Postgame Notes and Quotes - Illinois

Nebraska vs. Illinois Postgame Notes

*-Anton Gill and Isaiah Roby made their first starts of the season tonight. It marked the fifth career start for Roby and second for Gill.
*-Evan Taylor reached double figures for the seventh time this season with 13 points, his first double-figure performance since Dec. 29. Taylor had just six double-figure efforts his junior season. Taylor continues a streak where at one Husker outscores the opponent’s final bench total. It is the third straight it has occurred.
*-James Palmer Jr., had 24 points, just one shy of his career high. It was his 18th double-digit scoring effort this season.
*-Roby led the team with 10 rebounds, his second career double-digit rebounding effort, and his second-highest total of his career. Isaiah Roby set a career high with four steals, topping his previous best of three set on two previous occasions, most recently against Purdue on Jan. 6.
*-James Palmer Jr. has now been in double figures in 18 of the Huskers’ 20 games and had a season-high 10 field goals.
*-Nebraska improves to 10-1 at home.
*-For the first time this season, Nebraska’s opponent didn’t record a block.
*-Nebraska is now 10-9 under Miles in games decided by two points or less. Prior to tonight, NU was 0-2 this season, with a one point loss to No. 13 Kansas and a two-point OT loss at Penn State.

Nebraska Head Coach Tim Miles

On the final play:

"We knew they were going to press, which is why I called the timeout early because I didn't think we'd advance very far. We call it ‘live in the middle’ to kind of get one of your drivers the ball. Whoever gets it, the other guys running down as fast as he can to get a spot and so if they're pressing you try to ball screen it. Well that kind of got to be a cluster because they kind of backed it up, and Glenn [Watson Jr.] didn't bust to the middle until later, but when he did, he made a really good play and found James [Palmer Jr.]. James is a guy that kind of practices that shot every day so I'll take it. We've been on the other end of two of them, so it was good to get one."

 

On Illinois:

"Brad Underwood does a tremendous job everywhere he's been. He's a heck of a coach. I thought we did a good job not turning the ball over after the first five or six minutes of the game. Winning points off turnovers against them is a big deal, but we just fouled too much. They played harder than us, with their cuts and their half court offense. Finally, I think we got them slowed up a little bit on the 1-3-1 zone, but at the same time, I think you have to credit them for just hanging in there because they didn't have a great night shooting either."

On if this was a must-win game:

"I feel that way every night. I think the guys are just really disappointed the way they played against Penn State - the could have, would have, should have, part of it. So they wanted to come out and play better and get a [win]. If we make our layups, just our bunnies, it's probably eight or 10 points late in the game. We have to toughen up some. We have to get that finesse out of us and stay ball tough and stay mentally tough and finish those plays and make some open threes on ocassion."

On James Palmer Jr.:

"I'm very happy for James. I thought he bounced back in a big way. He and I had a good talk. 'James, I believe in you. You're a go to guy.' I stuck with him when he was falling down tonight. James can make plays. That's always valuable and I thought he was really good tonight. You could tell. I think he got the first bucket of the night, right down Main Street."

On Evan Taylor:

"I take him out of the starting lineup and that means something to Evan. As a guy that doesn't score a lot, but does a lot of the dirty work for the team, you appreciate starting a little more than the rest of the guys. He was in the gym the last two days, working hard. To see him come out and play really sharp, I was thankful and we were lucky to have him because he made a lot of good winning plays."

On rebounding:

"They were like fifth in the country on offensive rebound average and we're equally as bad, so that was a concern. I think we leveled off a little bit in the second half. I'm not exactly positive, but I think they got seven in the second half. I think a couple of them were dead ball rebounds too, which can be a couple different things. We did a little better, but it still seemed like they got a couple timely ones and that's that mental toughness and finesses that I'm talking about that we just got to commit to a block out. With [Isaac Copeland] on the bottom of the zone, you stand right under the rim, so you have to block back and that's not always the easiest thing to do. When Leron Black is a really strong guy, so I think he got one on us late and Michael Finke did too, but overall  that's an area, we're playing as small as we did - tonight we played four guards and a wing.  How many times did [Isaiah Roby] rebound, bust out. He had to drive in the second half, jumped up about 13 feet, swishes two free throws. I don't know how they can do that...I know my talent is really limited, but I just am in awe of those guys who just hammer a dunk, get knocked to the floor and then get up and swish two free throws. They make it look easy and it's not. 

