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Will Matt Rhule's prediction for Nebraska football come true? Nebraska basketball Bracketology
Feb 24, 2025
Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule makes a prediciton about the 2025 season plus we analyze bracketology for the Nebraska basketball team. We also preview and offer up a prediction for Penn State.
1:26 E.J. Barthel retained
5:00 Matt Rhule prediction
17:22 Nebraska basketball bracketology breakdown
28:07 Preview and Prediction
34:54 RIP Greg Sharpe
#Huskers #GBR
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0:01
hey Husker fans welcome back to the Husker big red YouTube channel I'm Chris Peterson and joining me as always is my co-host Danny Gillette and we're back
0:07
here on this Wednesday for another episode of the podcast we're going to look ahead to the Penn State game tonight for the Nebraska men's
0:12
basketball team um we're going to break down the Bracketology discussion and look at what the Huskers have to do over
0:18
these next five six games to make the NCA tournament um we're also going to evaluate some comments by Matt rule um
0:24
at the uh High School Royals award where he basically guaranteed that Nebraska was going to win Beyond seven games this
0:29
year we'll discuss that and also EJ barthle who had some interest from Penn State and Texas is hanging around at
0:35
Nebraska signed a new contract so we're going to touch on all that stuff before we do hit the like button hit the
0:40
Subscribe button get into the comment section and Danny how are you doing on this Wednesday morning I'm good I feel
0:46
like we haven't had one of these in a while but uh got a lot of news to cover good to see you and uh you know it's the
0:53
off season so I'm thinking oh news will be slow news will be few and far between and there won't be a lot going on and
1:00
I'm always wrong every single time so that's certainly the case today yeah definitely a little bit of
1:05
news and we missed our usual show on Monday I had to take a trip for my day job and it was a hellish trip so I kind
1:12
of got tired and was a little bit sick so a little under the weather that's why we delay things a little bit but uh
1:17
seems like a good time to jump back into it got Nebraska basketball tonight and yeah always um a lot of news with uh you
1:23
know the Nebraska cornhouse care so let's just start there before we get into basketball with EJ barthle um this kind of came up on I think it was Monday
1:30
that he was on the short list of candidates for Texas he had also talked to Penn State about their you know running backs coach job Choice from
1:37
Texas just went to Detroit um and he obviously did a great job with their running back room there with Texas um
1:43
Kyle flood the Texas offensive coordinator did have a tie to EJ barle and Pete noos had reported that he was
1:49
kind of on a short list um but that uh drama didn't last long as Matt rule you know signed to a new contract extension
1:56
on Tuesday or yeah Tuesday to kind of put that to bed so uh what are your thoughts on that and EJ barthle being
2:02
retained by Matt R well I thought it was interesting that he had interest from Texas because quite
2:09
frankly I thought that if they were really interested in a running backs coach they could have gotten I don't
2:15
know somebody better for lack of for lack of a better way to put it um barthel's interesting because he's a
2:21
very good Northeast recruiter he's a very good recruiter but I need to see a little bit more out of the running back room next year now granted I know that's
2:28
not all his fault the off was a mess last year until hogerson came in offensive coordinator Dana hogerson came
2:34
in and that was towards the end of the season so I understand that there was a
2:39
lot of deficiencies in the offense last season um but I think to me the biggest win
2:45
here is having that Northeast recruiter and his recruiting ability um you know
2:51
it'll be interesting to see what EMT does this year EMT Johnson uh it'll be interesting to see what some of the running backs do this year because I
2:56
would like to see a little bit more production out of the running back room but again that's not all his fault there
3:02
were a lot of uh extenuating circumstances that made the running game struggle last year yeah it'll be
3:10
interesting I think for the most part you know he's done a pretty decent job um but yeah it hasn't really landed you
3:16
know a major you know kind of Blue Chip Talent although Jan Parker could be that guy this year so you know we'll see and
3:21
we'll see how things go with em at Johnson um and then some of these other guys too that he's recruited you know Quinton Ives I mean he was um a big kind
3:29
of sure a big reason that Quinton IES is a Nebraska corn husker um Nelson as well
3:34
so um we'll see if he can you know develop some of these guys to be successful at Nebraska because he's
3:39
never really been a position coach at a school like this he's you know was at Yukon and some other places um so yeah I
3:46
think I think he's done a good job though and you know EMT Johnson definitely I think took a step forward last year and some of that probably had
3:52
to do with Dana hogerson but um clearly Nebraska sees the value in EJ barthol
3:58
and some other programs I think at least saw it too and uh so yeah I think it's a it's a it's a nice move and I think it's
4:03
a good thing to have this coaching staff you know hopefully finalized we always we keep saying that and hopefully that's
