was like a message saying ‘We’re here. We’re going to be here all day.’ I’m five-whatever we lied on the game program. And I’m going to be here.’ And David Rivers and Walt and Leslee and guys like Terran and Shavon in there too. I think it was Benny from the get go that was a really good message that this is going to be hard on you. We weren’t there. We just weren’t there last time we played them.”

Sophomore Forward Terran Petteway

On adjusting after the slow start
“We just started taking our time. When you look at it, we were just rushing at the beginning. Me, personally, I was rushing. I think we just needed to slow down and let the game come to us.”

On the key to transition
“It was most definitely our defense that led to our transition points. I mean we played great defense and we beat them in the transition game.”

On A.J. Hammonds
“In practice, we were going over doubling him. It was a double, you know? As you see, he kind of turned it over a little. We kind of got him out of his game and that was key for us. We got him into foul trouble I think. Leslee (Smith) did a great job on him creating fouls on him and taking him out of the flow of the game really.”

Shavon Shields and Walter Pitchford
Pitchford on how the knee is holding up:

Shields: “He’s fine.” (laughs)

Pitchford: “Doing great, just doing all the things I have to do to prepare for the next day, you know. About to get into the cold tub, get some treatment and go to sleep. So it’ll be fine.”

Pitchford on if he was thinking about it on the alley-oop:

“No, that’s why I didn’t wear a pad today during the game. Just getting some words of wisdom from my teammates like Shavon telling me, ‘you know, don’t think about it because that’s a mind thing. It’s a mental thing.’ So that’s what I did, I didn’t think about it.”

Shields on if he felt he had to step up early in the game with guys in foul trouble:

“Just trying to make plays to help the team win. It was a team effort, so if I can produce within the offense and within what we’re doing, the happier I am.”

Shields on ability to apply pressure with multiple scorers:

“Yeah, I mean, we’re pretty dynamic in that way. Walt can score, Terran (Petteway) can score, I can score. Ray (Gallegos) can shoot, Tai (Webster) makes plays. We just have different people that have shown up on different nights and kind of play off of each other. We’re really molding right now and kind of coming together, so we just need to keep it going.”

Pitchford on the impact of Benny Parker tying up A.J. Hammons early:
“A huge impact. Benny Parker, he’s not scared of anybody. That’s the funny thing. He might be the shortest kid on the court, but he’s not scared of anybody. It doesn’t matter how big or tall he is, so it’s a huge impact. He brings a lot of energy to the team.”

Shields on what allowed the Huskers to turn the game into a rout:

“Defense. We held them to what? Under 10 percent shooting from three and really owned the paint the second half. I mean, we fouled way too much, but getting stops and getting out and running and just getting stops and scoring, another stop and just kept going and going. That’s how we extended it.”

Shields on if they knew they would be as successful in transition as they were:

“Yeah, I think we did because we kind of talked about it how they crash the boards pretty well. They are top five in the country in second-chance points? So we prided ourselves on boxing out, made a real emphasis on that the last two days. We boxed out, then just had guards getting out and going, and that’s what led to our transition.”

Shields on atmosphere after back-to-back alley-oops:

“They’ve been great in here all year. We just keep feeding off of them and they keep bringing energy to us. It’s a super fun environment, great time to be part of this program.”

 Head Coach Matt Painter

On Purdue's poor offensive performance
“To start the game, I thought our guys had a chance to build a lead, and we didn't. We had too many missed opportunities. We just weren't able to make a simple play, especially scoring at the rim. We have to be able to have a balance offensively. When we don't make perimeter shots, they really sag in to protect the lane. I thought they did a really good job with that, but we simply had too many breakdowns defensively. We really compound our mistakes when you think about not finishing around the rim. But you have to give them credit. They're a good team. The transition baskets they got just killed us. When you can make some shots and make better decisions, they're not going to get in transition as much. Obviously, we helped them in that department."

