Nebraska vs. Wisconsin Postgame Notes & Quotes

Postgame Notes
*- Nebraska recorded a season-high 18 offensive rebounds. The Huskers’ previous high had been 16 offensive boards on Jan. 17 against No. 6 Michigan State.
*-Nebraska out-rebounded Wisconsin, 45-37, on the glass. The Huskers had been 8-0 this season when out-rebounding the opponent.
*-The Huskers made only 17 field goals and shot just 28.3 percent from the field against the Badgers. The 17 field goals tied for the fewest made baskets by a Nebraska team this season (also 17 against Texas Tech), while the 28.3 shooting percentage was the Huskers’ lowest mark of the season. It marked the first time in 45 games that Nebraska shot worse than 30 percent, dating back to Dec. 3, 2017, when Nebraska hit just 27.4 percent of their shots in a loss at No. 3 Michigan State.
*-Glynn Watson Jr. moved into 10th place on the Huskers’ career assist list (345) against the Badgers. He is now one of six players to rank among Nebraska’s all-time top 10 in both assists and steals. 
*-Thor Thorbjarnson, who had played only one minute in Big Ten Conference play entering the night, scored three points and corralled a game- and career-high 10 rebounds, doubling his previous career high of five boards against Southwest Minnesota State on Dec. 29.
*-Isaiah Roby narrowly missed a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Roby had 12 second-half points.
*-Nebraska held Ethan Happ to 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Happ did not record a block in the contest. These were all below Happ's average of 18.9 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 5.2 apg and 1.3 bpg.
*-Six of Nebraska's eight losses have been to teams who have been ranked in the top-15 at some point in the season (Texas Tech, Maryland, Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin).

Nebraska Head Coach Tim Miles
On if not having Isaac Copeland changes the complexion of the team
“You can see it. One thing we have to do is get guys like Glynn (Watson Jr.) and James (Palmer Jr.) just to relax a little bit. Not all of the burden is on them. I thought that we took some quick shots trying to do some stuff tonight, trying to do our own thing and we just have to trust everybody. I thought Thorir (Thorbjarnarson) did impacted the game in a really positive manner and earned a spot to play.”

On if it feels like the start of another season without Isaac Copeland
“Yeah, it was different, it was really different. Cope has been a starter every game and running lineups without him is like, ‘okay, this will be interesting.’ I thought Brady (Heiman) just has to play his way, and we saw him play against very good competition, Creighton, Seton Hall and he did very good things, and now he’s a little bit of a shadow. You just have to get him back out there, get his feet under him. There are some things he just missed on.”

On the struggles Nebraska had in the paint on offense
“Wisconsin is an elite defensive team for a reason. With Bo Ryan and Greg Gard, they know how to walk into you without fouling and body you in a way that really makes it tough to score at the rim. The gliders struggle a little bit more. It doesn’t shock me that we weren’t great at the rim, I had us at 9-27, not good. I really thought that more than anything, we had too many quick shots, quick 1-2 pass possessions.”

On how to improve the team’s three-point shooting
“I think share the ball more and not so many quick shots. We have too many quick possessions. It was one of those nights, it’s like we’re either 9-20 or 4-23, so I think when they are quick (shots), it hurts us.”

Nebraska Players Quotes
Isaiah Roby 
On the slow start tonight and the comeback
“It is kind of like we are starting over. It makes sense after losing a key player like (Isaac) Copeland. I think it was just trying to start the season. You don’t know where you’re going to be and you don’t know where you’re going to find your shots. We started playing a little more free and had some good guys coming off the bench so we started playing more like we should.”

On making improvements
“I mean you have to take it day by day. We knew this coming season was going to be tough, even with a full team. We’re young, and we dropped some games early on and we’re going to have to make up for it. Our schedule isn’t going to get any easier so we are going to have to take it day by day and just keep competing.”

Thorir Thorbjarnarson 
On providing a spark off the bench
“Losing a player like (Isaac) Copeland is very hard. Especially with the kind of guy he is and what he does for the team and I wish him a speedy recovery. I am thinking about him first. But, when is out we have to make some changes to our team and I knew, maybe, my shot was going to come. We have been struggling a little bit defensively on the rebounding, and I just wanted to come in and hustle and give the team everything I’ve got. That is kind of how I feel like I played today.” 

Wisconsin Head Coach Greg Gard
On the play of Charles Thomas
“I thought he gave us a boost. At a time when (Nathan) Reuvers was in foul trouble, I thought Ethan (Happ) looked a little fatigued and decision making wasn’t great at times. Charlie was able to extend some possessions with the rebounds, blocked a shot, finished on a rebound and hit a three. At a time when Nebraska was gaining some momentum and the place was starting to fill up with noise a little bit, he was our answer. I thought he gave us a big boost and at the time and it was much needed because we were trying to get to that next media (timeout), buy a couple minutes and he came in and gave us a spark.

On inconsistency in smart plays
“Yeah, one thing we talked about is trying to play more intelligently. Talked about that at halftime, talked about that at one of the timeouts at the end of the first half and in the second half. And I’ll look at the tape and have a better idea of decision making in sequence that they took place in. And we’ve gotta be better. But fortunately, defensively I thought we were pretty good again tonight. It’s kind of becoming our identity and our calling card. We’ve gotta clean up and be a little wiser in some areas.”

On how Nebraska looked without Isaac Copeland
“Well it’s hard to say because they’ve had so little time to prepare without him. That’s hard. I mean we’ve gone through it last year losing a couple guys and you’re a little bit in a shock to begin with just trying to adjust. It’ll take probably a little bit of time to adjust for them. But we knew they had other pieces: (Isaiah) Roby, (Glynn) Watson (Jr.), (James) Palmer - heck of a player. I thought defensively, for the most part, we didn’t do a great job on (Isaiah) Roby. He really hurt us at times, but that Watson, and for the most part Palmer, we did a pretty good job on.”