4:09
true now but it just goes to show how you know other dominoes can impact things very quickly yeah and you know it's it's
4:17
really interesting to kind of see some continuity on the offensive staff with so many changes um I think it's good to
4:24
have barthol back in that respect too uh granted I'm a fan of the new changes offensively but it's good that bartel's
4:31
coming back for that continuity to see if he can get even more out of Emma Johnson and um you know last year he had
4:38
Dante Dowell this year it's going to be I'm very interested to see who the number two running back is going to be
4:44
but um I'm confident that bartho can get whoever it is in the right direction um so and then I wanted to uh
4:53
mention um now that we've got you know the coaching staff kind of FAL lined another football topic here before we get to basketball um that thought was
5:00
interesting and some people maybe have probably seen this speech but Matt rule of course was doing um the speech for
5:05
the high school Royals award and um you know just being Matt rule of course he does a great job anytime he does kind of
5:11
public speaking but he did say something that I thought was interesting um about Nebraska football and basically that you
5:17
know he said last year you know we got the seven wins and we plan on making a jump this season when we make that jump
5:22
you know people are going to say all kinds of things and then he started talking about how um you know he believed that uh it was the Frosted
5:28
Flakes with ice screen before every game is going to be part of their winning tradition so he made it kind of the humorous thing which he's very great at
5:34
doing but uh you know the lead there was that they won seven games last year and that they plan on making a jump and like
5:41
mat I mean you can see that you know with guys just like with EJ barthle the way that they've you know solidified
5:46
this coaching staff the way they've added to this coaching staff the way they've added you know coordinators um to the offensive line it does seem like
5:52
they this program really does believe it's ready for a jump so do you Danny Gillette believe that you know this
5:57
program can take a jump next season yeah the schedule is very favorable this offense is probably the best it's been
6:04
and oh I don't know how long uh this defense I think it's going to be really good because we got to see some of the
6:10
explosiveness of guys like Shavers and Mah under Butler during the bowl game right and so I do think this this team
6:17
is going to take a jump and be and you know kind of reach or go past that you
6:23
know bowl game win Plateau to eight or nine wins I do think it's very realistic
6:29
and it's a realistic thing to say that they will be able to make a jump yeah I think it is interesting that
6:35
you know Matt rule said that um but you know he's very confident in this team I think he has a lot of reasons to be
6:40
confident in it and like you said the schedule's not overly difficult although it can always look different than it
6:46
does right now I mean nobody expected Illinois to be you know one of our more difficult games going into the 2024
6:52
season and it was so um you know so be always be cautious about the schedule
6:57
because that can be smoking mirrors at times but I do think that the pieces are in place for this team to make a big
7:03
jump next year and I think they need to or I think there's going to be some whispers about Matt rules job security if they if this team wins seven games
7:10
again I think the fan base is going to get um you know a little Restless which they have they have already you know
7:16
under Matt rule thankfully they were able to you know win that Wisconsin game and I think that Boston College win you
7:22
know did help because uh you know going six and seven I think that would have left a sour it would have left a sour
7:27
taste in my mouth going into this offseason for sure I was going to say if we fired coaches based on whether the fan base was
7:33
getting a little Restless we would have had like 17 different coaches last year so well well Fred hyberg would have been
7:38
fired at halftime on uh Sunday night so yeah we'll get to that a little bit literally yeah yeah let's we'll get to
7:45
that but yeah no I mean I don't
7:51
think I don't think seven wins would be enough to get at r on the hot seat but I do expect to jump I mean you have to
7:58
look at you know where Nebraska where Nebraska football has been and you know
8:03
where it's going and while seven wins would be a bit of a disappointment getting a bowl game Victory and things
8:09
like that would would definitely be respectable but um I do expect you know
8:14
eight or nine wins at the very least maybe even 10 and so we'll see what happens but uh but yeah as far as you
8:23
know the fans getting restless I mean you know some of them still think it's 1995 so I'm not too worried about
8:30
that yeah obviously um yeah some s of the fans get I do think I don't think
8:35
he'll be you know quite on the hot seat but they'll be definitely be you know
8:41
there'll be some chatter I'll say that if they if they finish seven and five depending how it goes too but I think there'll be some chatter he just needs
8:47
to you know at some point when you got rol and all these guys like you got to put it together and and they're they've
8:53
put all the pieces in place I mean the roster I think they've done a really nice job on the roster they recruiting
8:58