On Nebraska making the NCAA Tournament
“They're going to have to finish stronger. I haven't looked at what they did non-conference. If they didn't beaten an NCAA Tournament team, I would say no right now. They played like it today. When you're worried about yourself, sometimes you don't look at somebody else's stuff. There's no doubt that they could get into the NCAA Tournament and do some damage if they can get there. They have to get off 9-9. You have to get off of it. They can possibly do that as we get into the Big Ten Tournament. I haven't dissected them, but it comes down to your quality wins. Obviously, the win at Michigan State really helps them. They're pretty particular how they play. They can stretch you with (Walter) Pitchford, and that gets a lot of big guys, like us, in trouble. They're a very good defensive team. They really pack it in. They have to keep that defensive package on the road. If they can be as consistent defensively and generate baskets, they have a chance. (Terran) Petteway is so good. I thought he played with a lot of energy. He was blocking shots, running around and making difficult shots. There's no doubt that they're going to be close here, but they probably have to get one more good one. Especially if they can get one of those away from home, that's really going to help them."

 

On Terran Petteway
“I don't know if a lot of teams have one guy like (Terran) Petteway. Think about it. Think about a 6'7" guard who is that athletic and can go get his own shot. I'm not saying we don't have quality guards in our league, but we don't have 6'7" guys who can play the point if they have to. He's pretty talented. I've been in the league for 10 years, and I played in this league. He's pretty damn good." 

 On Shavon Shields
"If (Shavon) Shields can be consistent, he'll be great. He can't have five at our place and 33 against Illinois. He's one of those guys that averages 14 and needs to get you 14. He's tough. Today, our young kid couldn't guard him. He got in foul trouble and we needed him to shoot the basketball. When he gets it going, he's really good, but he's going to have to be there every single game. When he gets that, probably into his junior year, he'll be an all-conference guy in this league. He definitely has that ability. When they mix you up a little bit offensively with Shields and (Terran) Petteway, and then (Walter) Pitchford is making a shot or two, it really helps. You try to squeeze with some of their other guys who can't shoot, but they've done a great job of playing their roles. A lot of guys won't accept those roles. You have to give it to those guys. You have to give it to (Benny) Parker and (David) Rivers. Those guys are helping them win. They aren't scoring for them, but who gives a damn? They've got some scorers. Those guys are doing a good job sacrificing to help Nebraska."

On facing a different Nebraska this time
“I just think they're a better team at home. I don't think they're any different. I just think, for whatever reason, some teams are different at home than they are away. You probably have to give these fans credit. This is unbelievable. The fans here are great. This is an unbelievable venue. Most fans won't come out until you win. These fans have come out to help them win. That says a lot about the people here in this community and this state. I would just say that if they can get that consistency, and get another win like they did the other day at Michigan State, now they're really working toward getting in that tournament and doing some damage. They could beat some people in the tournament. If you get them on a neutral court, they could beat a lot of people."

On Terran Petteway's All-Big Ten potential
“There's a lot of good players there. It depends what you want to do in terms of positions. I always vote for people who win, so if he wants to keep winning, he's my guy. Adreian Payne and Gary Harris really played well against us. (Nik) Stauskas is a good player. I would say those guys really jumped to the forefront. Then I always shape up my team by people that win or players who really just step up. Obviously, I would vote for him today, there's no doubt about that, but the season's not over. And we don't have to play him any more, so I can say that."

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On Nebraska's defense

“Well, we missed a couple shots early that were good looks. We took a couple we shouldn't have taken. One thing in basketball is that things get contagious, good or bad. We're one-for-nine from three and our best three-point shooter gets three fouls and he's out. We took a couple contested ones and a couple early ones, but that's smart. A couple of my guys look at me and say, "Coach, I'm open." And I say, "Yeah, Coach (Tim) Miles wants you to be open." You want to work with guys and help them on their confidence, but at the end of the day you have to be smart. You have to get a ​good shot for Purdue. Today we didn't do that."

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On changing the starting lineup

“I was just trying to shake things up. We've been inconsistent all year and with that you're trying to get somebody to play better. Someone may start better, and someone may come off the bench and play better. We mixed things up the game before to try and stop Adreian Payne a little bit, and obviously that didn't work."