Postgame Notes and Quotes - Prairie View A&M

Notes
*-Nebraska started a pair of freshman for the fourth time in Tim Miles’ four seasons, as Glynn Watson Jr. joined Michael Jacobson in the starting lineup. The last time NU started two freshman was on Feb. 22, 2015, against Iowa. The other two instances came during the 2012-13 season.
*- Nebraska’s 81 points marks the Huskers’ fourth 80-point performance of the season and first since scoring 82 against Tennessee on Nov. 27. 
*-Nebraska shot 50 percent from the field, including 56 percent in the second half. It was the third time NU shot 50 percent or better this season.
*-Nebraska’s 17 assists was the team’s second-highest total of the year and most since having 19 against Delaware State. 
*-Nebraska got 30 points from its best, its highest total since scoring 48 against Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 22
*-Tai Webster’s three steals was a season high (previous high two on four occasions). 
*-Nebraska outscored Prairie View A&M, 48-16, in the final 17:33 after Prairie View A&M took a one-point lead. 
*-Ed Morrow Jr. had a career-high and team-high six rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench. Morrow’s previous high was five on four previous occasions.

Postgame Quotes

Nebraska Head Coach Tim Miles

On the team’s confidence level heading into this game
“I think in our pregame radio show I told Kent (Pavelka) that you don’t shake out of these losses quickly and easily like we had against Samford. Sometimes there’s this period where you still feel like you’re at the dentist office, like I’m not done with this root canal yet. I thought we relaxed in the first half when they went on the big 16-0 run. I think it was a 20-5 run, but it was fueled by turnovers again. It was the same mistakes but I thought we came out and cleaned it up in the second half and were better with the ball. I wish I could point to one guy but you can’t. We spread out those nine turnovers amongst seven guys. We just got to keep getting better or they’re going to be in great shape through practice. We run for every turnover, either we really like the treadmill or we are sharing the ball too much.”

On the defensive intensity in the second half

“I thought we were better on the ball. We were good on the ball early. Against Samford I thought we were good on the ball early as well and then as we didn’t score we really relaxed. We’ve got to really ride out that defensive intensity and make it pay for us on the other end. You need to get some quick easy shots and some stuff in transition. I thought the second half it was really critical once it got to 33-34 the guys really locked in. I don’t know if they called timeout or we did. I think they did. They had a kid limping around. Benny (Parker) was really vocal in that timeout and then went out and played accordingly.”

On the rotation going forward

“I think with this team right now we are still finding our way. I think I’m going to keep the starting guards the way they are right now. I’m going to let that ride out for a while. I think I feel comfortable with that. Jack (McVeigh) has struggled shooting the last five games. But Jack still does a lot of things right. I’d like him to score more. He’s a smart player; he has a great mind for the game so he brings a lot of intangibles to the game even if he’s not making shots. The post rotation is going to be Michael (Jacobson) and Ed (Morrow Jr.) and then when Jake (Hammond) comes back around we will see where he fits in from there.”

On the confidence level of the team heading into conference play

“First off, I believe in my guys. Things were bad the other night and I’m not going to divorce them when it’s bad and then remarry them when it’s good. But we need to get better and we need to get better in a lot of ways, not just defensively but offensively.  We need to have better resilience. We will allow teams to go on big runs. We will also go on big runs.  You can’t allow that in the Big Ten and the competition is hot and heavy and it’s going to come at you hard and fast.”

 

Junior Guard Andrew White III

On the ups and downs of the game and what led to Prairie View’s first-half comeback…

“They had confidence. There’s a lot of good teams out here. A lot of well-coached guys. I think teams just bring it. When people come into Pinnacle Bank Arena, everybody’s trying to get a win. For a lot of the opponents we’ve had, so far, this has been some of the best atmospheres they’ve been in. It’s just a game that everybody circles on their schedule, so that’s why we see teams at their best every night.”

On what gave the Huskers the spark in the second half to put Prairie View away…

“Togetherness. We had a meeting this week, and we were talking about holding everybody accountable for what they do on and off the court. We really stressed togetherness. In this profession, coaches are going to get on guys, but it’s our job, as a team, to pick guys up. I think by us having a slow first half, it really tested our togetherness, so I think we made a lot of strides in that aspect. That helped us get our feet under us and have a breakout second half. That’ll be something more crucial for games going forward than just the game today.”

On the team’s confidence heading into Big Ten play…

“I think everybody’s kind of neutral right now, honestly. When you end your first school semester and you’re heading into Big Ten play, I don’t think your non-conference schedule should have you too high or too low. We’ve had some decent wins and some bad losses, so I think when you get into conference play it’s like a new season, its zero-and-zero. I think everybody should have a neutral mindset so that those who have played well up until this point aren’t too high on themselves and those that have not played well are not too down on themselves. I think that’s the best approach to have going into a tough conference schedule like we’re going to get into.”

 

Junior Guard Tai Webster

On Coach Tim Miles’ message at halftime…
“It was just that we put ourselves in the position that we were in and that it was up to us to come out and play like we know we can play. Just focus on doing the little things well and just come out with effort and togetherness.”

On Coach Miles’ halftime attitude…
“I wouldn’t say he was upset. It was more supportive more than anything. He just wanted us to play like we know we can play and just try to get everyone on the same page.”

On if the team was mad or frustrated that Prairie View was as close as they were at halftime…
“I wouldn’t say mad. They’re a good team at the end of the day. They have a lot of good individual players on their team. It really showed, at that one point, when they started going. It really showed what they can do. They stuck around with some good teams. I wouldn’t say we were mad that they were where they were, just more… if anything, just mad at ourselves and mad that we put ourselves in that position.”

On his defensive performance in the second half…
“I felt like I was kind of, in the first half, just floating around not really doing anything. It’s been my thing for a while to get it started on the defensive end, so I just try to focus on that. Obviously it came around on the other end.”

Prairie View A&M Head Coach Byron Rimm II

Opening Statement

“Poorly played game by Prairie View. We didn’t adjust to certain things, and we didn’t play hard and just didn’t listen. I’m very disappointed in how we played and that’s kind of been an ongoing thing all year. We’ve been staying close with a lot of big teams and the second half, they’ve been beating us up and blowing us open in the second half. We’ve got to figure out a way to get better.”

On senior forward Karim York’s performance

“Right now he’s doing a pretty good job. He’s six-foot-nine, he can lift and he’s a mismatch for a lot of teams that we play against and he’ll be a mismatch hopefully in our conference.”

On moving forward after this loss

“It’s a bad loss so try to improve and just move on.”