really well I mean I do think that's one thing that's not talked about enough is how well this class did in terms of you
9:04
know Blue Chip prospects I mean Nebraska's over 50% recruiting in blue chippers I mean that's been I can't
9:10
remember the last time that that's happened and if they can consistently do that like this team is gon to be in the
9:16
college football playoff like it just it just is I don't know how you can have that much talent and I do think that Matt rule is a competent coach I'm not
9:22
saying he's the greatest head coach ever but I think he a pretty competent guy and so I just feel like the way things
9:28
are going you know Nebraska is definitely trending up in the right direction and hopefully you know we'll start to see more of
9:34
those you know tangible results on the field this season but the infastructure is there for this program to you know I
9:39
think compete I'm not going to say like the best of the best like compete to be a top three but I think they're set to
9:44
be you know a top 15 top 20 program for you know the for the foreseeable future I'll say that and for someone who likes
9:52
to develop Talent the way that they were able to you know get get quality guys out of the transfer portal and kind of
9:58
go against strategy in that respect was also impressive on his part too but what I also like too is some of those guys
10:05
they they felt some immediate needs for sure but like you look at noer you look at like Isaiah Hunter Hardley Gilmore
10:11
those are all guys that have multiple you know years to play I think Elijah pritchet does too so um while they did
10:17
add some kind of stop Gap guys like dco Spindler yeah Gabe Moore but they also
10:22
have been I think very strategic about getting guys that okay he could start here and then maybe have a couple more
10:28
years after so so I I really like how you know that portal class is coming together it'll be interesting to see what they do in the spring but I think
10:35
and that's one thing too about not having a spring game you know we're not going to get to see as much as fans as we usually do of like the offensive
10:42
scheme and the defensive scheme and all that but you know I don't think it's gonna I think it's probably going to be a good thing anyway moving forward and
10:50
um I mean Ohio State just did it and they didn't get as much quite frankly as Matt Ru did so I mean there
10:56
you go yeah I know it's just I don't know Ru I don't know why he seems to be
11:01
like a lightning rod for the media I don't know why it's just weird things that he says and I think it's because he's just so um he's an open book I mean
11:09
really for a college football coach I mean yes he's not like he doesn't say everything he's not transparent about
11:14
everything but he's pretty transparent about what he's thinking and what his motives are and that's pretty different
11:19
from what we see you know from almost every other college football coach in America so I think that that's why at
11:25
times he's opened himself up for some stupid criticisms I think from the media just because you know he does say things
11:32
that maybe others wouldn't say that that are actually probably true but he gets Nebraska in the
11:38
headlines and I think that's smart as well because he doesn't say anything too outlandish to where it makes the program look bad but he gets people talking
11:44
about the program and hey that counts for something these days well I think he's just you know Matt Rule's not
11:50
afraid to say like hey man like you know it was like when he was talking about the quarterback when Nebraska had to get
11:55
a quarterback before they got Rola he was like yeah it's going to cost us like 2 million bucks you you know and like you know it's not that people didn't
12:01
know that but he was one of the first ones to actually like say it and Define it and be like this is what you have to do in order to get a quarterback so and
12:08
then the check came shortly after so that was a smart play by him yeah I mean
12:13
it's it's just the reality of it I mean like you know it's kind of that thing like if you you know if you want uh you
12:19
know turkey pot pie for dinner then you know you better ask who's putting the who's putting the grocery L together to
12:25
get you some turkey you know what I'm saying like you better have enough money on your card go get the turkey and the stuffing and everything you need for uh
12:32
your pot pie so I mean that was smart by Matt Rule and I think he's really great with the media um he did uh actually did
12:39
an interview with Josh Pate too where he said he'd like to see the top 40 or 50 teams kind of coales which I agree with
12:44
as well I think we need to make a shift in college football and you know really put the halves into a group and the the
12:51
hav knots can still have you know really true great traditional college football you know the Mountain West and all these
12:57
somewh you know the University of Montana program that I you know graduated from and in support you know
13:02
those those smaller programs I think can have a great FCS league with like almost 100 teams that would be awesome and then
13:09
we can have a true college football NFL style league with everybody playing each other and I think that's where it's
13:15
going to go it's unfortunate I mean I wish that you know the SEC Championship
13:20
hadn't ruined college football but it did so that's where we are and now that I'm just thinking about
13:25