Junior Guard James Palmer Jr.

On redeeming himself after the loss at Penn State:
“I definitely had to come out and play well this game, couldn’t have two bad games in a row. Penn State, I really think it was on me because I didn’t show up in a road game and we took the loss hard so we had to come out and play hard today. That’s what I tried to do, help the team as much as possible.” 

Sophomore Forward Isaiah Roby

On how he would describe the game:
“Hectic. Chaotic, kind of. That’s how they like to play so we kind of played into their hands a little bit about it. It’s a win, that’s the ultimate thing.” 

On gaining some balance in the second half:
“That was big for us. We got the crowd into it, we got one or two shot clock violations which is big because the crowd gets into it after that. Then we got some blocks, some runouts, so our zone definitely got us going, got us a little run going. That’s been a big part of us, especially in the second half it’s been huge for us.”

On a different lineup than usual and how it affected each individual and the team:
“It’s cool to start I guess but for me it doesn’t really matter too much. I think as a team you don’t really care about it too much. I think [Taylor] has been starting for us but he came off the bench and played real good for us. For us it’s just about the guys on the court, whenever they’re on the court they just have to perform. So I think we did a good job of that today.”

Senior Guard Evan Taylor

On his view of Palmer’s game-winning three-point shot:
“I was on the bench. I got scared because [Glynn Watson Jr.] had got caught up and he threw it to [Palmer] and I saw [Palmer] take the dribble. When it went in I just froze, I was like ‘Wow, we won’. I was really happy, this was a big game for us.”

On coming off the bench in tonight's game:
“It was cool. Whatever’s best for the team, just made me want to play better. I haven’t been playing well as of late but I want to come out and affect the game. Steals, rebounds, points, everything I can do and just make my presence felt. Credit to my teammates for giving me confidence."

Illinois Head Coach Brad Underwood
Opening Statement
“Well as I told our team, nothing is given; everything is earned. Give [James] Palmer credit. He made a heck of a shot. We felt pretty good watching him come up the floor, and we took about six seconds in the backcourt and the kid just stepped up and made a shot. I’m proud of our guys. We’ve lost three overtime games, now a buzzer beater and had Minnesota right there. We’re not playing nor are we acting like a team that is winless. So I’m proud of the character of our guys. Another great game from Trent Frazier, and see Michael [Finke] bounce back. He’s been in a bit of a funk. Costly mistakes down the stretch. We missed eight layups in the first half. In power conferences, most games are decided by one or two possessions. When you miss easy opportunities no matter when they are, they will always come back to haunt you. I thought we were pretty efficient the second half shooting 50 percent, and we did a great job at the glass after being pummeled by Iowa. Turnovers killed us, and we got five from Leron [Black] in 23 minutes and we can’t have that. Give Nebraska credit and it’s onto Madison for us.”

On Michael Finke:
“We needed to get Michael [Finke] going period. We felt great about the matchup and came out the second half trying to go after [Isaac] Copeland with three fouls. It felt like that was an advantage for us. They got confused on a switch which got a three at the top of the key to get us going. And then Michael did what he hasn’t been doing which was climbing on the glass. Those five offensive rebounds led to some easy baskets. Michael’s tremendous in the zone and does a good job short corner and high post. The three was just a simple high ball screen with him on the backside and he got a clean look. Trent [Frazier] made a great pass. It’s good to see Michael [Finke] get going again. A double-double is a great night for him.”

On bouncing back from the loss:
“I saw Oklahoma last year when I was in the Big 12. A team that was a Final Four team and well-coached by Lon Kruger and I mentioned to our staff they lost just about every way possible last year. We’re going to try and change that though. We have self-inflicted too many of these. Da’Monte Williams gets a big-time rebound, and we have to learn. We’re playing a tremendous amount of freshmen and young guys who haven’t been in these roles. We got to quit making them.”