it he was even right about four big 10 teams making the college football playoff because now I think uh the Big
13:32
10 and SEC are in talks about it so I mean he's been right on the money for a
13:37
lot of these things and um yeah and I'll just say this again because it's worth
13:42
repeating it's time to stop pretending that college football is about academics let's make it what it is now yeah for
13:50
sure and um I mean it's yeah it's been always been about money and it's just it's time for the the players are
13:55
finally getting their cut so um it'll be interesting yeah the the expanded bids I don't love the guaranteed bids for the
14:02
Big 10 in the SEC but I mean it is what it is we have them in the I mean it just means that some
14:10
probably like Alabama last year probably get in with the guaranteed vids this year so I don't know like yeah I I don't
14:18
love that either because yeah it's really it's been really funny to see that debate I don't know if you saw this but Ari werman actually of on three did
14:24
a show with Paul Fine Bob and like a fan from Georgia and this so and they were
14:30
talking about the playoff got it was it was but and you know he is he covered
14:36
Ohio State and so you know him and I I but I actually think he did a really good job on this um little back and
14:43
forth and so he was like okay SEC guy SEC Georgia guy if you if you're saying
14:48
that Indiana and SMU shouldn't have got in you know who would you put in and then he's like because every other team
14:54
from the SEC got beat you know Alabama and and so he just continually kept going back to his point that like
14:59
Alabama and all these programs were just better because that's who they are and it's like I mean it's just crazy to me
15:06
like these SEC people like the results on the field don't matter you know it's like well the recruiting rankings are
15:11
the only thing that matter you know and like I understand that thinking and I understand that thought process but like
15:18
you have to if if the games don't matter why are we even playing the games you know like at the end of the day that's a
15:24
pretty fundamental point and at some point you know it's like I do high school basketball rankings for Montana
15:29
you know and it's like I have an idea who I think the number one team is but if they don't win some of their games like at some point I have to penalize
15:35
them in the rankings like I can't just put this team at the top without the best record like at some point you have to prove it on the field and I feel like
15:41
that and like this SEC guy was like citing how many SEC championships that they've won or how many national titles
15:47
the sec's won over the last 25 years like that's irrelevant what the SEC has done in past years is irrelevant to this
15:52
season just like whatever the big Ted in this year is irrelevant in 2025 it shouldn't have any impact and that's the
15:58
thing that drives me nuts about college football is like in the NFL like it is truly a meritocracy it does not matter
16:04
like the eagles sucked in 2024 you know what I mean they didn't suck but they you know got beat out in the first round of the playoffs there wasn't a single
16:10
person I mean before they got saquon Barkley but there wasn't a ton of people being like yeah the Eagles are going to win the Super Bowl even before the
16:15
playoffs started not a lot of people were putting their flag on the Eagles and they clearly proved that they're the best team on the field and I feel like
16:22
that that it's become harder and harder to do that in college football for some of these programs because your reputation means as much much as what
16:29
you can actually do and that's what we need to get away from well I feel like there's this there's always been and
16:35
there still is this notion that SEC is King and that's not true anymore and so
16:41
I think that's been a hard pill for Alabama fans and SEC fans to
16:46
swallow yeah no it it has been it's not to say they're never going to be you know dominant again they could be next
16:53
year but it's just let's stop pre- ordaining that the SEC is better than everybody else because this year showed
16:59
that that's just not true that that's fundamentally just not true because that Alabama I mean that Alabama team if they
17:06
were so they got beat by a Michigan team that didn't even have most of its best players and Michigan I mean really dominated them off on the defensive side
17:13
of the ball without like five first round picks so it's like let's not act like these programs are you know so high
17:19
and mighty but at any rate let's switch to uh some Nebraska basketball talk now um so yeah Sunday was kind of a scary
17:27
day maybe it was me getting off the road that uh got the team back on the mix because once I got once I got into my living room they started playing a lot
17:33
better and Fred had to punch the uh I think he had to punch the Whiteboard and must have must have smashed it or
17:40
cracked it and and uh busted his hand open a little bit but yeah it was wild that um you know I had my prediction
17:47
post that I had posted that morning and uh people were commenting on that
17:52
um about how Fred hyberg should be fired after that game at Halftime of that game
17:58
you know and it's just like and I remember sitting and I commented even there it was and I was like for one it's
18:03
hard to win big 10 games on the road so you know like let's just chill out a little bit and second I was like there's
18:09
there's a lot of time left to go in this game and I think I even posted that on on X I said like there's a lot of ball
18:15
game left and usually I'm the person that's freaking out but I don't know I just had a feeling that this team could
18:20
come back but even if they lost that game like the season wouldn't have been over like they still had plenty of opportunities so I don't I don't
18:27
understand why people want to throw Fred hyberg like onto the hot seat no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no
18:35
stop thinking like that Fred hoyberg is the best coach Nebraska can like he's the next Danny knee if people will just
18:41
stop being idiots and just let him do his job he'll be the next Danny and he will get us an nay tournament win just
18:47
let the man do his thing because who else is Gonna Come like you gotta think about it Fred hyberg managed to last an
18:53
entire rebuild went to the NCA tournament last year recruits you know
18:58
in the transfer portal really really well I know we had a discussion about this a couple weeks ago about whether he
19:04
should recruit more in state and not in the transfer portal but for what it's worth it seems to be working you know
19:09
and so you gota like I feel like people have an unrealistic ceiling for Nebraska basketball and they think that you know
19:16
this team should be I don't know 32 and0 every year but I mean firing Fred hyberg
19:21
would absolutely be stupid and I get that some of his strategies are frustrating but you know to me it's like
19:28
why why would you fire Fred hyberg who else are you going to bring in to coach Nebraska basketball in a crowded Big 10
19:35
conference that will be able to you know you know get this program to reach its
19:40
full potential nobody and I just feel like he's uh you know such a proven winner I mean he did
19:47
it at Iowa State I know he didn't do that well in the NBA but the NBA is based on who's on your roster and he was
19:52
stuck with some really crappy teams in the NBA so like just throw that out the window like he knows he can coach he can
19:58
coach and I think the most impressive thing is over the last three years I mean each of the last three seasons he's
20:03
found a way to you know put together an impressive run in February even the year before that when they really struggled
20:10
they found a way to win some games against rank teams in February so like every single year the past four years
20:16
Fred boy's team has been getting better and that's a sign of good coaching and like they're trending up again um
20:22
probably going to make the N tournament for the second year in a row and like to me I just I I feel like Nebraska yeah
20:28
like you know if they could ever get to a sweet 16 like that would probably be the equivalent of a national championship because I don't know if
20:34
they can get beyond that like it's going to take a a tremendous amount of luck for them to ever get beyond that like to
20:39
ever reach a final four but if anybody's ever going to get them there I feel like fred hyberg is the guy and and like
20:46
let's get it and say tournament win first but I truly feel like this man should be our head coach for as long as
20:52
he wants to do it and I just get really I know we had that like episode where we talked about it a little bit and that
20:57
was more just because you know people were bringing it up but at the end of the day like I trust in Fred hyberg and
21:04
I think he's the best coach that Nebraska can get you know for for now and well into the future and um at any
21:11
rate in terms of where they sit in the Bracketology um after this last win I mean they're seven and eight in the Big
21:17
10 but if you look at the bracket Matrix there's 104 bracket projections out there Nebraska's in the field in every
21:23
single one of them they're off the bubble according to ESPN so like I I
21:28
said like from the for a long time now I think Nebraska needs to get 10 big 10
21:34
wins overall and that means regular season and Conference play combined so right now they're seven and eight if
21:40
they win I think if they win two more I think if they go three and two over these next five games they're Stone Cold
21:46
locked in the Nay tournament yeah and you know you look at some of the matchups I mean they they
21:51
would be very entertaining games I saw one with the University of Connecticut um I saw one with Louisville
21:58
who I really don't want to be matched up with but that's okay um but you know some of these teams like you know I feel
22:04
like when this team is firing on all cylinders you know they're very difficult to beat and one of the things
22:12
you know we've talked about Fred hyberg Player Development with players on the roster and how it and how it hasn't
22:18
always been the best but um over these last couple games Braxton May has really played at a high level and he was
22:24
benched at the end of January uh following the Wisconsin game and it would have been easy for him to kind of
22:30
hang his head and you know give up on the season but instead you know he's he's worked his way back into the
22:36
starting lineup and you know the unfortunate injury to to H ber Bo kenzel
22:42
has really afforded me a chance and opportunity to you know make an impact
22:47
for this program and he's done really really well I think and that's a credit to the coaching staff for you know
22:54
helping him along and um you know allowing him to have a big role and he's taking advantage of
23:01
it um yeah that was impressive work with the with the burkys last name too I have
23:07
really struggled with that is it boel Bo katel yeah I gotta you know yeah that's
23:12
a tough one but they've really missed him but yeah I'm I'm with you Braxton May was one of the reasons or is it Mia
23:18
is it Braxton Mia I think I might is it Mia see I can I I can pronounce Bo konso
23:23
but I can't do Mia or may I think it might be Mia I think it is Mia so sorry
23:29
I've been screwing that up I've been listening to because I've been I was on the road for the last two games traveling for my job so I would listen
23:35
to the you know I listen to Kent on the uh radio broadcast so got a little more uh clarification and I was like oh man I
23:41
really am not good at pronunciations but that's what you get I've spent my life as a as a print journalist so you know I
23:48
I spell names not uh not pronounce them so I'm still working on that but um but hisi but M's Rim protection um his
23:55
ability to score inside he had 10 points I mean making free throw like and not only he blocked a couple shots but uh
24:03
you know he also um affected a bunch of other shots as well so um that was that was a really great um effort from him
24:10
and just yeah the way that he has come on and you know like he said he didn't pout he just whatever if Fred asked him
24:17
to play seven minutes he played Seven quality minutes and now he's asking him to play 20 some minutes and he's given him 20 quality minutes so like you know
24:25
a few weeks ago you're like man why did Fred recruit this dude and now you see why so again like I just have kind of
24:31
got to that point where I just trust Fred hyberg you know at the end of the day I trust Fred hyberg implicitly with this team and I'm not saying
24:37
everything's always going to go well there's going to be times where it's frustrating um I've been frustrated this year but I trust him to I trust him as
24:45
the mechanic to because he's very good at seems like at going in there he knows the game at being like okay man like our
24:50
basketball team isn't messed up like what do we got to do to fix it and the last three years even the last four
24:55
years he's gone in there and tinkered and found a way which think is a pretty valuable thing to have in a coach to figure that out like Midway through the
25:02
season um but at any rate to accept that he needs to make changes and that it
25:09
can't be you know continuous of the same thing and you know like like I said a
25:15
couple shows ago it always seems like he finds his Groove this time of year late February early March and now and right
25:22
now it's paying off in a big way and I think honestly too what what he's done with Braxton M instead of making him
25:29
kind of defend on the perimeter he's kept May inside and I think that's that's helped him a lot too uh cuz I
25:36
think he's obviously a natural inside post player and you know forcing him to defend on the wing could you know make
25:43
for some difficult matchup so I think they've done a better job at keeping him inside in the paint and I love too that
25:49
you know I think that the whole thing that happened on Sunday too shows that Fred is a true leader he knows the pulse
25:54
of his team because sometimes it really is not about EX know it's not and that
25:59
Sunday was it that wasn't it wasn't that Nebraska was you know Northwestern was just like simply out exec they just were
26:05
getting outplayed Nebraska was just getting outplayed by a Northwestern team that wanted it more in that first half
26:10
and uh you know Fred hyberg was all of us because it was like why are you guys not playing with more urgency like you
26:15
know what's at stake in this game right and it was like it took that moment from Fred to wake this team up and so you
26:21
know to me that was a great shine of not a sign of not only like this man knows basketball but he's a leader of these
26:27
guys and they follow him and I thought that was a defining moment in his Nebraska career Fred hyberg I
26:32
mean yeah I was getting so frustrated I I I even remember tweeting to you or Xing to you whatever it is now that you
26:38
know you're lucky you're not watching this game because it looks terrible on the TV and it must sound awful on the radio but hey you know what they stormed
26:46
back I think it was uh I think it points 20 points in the in in the second half
26:52
and um Bryce Williams he continues to be just Rock Solid for this program he
26:59
seems to always be able to get to the line create his own shots and get points and uh you know I would definitely put
27:07
him you know in the conversation for my alltime Nebraska basketball team because
27:12
boy you talk about transfer portal pickups Williams has been huge these last two
27:17
seasons and like yeah I got to look at some other players stats I haven't in in uh researched it that much but like in
27:26
addition to all like First Team all big 10 like should we be talking about Bryce Williams as Big 10 player of the year at
27:32
this point because yeah I think he's definitely been incredible I mean he's been incredible so um I did want to
27:38
mention women's Bracketology before we focus on Penn State here so it's been a little bit of a downward trend for the
27:44
women they did get a an important win at Maryland um they lost at Illinois so they're basically they're in the last
27:51
four Buys so they're like the fifth to last team projected in the tournament by ESPN so some work to do there for Amy
27:57
Williams here over the next couple of weeks they've got three regular season games left and then the Big 10 tournament so a little bit of a
28:03
different schedule still should be in but a little bit of work to do there um so tonight going into the Penn State
28:10
game Penn State has really been on a downward Trend they've lost 12 of 13 games they're 13 and 13 overall but
28:16
they're like one of the last place teams in the Big 10 but still um still they
28:22
this doesn't this won't count as a quad one win they did drop out of that range they're like um I think 80th or
28:27
something in the ne rankings so that's kind of a bummer they're still close though um which shows you how good the
28:33
Big 10 is when you have like your last place team is still like in the top 80 um but I mean it's uh winning on the
28:41
road is never easy in this conference and Penn State they're third they're the third best team in the Big 10 at forcing
28:46
turnovers so that is something that worries me about this game um Ace Baldwin is also a dynamic scorer so that
28:53
you kind of worries me and uh you know we've Nebraska struggled with turnovers before so um Penn State is very very
28:59
good at getting steals they're like second in the Big 10 at Steals and so you know I worry about Ace Baldwin going
29:05
off and then giving a bunch of turnovers and stuff like that that's how I think this could be a game Nebraska's like a one and a half Point favorite so the
29:12
odds makers see a tight one in uh in Happy Valley how do you see this one going Danny I definitely see this as a
29:18
tight one because we thought the same thing about Northwestern right oh you know the kind of a lower Big 10 team
29:24
should should kind of be an easier game but Northwestern came out on all cylinders and I expend I expect Penn
29:31
State to do the same thing I mean this is a very tough team and I know they've hit like you said a downward spiral a
29:37
downward Trend recently but you know for them this is the perfect game to get back on track so I'm not expecting an
29:43
easy game at all I think a onepoint favorite is definitely you know where where it needs to be where that needs to
29:50
be and um you know no game is easy in the Big 10 and uh I think Nebraska is
29:57
going to be in for a do fight tonight I think they'll win but I don't think Penn State just going to roll over and uh
30:02
accept defeat and things are for both teams this is actually a really important Big
30:07
10 game and yes Penn State is in last place right now three and 12 but uh they're you know Northwestern is 4- 11
30:15
uh Wisconsin Washington's 4- 10 ruers is 5- 10 so there's a few they're within range of making that top 15 is the point
30:22
and so they need wins badly um like really badly if they're going to make the big 10 tournament and try to keep
30:28
their season alive so I mean you know it's it's really easy to sit there and look at Penn State oh they're 13 and 13
30:34
but like these guys don't want their careers to end either and if they lose to Nebraska like that's much more likely to happen without even getting to you
30:41
know the Big 10 tournament so I do think that that has added a little bit more urgency you know making it so those top
30:47
three teams don't make it um you know it's kind of that like relegation almost of soccer kind of vibe they're obviously
30:52
not getting relegated but relegated to not making it to the Big 10 tournament I guess so um I do expect Penn State's
30:59
best effort and they probably view this as a winnable game Nebraska is also it's very much jumbled as you got Michigan
31:07
State Michigan Wisconsin Purdue Maryland you got Nebraska is in eighth place right now um tied with Oregon tied with
31:14
Ohio State USC's one game behind um so Nebraska needs needs wins too or they're
31:20
going to end up you know in that 10 I mean they could they could still be like seated 10th in the Big 10 tournament and still make the NCA tournament that's
31:26
That's How Deep The League is this year year I mean heck even Minnesota beat UCLA last night I missed I missed uh MC
31:33
cronin's probable rant but I'm sure I'm sure I'll see that uh pretty soon um but
31:38
no this conference is not easy and you know that's what I kept trying to tell people when they were upset about
31:44
Sunday's game against Northwestern I'm like Northwestern may be at the bottom of the league but that doesn't necessarily mean they're a bad team this
31:50
league is loaded this year and probably one of the most uh even leagues if you will that I've seen in quite a while I
31:56
don't know about you but feel like this year has been very very tight for
32:02
basketball yeah I mean it's it's like you said I mean Minnesota who's you know recogniz as one of the worst teams
32:07
they've beaten UCLA and Michigan two of the better teams right now so I mean that anybody can beat anybody in the Big
32:13
10 I mean Northwestern you know they took Michigan who is the first place team they took him to overtime at an in
32:19
in an arbor so I mean like it's it's very tough every game is very tough and that's what you know that was kind of my
32:25
point to People Too on Sunday was like yeah these other guys get paid too and it's very difficult to win big 10 Road
32:32
games so yeah sometimes if you're not playing your best you're going to fall behind and you know these other programs
32:37
they're not just like they're still thinking of themselves as having the ability to make a run and uh so you just
32:43
you never know what can happen um but looking at this one you've got Penn State and then you've got Michigan at
32:49
home on I think Monday it's kind of like a weird schedule um so but I mean really
32:56
I think Nebraska's in you know a solid position they've just like I said go go three- two or um you know go
33:04
two and three and then win a a game in the Big 10 tournament but I think as long as they get to 20 wins I think that they're they're going to make the field
33:10
yeah and it would be quite the achievement for a program that has such that has had such a roller coaster
33:17
season um and you know I'm I would be excited to see what this team could do in the tournament because I feel like
33:23
this is a tournament type of team in terms of talent so um two more wins three more wins and uh
33:31
then we can focus on the big dance all right Danny so what's your uh what's your prediction for tonight Penn
33:37
State at Nebraska what we got the 5:30 Central Time tip off a little early I
33:42
hate it I hate the I hate the early tip anyway um uh let's see I'm gonna
33:49
say Nebraska 82 Penn State 77 I'm G to also say Nebraska I'm going
33:56
to say a little bit more low scoring I'm going to say like 74 68 Nebraska okay all right we both
34:05
got both got the Huskers covering tonight um Vegas has them as a half point one and a half Point favorite
34:11
right now so um that would be a huge uh win not a quad one win but at this point Nebraska's got enough quality wins they
34:17
just need to add few more wins to they have six or something six is it yeah they've got six yeah I believe six right
34:24
now so and they've done a much better job of winning on the road I think this season I know it's still a little bit of
34:29
a struggle but I feel like they've done a much better job than last season of winning on the road so it could be a
34:34
really good game tonight definitely not one that's a gimme nope and it it'll it'll be
34:40
interesting to see how they start you know I'm I'm hoping that they start a lot better than they did uh yeah yeah
34:46
they can't start like they did on Sunday or else or else we're in trouble I think um okay last but not least uh we
34:54
did want to mention the passing of you know Greg Sharp the um truly beloved uh
35:00
play-by-play guy for Nebraska football and uh you know Nebraska baseball who you know tragically lost the battle with
35:06
cancer um last Friday um it's been an emotional time I would say for Nebraska
35:11
fans you know who were very used to you know hearing his voice on the other end um for a long time and it was it was
35:17
really cool to see um you know Nebraska rename the broadcast booth for him and to have that you know kind of uh they
35:24
lit up the field and everything you know with his image and then the baseball team to go out after losing their season
35:30
opener and you know knocking off number six Vanderbilt that was pretty special and uh you know that one was for Sharpie
35:35
and so um you know rest in peace to a truly great human that was lost too soon
35:41
rest in peace to a truly great human and someone who loved Nebraska Athletics and whenever you turned on the radio uh you
35:48
knew that once you heard Greg's voice um that that you were going to went you know hear a very well- calleded game and
35:56
you know he loved Nebraska he loved the programs and he loved the fans and he
36:02
took pride in coming to work every day and you know being a part of the Nebraska community so this is a really
36:08
huge loss and um you know I saw a video uh obviously one of the more well-known
36:15
videos but it just hit home uh Jack Hoffman's run with Greg on the call and
36:20
two beloved Nebraska supporters and um people and in Nebraska Athletics and uh
36:29
it's just been a rough couple weeks for Nebraska fans so it's it it sucks it
36:35
really does it does yeah yeah both of those hit pretty hard and uh yeah it was
36:40
hard to see that news on Friday just uh you know it just won't be the same um
36:46
without Sharpie but uh yeah somebody who truly loved the Huskers and you will be
36:51
missed Sharpie you will be missed dearly so um yeah that's all I have to say about that yeah definitely a big loss
36:58
and uh thoughts go out to his family and all that loved him and I know many many many loved him and um it's definitely
37:06
not going to be the same uh this this football season and and this baseball season so you know it's uh it's it's
37:14
tough but uh but I know that he lived a well-lived life and a full life so there
37:20
is soulless in that at least yeah great great family but yeah condolences to his
37:26
family and um we've been blessed with some truly great broadcasters here at Nebraska and you know I like Kent uh is
37:33
one of the absolute best it's a treasure to listen to him um even when I don't listen to all of his games you know live
37:40
I'd love to listen to the replays you know of his got it call um you know which is it was so fun to with listen to
37:46
the game you know he uh Braxton May was shooting free throws or MIA last week and he was K gave him a couple of God it
37:52
calls on the free throws because he was so excited for them and um it just shows what how much passion these guys have
37:58
and what they truly do mean so um rest in peace again Sharpie we truly love you man you are great and I'm sure you'll be
38:05
uh supporting the Huskers from heaven so um on that note guys we'll close out the uh podcast if you haven't already please
38:11
hit the like button hit the Subscribe button get into the comments section and as always go Big Red go Big Red
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